Sometimes you just have to skin your knees. Lately I keep getting asked for this magic formula for life, business, or weirdly enough Etsy. Honestly people, I do not have the answers to these questions. And the longer I'm alive I think there is no answer. Or maybe it's the wrong question. If you hesitate forever on the doorstep, you never get anything done. I've watched people stronger, better funded, and smarter than me fail. And I've done my share of stupid things and failed. Businesses like my life are imperfectly run actions strung together on a long string that make a living, a family, and an imperfect present. But the difference I think rests in all of us, are we going to get back up after we fail or lay down? Or is it time to try a new door?
Thursday, March 14, 2013
"Do. Or do not. There is No Try" ~Yoda, Star Wars
Sometimes you just have to skin your knees. Lately I keep getting asked for this magic formula for life, business, or weirdly enough Etsy. Honestly people, I do not have the answers to these questions. And the longer I'm alive I think there is no answer. Or maybe it's the wrong question. If you hesitate forever on the doorstep, you never get anything done. I've watched people stronger, better funded, and smarter than me fail. And I've done my share of stupid things and failed. Businesses like my life are imperfectly run actions strung together on a long string that make a living, a family, and an imperfect present. But the difference I think rests in all of us, are we going to get back up after we fail or lay down? Or is it time to try a new door?
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Spring Show Artisan Guidelines
Hey everyone, it's spring! It really is! And our group is getting ready for our semi-annual Arts and Crafts show. This season it will be in downtown Durham during the Spring Art Walk, April 13th from 10 am- 5 pm. If you are member of the local group and interested in being in this year's show: go register here through March 21st.We will be partnering this time with:
The Durham Store Front Project and
Cocoa Cinnamon at
420 W. Geer St.
Durham, NC 27701
to bring you some spring magic. Nash is standing in the lovely stone courtyard they are offering us for the day.Each artist will get a table, chair, and table cloth for the event, plus paid advertising.
Set-up is at 9 am (All artists are expected to arrive by 9:15 at the latest) with the event starting at 10:00 am. Break down begins promptly at 5 pm and generally takes 30 minutes.
We are so excited to be doing the Durham Art Walk this spring with everyone! We love Durham's strong artist vibe.
As a side note for artists who may not have done an arts and craft show before remember to bring:Smile
Business Cards
Plenty of Product
Square/Cash Box to take Money
Bags or Gift Wrap for Customer Purchases
Clear Pricing (Each Item MUST be marked)
Bottled Water/Snacks
Nash and I will be offering vendors space coverage every 2-3 hrs. for 15 minutes so that you can do your own browsing, grab a bite of lunch to eat, or quick pop to the facilities.
Can't wait for another great show! Have a lovely day everyone! And a warm thanks to Jess for making all this possible. You rock!
Monday, March 11, 2013
8% Rise in US Factory Non-Durable Goods Orders
There's a whir of machinery, unanswered phone calls, and designer and small business owners hustling. Factory orders are 8% up in January, and many of the trained tradesmen I know in the business are sold out for 6 months to a year. This is the first time in my living memory and it's great news. It's also forcing a leaning of the overall customer service end as people have less time to hand-hold and answer questions as they're more likely to be out working the floor instead of twiddling their thumbs by the phone.What a great start to 2013. I hope the trend continues.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
The Produce Box: A Local Triangle Treasure!
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Shop Joy
Lately, I've really been failing in the taking pictures, writing, and general posting stuff I'm making part to the blog. In the midst of all the overwork, I got this great e-mail from a friend about teaching their son, Nick to sew costumes two weeks ago after he dropped by Raleigh Little Theater to hang out for a night. We went over the basics at Raleigh Little Theater on selecting and making custom costumes then an hour later, it was handshake time and out the door. They have some great home sewing machines which I do not personally own which are easier for the average sewer to pick up. Thanks Jen!
Today I got photos. It really could not have been more welcome. So many times, I second-guess myself as an introvert if I am having my intended impact on students or those around me. Today was a nice reminder that sometimes an hour here or there is helpful for those around us to follow our dreams. I don't know that I'm ready to back to teaching anytime in the future or carving out time for personal project, but here ya go. When was the last time you underestimated the importance of an hour with someone else in your life? Now one more person knows how to create a little more beauty in the world than they did a month ago.Thank you people for reminding me of the little things in life! Have a great day! And check out Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at Raleigh Little Theater opening this weekend. The shirt here is one of the seven dwarfs (it should very familar for everyone who goes). Will try and take more photos next show.
PS- Paul Wentworth for the photos.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Congradulations to Paul Wentworth
You are the winner for 2 Tickets to go see the Importance of Being Earnest!
Friday, February 22, 2013
Textile Friday: Dry Cleaner Wisdom
There's few things as wonderful as getting back your mother's wedding dress for your big day or as devastating as having your favorite coat turned to mush. While most of us know how to use a home washer and dryer, we ALL struggle with how best to use our local dry cleaners without feeling scammed. It's this will we/won't we internal debate on the shop racks in stores, unpacking attic treasures, or snuggling our favorite sweater. While I won't claim to be an expert on dry cleaners, I can help simplify how and why to use your local dry cleaners having free-lanced behind the scenes when I was starting out. This is a quick and dirty user guide for you, my customer, not the nitty gritty html code to set-up your own shop. It wouldn't be fair the the local businesses in the area I respect to give away their secrets. Oh, and if you're curious, based on what I've seen, Medlin-Davis is my vote from a behind the scenes perspective having both moonlighted there in alterations briefly and used them for over 25 years as a favorite family destination. Their shop was featured on How Stuff Works (and yes, that's what a real dry cleaners looks like behind the scenes). I've got years of my Dad being addicted to these guys, they do a great dress shirt week after year after decade. Plan to keep using these guys for another 25 years, no questions asked as I've kicked their machines around and bothered their staff enough to know they're the real deal. I will also mention H2O Only as some tailors in the area swear by them for delicate or sensitive pieces, but no personal knowledge. Enough about specific cleaners in my area, let's go over the basics.
There are three major reasons most of us go to the dry cleaners:
1.Getting regular clothes cleaned (often service clothes): dress shirts, suits, slacks, service uniforms, sports uniforms, military uniforms, etc. This is primarily cotton clothing which can be pressed, cleaned, and returned in a day or two. Always be sure to ask for wet cleaning and you should be able to get turn around service quickly. Any member of a dry cleaning staff in a good shop is trained to handle these.
2. Getting annual "dry cleaning" in the spring or special occasion: leather coats, fur coats, wool sweaters, wool anything, bridal cleaning, quilts or bedding, or other unusual requests done in the spring. These are what are called heirloom quality clothing which is made to last your lifetime and possibly your grandchildrens' lifetimes. They usually handled by the shop expert with 20 plus years experience. Normally orders are processed for the week on a Tuesday (when you get the best possible service) so to get these cleaned go in on a Monday or early Tuesday morning. Be pleasant, ask for the specific name of the most experienced person in the shop who normally handles x or y. Make it clear you prefer that person (and make sure the name is written on the ticket!) and say you are comfortable waiting an extra week if necessary to get the job done as the right person is more important than a fast job. This does 2 important things, it puts you in the expert's cue and gives them time to work on your job while recognizing them as a person. In the trades, an artisan is MORE impressed by you bothering to find out their name and asking for THEM as the expert than the money. They'll go a better job, and a week's time allows them to both do a good job and fit you in. Always go in the spring before you do your cleaning and pack away the garments to prevent moths and the winter's grime from setting mold and decay into your clothing. It is easier to get stains out before they have 6 months to set in. Remember, fur needs to be handled by a furrier (it's a different process with different equipment) and CAN NOT be done by a dry cleaners, no matter what they say it's a lie if someone tells you they can. I've worked for both dry cleaners and furrier, trust me. I've seen enough melted coats and $10,000 fur coats reduce to piles of slime to know what I'm talking about here. And I don't make a dollar off telling you this hard truth so please please please trust me here on this.
3. Basic tailoring and alterations repairs. These are generally simple repairs that your local tailor can, but often dry cleaners will hire a receptionist who doubles as a seamstress in the front to supplement the shop income and does repairs while she waits. If there's sewing equipment up front that the receptionist uses (may have a curtained changing room off to the side), chances are good you can reasonably have buttons sewn back on, pants hemmed, or minor rips repaired. However, if it's not listed on the counter behind the shop, take it to an actual tailor. This is a good way get sewing done for you at a reasonable price as the shop is discounting your overall price since they already pay the receptionist for her time.
Now, wet cleaning. Any reputable dry cleaner anywhere in the world uses what is called "wet cleaning" now in which they actually wash your clothes, they are then manually pressed in machines like the videos I uploaded (I could see these in my sleep). REAL dry cleaners require elbow grease and a fair amount of work to get your clothes clean. They will also often be humid or moist when you walk in the front door from all the work going on behind the scenes. The various machines are expensive, require up front cash outlays, and often result in tiered pricing for womens and mens as men's shirt pressing machines are common and less expensive.
Now, having walked you through good dry cleaners and how to use them, let me make you aware of the oldest scam in the books which has been written about for hundreds of years besides prostitution. I say this not because all dry cleaners are scam artists, but about half of them are honest hard working people who care about you and have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment and labor to save you, and the other half are lazy scam artists trying to make a fast buck with what I call the "Febreeze Scam." It drives me nuts. Most of us have fallen pry to it including yours truly at one time or another. And it's been around for so long because it works as a con. Basically like the name implies, instead of honestly taking your money and doing the work to clean your clothes, the person behind the counter takes your clothing and Febreezes it by hanging it up somewhere and squirting chemicals all over it to give it the appearance and smell of having been cleaned without the actual work. Big tips offs for this include: 1 set price instead of various prices to reflect different labor and machine costs, "We use a new 'dry process' dry cleaning method.", and "Oh yes, we do everything here" bullshit. Real shops with real equipment have various prices, methods, and often turn around times. We all know Febreeze takes an hour to dry and costs $3.00 for a big bottle. Use your brain people.
The Chinese have taken this to a whole art form in the 1990s with cheap caustic chemicals designed to work like Febreeze on crack, and they are the primary source of "Oh, your shirt, jacket, insert random item here MELTED in the cycle." If you ever had this happen to you, chances are high you were being scammed in more ways than one. However, to be fair, they weren't the first. The French probably started it with their perfume. Every age seems to have a different name and product for the same scam. So protect yourself. Do the research, go get your stuff wet cleaned at a reputable cleaners, don't settle for anything else or you've wasted your money better spent on Febreeze or saving up until you can actually use a real dry cleaners.
On a side note for finding the best dry cleaners in town without doing a lot of leg work, if you are new to a city besides Raleigh (I already told you were the best ones where here) and want to make sure you aren't being scammed, go to the nicest hotel in town you can afford dressed professionally (normally 2 star hotel or better) on a Tuesday afternoon/evening. All better hotels generally have an internal dry cleaning departments for guests, but out-source their employee uniforms to the best local dry cleaners as they are not as time sensitive or profitable. However, the cleaning staff is fanatical about getting their employees the best quality goods in town so they will RELENTLESSLY do all the footwork for you and are knowledgeable enough not to be scammed without you ever having to lose sleep over the matter. Take advantage of their brains by stopping by the bar to buy a drink (You can do this even if you are local) and compliment the most experienced barman on his uniform. I mean he's wearing what you're looking for and ask him where he gets it done. Dry cleaning for the week is normally dropped off on Monday or Tuesday so he may still even have the ticket on him. If he can't tell you that Tuesday, leave a $20 TIP and go back the next week. Chances are he will know then. Do not waste your time asking the front desk, bellboy, or concierge, they are trained not to tell you as it goes against their bottomline. The local barman knows you might come in to buy drinks even if you live in town and share the same cleaners.
There my customer, the best wisdom and protection I can give you about how to use your dry cleaner to make your clothes last longer and end up the right side at the end. Happy Friday! May your clothes always be shiny.
There are three major reasons most of us go to the dry cleaners:
1.Getting regular clothes cleaned (often service clothes): dress shirts, suits, slacks, service uniforms, sports uniforms, military uniforms, etc. This is primarily cotton clothing which can be pressed, cleaned, and returned in a day or two. Always be sure to ask for wet cleaning and you should be able to get turn around service quickly. Any member of a dry cleaning staff in a good shop is trained to handle these.
2. Getting annual "dry cleaning" in the spring or special occasion: leather coats, fur coats, wool sweaters, wool anything, bridal cleaning, quilts or bedding, or other unusual requests done in the spring. These are what are called heirloom quality clothing which is made to last your lifetime and possibly your grandchildrens' lifetimes. They usually handled by the shop expert with 20 plus years experience. Normally orders are processed for the week on a Tuesday (when you get the best possible service) so to get these cleaned go in on a Monday or early Tuesday morning. Be pleasant, ask for the specific name of the most experienced person in the shop who normally handles x or y. Make it clear you prefer that person (and make sure the name is written on the ticket!) and say you are comfortable waiting an extra week if necessary to get the job done as the right person is more important than a fast job. This does 2 important things, it puts you in the expert's cue and gives them time to work on your job while recognizing them as a person. In the trades, an artisan is MORE impressed by you bothering to find out their name and asking for THEM as the expert than the money. They'll go a better job, and a week's time allows them to both do a good job and fit you in. Always go in the spring before you do your cleaning and pack away the garments to prevent moths and the winter's grime from setting mold and decay into your clothing. It is easier to get stains out before they have 6 months to set in. Remember, fur needs to be handled by a furrier (it's a different process with different equipment) and CAN NOT be done by a dry cleaners, no matter what they say it's a lie if someone tells you they can. I've worked for both dry cleaners and furrier, trust me. I've seen enough melted coats and $10,000 fur coats reduce to piles of slime to know what I'm talking about here. And I don't make a dollar off telling you this hard truth so please please please trust me here on this.
3. Basic tailoring and alterations repairs. These are generally simple repairs that your local tailor can, but often dry cleaners will hire a receptionist who doubles as a seamstress in the front to supplement the shop income and does repairs while she waits. If there's sewing equipment up front that the receptionist uses (may have a curtained changing room off to the side), chances are good you can reasonably have buttons sewn back on, pants hemmed, or minor rips repaired. However, if it's not listed on the counter behind the shop, take it to an actual tailor. This is a good way get sewing done for you at a reasonable price as the shop is discounting your overall price since they already pay the receptionist for her time.
Now, wet cleaning. Any reputable dry cleaner anywhere in the world uses what is called "wet cleaning" now in which they actually wash your clothes, they are then manually pressed in machines like the videos I uploaded (I could see these in my sleep). REAL dry cleaners require elbow grease and a fair amount of work to get your clothes clean. They will also often be humid or moist when you walk in the front door from all the work going on behind the scenes. The various machines are expensive, require up front cash outlays, and often result in tiered pricing for womens and mens as men's shirt pressing machines are common and less expensive.
Now, having walked you through good dry cleaners and how to use them, let me make you aware of the oldest scam in the books which has been written about for hundreds of years besides prostitution. I say this not because all dry cleaners are scam artists, but about half of them are honest hard working people who care about you and have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment and labor to save you, and the other half are lazy scam artists trying to make a fast buck with what I call the "Febreeze Scam." It drives me nuts. Most of us have fallen pry to it including yours truly at one time or another. And it's been around for so long because it works as a con. Basically like the name implies, instead of honestly taking your money and doing the work to clean your clothes, the person behind the counter takes your clothing and Febreezes it by hanging it up somewhere and squirting chemicals all over it to give it the appearance and smell of having been cleaned without the actual work. Big tips offs for this include: 1 set price instead of various prices to reflect different labor and machine costs, "We use a new 'dry process' dry cleaning method.", and "Oh yes, we do everything here" bullshit. Real shops with real equipment have various prices, methods, and often turn around times. We all know Febreeze takes an hour to dry and costs $3.00 for a big bottle. Use your brain people.
The Chinese have taken this to a whole art form in the 1990s with cheap caustic chemicals designed to work like Febreeze on crack, and they are the primary source of "Oh, your shirt, jacket, insert random item here MELTED in the cycle." If you ever had this happen to you, chances are high you were being scammed in more ways than one. However, to be fair, they weren't the first. The French probably started it with their perfume. Every age seems to have a different name and product for the same scam. So protect yourself. Do the research, go get your stuff wet cleaned at a reputable cleaners, don't settle for anything else or you've wasted your money better spent on Febreeze or saving up until you can actually use a real dry cleaners.
On a side note for finding the best dry cleaners in town without doing a lot of leg work, if you are new to a city besides Raleigh (I already told you were the best ones where here) and want to make sure you aren't being scammed, go to the nicest hotel in town you can afford dressed professionally (normally 2 star hotel or better) on a Tuesday afternoon/evening. All better hotels generally have an internal dry cleaning departments for guests, but out-source their employee uniforms to the best local dry cleaners as they are not as time sensitive or profitable. However, the cleaning staff is fanatical about getting their employees the best quality goods in town so they will RELENTLESSLY do all the footwork for you and are knowledgeable enough not to be scammed without you ever having to lose sleep over the matter. Take advantage of their brains by stopping by the bar to buy a drink (You can do this even if you are local) and compliment the most experienced barman on his uniform. I mean he's wearing what you're looking for and ask him where he gets it done. Dry cleaning for the week is normally dropped off on Monday or Tuesday so he may still even have the ticket on him. If he can't tell you that Tuesday, leave a $20 TIP and go back the next week. Chances are he will know then. Do not waste your time asking the front desk, bellboy, or concierge, they are trained not to tell you as it goes against their bottomline. The local barman knows you might come in to buy drinks even if you live in town and share the same cleaners.
There my customer, the best wisdom and protection I can give you about how to use your dry cleaner to make your clothes last longer and end up the right side at the end. Happy Friday! May your clothes always be shiny.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)