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My Journey As A Creative Designer - Woodworking and Beyond

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7M views 13K replies 477 participants last post by  teaklight12 
#1 ·
Beginning this Blog

I recently was referred to this site by Steve Good, who has a wonderful, comprehensive scroll saw forum and blog page. Although I have been doing woodworking for almost fifteen years, I have finally reached a point in my life where I am able to make it the main focus of my activities. Since my life revolves around my woodworking and business, I believe that this blog will reflect that very clearly, although it will also be somewhat personal. But I think that woodworking is very personal anyway.

It has been a long journey to get to this point. There have been many good times and some not-so-good ones, but I appreciate every single step because I think that if even one thing was different, I would not be where I am today or who I am inside. It isn't only the positive events in our lives that make us what we are. Many times it is the negative things that mold and shape us and teach us to look at things in a certain way. I try to remember that when things are tough and move ahead.

I have learned that there is only one thing we can be certain of in life: change. Whether things are good or bad, we need to hold on and appreciate the moment, as we can be certain that things will be different before long. This helps us to not only appreciate the good days and things we have now, but also hang on when things are not so good, as we know that they will be different soon. I like this philosophy.

I liked reading about the new contest offered by this site in the newsletter. Fluidity. It is a perfect theme for projects because our existence itself is fluid. I am anxious to see what interpretations are going to be, as I am sure everyone else is. It will be an adventure for all of us for sure.

So why am I starting this blog? The other day I received a call from a customer who had a question for me. He kept saying how surprised he was that I answered my own phone. I have worked as a Contributing Editor for Creative Woodworks and Crafts Magazine for the past 13+ years and I guess in the scroll saw community, many people have heard of me. It seemed so odd to me that he would think I would have a secretary or staff. We kind of laughed about it, but it really got me thinking about his interpretation of my life. We all tend to form opinions of others from very limited information. We see the outside of a person as they are presented to us and many times are very quick to categorize that person in our minds. I do it myself.

But in my years of talking with and dealing with many people from many different places, I have come to realize that people are like icebergs. We only see the tip of them and below the surface is a vast, complex side of them that is the basis of their actions and thinking.

Everyone has a story. Everyone has traveled a journey. No two people have traveled identical paths. Thus, we are all unique in our thoughts, actions and creative processes. I enjoy hearing others stories. I think that listening to others and hearing their experiences helps us to understand each other. With that understanding, we learn.

I have used the phrase "Knowledge Is Power" in my signature since I have been on the web. Once someone told me that they thought it was quite arrogant of me to say that. He thought that I was implying that I knew more than anyone else and he found that offensive. I told him he couldn't be more wrong. My interpretation of the phrase is that our QUEST for knowledge EMPOWERS us to make better decisions about things in our lives. We are never finished learning. I learn every single day from my friends, colleagues, fellow woodworkers and students. We never know when we will learn something new. Sometimes you can learn from even a seemingly insignificant event. I feel the key is that we need to be open to learning.

Everyone has a story.

So I will close today with those thoughts. I don't know how often I will post here, but I hope to make it a habit. I don't know if anyone will even read this, but somehow it doesn't matter. Writing is a key in self-awareness. By writing things down we categorize our actions and it helps (me anyway) to keep my life organized. Organization leads to peace as far as I am concerned.

I am quite overwhelmed with the scope of the site here. I am still getting my footings and lurking around. I think for the first several days or maybe even weeks I will be more of a passive observer while I find my comfortable position among the others here. I want to upload the new things I am working on here. Like everyone else, I am anxious to see the response they get. I love seeing others projects and could spend my days just looking.

Although it is quite intimidating, the forum looks like it is full of friendly, knowledgeable and wonderfully creative people.

I think I am going to like it here.
 
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#3,350 ·
After all, what are Sunday's For Anyway?

I can honestly say that I didn't do much regarding the business yesterday. It isn't very often that I can claim that. It always seems that even if I spend the day painting or doing something like that it is still related to the business. I suppose it was just time for some time off.

It was a beautiful day here in Nova Scotia. The sun was shining from the time it peeked over the horizon until it set into the ocean. The day was nearly cloudless, with only a few wisps here and there floating by in the distant sky. It was warm, but neither humid or uncomfortable, as there was a light and gentle breeze that was strong enough to keep the air moving.

Normally on days like this, I would be thinking about taking off and doing a road trip. The day would have been perfect to be riding along the shore in the mustang with the top down. Or exploring the back roads along the many hundreds of small lakes in our area, or even going to Keji, or the south shore. I had filled the car the other day so it would be ready for such a trip.

But on Saturday, we were heading to the grocery store and could hear a faint noise coming from the rear axle. It is difficult to define, and didn't sound too serious, but it shouldn't be there and we wound up turning around and taking the other car just to be safe. I would rather err on the side of caution and have it checked out before any major damage would be done. I plan to take it in first thing this morning to see if it can be looked after.

So I was restless yesterday. I don't really mind not driving during the cold winter, but it is on these warm summer days that I realize how much I like it. I found myself feeling quite unsettled, and for the first time in a long time, I didn't really feel like working at the computer.

I spent my time and energy well though. I wound up cleaning the entire house, including doing five loads of laundry. I washed everything in sight with the exception of the cats, and cleaned and organized it all. I even made a pie (I am not the greatest pie maker, but this one came out decent.) I also spent a couple of hours washing and waxing the car, as well as cleaning the interior and making it look its best. Even though it is sick, it doesn't have to look bad. It looks pretty decent for its age. I can't believe that I have had it over seven years already. It has its little nicks and battle scars, but overall it is holding up well. I hope to keep it another 20 years.

All in all it was a very productive day. Even though I didn't get much done for the business, the day off did me good. I woke up this morning to a tidy environment and feel good having taken the day off. Last week was rather stressful and reading about the economy and the perils that many are facing was taxing on me. Not only for my own business, but for the plight of others who are and will suffer because of this financial crisis that the US is facing. I know I don't discuss things like that much here (nor do I really want to) but I do read and the world issues do weigh heavily on me at times.

I feel good today and ready to move ahead. It is a new week and a new month and I have lots of good ideas that I need to work on for patterns for the upcoming season. I notice that it stays darker a little bit longer each morning and I know that soon autumn will be upon us and we will be winding down the year. There is so much that I want to do before then.

I hope you all have a good day and week. I look forward to it being a good and productive one.

Happy Monday!
 
#3,353 ·
A Really, Really, (really, really) Good Day!

First of all, I am tardy today for a reason. We had some lightning and thunder in the early hours of the morning and the lights kept flickering We thought it would be best to shut down computers until things seem a bit quieter. (I still hear thunder as I write, but the rain is gentle and I had to do something!) Hopefully it will hold out so I can get some work done.

I actually had a good blog planned. I know it has been quiet of late, but yesterday was a day that was full of adventure and news and I wanted to share it with you. It was a very good day for us and we opened the door to several new viable businesses opportunities.

We started off taking the car to be looked at, but of course, it was quite all the way to the mechanics. It made me think and wonder if the noise wasn't just tire related or road related, as I am sometimes picky with it and would rather err on the side of caution. But I honestly heard nothing the entire way there. When we arrived there, the place was closed. Either he took the day off or perhaps he took the entire week for summer holiday. He is a one man shop and when he is closed, he is closed. So it came to decision time.

We had decided to take with Keith's pens and were planning a trip to Bear River, a small town near Digby and also to Annapolis Royal, a historic, touristy town about 30 minutes further to scout out shops and see how we would fare with his pens. He had about 30 of them and they were adding up and it was time to get out to market them.

The day was like Sunday - beautiful, warm and sunny and it was the perfect opportunity to take a ride and test the waters on that side of the province. After talking it over, we felt that we would take the chance on the mustang and try it out and be aware if we began to hear noises again. After all, even if the mechanic was there, it would be difficult to pinpiont the problem since it was no longer occuring. We had the phone with us and as it turned out in the end, everything was fine.

We had quite a long day but I am happy to say it went very well. Keith had his pens picked up by two higher end galleries, one which had paintings that were priced up to $4500 and the other which had many items priced over several hundred dollars.

The first gallery is in Bear River and is called Flight of Fancy. The link to it is here. We talked directly to Rob, the owner and wound up spending a couple of hours there. Rob is renown for his bird paintings on rocks and his place is listed in just about every guide book about Nova Scotia. Even though the store is only open until October, he wanted to give the pens a try when he saw the one Keith made for me. We went to the car and got the cases and on the spot he took a dozen of them to try. He took all the most expensive ones, too and the price didn't bother him a bit. Keith did leave them on consignment, but that was fine. Rob has been in business over 30 years and is honorable and stated that he does usually prefer to buy outright, but since it was late in the year, he would try them out and then if they sold he would buy outright for next season.

While we were there, there were many customers coming through and buying. It was definitely a busy place. Bear River had changed a lot since I used to go there for painting almost three years ago. There were several new stores open and it looked like it was very much on the upswing. For a while there it was really going through some difficult times and was almost to the point of being a ghost town. But the main street of buildings are once again developed into quaint shops and cafe's and it was promising. We will just have to see.

The other gallery that took about 15 of Keith's pens is called Bluefin Pottery. It is located in Digby on the main street which is just down the block from where I used to live. I used to casually know the owner there, and had talked to her several times when I did some selling of my fine art paintings at Annapolis Royal and I remembered that her shop had more artsy type of stuff. By the time we arrived there, (it was after 5pm because we we had other stops in between) as we walked up to the shop there was a tall gentleman just locking the door. He asked if he could help me and I said I was looking for the owner and I pulled out my pen Keith gave me to show him the kind of work Keith did and was selling and he was immediately interested. He reopened the store and invited us in.

It turned out he was a delightful and friendly man and he had purchased the shop from its previous owner about 2 years ago, just about when I moved from Digby. He was a pottery artist and he and his wife did very well there. There was a variety of things and local artwork available in his store, ranging from pottery to paintings to note cards and textiles. There were copper sculptures and other ornamental items and even though it had such a great variety, it was nicely laid out and not cluttered in the least. It was also a beautiful store.

His name was Hans and he was from Germany and actually was friends with Rob from Flight. He inquired about my accent and when I told him I was from Chicago, he told us that his wife was from a northern suburb of Chicago too. Small World.

Long story short, he absolutely loved everything and wanted to take all that Keith had. He said he was going to restrain though although he kept picking and picking and picking. He kept asking us "Am I taking too many?" and "Should I put some back?" and we both immediately told him no.

He really wanted my fountain pen, and I told him he absolutely positively could not have it. :)

He told Keith he loves fountain pens and Keith should make more for him. He said many of his friends love them too and they would be wonderful for them and they would be interested in them. It was a very positive experience.

We wound up staying there for over an hour talking with him and writing things down. It was nice of him considering that he was heading home for the day when we arrived, but he said his wife and child were on the road anyway and he really liked what he saw.

Digby is having their annual Scallop Days festival beginning tomorrow, and Hans said that last year that was his best week. He said that even though he has had about a third of foot traffic in the store as the previous year, his sales were up. He also said that the lower end items (under $20) were barely selling at all and his customers were buying the higher priced stuff. He was very excited about the pens, as he felt it would allow him to offer things that would be geared to male customers, which he had little. He also thought they would go over wonderfully at Christmas time, as he remains open all year long.

I will cut it short now, as I got a late start already. I could go on, and I probably will talk more about the trip in comments and on subsequent blogs. All in all it was a wonderful day. We didn't get home until after 8pm, but we were both happy and excited about the outcome of the day. Keith isn't looking to be in too many places, but now he is in three top notch galleries and they are somewhat scattered so they won't really be competitive with each other. His pens are all unique anyway, so even though two are somewhat close in Bear River and Digby, they each seemed to favor different styles of pens so they will not be the same at both stores.

For now, this is plenty. His case is almost empty and all of his high end pens except one are gone. He is thrilled because he needs to get back to work and make some more. A dream for someone who likes to make them as much as he does. We will have to see how things go, but we are optimistic that the outcome will be good.

The rest of the week will be drawing for me. I really need to spend the time here at the computer doing some designing. There are so many ideas that I have to work on that my head is going to explode. It is just a matter of squeezing the hours out of the day.

With that said, I will close for today and get to work. The sun is almost out, peeking from among the mostly clouded sky, but there is still almost constant rumbling of thunder in the sky. It is kind of weird. I wonder what the day will bring today.

Have a good one!
 
#3,360 ·
Life Without a Computer

OK - so I will admit it. I don't deal well with life without a computer. I realize that will open me up to lectures of how everyone got along before without computers and how we have become spoiled by them etc., etc., and I should just suck it up and get along without it, but the best I will ever do to counter that is 'agree to disagree.' After all, people didn't have indoor plumbing until the early 1900's and I am sure that they were consider spoiled too.

Although I probably wouldn't classify yesterday as 'pure hell', I will say that is was not a pleasant or productive day.

We had many storms pass through our area throughout the day. Just when we thought it was getting better, more clouds rolled in from over the ocean and darkened the sky - at times where it seemed like night - and with it brought lightning, thunder and rain. Fortunately there was little wind considering, so the rain, even when heavy was quiet and not really frightening.

However, the lightning following by rumbling thunder was nearly constant, and the cats were none too happy. Nor was I. The power continually flickered and actually went out three times. At first I tried to do some drawing, saving my work every step along the way. But then I became complacent and the saves became further and further apart until one of the zaps killed the power and I lost about 45 minutes of work. It was then I gave up.

Rather than risk damage to our computer systems and television (which is run by the computer too) we disconnected our entire wall of electronics for the day. Better safe than sorry. We then took a ride out in the storm to go to the store and get some milk, which we were out of, figuring that we weren't going to get anything done here anyway. The storm was still there, and there were times when we were driving (slowly) along the shore and it was raining so hard we could barely see in front of us. There was little danger though, as we were basically crawling at that point and we had to laugh at our own stupidity for even being out. It reminded us of last winter when we made the trip to Halifax and came upon the ice and snow storm. Funny how we just don't seem to get it.

At the store, they were just powering up again after losing lights there too. We got our milk, visited Keith's parents for an hour or so (they thought we were crazy too) and watched the storm from their place, which is right by the ocean. It was quite beautiful in its own way.

There was a break in it and we decided to return home, but after seeing that the clocks had reset just an hour before, we found no reason to reconnect our electronics for a while. There was power but it was flickering off and on and would certainly cause damage if there was a surge.

So Keith decided to prepare several pen blanks and I chose to do something I rarely do - take a nap. I had been up since 4:30 with the noise and light show and there was really nothing else for me to do. I didn't have any paintings going and all my work revolved around the computer. Even our phone is run through it. So sleep it was. I had lots of company, as I awoke to all three cats curled up around me. They were frightened by the noise too and nothing is better for them than to have another sleep buddy in the middle of the day. I only slept for an hour and a half though and when I awoke, the sky was actually blue and there was sunshine. You would have never thought it even rained.

The clouds returned, but nothing was severe and near dinner time we felt is would be safe to reconnect and rejoin our cyber worlds. But what a day.

I did finish the one project I worked on. Since I had the nap, it allowed me to work a bit later than normal. We are due for several more days of rain however, and hopefully they won't be as severe as it was yesterday. For all of those who wrote me and I didn't answer, please forgive. I am catching up this morning and will get back to you all soon.

I have a lot of drawing to do and I hope that I can continue to work for the next few days. The owner of the shop in Annapolis Royal called last night and she also wants not only pens, but also note cards of my paintings and prints of them too perhaps and also she is interested in selling our prototypes. She went on the site and saw all we did and wants us to bring her a sampling of things. She only buys outright we are told, not consignment, so that will be a good way to reduce the amount of things we have here. It is positive, but it means we will be busier than ever. But I never minded that.

Have a great day today. It's the middle of the week already. :)
 
#3,361 ·
gooood-moorniing Sheila :)
yes those days always catch us on the wrong leg , not having power is very frustrating
and it show us how fragile the modern cumunity is
I wonder what the world will do if its right what they say about the sunbursts will be
in 2013 , if they are right you will see hole continents go down and all the major city´s without power
and the internet will not work over long periods becourse of the EMP´s from the sun
but we have to wait and see but also try to be prepared for it
hope you will have better wether now it has raised out :)

take care
Dennis
 
#3,369 ·
The Power of Friendship

As usual, I woke up today to several emails. Like anyone who has a routine, going through them first thing in the morning is one of mine. I like to see what I may have missed during the night and see if there was any orders or things like that which need my immediate attention.

I like Google Gmail because it allows you to categorize your mail and add color coded labels on emails from people or places where you receive frequent emails from. For instance, orders from my site are one color, mail from here at LJ's is another and so on and so on. That way, even with my aging eyes I can at least tell where the email is from all the way from across the room. As I write this, I suppose it is the epitome of laziness, but it is quite helpful when I am at the saw or something like that and I receive email on orders and such.

In any case, there were several nice thing in my email box that made it a good day already. I had a couple of nice newsy letters from friends, which always makes me happy and I had one email in particular from a customer who had just visited the site.

The customer wrote a short note just to compliment me on the site and the quality of my patterns there. He said he had been to many sites and that he really thought ours were some of the best out there. It was a short note, but it immediately put me in a good mood and made me want to do even better.

Funny how that works, isn't it?

Those of you who read regularly know how much of myself I put into my work. To me, there is little better reward for it than making others happy and having them appreciate what I do. I know that I need to consider the financial aspect too, and I am trying to be a better businesswoman in that respect, but I can't deny the warm and fuzzy feelings that envelop me when I read a note such as the one I received this morning. It is truly appreciated.

Besides that note, there were a couple of great letters from friends I made here on Lumberjocks. I love keeping in touch and getting to know people better. I have mentioned before that I can type pretty fast and that is a good thing because I wouldn't be able to keep up with anyone if I didn't. Besides these emails, I have friends from facebook and when I get the opportunity (which isn't too often) I go into the forum here that is off topic to see what everyone is up to. I don't usually participate much there because I just don't have the time, but I read through nonetheless and it helps me to get to know the regular members a bit better.

Yesterday, I received a package from Hacksaw here on Lumberjocks. It was a small box that was simply full of beautiful layered pen blanks for Keith to work with on his lathe. He had asked my address and had said he had some pieces to send, but I had no idea that it would be such a wonderful array of cool wood. Just because. I want to publicly thank him for his kindness and generosity and also let him know how much it is appreciated. It is a good example of the kindness of people and how true friendships can be formed through places like this.

I can go on and on with stories of the many friendships I have made through this site, and I am sure that you have your own stories too. There are those who are skeptical about places like this and don't believe that friendships can be forged from half way across the world but I beg to differ. We see examples of it every day and it really does enrich our lives and make us better people.

I just want to say that I appreciate all the wonderful friendships that I have made and let you all know how you have made my life better. You have all truly added happiness to my life with your many acts of kindness and supportive words and friendship. Thank you so much.

As far as work is going, I hit a good milestone yesterday in that I finished the first of the new series of patterns that I am working on. I say it is a milestone because getting the formatting and presentation how I want it to be was somewhat of a challenge on this one. Not that it is complicated, but just that I want it right.

I find that I am taking longer doing patterns these days, but I don't think that is a bad thing. Once again, it seems that the more compliments I receive from customers, the better job I want to do. (Positive reinforcement in its purest form!) I also believe that selling so much more at the retail level has something to do with it too. It isn't that I didn't care before, but I find it especially important to have things as perfect as I can because I speak and interact with so many customers from my site and met so many of them at the show in March. It is a different mindset when I am able to put faces to my customers and know that there are really people out there who enjoy my patterns and use them to build the projects. I know that may sound ridiculous, but somehow when only selling wholesale, it tends to buffer you from the customers and it is a different feeling altogether. Does that make sense?

In any case, I find that the level of pride that I take in my work has skyrocketed in the past couple of years and the more customer contact that I have, the better. The feedback from them on my patterns also helps me tremendously to see where I could explain things clearer than I may have done so in the past. It is all good.

Today will be a full day of drawing again. That isn't a bad thing though, as I enjoy that part of my job very much. Now that I have the first pattern in this series under my belt, I feel like I can make good progress with others in the same series.

Once again my head is exploding with ideas. I have a whole list of Christmas and fall holiday items that I want to make and I don't know where to start. I just have to remember to take things one day at a time and make the best use of the time I have.

Thank you all again for your continued support. I really do appreciate your friendships and advice and it has made my life so much better by being here and getting to know you. I feel very fortunate.

"You can gain more friends by being yourself than you can by putting up a front. You can gain more friends by building people up than you can by tearing them down. And you can gain more friends by taking a few minutes from each day to do something kind for someone, whether it be a friend or a complete stranger. What a difference one person can make!" Sasha Azevedo
 
#3,376 ·
Working

Sometimes when I am working the hardest, it seems that I have the least to write about. I spent the day yesterday pretty much chained to the computer drawing and that in itself doesn't really make for an interesting blog.

It was one of those days where I was able to stay truly focused (yes - even I have them sometimes) and besides taking a couple of breaks to respond to mail and such, I really did nothing but sat and drew all day.

I did finish one entire pattern though, and hopefully I will accomplish another one today. I need to get the next lesson up here for the class too in the next day or so, but I don't really want to break the rhythm of my drawing. I will see how today goes.

It seems that most of the forums are very quiet anyway. At least the parts that I participate in. From what I hear, most people are sweltering and not even working on projects unless they are fortunate enough to have air conditioning. I truly don't blame them. There were many hot summer days when I lived in the Chicago area and worked from my garage that I remember sweating and having all the sawdust stick to me as I worked. It wasn't fun.

This weekend is the Midwestern Scroll Saw show in Richland Center, Wisconsin. It used to be held down in central Illinois, but the gentleman that hosted it retired and it was taken over by Dirk Boelman who lives further north. It used to be one of my favorite shows and would bring together many of my friends from all over the country for a weekend of learning and fun. I am still in touch with many from those days, and some are fortunate to be able to attend the show. I hope to see some pictures and see how everything went.

I am going to keep this short today because I really do want to get started on drawing. I feel good about being on such a productive wave right now and I want to take advantage of the lull in other activity as much as I can. Those of you who design know that we need to seize these moments while we can, because they don't always last.

I hope you all have a good day today. I can't believe that it is Friday already. Or August either for that matter. It all goes by much too quickly sometimes.

Enjoy your day!
 
#3,377 ·
As you pointed out, it has been so hot for a lot of people. I haven't been able to do as much as I normally do lately. At least it isn't entirely health related as of late. It's been because of the heat.
I urge everyone out there to take it easy, drink plenty of fluids, and for God's sake, know you limitations. About three days ago, I was sanding on my latest project. I tend to lose sight of everything, whether it be time, my multiple health and pain issues, or apparantly common sense, when I see the end of a project drawing near. The next thing I knew I was being shook awake. All I could see were my wife's shoes and I was in the shop floor. I have no idea how long I was there, but I was clammy and dry as a bone. I had stopped sweating.
This is not good my friends. I'm lucky my wife found me, but I, and all of you, have to be careful. This is dangerous.
By the way. I went back the day after this happened, with assistance, and finished that project and have not been back to the shop since. I feel like my body weighed in at over a ton. I have no energy . I can't get enough to drink. I basically feel like crap. The sad part of it is that it was my own darned fault.
I'm sorry to highjack your thread Sheila, but you mentioned the heat and I wanted to make everyone aware of the dangers we're facing in some parts of the world. The day of this incident, the heat index was 111 degrees. That is dangerous weather.
....................................................
I wish I could go to that show in the north. Not only would it give me a break from this unbearable heat, but maybe I could meet Dirk Boelman. I've been asked a lot of times in the past by different people who my favorite designer is. My answer is Mr. Boelman. When asked for a reason, I have to explain that I choose him by default because his name is associated with the most number of my favorite patterns. On a lot of these, it may not be only his name, but his alongside someone elses. His work is present on so many though.
..................................................
I have to apologize again today Sheila. Everything I start to say winds up going way off from where I want to. My mind is all over the place today I'm afraid.
Good morning, and you have a most pleasant day.
 
#3,385 ·
Another Lesson Up - Back to Drawing

It is funny how quickly the seasons begin to change. While so many people are going through sweltering heat, I have noticed a definite coolness in the morning air. Even if the temperatures get quite warm in the afternoon, the days are already starting off with a crispness that is reminiscent of autumn. It won't be long.

I find it is noticeably darker in the mornings too. It is almost back to the point where seeing full daylight as my eyes open in the morning will mean that I am sleeping in and running behind. My favorite time of the year is approaching and I do look forward to it.

I did get several things accomplished yesterday. One of the most important things was to get the next lesson for scroll sawing posted here. In doing so, I also added two videos to go along with it. I was having a little bit of difficulty explaining the technique that I was teaching. I made one video of me showing the process on a drawing board and the other one was me actually cutting. I hope that is sufficient. I tried showing still pictures and explaining things that way but it was difficult to see how I was turning the piece and get the idea across. At least I think it was. I am not sure.

I hope that the feedback will tell me if I am on the right track or not. I didn't get the lesson posted until after 9pm my time which left little time for feedback last night. After all, it was a Friday night and with summer and all people are doing other things. Hopefully by the end of the day today I will have a better idea as to whether I am on the right track or not. We will have to see. . .

I am finding the videos to be a litter easier to make, although I still do make mistakes in them. Perhaps the most restricting part is that I don't have a camera person and need to leave it on the tripod and focused on one particular area. It restrains me from doing and showing some of the things that I would naturally do. But the important thing is to get the point across and I believe that even in my limited capacity I am able to do that. At least I hope so.

I spent most of the day organizing and preparing the lesson and redrawing the practice pattern. I am somewhat surprised that it takes the time it does to present this properly. I suppose I shouldn't be though. After all, I know how I am.

The actual shooting of the videos is coming much faster now. I believe the lighting was better on both of these and it seems that I am tackling one problem at a time and making each one a little bit better. By the end of the series I should be a pro.

I do enjoy teaching and find that doing so in this way is working out OK for the most part. I hope everyone else thinks so too and people are learning. I realize that many won't be looking at the lessons until the summer is over, so I hope they do stand on their own and are helpful down the line.

In other things, I did get the car in to the mechanic yesterday. He didn't pull it apart, as he was pretty busy, but he did go for a ride and believes the noise in the rear end is from the differential bearings. He needs to take it apart to see though. Unfortunately (for me) he is on vacation next week and won't be able to do so until the week after. I find it funny that the rear end was just serviced in March (in Chicago) and now there are more problems. In Googling the problem and reading about it, I wonder if it was put back together properly when they had it apart then. I suppose it doesn't matter, because it would be a lot of fun to try to make good on any type of warranty that they gave in Chicago anyway. So I am going to just have to eat the cost and hope for the best and see what they find in a week. In any case, it is not a happy thing and I am kind of bummed out about it. I suppose that kills any thoughts of day trips in the next couple of weeks. Even though I can drive it for now, I don't think it is wise to take it far. I am only keeping it here for an emergency.

So it is back to drawing today. I need to fall on my 'things happen for a reason' philosophy and I figure that for some unknown reason I need to work these next few weeks and not think about outings. After all, there is so much to do and I shouldn't be wasting time anyway. I have lots of ideas for holidays and I need to make them a reality. Nova Scotia is beautiful in the fall anyway, and perhaps when the leaves are turning colors would be a better time to take a break.

It is getting to be time for those walks again, too. I miss getting out and taking an hour to think. I got a lot of thinking done on them and it took me away from the computer and the chaos of things. It sometimes amazes me how quickly we give up our personal time when other things are pressing.

I hope you all have a good day today. Remember to take some time in between the chores and responsibilities to stop and enjoy what is around you. I will try to do the same.
 
#3,386 ·
sheila

i only get to peruse your scrolling lessons
as i have been very busy here (north carolina)

but when i get home soon
will start at the beginning
and follow them one by one

you have a great teaching skill
it comes through in the lessons

till i get to them

here is an apple for you

you have a great weekend too
 
#3,398 ·
You Know It Don't Come Easy

The projects that I am working on right now require quite a bit of picking around on the computer. There is just no easy way to accomplish what I want to do. (Perhaps there is and I just fail to see how!)

I spent most of the day yesterday working on the line work for the next pattern. By 9:30 or so, I had just about enough. My eyes were sore from looking at the screen and I was really getting tired. The line work for the pattern was just about finished anyway. I still need to print it out and make sure that everything works well before I can assemble it into a packet. Hopefully that won't take too long.

The more I do these though, the better I like the idea. The bottom line is that they look nice and I believe that is the most important part. One thing about drawing up patterns is that you only have to do it once. It isn't like making something that you sell and have to make over and over again for everyone who wants one. To me, that would be redundant and not exciting in the least. I suppose that is how I am able to tackle each new design with a good amount of enthusiasm. Although sometimes they are similar, each one presents a new challenge. I rather chuckle to myself when I think that I had thought I would be able to make anywhere from two to three of these patterns per day. In reality, it takes a full day and then some to do one properly.

Besides finishing up on that pattern today, it is time to get ready to do another site update. It has been a couple of weeks and we have some new things that we want to add to it. I think I will add the three new designs that I have been working on here after all. Initially I had intended to have more of them under my belt, as I felt that perhaps other designers may jump in on the idea and I wanted to have a good base for my customers to choose from, but after seeing what is involved in creating them, I realize that they aren't something that can be just dashed off in a few moments. Not if they are to be done right. They involve a bit more work than meets the eye. That is good for me. I am hoping that my customer will realize this too and rather than spend the time on doing this themselves, get the pattern from me and stick to scrolling. We'll see . . .

In other news, the holiday issue of Creative Woodworks and Crafts is just now hitting the stand. (Yes! As we are all still sweltering in the summer's heat!) Guess who has a large picture of her project on the cover?

Book Publication Advertising Illustration Book cover


Yes, that is my little 'Rocking Reindeer' front and center! I am always proud when I get any portion of the cover. Especially on this issue, which is one of the best selling issues of the year. It seems like such a long, long time ago when I created those little guys, and my other pull toy animals for that matter.

The polar bear pull toy is still in transit for publication as I write. Besides the reindeer, he is my favorite.

I heard from Jeannie last night that the show in Wisconsin did well. I didn't get to speak with her, and I probably won't be able to until she returns home, but from what I heard from her and others on Facebook and through messages, it was a nice show and very successful. She told me that there were a lot of people looking for my pull toy patterns and unfortunately I had not sent her any to sell. She had offered to sell patterns that were left from the show in March when we were there with her and I didn't really want to burden her down with sending her additional stuff. She did give out catalogs though, and hopefully those customers who were asking will find their way to us. It is great to have good friends who do stuff like that for you and Jeannie is one of the best.

So that just about does it for today. It is very busy for me in so many directions. I still need to make my own holiday projects for the site and even though it is only August, I had better get to it. Before you know it, it will be snowing and too late to make Christmas stuff.

Always thinking ahead . . .

Have a great Sunday.
 

Attachments

#3,399 ·
You Know It Don't Come Easy

The projects that I am working on right now require quite a bit of picking around on the computer. There is just no easy way to accomplish what I want to do. (Perhaps there is and I just fail to see how!)

I spent most of the day yesterday working on the line work for the next pattern. By 9:30 or so, I had just about enough. My eyes were sore from looking at the screen and I was really getting tired. The line work for the pattern was just about finished anyway. I still need to print it out and make sure that everything works well before I can assemble it into a packet. Hopefully that won't take too long.

The more I do these though, the better I like the idea. The bottom line is that they look nice and I believe that is the most important part. One thing about drawing up patterns is that you only have to do it once. It isn't like making something that you sell and have to make over and over again for everyone who wants one. To me, that would be redundant and not exciting in the least. I suppose that is how I am able to tackle each new design with a good amount of enthusiasm. Although sometimes they are similar, each one presents a new challenge. I rather chuckle to myself when I think that I had thought I would be able to make anywhere from two to three of these patterns per day. In reality, it takes a full day and then some to do one properly.

Besides finishing up on that pattern today, it is time to get ready to do another site update. It has been a couple of weeks and we have some new things that we want to add to it. I think I will add the three new designs that I have been working on here after all. Initially I had intended to have more of them under my belt, as I felt that perhaps other designers may jump in on the idea and I wanted to have a good base for my customers to choose from, but after seeing what is involved in creating them, I realize that they aren't something that can be just dashed off in a few moments. Not if they are to be done right. They involve a bit more work than meets the eye. That is good for me. I am hoping that my customer will realize this too and rather than spend the time on doing this themselves, get the pattern from me and stick to scrolling. We'll see . . .

In other news, the holiday issue of Creative Woodworks and Crafts is just now hitting the stand. (Yes! As we are all still sweltering in the summer's heat!) Guess who has a large picture of her project on the cover?

Book Publication Advertising Illustration Book cover


Yes, that is my little 'Rocking Reindeer' front and center! I am always proud when I get any portion of the cover. Especially on this issue, which is one of the best selling issues of the year. It seems like such a long, long time ago when I created those little guys, and my other pull toy animals for that matter.

The polar bear pull toy is still in transit for publication as I write. Besides the reindeer, he is my favorite.

I heard from Jeannie last night that the show in Wisconsin did well. I didn't get to speak with her, and I probably won't be able to until she returns home, but from what I heard from her and others on Facebook and through messages, it was a nice show and very successful. She told me that there were a lot of people looking for my pull toy patterns and unfortunately I had not sent her any to sell. She had offered to sell patterns that were left from the show in March when we were there with her and I didn't really want to burden her down with sending her additional stuff. She did give out catalogs though, and hopefully those customers who were asking will find their way to us. It is great to have good friends who do stuff like that for you and Jeannie is one of the best.

So that just about does it for today. It is very busy for me in so many directions. I still need to make my own holiday projects for the site and even though it is only August, I had better get to it. Before you know it, it will be snowing and too late to make Christmas stuff.

Always thinking ahead . . .

Have a great Sunday.
Good stuff Sheila. I bet it has to be a great feeling to see your ideas and or work on a magazine like that. Hope you have a great day…
 

Attachments

#3,405 ·
Taking Time to be Perceptive

I feel as if things are stuck in fast forward lately. The past couple of weeks have passed in what seems to be a day or so. Although I am not in a panic mode, I am beginning to feel anxious about things and I am longing to have that feeling of peace and accomplishment that goes with being caught up.

I think it is time to make a list again and prioritize what needs to be done by when. Somehow that always proves to put me back on the path and calm things down for me.

I am not sure how things got to this state of being. It's funny how it creeps up on me. I would like to note that most of the deadlines that I am under are self-imposed and the only really dictator for many of them is time. So the bottom line is that I am doing this to myself.

There are so many things that I want to accomplish. So many patterns that need to be done. I think of new things all the time and I do write most of them down in my little notebook for later reference, but by the time I get to actually doing them, there seems to be fifty other things that I want to do.

Many times I am asked how I can keep coming up with ideas. I find that that is the least of my worries. This past year has been a garden of creativity for me and I don't know whether to attribute it to the inspirations that I have found through places like this or from seeing and talking to so many others through teaching and the show I attended or from customers or from my own state of mind. I suspect it is a combination of all of them. In any case, my 'to do' list is long and I can only hope to live long enough to accomplish half of it.

I also find that when creating these new patterns and designs I am doing so with a different approach than I had previously. It isn't that I didn't take care before, but when I am actually talking to people who are using my patterns and getting feedback from them, I see the ways to improve my presentation to them so that they fully understand and are able to accomplish the projects easily. I look at each pattern as a teaching lesson and I actually picture this person or that one making it. I am no longer in the vacuum that I was in years before where I was creating patterns mostly for the magazine and they would not even be read or published until six or more months down the line. Somehow having these patterns on my own site and actually selling them there brings nearly instant gratification and feedback which for so many years I had done without.

I believe that these are all good things, but they warrant some reorganization on my part. In trying to figure things out, I am thinking that part of the problem is that I am not used to dealing with things in this way and part of my brain is still on the delayed reaction and response channel while the reality of the situation is that I am not.

Things have not always been this way for me. It is only in the past two years or so that I have aggressively worked to make my business successful in the way it is now. Oh, it was doing OK previously when I just started with the magazine and had some success with my patterns years ago, but that was a totally different business environment. I would say about ninety percent of my sales were wholesale and the market was so different than today. My own website was very much an afterthought and it used to sit dormant for months at a time while I did things for the magazine and the wholesalers.

But how the tables have turned. With things as they are financially for the world as a whole, the entire industry is changing and what used to be, simply doesn't exist anymore. The wholesalers are no longer the powerhouses that they were when I first entered this field and several of them have died out. Add into that the factor of the internet and the possibility of electronic files and the entire demographics of the industry has changed. Oddly enough, the main wholesalers do not offer electronic files. The fact that I do offers me an advantage over them and I realize that I need to capitalize on that and use that to establish relationships with new customers and somewhat even out the playing field. After all, they have far more resources than I do. They have manpower and facilities and an advertising budget that I can't even begin to compete with.

But one of the advantages that I do have is that I have always been quite self-sufficient in my business. Even though I am only one person, I have taken the time to learn all aspects of the industry from drawing and printing the patterns, building the designs, marketing and distribution. Much of this was out of necessity, but I look back and think that even if I had the resources to hire any of these aspects of the business out, I wouldn't have done so. I like the fact that I am involved in every aspect of things and I know that I can depend on myself to make a good end product and offer excellent service.

I realize that part of these growing pains that I am feeling goes along with success. If I weren't successful to some point, than this wouldn't be happening. I just want to step back and take a breath and make sure that I am doing things correctly so that I can continue to make good decisions and handle the growth of my company in the best way possible.

The market is slow and in peril as we are all well aware. The fact that my business is growing at all is quite amazing to me. In looking at things through optimistic eyes, I am grateful that it is only growing at the speed it is. Anything more would be even more difficult for me to control and keep a handle on.

We all know that slow and steady wins the race, and I feel that my business is a good example of that. While most people would prefer to see skyrocketing sales, I am quite content with seeing them rise little by little. But then, I never said that I thought like everyone else. To me, as long as they are going in a positive direction, that is good enough for me. It allows me time to also adjust and grow with my company rather than watch it get out of control.

So I try to be aware of these factors and changes, and I take them very seriously. Those feelings of being somewhat anxious are an indication that something is changing and needs my attention. Ignoring those feeling and shoving them back into a corner wouldn't not be wise. So at a time when many are pushing harder and trying to speed things up, I will consciously try to slow things down a bit, just to make sure I can stay on top of things.

Who knows? Maybe I will be the one left standing.

I wish you all a wonderful Monday!
 
#3,406 ·
I totally agree with you that I have to get serious with a pc of paper and pencil and write out a new Priority List. Like you, I have soooo many things I have in mind to do/make that sometimes I end up not doing any of it. It is especially bad right now that it is sooo hot outside and my shop is not insulated. Making things out of wood inside the house is so limiting! With the big Rendezvous in MN just around the corner, I really have to buckle down and get things ready to present there. This will be my first attempt at selling something at a rendezvous, but it isn't just another rendezvous, it is one of the best and largest in the country and it has 25 years of history behind it! So I'm just a little nervous whether I'd be able to make things good enough for the event and reputation. Wish me luck, Sheila.
 
#3,410 ·
Keeping Up

There are days when I wonder if I will ever get to use the scroll saw again. Seriously. There are so many things to do within the business that actually cutting wood seems like a rare thing for me lately. I know that is why I enjoy it so much when I do get the opportunity to actually cut, but it also makes me wonder.

There are many people that think that I get to cut and build things from the time I get up in the morning until I am ready to call it a day. That is so far from reality that I can't even begin to tell you. I find myself envying when I read of others' shop days when they spend all their spare time in the shop cutting. You wouldn't think it would be that way.

Is it because I am a poor time manager? Although I know that I am not perfect, I really don't think so. So much of what I do in between sawing sessions is vital to sustaining my business. If I didn't take the time that I do, there wouldn't be a business to worry about.

Once again balance comes into play. Trying to make everything work can be exhausting. There are days that I feel like a circus act, spinning ten different plates on sticks and doing my best so that none fall and break. You've seen that act, haven't you? That's me in the clown suit.

Organization helps a lot, but no matter how organized you are, there are still only so many hours in the day. My grandmother used to say that people are like pies. No matter how many slices you take, they still only yield the same amount. You can have lots of little slices or less big ones but you are still only able to do and give so much.

I think I have lots of little slices now. I am in a lot of directions and trying to do many things. Trying to prioritize everything and weed out what is really necessary and what is not is at best a challenge. I want it all.

Fortunately, even though I am doing lots of things at once, none of them are particularly unpleasant. I don't know though whether that makes it harder or easier. I think both.

I was working on my pattern yesterday (reworking the old one and rebuilding it in an updated format) and my friend Leldon called me. We keep in touch and talk about once a week and he has been a great friend of mine for over 10 years. He also has a lot going on in his life and is an excellent scroll sawyer and friend. He is just now getting his finished scrolled items into a couple of local stores around town and it is a very exciting time for him.

We talked for a while, and I thoroughly enjoyed catching up with him. There was a point in the conversation when we both said how much we had to do and both kind of wondered why then were we spending an hour on the phone. I told him (kidding) that I was going to blame him here in my blog for me not getting done what I planned on doing yesterday. He said he planned on doing several projects and said he would post them up here before this morning. And I'll be darned, he did it. You can see Leldon's Projects here.

I give him credit - he did get back to what he was doing and finish it. He said that since he told me about it, it gave him a reason or excuse to finish up and meet his goal. In my own defense, I did finish my pattern too.

In thinking about it, that sounds a lot like what I do here in my blog every day. I find that once I say to all of you that I am going to accomplish something, it is like putting it 'out there' and it motivates me to really get it done. If I don't get it finished, there is usually a good reason why I don't.

We all need these little tricks - many that come from within ourselves - to motivate us to complete things. Some are better than others at it and all they need is a silent commitment to themselves and they can get it done. Others need a bit more sometimes, like telling a friend or someone else their plans because somehow it seems to make the commitment more real. I find that the more directions we are in, sometimes the more difficult it is to meet all of our own standards and goals. As the pieces of the pie get smaller, our focus is spread out in several directions at once.

I don't regret spending time on the phone talking to a friend. Even if it means that something else will be delayed a little. I suppose that I justify it as part of my life and since I am doing work-related tasks most of my waking hours, I think it is a good thing to take time to do some of the things that are important to make my life full and happy. Leldon is one of those things.

I have what looks like one more day here at the computer before I can update the site. I am hoping that I can get to the point where everything I need to do gets finished. I also have some outside errands that I need to do so my day will be broken up a little bit too. How much? I don't know.

Realistically, I have a goal of working on some new projects for the holidays by the end of the week. It sounds like a long way off, as it is only Tuesday, but I have been asked by my friend Bernie to cut some lettering for him and we plan to see him on Sunday. I would like to have it done by then. These small jobs don't really help me in the long run financially, but Bernie is a great friend and has done a lot for me and I feel he has very much earned a piece of that pie. There is little that I wouldn't do for him if he asked.

So with that said, I had better get to it. I am woefully behind in my email again, but I am doing my best to catch up and hopefully will by tonight. I don't really like when I can't answer people right away, but for the most part people understand. Sometimes I am just out of pie.

Have a great Tuesday!
 
#3,423 ·
Lettering as an Art (?)

I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel in computer land today. I only have an hour or so of work left on the final pattern that I am getting ready for the next update. In tallying the new things that will be up on the site, my contribution alone will be five patterns and I will also be offering a kit. Keith has some very nice patterns to add also. Since we only updated the site a couple of weeks ago, I think that is a good accomplishment. I am wondering why I have been feeling like I haven't done anything lately. Humm . . .

Included in the new patterns, are the three that I have been working on for the past week or so. They are to date, some of the most time-consuming patterns that I have done. They aren't actually patterns of a project, but they are patterns of alphabets and lettering sets that can be used in conjunction with any project you wish. Now this may sound simple, but believe me, it is not.

When scroll sawing lettering, there is much more to it than just cutting around fonts. Since fonts are produced for type, there are usually several spots in them that wouldn't tolerate cutting out of wood. Many times I use lettering in some of the plaques I make, which involves either cutting letters individually out of thin stock (usually about 1/8" thick) to overlay on the piece, or by cutting them right into the plaque or ornament. I don't know if people who don't do it realize how much is involved with getting the designs to work properly. Often the letter drawing takes longer than drawing up the rest of the pattern.

I have seen some computer programs that are available to do this, but the only ones I am familiar with only offer a limited number of typefaces to work with. They are fairly expensive and the customer needs to know how to work with the computer.

A couple of weeks ago, I had received a request from a customer for a full set of letters from one of the plaques that I had designed. He had liked the typeface that I used in the plaque, and he wanted to make something on his own using the same font. Typically, when I design a plaque like that, I don't take the time to work the entire alphabet into letters that you could cut - only the ones used. But this request got me thinking. There are many people who want to offer personalized products such as ornaments and plaques for friends and family and to sell. Perhaps since I knew how to do this, I would offer complete alphabets for them to make their own things with.

The light bulb in my head went on. I thought about it and didn't remember seeing any patterns of this nature before. It is one of those simple things that we just haven't seen done yet.

I ran the idea by a couple of my friends who design scroll saw patterns and they thought it was a good idea too. With all the 'word art' and the popularity of personalized items, it may be a good seller.

My next step was to find fonts that would not only work, but would also not have copyright issues. Even though I was changing them quite a bit, I wanted to be absolutely sure that I would be able to sell the finished pattern without having to worry. I was able to come up with several (actually, quite a few) fonts that are both beautiful and would also work well with cutting. I was well on my way.

I spent most of the couple of weeks working on three patterns that I will be offering on the update. As usual, in the beginning, I had thought that it would take me only a few hours to rework each to be functional for cutting. I suppose that much of the surprise that I had was the reality that it has taken far longer than that - up to a couple of days - to really make each letter workable. I found out the hard way that even if the letters were workable at 1.25", by the time I made them smaller, they would have pieces so fragile that it would take a miracle for the pieces to not fall off. After taking a couple of days on the first set in the 1.25" size, I reduced the size to .75" to see what it would look like and I was both saddened and discouraged to see that it wouldn't work on many of the letters.

Back to the drawing board . . . literally!

I decided to offer the sets at the .75" size as a starting point. In making the letters, I first converted them to vector graphics which meant that they were line work and you could pull and push the lines around like rope. Most of the time I needed to work at a 1600x magnification to see what I was doing. I had to clean up the lines and make sure that there were no jagged edges left from the conversion process with meant that I needed to pick through each letter carefully. I then had to re-size everything so that they were consistent with each other. Many of the letters had flourishes which went above and below the base lines so it wasn't just a matter of typing in a figure and hitting the button. I had to measure each from the body of the letter to make them look good. No wonder my eyes hurt.

But finally they are coming together. As with most things we do, we learn as we go along and figure out the most efficient ways to draw and present things. I am finally getting it down to a system.

Even with these realizations however, I have found that there is no quick and easy way to do this. I can't see it taking any less than about eight to ten hours per set to get them to look nice and work at multiple sizes. But that is a good thing for me. I am hoping that everyone else sees the value in this and would want to spend a little on the patterns rather than taking the time. I suppose we will have to see.

Each set contains a full alphabet and numeral set, as well as some special characters. I was debating on whether to have multiples of the popular letters such as 'e', but the patterns were already six to eight pages and I didn't want them to be any bulkier than they needed to be. Besides, many of my customers buy PDF patterns to print out themselves, which will give them the opportunity to print out only what they really need. The customers who get hard copies will be able to go to their usual place and do the same, as well as size them to their liking.

I also have a gray grid around each letter for easy placement and alignment. I find that to be very helpful in going around curves and customizing them to ones' needs. I think that people will find it very useful and easy to work with. Sometimes taking a step back and doing something 'low tech' is still the easiest way.

It may seem a bit silly to work so hard on something like this. As a graphic person, I have always thought attractive lettering was important. When I used to sell my mohair teddy bears, I included pretty parchment hang tag with each that had all their particulars hand lettered in calligraphy. It was a nice touch and I believe added to them a lot. I even did all my Christmas cards in calligraphy one year (notice, I said ONE year. It took forever!)

I think that others will also appreciate the beauty of these letters and hopefully they will no longer just settle for the basic balloon letters that are pretty much the only thing available to them now. I hope this will open a whole new avenue for scrollers and help them to also be creative in their work.

I find that there can be beauty everywhere, even in something as simple as lettering. You just have to know where to look.

Font Circle Symbol Drawing Art


Have a great Wednesday!
 

Attachments

#3,424 ·
Lettering as an Art (?)

I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel in computer land today. I only have an hour or so of work left on the final pattern that I am getting ready for the next update. In tallying the new things that will be up on the site, my contribution alone will be five patterns and I will also be offering a kit. Keith has some very nice patterns to add also. Since we only updated the site a couple of weeks ago, I think that is a good accomplishment. I am wondering why I have been feeling like I haven't done anything lately. Humm . . .

Included in the new patterns, are the three that I have been working on for the past week or so. They are to date, some of the most time-consuming patterns that I have done. They aren't actually patterns of a project, but they are patterns of alphabets and lettering sets that can be used in conjunction with any project you wish. Now this may sound simple, but believe me, it is not.

When scroll sawing lettering, there is much more to it than just cutting around fonts. Since fonts are produced for type, there are usually several spots in them that wouldn't tolerate cutting out of wood. Many times I use lettering in some of the plaques I make, which involves either cutting letters individually out of thin stock (usually about 1/8" thick) to overlay on the piece, or by cutting them right into the plaque or ornament. I don't know if people who don't do it realize how much is involved with getting the designs to work properly. Often the letter drawing takes longer than drawing up the rest of the pattern.

I have seen some computer programs that are available to do this, but the only ones I am familiar with only offer a limited number of typefaces to work with. They are fairly expensive and the customer needs to know how to work with the computer.

A couple of weeks ago, I had received a request from a customer for a full set of letters from one of the plaques that I had designed. He had liked the typeface that I used in the plaque, and he wanted to make something on his own using the same font. Typically, when I design a plaque like that, I don't take the time to work the entire alphabet into letters that you could cut - only the ones used. But this request got me thinking. There are many people who want to offer personalized products such as ornaments and plaques for friends and family and to sell. Perhaps since I knew how to do this, I would offer complete alphabets for them to make their own things with.

The light bulb in my head went on. I thought about it and didn't remember seeing any patterns of this nature before. It is one of those simple things that we just haven't seen done yet.

I ran the idea by a couple of my friends who design scroll saw patterns and they thought it was a good idea too. With all the 'word art' and the popularity of personalized items, it may be a good seller.

My next step was to find fonts that would not only work, but would also not have copyright issues. Even though I was changing them quite a bit, I wanted to be absolutely sure that I would be able to sell the finished pattern without having to worry. I was able to come up with several (actually, quite a few) fonts that are both beautiful and would also work well with cutting. I was well on my way.

I spent most of the couple of weeks working on three patterns that I will be offering on the update. As usual, in the beginning, I had thought that it would take me only a few hours to rework each to be functional for cutting. I suppose that much of the surprise that I had was the reality that it has taken far longer than that - up to a couple of days - to really make each letter workable. I found out the hard way that even if the letters were workable at 1.25", by the time I made them smaller, they would have pieces so fragile that it would take a miracle for the pieces to not fall off. After taking a couple of days on the first set in the 1.25" size, I reduced the size to .75" to see what it would look like and I was both saddened and discouraged to see that it wouldn't work on many of the letters.

Back to the drawing board . . . literally!

I decided to offer the sets at the .75" size as a starting point. In making the letters, I first converted them to vector graphics which meant that they were line work and you could pull and push the lines around like rope. Most of the time I needed to work at a 1600x magnification to see what I was doing. I had to clean up the lines and make sure that there were no jagged edges left from the conversion process with meant that I needed to pick through each letter carefully. I then had to re-size everything so that they were consistent with each other. Many of the letters had flourishes which went above and below the base lines so it wasn't just a matter of typing in a figure and hitting the button. I had to measure each from the body of the letter to make them look good. No wonder my eyes hurt.

But finally they are coming together. As with most things we do, we learn as we go along and figure out the most efficient ways to draw and present things. I am finally getting it down to a system.

Even with these realizations however, I have found that there is no quick and easy way to do this. I can't see it taking any less than about eight to ten hours per set to get them to look nice and work at multiple sizes. But that is a good thing for me. I am hoping that everyone else sees the value in this and would want to spend a little on the patterns rather than taking the time. I suppose we will have to see.

Each set contains a full alphabet and numeral set, as well as some special characters. I was debating on whether to have multiples of the popular letters such as 'e', but the patterns were already six to eight pages and I didn't want them to be any bulkier than they needed to be. Besides, many of my customers buy PDF patterns to print out themselves, which will give them the opportunity to print out only what they really need. The customers who get hard copies will be able to go to their usual place and do the same, as well as size them to their liking.

I also have a gray grid around each letter for easy placement and alignment. I find that to be very helpful in going around curves and customizing them to ones' needs. I think that people will find it very useful and easy to work with. Sometimes taking a step back and doing something 'low tech' is still the easiest way.

It may seem a bit silly to work so hard on something like this. As a graphic person, I have always thought attractive lettering was important. When I used to sell my mohair teddy bears, I included pretty parchment hang tag with each that had all their particulars hand lettered in calligraphy. It was a nice touch and I believe added to them a lot. I even did all my Christmas cards in calligraphy one year (notice, I said ONE year. It took forever!)

I think that others will also appreciate the beauty of these letters and hopefully they will no longer just settle for the basic balloon letters that are pretty much the only thing available to them now. I hope this will open a whole new avenue for scrollers and help them to also be creative in their work.

I find that there can be beauty everywhere, even in something as simple as lettering. You just have to know where to look.

Font Circle Symbol Drawing Art


Have a great Wednesday!
ah - the mind of a business person: taking a statement/thought/request and turning it into a business venture!! Good for you.

As I read your blog I was reminded of something I saw online re: branding, where a journal was purchased online and when it arrived, there were 7 different personalization and/or logos seen before getting to the journal itself.
Every little bit adds to the beauty of the product.
 

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#3,436 ·
Unexpected Surprises

Sometimes days are heading in a direction, and out of nowhere something unexpected happens and the day takes a whole other path. Yesterday was like that for me.

I was finishing up the third letting plan and getting ready to do the necessary things for the web site update and I received an email that needed my attention. It seems that I had to put my attention elsewhere elsewhere for a while and get some paper work done for something that I am working on.

While I was doing that, I had some unexpected guests stop in. My partner's aunt was in visiting from the United States and we hadn't seen her since last autumn. She is a fun and personable woman and we always have a great time together. Of course, things here were messy. It seems that when things are all tidy we never get company and it is only when things are a little upside down that we have visitors. Life is just like that. But she is the kind of person who doesn't look at those things and is here for the company. That's the best kind of friends.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon visiting and catching up on things. She was thrilled to see all the new stuff we were working on and kept on asking us to show her more. My partner has recently made several southwestern themed projects and her husband makes beautiful southwestern jewelry that he sells so she was particularly interested in seeing those things. It was a fun and relaxing way to spend the afternoon.

After they had left, it was back to the paperwork for me. It was one of those time when I was really glad that I am somewhat organized because what could have taken days to complete was actually done in an hour or so. It is a good feeling knowing that things are where they are supposed to be and although it takes time to get things that way in the first place, it is very much worth it in the end.

So I am afraid I don't have much to say today. Today will be focused on getting the updates done on the site and getting my newsletter out to my mailing list people. With the site set up as it is, it's not as daunting task as it used to be. I feel good about the new things that will be there and I am looking forward to seeing how everything will be received.

I read on a blog this morning that it is only four months until Christmas time. I know that is obviously true, but I hadn't really thought about it yet. It always amazes me how fast those four months go by. The autumn is certainly my favorite time of the year. I wish there were some way that I can make it last all year long. It is silly to think that way, but I do anyway. I try to enjoy every single moment of the season.

It will be good to get this update under my belt. It will be a nice resting point for me. After it is done, I want to sit down and re-prioritize things and make a new list of goals and deadlines to work on. I may even take a breath in between and enjoy some of these days of summer. I know I won't be completely idle though.

Surprises are nice. What is better is when unexpected things happen in life and you are on top of things enough to allow for them and enjoy them as they should be. I know that I push myself hard sometimes when I don't have to, but I do that so when times like these come along, I know that I have some breathing room and don't have to panic and get things finished.

I do listen to my friend's advice. I take time to slow down a bit and enjoy the things around me. Otherwise I would be in danger of burning myself out. There is a great feeling of peace when you find balance in life. I am learning that. Although those quiet times may only last a moment, they are there right beneath the surface and all you have to do is allow them to rise up a bit to enjoy them every now and then. And doing so makes everything else worth while.

I wish you all a wonderful day.
 
#3,440 ·
Say 'No' to Pink Clouds (??)

Several months ago I wrote that the bank I used in Chicago for the past 14 years had failed and was taken over by one of the giant banks (First Midwest.) It is funny (odd) that the second I found out about it, I had this impending sense of doom that this wasn't going to be a good thing.

Those of you who read every day and know me, know that I am quite the optimist. Even on the darkest days, I try to see the good in situations and much prefer to live in a land of hope, trust and anticipation (which I fondly refer to as the 'pink cloud') where bunnies romp through the meadow and the monetary system is based on juju bees and good intentions.

As a business woman I realize that the land of the pink cloud only exists in my mind. I only travel to there occasionally when I need a break from the real world and its harshness and stupidity. I have to plan my visits carefully, because I know if I spend too much time there, I may not want to return to reality. But as with all vacations, there are times when we have to come home and face the real world again. That is part of being responsible.

Over the last several months, little by little I have been seeing changes in my bank. More often than not, these changes are costing me more money. Half a percent here. A couple of dollars monthly fee there. Foreign transaction fees in another place. They are all beginning to add up to some scary numbers.

I have to thank Paul (Big Tiny) for his blog on finances earlier this year. I joined in reading it and so far this year I have done (pretty) well with keeping track of things much better than in the past. While I am not perfect and do get behind at posting things, I am at least more aware of what is going on daily with my finances and business. It isn't that I was unaware before - it is just that now I am more aware now and try to stay on top of things a bit better to see what my business is actually making. I realize that pink clouds and business don't really mix well and in the end, if I fail to be realistic about things, then I am the only one who really suffers.

I received notice yesterday that now my credit card processing is going to change. First Midwest sold out that division to another bank and there are eight pages of fine (and I mean miniscule) print of their 'Terms and Agreements' that I don't really understand. I mean, I sort of understand them, but I am sure that there are 'loopholes' in there that I missed and am unaware of.

I understand that in the next several weeks, I should be hearing from them regarding the changes and setting up the account with the new bank. I will be honest and tell you that this rather terrifies me. Am I getting that old? I don't want change. I don't like it. I am from the old school of 'if it ain't broken, don't fix it' way of thinking. Also, there is the nagging voice in the back of my head that keeps telling me 'nothing good will come of this.' Try as I may to ignore it, it persists.

Part of me wants to take refuge on the pink cloud and tell myself that all will be taken care of by them as they say it would be.

But then there is the real me. The intelligent me. The me that got me where I am now. And somehow that doesn't fly.

Today will be a day of investigation. I will go on a fact finding mission to see what this is all about and see how I can come out of this situation with as little damage as possible. There are many factors that I have to consider. My business is in the USA. I am living in Canada. There are cross border issues and all kinds of stuff that needs to be thought about.

But fortunately I am quite organized and I have done everything 'right' by legal standards all along. Although the situation can be quite overwhelming at times, I know that with a cool head that I will find the answers as to what will work best for me and my company. It just takes some thought and ingenuity and some work. And a clear head.

So for today, I will declare a 'Say No to Pink Clouds' day, as much as it pains me. No bunnies. No soft fluff. No juju bees. There are times in all of our lives for pink clouds, but this isn't one of them. Perhaps, after this is all settled, I will allow myself a short visit in the future, but for right now, reality is the only answer. Numbers don't lie and although I may come off here as I am being somewhat flippant, I am very serious that I need to be ready for battle. The future of my business is at stake.

So today's thought for the day is as follows:

Eye Gesture Rectangle Font Art


Wish me luck! :D
 

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#3,441 ·
Say 'No' to Pink Clouds (??)

Several months ago I wrote that the bank I used in Chicago for the past 14 years had failed and was taken over by one of the giant banks (First Midwest.) It is funny (odd) that the second I found out about it, I had this impending sense of doom that this wasn't going to be a good thing.

Those of you who read every day and know me, know that I am quite the optimist. Even on the darkest days, I try to see the good in situations and much prefer to live in a land of hope, trust and anticipation (which I fondly refer to as the 'pink cloud') where bunnies romp through the meadow and the monetary system is based on juju bees and good intentions.

As a business woman I realize that the land of the pink cloud only exists in my mind. I only travel to there occasionally when I need a break from the real world and its harshness and stupidity. I have to plan my visits carefully, because I know if I spend too much time there, I may not want to return to reality. But as with all vacations, there are times when we have to come home and face the real world again. That is part of being responsible.

Over the last several months, little by little I have been seeing changes in my bank. More often than not, these changes are costing me more money. Half a percent here. A couple of dollars monthly fee there. Foreign transaction fees in another place. They are all beginning to add up to some scary numbers.

I have to thank Paul (Big Tiny) for his blog on finances earlier this year. I joined in reading it and so far this year I have done (pretty) well with keeping track of things much better than in the past. While I am not perfect and do get behind at posting things, I am at least more aware of what is going on daily with my finances and business. It isn't that I was unaware before - it is just that now I am more aware now and try to stay on top of things a bit better to see what my business is actually making. I realize that pink clouds and business don't really mix well and in the end, if I fail to be realistic about things, then I am the only one who really suffers.

I received notice yesterday that now my credit card processing is going to change. First Midwest sold out that division to another bank and there are eight pages of fine (and I mean miniscule) print of their 'Terms and Agreements' that I don't really understand. I mean, I sort of understand them, but I am sure that there are 'loopholes' in there that I missed and am unaware of.

I understand that in the next several weeks, I should be hearing from them regarding the changes and setting up the account with the new bank. I will be honest and tell you that this rather terrifies me. Am I getting that old? I don't want change. I don't like it. I am from the old school of 'if it ain't broken, don't fix it' way of thinking. Also, there is the nagging voice in the back of my head that keeps telling me 'nothing good will come of this.' Try as I may to ignore it, it persists.

Part of me wants to take refuge on the pink cloud and tell myself that all will be taken care of by them as they say it would be.

But then there is the real me. The intelligent me. The me that got me where I am now. And somehow that doesn't fly.

Today will be a day of investigation. I will go on a fact finding mission to see what this is all about and see how I can come out of this situation with as little damage as possible. There are many factors that I have to consider. My business is in the USA. I am living in Canada. There are cross border issues and all kinds of stuff that needs to be thought about.

But fortunately I am quite organized and I have done everything 'right' by legal standards all along. Although the situation can be quite overwhelming at times, I know that with a cool head that I will find the answers as to what will work best for me and my company. It just takes some thought and ingenuity and some work. And a clear head.

So for today, I will declare a 'Say No to Pink Clouds' day, as much as it pains me. No bunnies. No soft fluff. No juju bees. There are times in all of our lives for pink clouds, but this isn't one of them. Perhaps, after this is all settled, I will allow myself a short visit in the future, but for right now, reality is the only answer. Numbers don't lie and although I may come off here as I am being somewhat flippant, I am very serious that I need to be ready for battle. The future of my business is at stake.

So today's thought for the day is as follows:

Eye Gesture Rectangle Font Art


Wish me luck! :D
you are right about you have to bee on top of this bank thing
and I think you have to take the big change … or at least shop around in the
bank world to see where you can get the best deal for you and where the persons
and the bank at every costummer as an importen costummer for the busyness of the bank
I don´t know how its over there but here in Denmark people used to have the same bank
thrugh the hole life but in the last 10-15 years they have learned to chift bank often
depending on where they can get the best value for there money and situation
people even have learned to have net-bank
so time for you to look into it
I havn´t been on your site yet Sheila .. sorry , but do you use paypal as an option for payment
then you don´t have to deal with having bank in two country´s I think …. I only have used it as
to pay with and I´m not fammiliar with the other site

take care
Dennis
 

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#3,449 ·
Finding Answers

Well, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but I am fairly sure that it isn't over yet.

I do find that in situations such as this, the best thing for me to do is to do my homework and not do anything in haste. I think that gathering as much information as possible and making an intelligent decision is the best way to go. That is the plan anyway.

As soon as they were opened yesterday I placed a call to the bank. They did have a phone number listed on the notice and it at least put me directly into the Merchant Services department. That was a good start. The call was answered by a pleasant girl who informed me that most of the department was in a meeting. She took my information and told me that I would receive a call back soon.

I went on with my day and tried not to think about it. After all, these things don't happen overnight. I have learned when dealing with companies like this that I do much better if I put things aside and get busy with other things, as it seems that they rarely put you at a high priority. I am sure that soon after the letter was sent, they were flooded with calls regarding these changes. In a way, I was happy that I was here in Canada and didn't find out about it until now. The letter was dated July 26th and for once I was grateful at the delay in receiving information, as the initial rush of questions from local merchants would have surely occurred already.

After working on some custom orders for a couple of hours, I needed to get an order out at the post office and also get some groceries. I did my errands and upon returning there was still no message from them. It was now afternoon and I was getting a bit antsy. It was a beautiful day out and I decided to take a walk around the river. I am sorry to say that I haven't been taking my daily walks for quite a while. Things have just gotten in the way of them. Be it the bugs or the heat or just being too busy in general. It is something that I need to take the time to do every day though. I think it is important for my own well-being on a lot of levels.

While walking past one house that has a beautifully kept little pond, there stood a blue heron at the far edge. At first I thought it was a statue or something, but then it turned its head and I realized that it was indeed real. I had seen him before on the way to the store, as the pond is right off the road, and I am hopeful that he will make residence there fore a while.

Walking always gives me time to really think. My partner and I used to walk every night and discuss the business and our plans and we referred to them as mini business meetings. It was a nice way to talk over things without other distractions and we seemed to accomplish a lot in that time. Yesterday was no different, and we talked over our options regarding these bank issues. It is good for us both to be on the same page with this.

When I returned from walking, there was a message from the girl from the bank. I called her back and found her to be very pleasant and helpful. While assuring me that the rates that were being charged to me were not going to change, I also was smart enough to realize that once the contract was sold to the new organization, it wouldn't be in my bank's control. I suppose that they need to say stuff like that to customers to avoid panic and losing the contracts, but I would have to be pretty naive to think that things would stay the same.

She also informed me that the new company had tried to contact me and was unable to reach me. They had on record a phone number from 8 years ago when I still lived in the Chicago area. That was a bit disturbing, because not only had I fully updated my information when I first moved to Canada, but I had done so again last year when I settled here where I am now. After all, the statements were properly arriving at the new address and all the account information such as email and even my site address pointed to me here. But she told me that they had made several unsuccessful attempts to talk to me about things. It doesn't help my confidence in them.

Apparently this changeover will happen very quickly. She said I am to expect a call from them next week in which I will have to go over some information and have a phone training session and then set things up with my payment gateway in order to make a smooth transition from one processor to the other. On the plus side, they did seem aware of how detrimental 'down time' would be and promised that the transition should be seamless. We'll see.

Everything should be completed by next week, which gives me no time at all to even consider going with another institution at this point. I am fairly certain that is how they want it. Strike fast before we can think about it.

On the up side, everything can be done from here. There is a phone training session and I am told that there is nothing that needs to be signed as far as contracting with them. The process of running my first transaction will serve as an acceptance of their terms which is also in itself scary. It is as if they give you no choice except to follow their terms or you are out of business as far as processing cards.

I am still going to be looking into other options. My son just signed on with another bank to process cards for his new business. He did affirm that it was quite an ordeal not only to find a bank which offered low fees, but also go through the approval process. His business is incorporated though (mine is sole-proprietorship) and may have some different criteria, but after last weeks' financial woes on wall street and around the world, I am pretty close to certain that at least for the moment, banks are being careful with taking on small businesses like mine.

I am thinking that for now I will see how it goes and stay put. I will certainly keep you all updated on what is going on and I am sure that next week sometime when the transition is being made, I will have some thoughts on the entire process. I don't for a minute though believe that the rates will not increase in some shape or form. It is just a matter of when. I expect that for the first few months they will remain the same until we are all settled in. That is what happened with the big bank when they took over last year. Then, little by little, things started to be added on and terms amended so we (hopefully) wouldn't notice. So far that has been their mode of operation and I don't see this company being any different. I just need to keep a close eye on the charges and things and have another plan in the wings for when I have enough.

Today I am going to spend the day working on some custom orders. I have several different ones that I took on and I would like to get a good handle on them if I can. It will be a good day because I will finally be able to get to the saw and do some cutting - something I haven't been able to do for weeks. It is already sunny and beautiful out and I plan to take another walk today. I think it will be a good habit to get into today. Maybe I will take my camera with and get a picture of that heron if he is still around.

Thank you all for your support and comments yesterday, both on the board and privately. It really does help to discuss ideas when making decisions like this and hearing about others experiences is definitely a plus. That is why I like to share it here too. I want other woodworkers who are thinking about starting a business to realize that there is a lot more to things than making projects. I hope that by sharing some of the things that happen to me and the obstacles that I face and how I overcome them helps others who may find themselves in the same situation. It isn't always easy, but by doing some research and with the help of others who have had experiences that were similar, it is easier to find some answers.

Thank you all for your help.

I wish you all a happy and creative Saturday!
 
#3,450 ·
Hi Sheila,
You are so positive that even the pink will never get red or blue. The white is always your perception and no doubt that those difficulties in life are temporarily happening because we allow them. Glad that you always overcome those. Keep it going.

Well, my Saturday is over and I have created a new box out of those scraps. Wish the best for filling up those custom orders. Just keep time with your leisure too… walking is good..
God Bless and Good Health!
 
#3,455 ·
Time for a Break

I had a good and productive day yesterday. I feel as if I accomplished a great deal. I have been working on a small job for my friend Bernie and I was able to complete it, as well as tie up several loose ends.

I also did a little bit of cutting for my partner. I had mentioned last week that his aunt was here in town and she picked through many of the prototypes that we have of our projects here and choose some nice things for herself and did some early Christmas shopping. One thing she inquired about was a pen that Keith had made for his mom. It was one of his first attempts. It was simple maple, but I had tried scroll sawing a silhouette of a cat in the blank and we filled it with resin before he turned it. The result was actually quite nice. It was a nice little added touch to an otherwise basic slimline pen.

In any case, his aunt requested one so I actually drew up a pattern for it and cut a couple of blanks. The cutting didn't take long and it looked nice. He filled the pens and they should be ready to turn in a couple of days.

Today we are heading out to Bernie's lake house for the afternoon and evening. Although earlier in the week rain was predicted, it now appears that it is going to be a beautiful day. It will be a much needed break away from things here and work in general, and a chance to visit friends whom we haven't seen in much too long of a time.

I have been feeling restless lately. Just kind of blah. Perhaps it is too many weeks of working without a real break. By the term 'real break' I don't mean just an hour or so, but some time away. Here it is August already and we have yet to have a day trip of just driving through the woods and back roads or along the coastline. I am disappointed about the car needing attention and hopefully when I take it in tomorrow, the news won't be that bad. It is funny how those days away from the computer and the saw and the phone do so much to recharge our batteries. It doesn't take long. But I believe I missed it.

When we went away in March, it was mostly focused around working and business. I realize that without the business, I wouldn't have been able to get away at all. I think you all know how I feel about my work and how much that I enjoy it, but I think that even I need a break from things from time to time in order to keep fresh and not burned out.

The ideas are there, it is just the focus that is somewhat evasive these days. I feel as if I am all over the place some days and need to get a good handle on it so I can get back on track before the winter months set in and I have not choice but to be here in the house. Knowing that the car needs a repair and not yet knowing what is wrong is quite unsettling to me. I am sure I will feel better tomorrow after it has been diagnosed. Then I can deal with what the situation is and not worry about what it could be.

I am happy we started walking again. I think it is very positive for me in a lot of respects and I realize now how much I have missed it. It gives me a chance to take a break and think things through. I walked past the blackberry bushes yesterday on the path in the woods next to the river where I had been eaten alive last year while picking. The berries are almost ripe and ready to be harvested. Part of me wants to go get some and the other part is opting for buying them in the store or at one of the many farmer's markets around my area. There are, after all other ways to get in touch with nature.

I have some things that I need to look into this morning that I should do before I leave today. I think that will be all that I will try to accomplish today. As you can probably tell, it feels strange to have such a short list of things to do, but I think I should listen to my own instincts and leave things at that for today. I am sure I will do better tomorrow.

Have a good Sunday.
 
#3,456 ·
good-morning Sheila
I thought your car has been at the garage , but then realises you mention something about
vacation time there :-(
I realy hope for you it will me a minor thing evn though I will not be surpriced if not
thinking of where they have to check it out …......well we hope for the best :)

last month the little minibius I drive taxi in was out of busyness 3 weeks becourse of the engine
brakedown they had to take all apart and rebuild the hole engine :-( what a setback for the
dayly way of doing things not able the take care of our wheelshair costummer
I wont tell you what the cost of the repair and lost money was becourse then you wuolden sit on the chair
anylonger but on the floor after a backflip out of the chair …......... just glad I ain´t the boss anylonger
and had to pay for that one

here in the house we are waiting for a meassage from our (realastate ?) agent who has to sell
our house on the market finely there was one last week looking at our house and liked it
but he had to sell his own apartment in another part of Denmark before he cuold buy
and that signature shuold be signed tomorrow ….......... so we realy do hope the best
but don´t expect anything at all…..............we want to see the money in the bank before we
believe it ….....after the house has been on the market 3 full years we don´t think of it as sold before
the money is there ….......yah sadly we put it on the market the same week the world-finaciel-crise started :-(
had we been on the market one month before it wuold have been gone in two weeks
well that how life goes sometimes

I have resived the fret/coping saw so now there is some more rust work to do for me but it isn´t
so bad as I feared so a little TLC and its op and singing :)
also recived a parcel with 40 old borinng bits for my old handbrace´s .... no rust on them at all so
I only have to talk my daughter in to make a new clothbox for them so they can be roled up
nicely when not in use :)
yep it goes slow but steady building up the chest (shop) with handtools….still need a good part of it
but thats mostly things like sawfiles and other stuff to maintain the tools and shine them up
but even that is expencive …......there is alot more to have a toolbox than just the tools themself

sorry for my little boreing rant here …. just a little nervous excided about what the agent will come
with of news …........enjoy your day in the tripple sun … I gess the bernies count as two suns for you :)

here its raining again the hole day …...well atleast I enjoy´d the few hours of sun I got yesterday
first time in a long period with rain and darkclouded days this summer just sad I sleaped the most of the
day becourse of the nightshift

take care
Dennis
 
#3,461 ·
Moderation

I am happy to announce that I was actually able to leave things behind yesterday and take a break from things. Even as I write that, I find it odd that I am rather proud of the fact that I didn't accomplish something work-related yesterday. Like most people, we are creatures of habits and sometimes good habits are as difficult to deviate from as bad habits.

In the past couple of years, I have really programmed myself to think that taking time off of work (or slacking as some may call it) would be very detrimental to the business in general and then if it is struggling or even if it fails, I have no one to blame but myself.

I didn't do this to myself consciously. Like any habits, this way of thinking doesn't just happen overnight. It creeps up on you little by little when you aren't looking and soon it becomes your way of life.

But lately I have been tired a bit and feeling pushed. It isn't that I don't have ideas, but rather that I have too many ideas. I try to write them down as often as I can, but I also try to do as many as I can before I lose that excitement and enthusiasm that fuels them. Other daily tasks of the business get in the way and some days I find myself all over the place, doing this for one person or company and that for another and at the end of the day I feel simply frazzled and as if I have accomplished little.

I am finding out that finding a balance between working and not working can be a difficult and daunting task. After all, it isn't as if there is an 'on' or 'off' switch we can turn in order to feel creative. Just as there is no such switch that we can apply to the daily happenings in our lives. Our lives are very fluid, and remind me of the waves that come and crash against the sandy beach. Life has a rhythm of its own, but with each cycle, it varies slightly, introducing something slightly different into the mix. Just as no two waves are exactly the same, neither are the days of our lives.

So how do we deal with this phenomenon?

One way is to try to program ourselves to certain behaviours or react in similar ways to similar situations. This works fine for a while, but as soon as something changes, it also requires a change in our reaction. Being disciplined in what we do is fine, but only if we allow ourselves room to modify our reactions in order to accommodate what variations to those circumstances arise. If we are stringent in our behavior and reactions, this is far more difficult to do and the results aren't always the best. We need to find a 'happy medium' in what we do, which will allow us to move in any direction at any given moment with as little effort as possible in order to handle incoming situations.

As time moves on and I get older, I am beginning to believe that moderation is the key to longevity and success in many aspects of our lives. Just as not working hard enough can bury a business, so can overworking and getting burned out.

I believe that the problem is that as a business owner in these tough economic times, we are so driven to being successful that sometimes we neglect to take care of the reason we are in our chosen field in the first place - our own sense of comfort and well-being. When one is struggling to survive, it is extremely difficult to take a day off and sit one out and spend the time necessary to rejuvenate one's soul and spirit. And unfortunately, that is directly related to what drives most of us and our happiness. It is an important basic building block of our make up that most creative people need to remember to feed and care for.

I have been reminded of that by many of my friends here, and I am grateful for that reminder.

Yesterday, I had a wonderful day. I headed out to the lake in the early afternoon and I was successfully able to leave the computer and my business and yes, even my customers behind. It sounds like an easy task, but for me it is extremely difficult. My business has become such a large part of my life, that not focusing on it seems somewhat unnatural and uncomfortable. But I have been 'tired' lately - not in the sleepy sense of the word, but just a bit worn out from spinning too many plates and trying to make everyone happy. It was time to give it a rest - even for a short time without any degree of guilt at all.

I spent several hours on the lake. I saw some friends that I haven't seen in a while. We talked about their lives and they asked about mine and I was able to relate news about my children and all the good things that are happening to me right now. And hearing about their own lives was refreshing too. It didn't have to do with wholesalers and publishers and things like that. We ate a good meal and sat on the deck looking out at the lake and I thoroughly enjoyed the place I was - both literally and figuratively.

Today I feel good and refreshed. I know that I am due for some 'real time off' in the future, but I am taking the car in today and I will plan that after I see what the damages are on it and it is fixed. Hopefully it will be minor, but even if it isn't, we do have beautiful autumns here in Nova Scotia and it gives me a lot of time to plan before the snow arrives.

Thank you to my friends who cheer for me on these days. Your encouragement and support help tremendously to alleviate the guilt that stirs when I walk away from things for a while. It gives me a perspective that I otherwise wouldn't have and helps me enjoy all that I am working for in this life. Knowing that you all will be here when I come back from my short absences and also that you are happy for my well being means a great deal.

"Sometimes the most urgent thing you can possibly do is take a complete rest" - Ashleigh Brilliant

Have a wonderful Monday!
 
#3,462 ·
Morning Sheila…. You most definitely hit some key notes I struggle with from time to time. I am glad to see you are finding your way to balance out out life and work (which we all know the two become intertwined at times…lol).

Hope you have yourself a great day….
 
#3,468 ·
A Special Thank You to You All!

I want to begin today by thanking everyone for the kind and thoughtful wishes that were sent to me yesterday on my birthday. I was (and still am) greatly overwhelmed by the many people here who I consider my friends. I usually don't think much about my birthday if I can help it. After all, it is just part of life. We have all had 'birthdays' or we wouldn't be here. Usually the day comes and goes for me without a whole lot of thought. For the past several years I have been spending my birthday at the lake at Bernie's and we have a nice dinner and celebrate not only my day, but also Ellen's too, as her birthday is this week also. It is always nice to have someone to share it with.

This year, I find that I have thought about the day a great deal. It seemed like more of a milestone because I turned 50. I am not afraid to say my age, as in many ways I look at it as only a number. (Besides, the secret is kind of out!) I suppose that I believe that the most important thing is how you choose to live your life rather than be bound by a number.

Turning half a century old can be frightening. While growing up, I remember thinking that when one was 50, they would be on their way out. But as my age got closer to that number, I kept waiting for some profound change that never really happened.

Yes, there are days when I feel a bit 'older'. My body doesn't behave like it did when I was in my twenties. I also find that my mind wanders sometimes and my 'word search' gets stuck where I know what I want to say or write, but I can't quite come up with the proper word. It can be frustrating. I can feel it in my legs more too, on those cool damp mornings when they take half an hour longer to get up than the rest of me does. But overall, I have been very fortunate. For the most part my health has been good and I feel no different than I have for the last several years. In fact, I feel better.

I find that I have been doing a lot of 'reflecting' in the past couple weeks as the big day was approaching. I tend to be an introspective person anyway, but this was certainly a time to evaluate my life and what I have accomplished with it so far. I have thought back to my teens, the time I spent raising my children, the inception and development of my business, and the present. There are many different chapters that I have lived - each in itself could be a novel.

In thinking about these times in my life, I certainly would have done some things differently if I had the opportunity to do them again, but overall I think I would do things exactly the same. For every step that I have taken on the path of my life so far has led me to be where I am today. And I am happy.

I don't have a big house. I rent an apartment right now. I don't have a large bank or savings account, or lots of jewelry or extravagant things. I am sure that in some people's eyes I may not be very successful by their own standards. But I don't really care.

I have two beautiful and productive children, which who I am so very proud of. My son is successful and someone who has dedicated his life to help others. He has a beautiful, loving wife and is hard working, and happy. My daughter, who is younger, is still finding her way in the world, but she is on the right path and every experience that she has is teaching her the ways of the world. It is amazing to see her finding her way.

I wake up every day and I am thankful for the life I have. I have found a partner who not only supports my own creativity and work (not to mention the cats!) but is an incredibly creative person himself. I have friends from all over the world - many whom I had the pleasure of meeting in person - who I admire and share with every single day, as well as friends and family who are around me here in Canada as well as the United States. You are all here for me to give me advice, share your knowledge or just be here for me when I need to vent or have a shoulder to cry on. It doesn't matter that we are scattered all over the world. It is as if we are all in a single room talking together and it is very easy to forget that we are all from different cultures, backgrounds and countries.

The world today is filled with troubles. There is much turmoil regarding war, finances and the overall well being of people in general. But this is one of the good things of the world. The fact that we are able to communicate instantaneously with someone on the other side of the world. We are able to gather together at places such as this to share our knowledge and thoughts and forge friendships that have no political or geographical lines. We are all bound together by a love of creating and sharing and teaching. All positive things that we choose to focus on nearly every day.

I have been asked what I get from spending the first hour or so of my day writing here as I have been doing for the last year and a half. Do I get paid? Is it worth my time? Why do I choose to spend the amount of time I do writing?

I began this blog as part of a campaign I to gain exposure for my business. Although I knew that there were not many scroll sawyers here on Lumberjocks, it was an easy and convenient place to start a 'blog'. I had never followed blogs before or even really knew much about them. The first time I hit the 'post' button, it was scary. After all, who would want to read about my silly little life anyway? These people here were all serious and talented woodworkers. I wondered if I would just be considered 'fluff' and disregarded.

But through this blog I have made many fine and lasting friendships. I not only received wonderful advice from my friends, but I also think I was able to help some others too. Before long, I felt that I was accepted here and even liked and respected. Those feelings have helped my own confidence and growth in ways you can't even imagine. I am not here because of my business, I am hear to visit with my friends.

Now this is part of my daily routine. I like to hear from you all and over the months this blog has been a good venue for me to get to know each of you better. You have helped me so much with your knowledge, advice and most importantly as your friendship.

Thank you all so much for what you have contributed to my life. I will never be able to properly express how much you all mean to me and how proud I am to have you as friends. The posts yesterday were something that I wouldn't have expected at all, and they are greatly appreciated. You all made a special day for me even more special, and I am proud to be part of your group.

So on to the next 50 years! How am I going to top this?

Have a wonderfully creative day!
 
#3,469 ·
Sheila, I would say that you should not worry about topping this, unless that is just one of the ways your
personality operates. Just relax, have fun and keep being yourself, the lady we all like and look forward to
meeting each morning. Thank you for sharing.
 
#3,480 ·
If the Bird Gets Up Early Enough, Does It Catch Two (or even Three) Worms?

I woke up early today and was debating whether or not to try to get back to sleep. It would have been easy to do so, but there were too many things on my mind and after a couple of minutes of trying to feel sleepy again, I just gave up and got my day started. I really don't mind though, as I could use the extra couple of hours to get a handle on things for the day.

I still have emails to catch up on from the weekend. The combination of slacking off and going to a couple of dinners created a bit of a backlog in my email box. I realize that people don't expect me to get back to them immediately all the time, but I do like to get back to everyone in a timely manner and I seem to be a couple of days behind. I have taken the advice from Dennis and have been trying to do emails in batches so not to be so distracted. It isn't easy for me though and I find that if I put them off, they just move down the list and sometimes get forgotten. My Gmail page shows the last fifty emails received, and I know that seems like a lot, but with all the projects and stuff that I watch and comment on it is easy to fill that page quickly if I don't keep on it. Once I see that there are emails overflowing to page two, I know that I am falling behind and have some work to do in order to clear them out and catch up. The other day it even went to page three (yikes!)

I need to dedicate at least an hour or so for clearing things out, as having that many open emails really bother me. I need to keep my answers to the point and not ramble on when answering (stop laughing!) so I can get the job done. There will be time for socializing later. It will feel good when I get caught up and everything is filed where it is supposed to be. I'll do my best.

One email I received yesterday was from one of my wholesalers who was looking for a couple of patterns that they had chosen for the upcoming catalog. There were four that she needed - three were mine and one was my partners. During the last 'crunch time' we had only supplied the pictures of the items, knowing that the actual pattern packets were not needed until later on.

Well . . . 'later on' is now and even though my partner had his done, I did not. It was time to drop everything and focus on this.

Sometimes I am like a bad child who needs to be told to do everything. I know some of you think that I am really organized and I suppose in ways that I am, but in other things, unless I have a real deadline in front of me, I tend to procrastinate and wait until the bitter end to do things. Shame on me.

Two of the patterns were already published in the magazine. The instructions were for the most part written but they still needed to be reformatted into a packet form. One was published last year sometime and one just recently. The other is the Fiona Cat Pull Toy which is the black Halloween cat I made from the roasted birch a few weeks ago.

I started putting the older pattern together first and about an hour or so into it, I realized that the Adobe Illustrator line work was not in the designated folder with all the pattern components. Humm . . . I then spent the next half hour or so looking at back ups on my own computer and also the computer where the back up files are located and didn't find the files either. Since the pattern was drawn almost three years ago I had reformatted my computer and it appears that somehow in the process, those files were not transferred or backed up. Great.

The catalog information was already at the printer, so there was really no turning back on this one. I had the pictures of the projects (they were 12 mini Halloween ornaments) that were directly from when the magazine published them (thankfully!) and I was planning on using their pictures for the pattern cover. I have the actual project in storage, but sometimes the magazine is nice enough to send me their pictures that they used for the article if I ask because they take really good ones. On this particular project, they did a fantastic job of close ups of each of the 12 ornaments, so I was in business.

After looking everywhere I could think of and still not finding the files, I knew there was nothing more that I could do except re-draw the 12 ornaments, which took me the next couple of hours. It wasn't the way I had intended to spend my day.

I tell you this story because people like Kelly (rivergirl) are always saying how organized I am and it somewhat embarrasses me because of stuff like this. If she only KNEW! I think that many times I fall into the 'I'm neat because I am a slob' category. I have this utopia that I dream of where everything is where it is supposed to be and in its place, and some days I can almost say that is true. But once we start living and moving things around and using them, it sometimes throws things out of kilter. So take note, Kelly if you are reading this. I am not as good as you think! :)

I saw a forum post yesterday here about whether the woodworkers here on Lumberjocks spend most of the time building their shops or building 'stuff'. When thinking about it, I realize that many more of us than we realize have shops that are their 'works in progress' and take a lot more of their woodworking time than originally thought.

Bottom line is that organization takes a bit of time and work. Even when we are organized, it takes time to stay organized and keep on top of things because it can all change rather quickly. There are many times I wonder where my day goes, and I feel as if I had accomplished little, but in looking back I do see that taking the time to do what I am supposed to be doing may mean a little less productivity on this end, but will save me a load of time in the long run. After all, you can't be a great chef making pies all day and not spend some time cleaning up the kitchen. Everything we do doesn't have to be counted in our daily tally of new accomplishments in order to be meaningful and effective.

So with that said, I have to kind of back pedal today and get those other two patterns done. They should have been done a couple of weeks ago, and I feel somewhat aggravated with myself for not completing them. I have this talent of shoving things like this on the far back burner and totally forgetting about it until absolutely necessary. But now is the time to bring it front and center and check it off the list.

Sad thing is that it also makes me realize that it is time for me to do a major back up of my work again and all that is involved with that. For the most part everything is in decent order though, and it shouldn't take more than an hour or so to move files so that they are where they should be before I back them up. Optimistically, I think I can possibly get all that done today. (Oh - and I need to finish catching up on that mail too! You see, I have forgotten already!)

In looking at the list grow, I see that I have a full day ahead. It is just beginning to get light out now and on top of it all, its garbage day so I have to put all the trash on the road or miss the truck.

At least I am getting an early start. :) Have a good one!
 
#3,481 ·
I completely understand your "being neat because I'm a slob" theory. For myself though, I'd change that to "I physically neat because I'm a mental slob". What I mean by that is I am extremely vigilant in that things must be done in a certain way. Things have to be put in a certain place. Things unorganized drives me absolutely crazy. My family swears I have obsessive compulsive disorder. I do all this though because if I didn't, nothing would ever get done because I'd forget half of what I'm doing or spend a majority of time searching for things that I had forgotten where I placed.
I can't remember anything. From my years of mechanical experience, I can still rattle off torque specs for any popular engine ever made, like a first ot second generation Chevy 350. Don't ask me most days what someone told me ten minutes ago though.
As for things being done in order, I develop certain routines. Lord forbid something forces that routine to be changed for any reason. It takes me weeks or sometimes months to learn a new routine, and I will absolutely feel like I am constantly forgetting something during that transition period.
So I understand completely. If you're situation is anything like mine though, there is a method to your madness. The neatless that some see is a desperate attempt not to let everything fall apart. If they could only see the clutter in your mind.
I may be way off base, but does this actually hit the nail right on the head?
Have a good day Sheila. I hope you're successful in getting caught up. If you do, be sure to take a break. IT's usually during my breaks that I ponder what it is that I forgot after being so careful to make sure I forgot nothing.
And the madness continues.
 
#3,486 ·
Lots of Good News1

My goodness yesterday was a busy and productive day! (By the way - it feels really good to be able to start an entry like that!) I was really able to stay focused and I accomplished a LOT of things and got some loose ends tied up in the process. It always seems to go that way, doesn't it? You accomplish one thing and it dominoes into getting several other things done.

First of all, I really, REALLY cleaned out my mailbox. This has been something that was bothering me quite a bit because every message that was left in the 'inbox' was one that needed some sort of attention. Either I had to write someone back, or post a picture or check an account or something. I had been worried because this week with my birthday and all at one point the inbox number rose to almost 200 messages. Now most of them were notifications from here or Facebook that someone posted on my wall or one of the conversations or the blogs here, but many of them were personal messages and questions and stuff from customers that needed some sort of reply. Seeing that number was quite upsetting to me because I truly enjoy corresponding with everyone and I had just fallen behind.

So yesterday I went through everything and went down the line and responded to everything that I wanted to. I am with Gmail by Google and they have this wonderful labeling and filing system where you create file categories and such for your mail. You can add color coded labels and filter messages containing certain criteria such as email address or even subject line so that when it shows up in your box, it is already labeled and with one glance, you can tell which category it is from. It is wonderful for someone like me who gets lots of mail.

I have different labels for Facebook notifications, as well as notices that one of my buddies here posted. Then there is customer correspondence, orders, etc. It makes things really really easy.

One of the things that was getting away from me was customers who send me ideas and pictures. I love to hear from people who have my patterns and see how they change them to their liking. Sometimes people are shy about telling me they changed my patterns, but I am always thrilled to see what they come up with. Many times they take pictures of what they did and I have always intended to put them up in the customer gallery for others to see and be inspired, but that is one part of the site that I am really not that good at keeping up with. It is a little bit of a process to get stuff up there and I just don't take the time it needs to do so. However, I recently started to post them on my Facebook page and they have been very well received. I sometime forget about the pictures though and they get buried in my mail.

But yesterday I created a sub category in my Gmail for customer photos and now with one click I can access any of the emails that I have labeled as such. It really is great and will make my life so much easier and also make it easy for me to share these wonderful pictures.

Another thing that I get a lot of - and truly like - is the many ideas that customers send me for designing projects. I think when things are at a lull and I am trying to decide what to make next, it will be quite handy to be able to click on the category of customer's suggestions and have them all there in front of me. Up until now, they were buried with all the other customer correspondence and difficult to find, even if I did remember them.

Organization such as this is really wonderful and will be very helpful to the productivity of my work. By noon, I had my email box down to only six items! I had talked to everyone I needed to and I felt like I just scaled a mountain. If you are looking for a nice, free mail service, I highly recommend Gmail. It is part f the Google suite of free things and has really worked well for me.

I spent the rest of the afternoon putting together two of the pattern packets of the four I need to finish up. Everything there went well and I only have one more to go which I hope to finish later on today. While I was proofreading and printing, I made a large batch of crepes to take with for dinner at my partner's parents. It seems his brother and his fiance were in town and she was making us a full dinner.

On the way over there, we picked up my car from the mechanic. There is a story to go with that, but I don't have time today. Apparently, when it was worked on in Chicago four months ago, they didn't replace one of the spacers in the rear end as they should have. The spacer compresses, and it should be replaced each time the rear end is taken apart. This wasn't done, and in order to compensate for the compressed spacer, the mechanic had over-tightened the bearing when putting it back together. I did call the Chicago shop where I had taken it, not really expecting them to do anything financially, but I wanted them to be aware it was done incorrectly. The manager was very nice and he wants me to fax the bill to them and he said that they will 'see what they can do' about compensating me for the additional work that I needed done. Good for him. It would be quite helpful to not have to pay for the entire thing.

In more good news, I heard from some people that they got their Artist's Club catalog and they gave my little skating pond set HALF A PAGE on it! That is incredible news! I hope that this springboards some good sales of it. I had always said that all I wanted was a fair chance with it to be seen in an appropriate venue and now is my chance. I am very happy to hear that they had the confidence in it to give it that much room and hopefully now people will buy it so that they want more stuff from me. Cross your fingers.

Finally, we had received a call not too long ago from a gift shop in Annapolis Royal that we stopped at when we went out to sell Keith's pens. The owner wasn't in but we left our website and name and information with the clerk. The owner apparently went to the site and saw our stuff and called and wants us to bring what we have for her to sell in the shop. Although we are focusing on pens and prints and note cards of my paintings, she said she will take any scroll sawing prototypes we have too. Plus - she buys outright and it is NOT consignment. It is a beautiful sunny day and we are going to head out there this morning to see what we can work out with her.

All in all it was a great day! We finished it with a wonderful dinner and visit with friends. I am eating so good these day, I am going to get fat! Lobster and lasagna and cake and all kinds of goodies! Mmmmm. And I haven't even had to cook! I am very fortunate!

So I had better close here. I am typing as fast because we want an early start. I will certainly report how it goes at the shop later on. And I will also update you all on the pond. Those of you who have followed along know how hard I worked for that and hopefully we will see it finally paying off. Sometimes it does pay to be patient and not give up!

I wish you all a wonderful day! Have fun and be creative!
 
#3,487 ·
happy for you

good news all around

seems to me
you could get a job writing
for the new york times

if you find yourself
with any spare time
on your hands lol
 
#3,494 ·
Glimmers of Hope - Even in This Economy

It is very gratifying when you work hard for something and you begin to see some return on the investment of time and effort that you put in. Waiting takes a lot of patience, and I honestly believe that the reason that many people are unable to be successful in their own businesses is that they either don't want to wait for things to happen, or they can't afford to because of other circumstances.

Having a successful home business has the illusion of producing maximum returns with little effort From the outside, most people only see the positive side of things - being your own boss, setting your own hours, etc. - and they think that you have it made. They tend to filter out the amount of time and effort that went into making the business work and convince themselves that you are in your position because you are 'lucky.'

Unfortunately, this skewed perception is what fuels them to think that they, themselves can follow your path and be self-employed. While I am by no means saying that this couldn't be possible, I will say that it does take an enormous amount of time and true dedication to make a home-based business work. Ask anyone who is successful. If it were that easy and people just fell into success, don't you think they would be kind of bragging about it? How many times have we heard someone with a home business say "yes-sir-ree! I just started that business and quit my job and now I have an easy life and can golf any time I want and still have all the extras that life has to offer!" It just isn't like that.

Most (if not all) of the successful self-employed people that I have spoken with have stories of long hours, late nights, high risks and dedication to their chosen work. It's funny, but I don't often hear of them traveling to exotic places for extended holidays or moving into mansions or buying expensive cars. Most of them live as they always have. The really successful ones may move up a step or two on life's ladder, but overall, they are the same people they always were - but perhaps a bit happier.

So why should we invest all this time and resources into something with such a questionable payback? I imagine the answer to that would be up to the individual. For myself, I would rather work 60 hours a week doing something that I love than 40 hours a week at a mediocre job where I can't be creative. But that is just me. I know that it isn't for everyone and that many people won't understand my way of thinking, but that is honestly the way it is.

I am fortunate that when I began my business the kids were small and I was married and a stay at home mom. I lived in a situation where one salary was enough to meet our expenses and the money I made from my business was considered 'extra.' Although Larry (my ex) and I parted ways, to this day we remain great friends and I will always be grateful for him for the support he gave for me as far as my business was concerned. By the time I was on my own, I was able to hold my own (barely, but able) with my own business and I have worked on it from there. Over the years I have had my ups and downs, but I have fought tooth and nail to keep hold of it and I am finally seeing a glimmer of hope - even in this economic climate - that it may survive after all.

Yesterday we went to Annapolis Royal to re-visit the shop that we stopped in a couple of weeks ago when we were looking for outlets for Keith's pens. The shop owner was not there when we initially stopped in, but called us the day after, as her former partner was the one we spoke with at the time and forwarded our information to her. Ken (the former partner) used to be part owner at the shop when I sold some of my pins and stuff there a couple of years ago. Since then, he and his wife have moved on to semi-retirement and only spent a couple of days a week in the shop and had sold out to Florence, their partner.

When Florence called, she was very enthusiastic about having us both bring anything we wanted to sell. She had been to the web site and seen all of our work and said she was not only interested in the pens, but also in any of the prototypes we had, as well as note cards and prints of my paintings.

Keith finally had replenished his pen stock and had enough to show her and since the car was back in commission (I will tell that story another day!) and the sun was bright, we decided to take our stuff into her. We didn't take many wood items - only about three or four and some ornaments, but Keith had all of his pens and I my art.

Long story short, she bought eleven pens, along with several prints and note cards and about half of the wood items we brought. The best part about this was that she bought the items outright - not on commission. She had told us that she had owned the retirement home in Annapolis since 1963 and sold it a couple of years ago and that this shop was her 'retirement.' Everything in the shop is hand made by Nova Scotian artists and she didn't want them to have to wait to get paid. She said she hopes to be in business for several years and she will be thrilled if everything in the shop sells by then. While she was writing the check for the merchandise, she said "It's only money!" with a smile on her face.

I would like about 50 more customers like her!

It was a tremendous boost to Keith to be able to see actual sales from his beautiful pens. Although the response has been very positive, there is a difference of leaving them somewhere on commission and having a shop owner believe enough in them to buy them outright. I believe I had to move over on my pink cloud for a bit to make room for him on the ride home. It was a great day.

In talking about things, Keith brought up how we are in many different directions at once. We have the magazine, the wholesalers, the site, my painting wholesalers, and now these shops as outlets for our work. It is a lot of plates to spin, even with two people doing the spinning. But the good thing about it is that even if one aspect has a bad month, there are several other unrelated areas that can carry us through. We just have to keep on working on all of them and hopefully we will come out of this OK.

We finished off the evening by completing the "Trifecta of eating good food that I didn't have to cook" for the week as we were once again invited to Keith's parents house for dinner. It was his aunt's last night here in Nova Scotia and his mom was making the Acadian traditional meal of Rappie Pie that is outstanding. It was a fine dinner in which we once again enjoyed good company and conversation and also celebrated the success of Keith's pens.

It has been quite a week!

Today I will be finishing up the last pattern packet that I have to get to the wholesaler. I also need to work on posting the next lesson for the scroll saw class. That should fill the day for me, but if I finish everything I am going to be working on a couple of commission projects that I have to do. There is certainly enough to keep me out of trouble anyway.

In closing today, I want to say how grateful I am for all these good things that are beginning to happen. I know in my heart that I couldn't have done it without the support of those around me. Although there is a long way to go, both my partner and I know that without the support of each other and those around us, we wouldn't be in the position that we are now. And we are very appreciative.

It is for us to pray not for tasks equal to our powers, but for powers equal to our tasks, to go forward with a great desire forever beating at the door of our hearts as we travel toward our distant goal. - Helen Keller
 
#3,495 ·
Sheila, I'm glad that you are doing well and I can only imagine how hard you have worked to make it successful. You make some beautiful things and I wouldn't be a bit surprised if you have potential customers all over. I hope that you and Keith will have continued success in all of your ventures.
 
#3,500 ·
Next Lesson Almost Done

Yesterday was one of those days that just got away from me. I was busy all day and I did accomplish a great deal, but before I knew it, it was over and time to turn in.

I was able to finish doing the pattern packets, which was a major thing. I still need to do a final proof reading on them because there were just so many interruptions that it was a little difficult for me to concentrate. I need to be absolutely sure that they are OK before I send them ahead to the wholesaler for distribution.

I began working on the next lesson for the scroll saw class and that is well on its way. I still need to do the video that I want to present with it though and I will be planning on shooting that today and getting it up on the board here. We are going to do some inside angled cuts and there are a couple of ways to approach them that I want to show. I also prepared another pattern practice sheet for people to download so that they can practice what I am teaching. Hopefully I will get it posted by tonight.

Some of you noticed that my blog here double posted yesterday. I really don't know how that happened - whether it was a glitch in the programming or something I did. I was thinking it may have been me, but in order to double post the same blog I would have had to fill out all three parts of the form to do so and I certainly did not do that. I want to thank MsDebbie for taking care of it for me because I also found out that I am unable to delete a blog here on my own. I knew you could edit it any time (unlike regular posts which only give you an hour to change them) but I didn't know you couldn't remove them without help. I also was informed that some of my comments that I made on projects were double posted. Again, I tried to remove them on my own but had some difficulty doing so. Unless I am losing my mind something is goofy with the programming it seems.

I had a couple people ask about the car yesterday and I thought I would update you. My mechanic pulled the rear end apart and found that when I had the work done in Chicago, they didn't put it together properly when they were replacing the pinion seal. Apparently there is a compressed spacer that needs to be replaced every time you pull the rear end apart. When my mechanic took it apart, he said that the spacer was the original part, and in order to compensate for not replacing it, whomever repaired the car before over-tightened the bearing, which caused the noise that I was hearing. It was something that I would never have been able to know about if I hadn't heard the slight noise it was making.

I did call the shop in Chicago that I had taken the car to. Initially, the manager told me to bring the car there for them to look at it, but I quickly explained to him that I was here in Nova Scotia 2500 miles away and there was no way for me to do so. He then asked what I expected him to do about it, and I replied that I merely wanted him to be aware of the sloppy work that was being done in his shop, as the name of the mechanic that did the work was right on the work order.

I think that at first he thought that I was going to demand payment or something because he started out quite defensive, but when I told him that I was calling to make him aware of the situation, he seemed more open and suggested that I send a copy of the bill to him and he would 'see what he could do'. He then stated that he wanted his customers to be happy and promised that he would look into the matter fully.

We'll see . . .

I really don't expect that I will get any money back from them. Even though this venture cost me money that I wouldn't have had to spend had it been done right. I faxed him the bill on Thursday night and I was hoping to hear something from him yesterday, but I did not. I am not holding my breath. He probably figures that since I am so far away, my chances of being a return customer are nil anyway, so what is the motivation for him to make it right? I will definitely keep you posted, but I really don't expect that I will get anything back from him. It is just one of those situations where I was stuck and people get away with doing a poor job. (By the way, it is the Firestone dealer located in Shorewood, Illinois - just outside Joliet) I suppose I am happy that no further damage was caused and I should count my blessings.

So the bulk of the day will be finishing up on the next lesson. I hope to get it posted sometime this afternoon. I hope it only posts once, too.

It is just getting light out and looks like it will be decent out today. The past few days have been dreary and humid - not really raining but so damp and foggy it almost feels like rain. It certainly isn't much like summer weather.

Have a great day!
 
#3,501 ·
Hi Sheila,
I am just glad to hear that nothing went wrong during that long trip you had before (I had just remembered that you had your car repaired, I just assumed that it was that time.) Though to my knowledge being a mechanical man, the compressed ring serves as thrust bearing in most cases and will just produce noise because of axial play but will not make a big risk. Thanks God for you are back home safely from that trip.

The autumn is just near and so with the winter in your place… here, wet and rainy. Very difficult to do spraying varnish. I used today the aerosol type polyurethane so it will not be affected by the cold and rain. Luckily, rain sprayed to the narra boxes that are already half dried.

God Bless and take care on the roads. Hope you got a positive solutions for that pinion.
 
#3,508 ·
Lesson 7 Is Posted

I woke up this morning to the darkness of the crisp and cool air. Could it be that the heat of summer is already weaning? It seemed like just yesterday that I was preparing to travel to the show in New York and hoping that we wouldn't encounter snow. I remember standing in the parking lot at the border check on my way into the United States and the sky was grey and large snowflakes were blowing through the air. I realize that I have experienced nearly two full seasons between when that happened and now. Time does pass quickly when we are busy.

The morning darkness lasts longer with each day that passes. Soon I will be able to witness the beautiful sun rises that I enjoy so much to start off my day. There is something comforting about these quiet, dark mornings and I welcome them. Burning a lightly scented candle. Adding a bit of cinnamon to my coffee. Listening to some quiet Mozart or Beethoven as I write. All these things gently fill up my senses and help me prepare for what the day will bring.

It has been a brutal summer season for most. Over the past several months I have heard so many complaints from my friends and acquaintances of the oppressive heat that they had to endure. I remember those days from when I lived back in Chicago. There were times when you stifled by the heat and it held you hostage every bit as much as the cold did in the winter. That is part of living in the Midwest that I don't miss.

Here in Nova Scotia we have had our share of warm days, but it has been nothing like what I have heard from others around the world. Still, it was more than enough to fill my desire to experience the warm weather, and I welcome the cool days of fall. I feel so much more productive in the cooler weather. The heat just seems to suck the life out of me. I certainly look forward to the days ahead.

I spent the bulk of my day yesterday finishing up on the next lesson for the scroll saw blog. I had started it on Friday, but was unable to finish preparing the materials that I wanted to present. I find it to be a challenge to teach such a large scope of people with varied experience and resources and create a class that is interesting to all. But I think it is going OK.

It takes a lot of thought to keep things organized and orderly. I don't want to get ahead of myself on some things, but sometime that is not as easy as one would think. I find myself talking about things that haven't been presented yet and then I have to take a step back and re think the steps to include what I may have missed. I don't want to lose anyone because of jumping ahead too quickly.

I find that when I first outline the lesson to myself, I tend to be much too broad in the subject matter. When I start to break things down in steps, I then see that my original thinking was over-ambitious and I result in pinpointing certain techniques and stopping far short of my original intentions. I don't think that is a negative though, because by keeping the lessons short and focused, it keeps people interested and they are able to digest the amount of information that I offer and hopefully most of it will stick. I would rather give a greater number of focused lessons than a smaller number of classes that were bloated with information. This way, people are also able to pinpoint certain issues or areas that they need guidance in without having to sift though a lot of other material that they already know. Overall I think it is good.

I also find that I am more at ease with the making of the videos. That in itself is a big step for me. In filming the videos for lesson 7, it only took two tries - the first one was aborted when I knocked the camera with my arm - but other than that things were going along fairly well. I am learning to talk to the camera much as I talk to the cats or even myself as I am cutting and I am learning to relax my mind and concentrate on what I am presenting. I pretend that I am teaching a single student and talking to them over a cup of coffee instead of thinking of the many people that will ultimately watch.

Little by little I am getting the hang of this stuff and in reading the positive responses from those who are finding benefit in the lessons I am very encouraged to do more. I thoroughly enjoy teaching and helping others reach their potential and it makes me feel good to think that I may have something to offer others that will help.

When I am done with the class series, I am thinking about compiling all the information into one source of some sort, such as a book or a DVD. I think that it would be nice to have everything in one place and available for quick reference for beginners and others who want to further their knowledge. I had spoken last year about writing some sort of book and I haven't given up on that idea completely. Teaching this class could be a good foundation for the information needed to compile a nice guide, and by the time the class is finished, I would have already done most of the leg work anyway. We'll see . . .

I feel like I am on top of things today. As usual, there are several things that I want to accomplish. I have two commission projects that I think I will work on and get finished. One needs to be mailed out this upcoming week and the other is a matter of drawing. Realistically I can pretty much tie up both today if I try hard. That will allow a fresh start tomorrow and I can dive back into the designing mode. It seems like it has been a while since I designed some scroll saw things, and I have many ideas that I think will be good. I also have some painting ideas for patterns and would like to make them a reality too. There always seems like there is so much to do.

So that's the plan. It's light out now and the clear sky is beginning to cloud over. It seems like it may rain. That is a shame because my neighbor Lee is entering his car in a local show today and I was thinking we would stop by for support. Hopefully it will hold off until later this afternoon.

I hope you all enjoy your Sunday too. Have some fun and make some sawdust.
 
#3,509 ·
I hope you're right and this heat is on its way out he door for the year. I am so ready to say goodbye to this summer. We've had a couple of promising nights here. One night this past week it was down in the sixties. However, the heat index was back in the triple digits the very next day.
We have finally been getting some much needed rain. We still need more though and what we have gotten only seemed to make it more humid than before the rain. The humidity is a whole other aspect of the heat. I can actually deal with heat on some levels. The humidity however makes it seem like that heat is a one ton elephant sitting on your chest. It makes it hard to breath.
I have gotten some more fans for the shop since I passed out a few weeks back. Most days though it seems that all they do is push hot air around. One of the fans I bought though sits close to the floor and can be tilted. Tilting it drastically upwards seems to help some. I had the fan a week before I thought of it. Heat rises, so my reasoning was that the cooler air (if its possible to call it cooler) is nearer to the floor.
One thought I keep having though keeps me sane through the heat. That thought is that we can all just wait a few more months and we'll be able to come on here and complain about how bad the cold is effecting us. I know I will especially. While this heat is stifling, its still better than the cold on my opinion. I know that is contrary to a couple of comments I've made lately. The heat though is just simply uncomfortable. The cold on the other hands keeps me stoved up and hurting on a constant basis.
So to sum it all up, I can't say I'm going to miss this hot summer (hotter than normal this year it seems), but I don't exactly look forward to the pain I will experience when the thermometer goes to the opposite extreme. Now fall. I like fall.
 
#3,511 ·
Hi Sheila,
I still remember blog of yours with photos showing those red sky during autumn. The falling leaves resembles how hard for a tree be prepared for the winter. Tree will not withstand the weight of snow with the leaves on. The best these days is to clear up things to lessen the weight.
Oh yes, you are right… I have ripped 2×3 to make 3 pcs of 3/8×3 preparing for the next box. Got a lot of sawdust all around as I was only using portable circular saw.
Have a nice day too.
 
#3,514 ·
Commission Work Ups and Downs

Doing commission work can have its issues. I don't really mind doing it - in fact I like it, but I certainly wouldn't want to have it as a main source of my income.

Lately it seems that I have had several people ask me to do special orders for them. Since I am all over the place these days and not pressed hard under many deadlines, I made an offer on these jobs and took them on. I think it is a nice change of pace for me and good practice to do some things that I don't normally do. I like the variety in work and I also like to be able to help someone who is otherwise stuck in finding a person to do their project.

The first job I did was for my friend Bernie. He had called and asked me if I would do some lettering for a sign he was making for the nearby church. Apparently the church had a new reverend and he needed a sign with his name on it. Bernie stated that he wanted the lettering to be done in a simple font - about 2.5" tall and he didn't need anything fancy. All he needed from me were the letters cut from 1/8" plywood and painted black. He would do the rest.

Over the next week, I spent a day or so working on the sign. I don't believe that I did it all at once, as I first had to draw the lettering, and then cut it out. I kept track of my hours and all in all with drawing, cutting and sanding it took a bit over five.

When I saw him last week when we went to the camp, I brought him the finished lettering. When he asked me what I owed him, I didn't quite know what to tell him. Usually for work like that, I charge somewhere around $20 and hour. I know that may seem like a lot, as I used to charge a lot less for custom work such as that and Bernie is the one who told me that I needed to charge at least $15 or $20 an hour for my work. After all he said, it was custom work. Where else would they get such a thing?

I had a hard time however, looking at the small pile of lettering and asking $100 for them. After all, this was Bernie and he has helped me a lot by letting me use his shop tools when necessary. (I do pay him for that too each time we use it) He told me that he was certainly going to cover what I charged him in the cost that he would bill them, so I decided on asking $40 for the job. I thought that was fair seeing as it took me the better part of a day to complete.

On Thursday when we were in town we stopped by to see him and Ellen just to say hello. While we were there, the lady from the church came over to pick up the sign that he had finished. Bernie went out to the shop with her to give it to her and he returned to the house several minutes later. When he came in, we asked how she liked it and he replied that she didn't take it. We were dumbfounded.

At first we thought he was kidding. But soon it was apparent that he wasn't. When we questioned him as to why, he told us that she said that it was too big and she wanted the sign to be only three inches tall. The bad part about this was that SHE had brought him the piece of wood that he was to put the lettering on and told him that was the size she wanted. The wood she had brought was at least five inches high. I was really angry.

The woman was the wife of my former land lord when I lived in Digby. Even though they own over 15 properties around town and are very wealthy, she is notoriously cheap. A couple of summers ago she commissioned me to design and print some brochures for her church. After doing so and printing the 300 copies she suggested (they were double sided color printing and tri-folded - which I had to fold) I called three printing places to see what pricing they had. I took the LOWEST price of the three and divided it in HALF and came up with a price for her. I didn't even charge her for the actual layout or computer work. When I emailed her that they were ready and told her how much she owed me, she hit the ceiling.

"I thought you could do it for almost nothing?" she actually said to me. "I am donating this to the church!"

Well, at the time I was really struggling financially and barely had enough money to buy food and I had to take whatever jobs I could, but when I dropped them off to Bernie's where she was going to pick them up, I told him that if she didn't pay the full amount I asked for them, then I wanted him to throw them into the fire and burn them. I would rather see them burned then give them to her under the circumstances. She did wind up paying and I vowed to never do another thing for her again.

So here I was feeling bad for Bernie for getting roped in by her cheapness once again.

It's people like that who leave a bad taste in your mouth with commission work. I know you are supposed to get money up front, and I guess we all learn the hard way because people sometimes surprise you and can't be trusted.

I have had better judgment with doing commission work since then, and I have done some nice jobs in between other things that I thoroughly enjoy. Some of you may remember the little bears that I made for the volleyball team in Ohio last fall. That was a fun job and I thoroughly enjoyed doing it. I also do some drawing for a man who lives about 50 miles from me and makes beautiful plaques. I have never met him yet, but whenever he needs something, I always try to fit it in no matter how busy I am because not only does he appreciate it, but he is fair and pays me what I ask. It is a good relationship.

I also had a request for a sign that I spent many hours drawing last year and ultimately the customer refused it. It wasted a couple of days for me and I was quite disappointed that I spent so much time trying to please him when he just flat out had no respect for my time. It left a bad taste in my mouth once again.

But recently I took on a couple of jobs 'just because.' I am doing some lettering for a customer and we are bartering for something beautiful that he makes. This job was fun because he is very easy to work with and is a fellow woodworker that understands the time and effort that goes into making things. I thoroughly enjoyed doing the lettering overlay pieces for him and it was a fun job, although it was one of the hardest lettering things that I have cut to date.

In cutting the letters yesterday, I had just about finished when I broke a letter. I had a wonderful day of cutting and felt right on top of things and was sailing right along on my scroll saw. The letters were quite small and I used a font that I thought would look very pretty but it made the work really delicate. When I finished the lettering part, I took the piece out and I promptly broke the bottom of the 't' in the word August:

Automotive tire Plant Wood Finger Font


There was nothing that I could do but cut it over.

On the bright side, I was really enjoying the cutting and it was one of those days where I almost regretted that I was finished. It only took about an hour and a half to do and I just continued on and was able to complete the piece without incident the second time. I should be able to ship the pieces out tomorrow after I package them up today.

I have one more commissioned job to do to clear my slate, and that only entails drawing. I began working on it last night and should have it finished by today. Then I can get back to my own designing, as the next deadlines for my wholesalers are in a few weeks. Hopefully, you will see a flurry of new projects from me during that time frame.

Commissioned work can be a good thing, but sometimes it means taking a risk. Although I enjoy doing it from time to time, I wouldn't want the type of business where I had to count on it on a daily basis. I like being able to pick and choose which jobs I accept and I like that I don't depend on it for my main source of income. It is fun and satisfying though to help out on occasion and make things that are truly appreciated. Once in a while, it can be good.

Have a great Monday everyone. Enjoy what the day will bring.
 

Attachments

#3,515 ·
Commission Work Ups and Downs

Doing commission work can have its issues. I don't really mind doing it - in fact I like it, but I certainly wouldn't want to have it as a main source of my income.

Lately it seems that I have had several people ask me to do special orders for them. Since I am all over the place these days and not pressed hard under many deadlines, I made an offer on these jobs and took them on. I think it is a nice change of pace for me and good practice to do some things that I don't normally do. I like the variety in work and I also like to be able to help someone who is otherwise stuck in finding a person to do their project.

The first job I did was for my friend Bernie. He had called and asked me if I would do some lettering for a sign he was making for the nearby church. Apparently the church had a new reverend and he needed a sign with his name on it. Bernie stated that he wanted the lettering to be done in a simple font - about 2.5" tall and he didn't need anything fancy. All he needed from me were the letters cut from 1/8" plywood and painted black. He would do the rest.

Over the next week, I spent a day or so working on the sign. I don't believe that I did it all at once, as I first had to draw the lettering, and then cut it out. I kept track of my hours and all in all with drawing, cutting and sanding it took a bit over five.

When I saw him last week when we went to the camp, I brought him the finished lettering. When he asked me what I owed him, I didn't quite know what to tell him. Usually for work like that, I charge somewhere around $20 and hour. I know that may seem like a lot, as I used to charge a lot less for custom work such as that and Bernie is the one who told me that I needed to charge at least $15 or $20 an hour for my work. After all he said, it was custom work. Where else would they get such a thing?

I had a hard time however, looking at the small pile of lettering and asking $100 for them. After all, this was Bernie and he has helped me a lot by letting me use his shop tools when necessary. (I do pay him for that too each time we use it) He told me that he was certainly going to cover what I charged him in the cost that he would bill them, so I decided on asking $40 for the job. I thought that was fair seeing as it took me the better part of a day to complete.

On Thursday when we were in town we stopped by to see him and Ellen just to say hello. While we were there, the lady from the church came over to pick up the sign that he had finished. Bernie went out to the shop with her to give it to her and he returned to the house several minutes later. When he came in, we asked how she liked it and he replied that she didn't take it. We were dumbfounded.

At first we thought he was kidding. But soon it was apparent that he wasn't. When we questioned him as to why, he told us that she said that it was too big and she wanted the sign to be only three inches tall. The bad part about this was that SHE had brought him the piece of wood that he was to put the lettering on and told him that was the size she wanted. The wood she had brought was at least five inches high. I was really angry.

The woman was the wife of my former land lord when I lived in Digby. Even though they own over 15 properties around town and are very wealthy, she is notoriously cheap. A couple of summers ago she commissioned me to design and print some brochures for her church. After doing so and printing the 300 copies she suggested (they were double sided color printing and tri-folded - which I had to fold) I called three printing places to see what pricing they had. I took the LOWEST price of the three and divided it in HALF and came up with a price for her. I didn't even charge her for the actual layout or computer work. When I emailed her that they were ready and told her how much she owed me, she hit the ceiling.

"I thought you could do it for almost nothing?" she actually said to me. "I am donating this to the church!"

Well, at the time I was really struggling financially and barely had enough money to buy food and I had to take whatever jobs I could, but when I dropped them off to Bernie's where she was going to pick them up, I told him that if she didn't pay the full amount I asked for them, then I wanted him to throw them into the fire and burn them. I would rather see them burned then give them to her under the circumstances. She did wind up paying and I vowed to never do another thing for her again.

So here I was feeling bad for Bernie for getting roped in by her cheapness once again.

It's people like that who leave a bad taste in your mouth with commission work. I know you are supposed to get money up front, and I guess we all learn the hard way because people sometimes surprise you and can't be trusted.

I have had better judgment with doing commission work since then, and I have done some nice jobs in between other things that I thoroughly enjoy. Some of you may remember the little bears that I made for the volleyball team in Ohio last fall. That was a fun job and I thoroughly enjoyed doing it. I also do some drawing for a man who lives about 50 miles from me and makes beautiful plaques. I have never met him yet, but whenever he needs something, I always try to fit it in no matter how busy I am because not only does he appreciate it, but he is fair and pays me what I ask. It is a good relationship.

I also had a request for a sign that I spent many hours drawing last year and ultimately the customer refused it. It wasted a couple of days for me and I was quite disappointed that I spent so much time trying to please him when he just flat out had no respect for my time. It left a bad taste in my mouth once again.

But recently I took on a couple of jobs 'just because.' I am doing some lettering for a customer and we are bartering for something beautiful that he makes. This job was fun because he is very easy to work with and is a fellow woodworker that understands the time and effort that goes into making things. I thoroughly enjoyed doing the lettering overlay pieces for him and it was a fun job, although it was one of the hardest lettering things that I have cut to date.

In cutting the letters yesterday, I had just about finished when I broke a letter. I had a wonderful day of cutting and felt right on top of things and was sailing right along on my scroll saw. The letters were quite small and I used a font that I thought would look very pretty but it made the work really delicate. When I finished the lettering part, I took the piece out and I promptly broke the bottom of the 't' in the word August:

Automotive tire Plant Wood Finger Font


There was nothing that I could do but cut it over.

On the bright side, I was really enjoying the cutting and it was one of those days where I almost regretted that I was finished. It only took about an hour and a half to do and I just continued on and was able to complete the piece without incident the second time. I should be able to ship the pieces out tomorrow after I package them up today.

I have one more commissioned job to do to clear my slate, and that only entails drawing. I began working on it last night and should have it finished by today. Then I can get back to my own designing, as the next deadlines for my wholesalers are in a few weeks. Hopefully, you will see a flurry of new projects from me during that time frame.

Commissioned work can be a good thing, but sometimes it means taking a risk. Although I enjoy doing it from time to time, I wouldn't want the type of business where I had to count on it on a daily basis. I like being able to pick and choose which jobs I accept and I like that I don't depend on it for my main source of income. It is fun and satisfying though to help out on occasion and make things that are truly appreciated. Once in a while, it can be good.

Have a great Monday everyone. Enjoy what the day will bring.
Best thing to do is get 50% up front. That way the customer agrees on what you are going to do for them and it is as they want. Get final payment when done. That way if they back out at least you have 50% of the cost for your trouble.

Bob
 

Attachments

#3,523 ·
And On to Designing . . .

Well what a great day yesterday turned out to be! I spent most of the day working on drawing up the pattern for the commission job that I am doing. It was one of those days where once I got rolling, I really enjoyed what I was doing and the day just seemed to fly by.

Once I was clear on what was expected, doing the actual drawing was a pleasure and by dinner time I was able to send my client some sample drawings for his approval before I added the final touches. I was happy to receive a nice affirmative on the drawings and pleased to be able to help.

Unlike the 'church lady incident', this was a win/win all around. Not only was the client happy, but I also got a chance to catch a breath and think through my next project while drawing up this one. Between doing this job and the previous lettering one, it gave me a chance to plan out my next move for the upcoming catalog push and get myself revved up for that. As of today, I have pretty much a clean slate and can now forge ahead with my own ideas and actually do some designing. It is a good place to be.

I also heard from the car place in Chicago yesterday. The manager called because he received my copies of the bills for the work I had done here and he informed me that he was meeting with his boss on Thursday and they will discuss what they were going to do about it. That is good enough for me for now. I am hopeful that it means that they will do at least something to rectify the situation. In leaving it up to him, I suppose it will be a test to see how much integrity they have. Again, I will keep everyone updated as soon as I hear.

And more good news came in yesterday. It seems that I got my email newsletter from the Artist's Club and when I opened it, here is what I saw, front and center:

Organism World Font Poster Recreation


(How many ways can I say YA-HOO!!?)

This folks, is what I worked so hard to achieve. For all of you that have been following along and know of all the road blocks that I encountered with this little set, I wanted to thank you for your support and encouragement when I was discouraged and wanted to give up on it. Having my set presented here, to this audience is the best thing I could have asked for. All I hoped for was that it would be seen by people who would want to paint it. And the Artist's Club is the top company for painters and painting supplies. I still haven't received my print catalog, but I heard from others that it was given a full half of a page in it.

I certainly can't say that it wasn't marketed well. It is now up to the design itself as to whether it sells or not. As a designer, that is all I can ask for and I am extremely grateful for the opportunity and please that someone took a chance on me, as I am relatively unknown in the painting world. If it does well, it could be an opportunity for me in an entirely new area of designing, and it will bring new customers to my site too. I really hope that others like it.

So all in all it was a pretty good day. I am really happy and it is amazing how sometimes things can fall into place. I am proud that I didn't give up and kept trying to find a way to make things work. There are always answers it seems if we look hard enough. Sometimes they are just harder to find than others.

I'll close with that today because I really need to move early. I am expecting painters to do my bathroom today and even though I am usually up before it is light out, I don't always get dressed until I am done here. I want to be sure to be ready.

Have a great day everyone. I hope you enjoy every moment!
 

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#3,524 ·
And On to Designing . . .

Well what a great day yesterday turned out to be! I spent most of the day working on drawing up the pattern for the commission job that I am doing. It was one of those days where once I got rolling, I really enjoyed what I was doing and the day just seemed to fly by.

Once I was clear on what was expected, doing the actual drawing was a pleasure and by dinner time I was able to send my client some sample drawings for his approval before I added the final touches. I was happy to receive a nice affirmative on the drawings and pleased to be able to help.

Unlike the 'church lady incident', this was a win/win all around. Not only was the client happy, but I also got a chance to catch a breath and think through my next project while drawing up this one. Between doing this job and the previous lettering one, it gave me a chance to plan out my next move for the upcoming catalog push and get myself revved up for that. As of today, I have pretty much a clean slate and can now forge ahead with my own ideas and actually do some designing. It is a good place to be.

I also heard from the car place in Chicago yesterday. The manager called because he received my copies of the bills for the work I had done here and he informed me that he was meeting with his boss on Thursday and they will discuss what they were going to do about it. That is good enough for me for now. I am hopeful that it means that they will do at least something to rectify the situation. In leaving it up to him, I suppose it will be a test to see how much integrity they have. Again, I will keep everyone updated as soon as I hear.

And more good news came in yesterday. It seems that I got my email newsletter from the Artist's Club and when I opened it, here is what I saw, front and center:

Organism World Font Poster Recreation


(How many ways can I say YA-HOO!!?)

This folks, is what I worked so hard to achieve. For all of you that have been following along and know of all the road blocks that I encountered with this little set, I wanted to thank you for your support and encouragement when I was discouraged and wanted to give up on it. Having my set presented here, to this audience is the best thing I could have asked for. All I hoped for was that it would be seen by people who would want to paint it. And the Artist's Club is the top company for painters and painting supplies. I still haven't received my print catalog, but I heard from others that it was given a full half of a page in it.

I certainly can't say that it wasn't marketed well. It is now up to the design itself as to whether it sells or not. As a designer, that is all I can ask for and I am extremely grateful for the opportunity and please that someone took a chance on me, as I am relatively unknown in the painting world. If it does well, it could be an opportunity for me in an entirely new area of designing, and it will bring new customers to my site too. I really hope that others like it.

So all in all it was a pretty good day. I am really happy and it is amazing how sometimes things can fall into place. I am proud that I didn't give up and kept trying to find a way to make things work. There are always answers it seems if we look hard enough. Sometimes they are just harder to find than others.

I'll close with that today because I really need to move early. I am expecting painters to do my bathroom today and even though I am usually up before it is light out, I don't always get dressed until I am done here. I want to be sure to be ready.

Have a great day everyone. I hope you enjoy every moment!
Congratulations Sheila!

You most certainly deserve "1st Chair" on their website - those characters are fantastic.

-bob
 

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#3,535 ·
Go While the Going is Good!

Sometimes the unexpected things in life are the best. The other day we were taking our morning walk. It was one of the first times we walked in the wood behind us in a couple of months because it has been quite muddy and rainy here. However, on Tuesday the sun was bright and warm and it was really a nice hike.

Like most days when we walk, we talk about our upcoming projects and deadlines. With all the directions that my partner and I are on, there always seems to be something due. It keeps us quite busy. But the other day, we both had reached a kind of plateau in our work and my partner made a comment on how it would be nice to take a road trip for a couple of days.

With the sun shining brightly in a cloudless sky and the warm summer breeze blowing, it didn't take much persuasion for me to agree. By the time we returned home from our walk, we had everything all worked out. We gave the weather a quick check and indeed it was predicted to be nice for a couple of days and the decision was made. Lee, our friend would surely care for the cats over night so we finished up a couple of things and packed our bags and within an hour or so we were on our way. We didn't even have a set plan of where we were going to go, we just wanted to get out and enjoy the day.

Overall, our plan was to drive to Yarmouth and follow the scenic roads along the South Shore of Nova Scotia. There are so many beautiful places to see along the way. They call this Lighthouse trail because of the many lighthouses that are along this Atlantic coast and we had never taken the little side roads that ride along the shore before. It was a perfect opportunity for us to relax a bit and see some more of the beautiful area we live in.

Along the coast, there are hundreds and hundreds of small inlets filled with islands:


(I will show several pictures here, but if you want to see more you can click on them and go to my Picasa album to see more. If you click on the picture, it will enlarge it but if you click on the title of the picture, you will go to the entire album)

We went through beautiful Shelburn and Mahone Bay and picturesque Lunenberg:


By the time we got to Lunenberg, most of the stores and galleries were closed though. We did get to go into a few, but we think we will go back there and spend the entire day in the area, as it is filled with galleries and local artwork.

We continued on until we reached Halifax, and we stayed at our favorite place in Dartmouth for the evening. There is a nice Ramada hotel there and they are right in the heart of everything. They offer a hot breakfast buffet that is really nice and gets us started with a hot meal the next day.

The next morning, we stayed around the Dartmouth area for a couple of hours. We went to a large Kent store, which is like a Home Depot, because was the only thing open before 10am. I finally found the elusive Gorilla Glue Wood Glue and was happy to be able to pick up a bottle of that.

We stopped in our favorite wood store, East Coast Hardwood, but I am proud to say that we didn't really buy anything. You all are not going to believe this, but we walked out of there with only my partner buying a single piece of Thaya Burl for turning pens which cost a mere $15. It isn't that we didn't want to get anything else, but you have to admire our restraint. The last time we brought a load home and took inventory at Bernie's we made a promise to each other not to add to the our piles until they went down substantially. We really did stick to our promise to ourselves and walked away without even going through the warehouse, except to look at the smaller specialty pieces.

We then headed out of the city and continued along the South Shore until we came to a place called Sheet Harbor. Much of the way through this area was not as picturesque, but there were certain places that were right on the ocean that were quite pretty. We stopped at a nice pub for a late lunch around 2pm. The restaurant was charming and the food was really good. The restaurant overlooked another inlet and the scenery was peaceful and very pretty.


In looking at how late it was however, we knew it was time to start heading back in the direction of home. We headed north up toward Truro, as we planned to drive along the north shore of the province along the New Minus Bay. We have never been that way before, and followed the Glooscap Trail along the scenic route there. Along the way there were hundreds of farms of all kinds. Not only were there farms with fruit trees and corn, but also many animal farms such as cows and pigs and chicken and even sheep:


It always looks so pretty to see the flowing fields of animals or crops right on the ocean. You don't really think of farming areas next to the ocean - at least I don't being from the Midwestern United States - but it is very common here and very pleasant to drive through.

We did stop at a couple of shops and studios along the way and looked at some nice local crafts. In speaking with the owners, more than one said that even though there were less people coming through the shops, they tended to buy the more expensive items and business was either the same or a bit higher than in previous years. I thought that was interesting.

We stopped in a studio where a man did wood turning, but he wasn't there. His dad showed us through his studio and shop and told us that he was away taking his son to university this weekend. We would have loved to meet him and talk to him because his work was really nice and he had hundreds and hundreds of large wood burls and rough turnings in addition to his beautiful finished pieces. We were sorry we missed him but think it will be a good excuse to go back one day (as if we needed one!)

By the time we were back on the familiar highway 101, the sun was setting. We were able to see yet another spectacular light show that I enjoy so much:


We arrived home just after 10pm to three very happy cats.

Having your own business can be very busy and trying at times. There are times that it seems that the work never ends and you are sometimes stuck into thinking that even if it does slow down, you begin to worry that you are not doing enough to make it work. It can be a lot of pressure and certainly isn't for everyone.

But one of the good things about owning your own business and being your own boss is that on rare occasions, everything is taken care of and you are able at a drop of a hat to take a few days to relax and enjoy life. This was one of those times for us. I have learned over the years that taking small breaks like this are healthy for not only your body, but also for your mind and soul.

I feel great today and ready to get to work. I have drawing that I want to do and I have many new ideas from some of the things I saw in the last couple of days too. All in all I think it was a great trip and almost a necessity to keep us happy and sane.

Now it is back to work today to catch up on emails and such and get that drawing that I wanted to get done started. I feel very refreshed and certainly up to the task of designing new things. Remembering to enjoy the beautiful things around you is a very necessary part of the creative process.

I hope you all enjoyed the pictures and I wish you all a good day!
 
#3,541 ·
Challenge of the Day - Self-Discipline

After what seems like a very long time, it is good to be back to doing some drawing again. It hasn't been that I haven't had ideas, but more because there just seems like so many other things get in the way. I look back on my own productivity and wonder if I should be more disciplined in what I am doing. Sometimes I think that is the answer, but then there are other times when I know that the other stuff that I do is necessary also to keep things running smoothly and everyone happy. It is hard to draw clear lines sometimes.

I suppose that it is one of those things where I just need to do my best and see where it brings me. But then when writing that down and really thinking about it, it makes me wonder if that isn't the root of the problem after all. Or is there really a 'problem?' After all - how much production is 'enough' and how much is overload?

I wonder sometimes how I feel that I am not doing enough when I know I spend most of my time working in some shape or form. Besides what everyone sees up front, there are all the little personal jobs and things that I do every day that steal the hours away. I don't show everything here because many of the things I do are insignificant in themselves or a small part of a bigger process and not worth mentioning. But when I think about them honestly, they do take up time and that is where many of the hours slip away to. So I suppose they aren't insignificant at all.

I find I spend a lot of time on my mail. It does take a notable amount of my time during an average day. I don't mind that because I do like to get to know people and help them, but I sometimes feel a bit overwhelmed and there are many days that I don't finish mail until noon. And I never really finish, it seems. There is always more there to keep me busy if I wait long enough.

While we were gone those couple of days, I did not have access to a computer from the time I left on Tuesday morning until the time we returned late Wednesday evening. Part of me was anxious about that. I felt as if my lifeline to part of my world had been cut off. With all that was going on around me though, I found that I didn't think much of it most of the time. I survived and the world survived fine without me.

There was one point on Wednesday when we were checking out of the hotel and while standing at the desk, I noticed that there was a computer in the lobby for email and such for the guests to use. I will admit, I almost went to it and checked on things, but there was a man using it and although I was flirting with the idea of waiting for him to finish so I could check things out, I overcame the urge and did not. After all, this was to be a real break.

It made me think though.

Dennis had said something to me a few weeks ago when I was feeling overwhelmed about not having to answer the emails the second that they come into the inbox. It was one of those things that should be quite obvious, but for some reason wasn't (to me at least.) I believe that I have my mind trained to answer emails within three seconds of receiving them no matter what I am doing at the time. I do think this stems from those days when my business was not very successful and communication with customers were few and far between. To be honest with you, at that time I had nothing better to do then jump on the emails and answer them as soon as they arrived. Thus the probable cause of the 'limited' success (I am being generous to myself using that term.)

As I began to rebuild my business, I associated success with the number of emails and questions that I received and even though I receive far more today than I did back then, I still pride myself on returning answers to them in seconds, not hours or even minutes. I know that can be good from a customer's point of view, but as I continue to grow my business it is getting harder and harder to keep up. Something has got to give.

Is there a 'grey area' that I can find in this situation that will work? I hope so. I am open to suggestions from my other friends who have their own businesses and have come across this situation. I need to think it through and come up with something that will work for everyone.

I very much enjoy talking to people and helping them too. Many of my customers also become my friends as we talk and communicate on a regular basis. I don't want to lose those friendships, but I also realize that there are only so many hours in a day and if I continue to grow at the rate that I want to, it will be impossible for me to keep up with correspondence in this manner. I think I have to think a bit more and separate the social aspect of my communications from my professional aspects. After all, if I worked in an office, I would certainly have to limit how much social visiting I would do. How else would I be productive?

I feel as if I am rambling on a bit here today and I do apologize for that. It has just occurred to me how much of some of my days are spent on this and not working on my designs. I don't like the anxious feeling that I have when I want to get these projects on paper and make them a reality and sometimes it seems that I just can't manage the time to do so. I am just looking at what needs to be adjusted in order for me to feel a bit more productive.

I think I am going to try some new approaches to things in the next couple of days and see how it goes. I am at the point where I have a lot of drawing ahead of me and I want to accomplish it before I lose the inspiration. I am going to try not to allow myself get side tracked so easily and stay focused on the task at hand. Maybe a designated time for correspondence and so forth would work better than randomly weaving it into my daily routine. I will still fill orders immediately, but the general questions and things that need my attention would probably do OK if I waited a couple of hours and did them all at once. When I was gone for two days, no one perished and no one was even upset that it took a bit longer for me to answer. The world still turned. Perhaps I do this to myself. (Ya think?)

So I am off to draw.

I am working on a set of ornaments that are so far coming out very nicely. I don't know if I will be able to finish drawing them up today, but we will see how far I can get if I truly focus and stay on task. I have a long list of things that I want to work on and have ready for this year, and the only way I am going to be able to get them done is to be a bit more disciplined. I have to start somewhere.

You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage - pleasantly, smilingly, nonapologetically - to say 'no' to other things. And the way to do that is by having a bigger 'yes' burning inside. The enemy of the 'best' is often the 'good.' ~Stephen Covey
 
#3,542 ·
I can really relate with you on the email problem. I had days where it seemed all I did is respond to emails from staff, customers, professional business associates. I had to get a way from the idea of instant response. Limiting myself to "break" time response or at the completion of a large task. This greatly improved my focus and efficiency.

It's funny how at the end of a very busy day you sometimes fell like you didn't get anything done. While you may have taken care of a hundred little things, that all need to be done, you didn't finish anything on your task list. Welcome to my world. :)
 
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