January Rest?

January is usually a more "restful" month compared to December. It's time for inventory, planning and updating. In most years, new orders are not scheduled to start until February just so January can be all those things. This year is different because there are some earlier new order completion deadlines that must be met. The planning and updating is mostly happening in my head as I complete other tasks. Happy to be busy! Just still recovering in terms of sleep and rest from the wonderful Christmas season.
My sister commented on her FB page that she wishes she was a bear so she could pack on the pounds in the fall, hibernate all winter and be trim and well rested by spring. Sounds like heaven to me, but I'd settle for a day off with a 2 hour nap.

A House and A Rock In a Box In a Box.

The deciding factor to retread this blog was a package from a client. A couple years ago, I created a 'My House' replica of PJ's Deli and Catering in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania. http://pjbakery.com/ P.J. was so fun to work with and she even let me get my Creative on. In my opinion, the large commercial windows would have looked rather stark and empty on the finished piece, so she allowed me to create replicas of the most popular items on the deli lunch menu- a sub sandwich, burger with fries and chocolate cookies- and place them inside the windows. Those details not only provided that extra bit of fun and gave the piece distinctive character, but also reflected P.J. well.

P.J. recently updated the exterior of her deli and wanted her 'My House' replica to reflect those changes- new color scheme, rock walls and the addition of grandmother's old cupola. Of course, I jumped at the chance to work with her again. And it did run through my mind to consider possible payment in the form of the Deli's famous Nut Rolls-- only baked from October through December (with a waiting list.)

So this week, a giant box arrived on my door step. It was one of the more entertaining boxes I have ever opened. The outer box was huge and filled with enough packing peanuts for me to recycle and reuse in other shipments for the next year. Inside the big box was a smaller box and inside that was the 'My House' wrapped and wrapped and wrapped again in a black garbage bag that provided enough Hefty cuddling of the piece to keep it safe.

But wait, what was in the white paper shopping bag included? Oh, paint chips of the new color palette. But what in the world were those heavy chunks in the bottom? It briefly occurred to me that they might be nut rolls, but since the bag was as heavy as lead brick, I hoped they weren't. Turned out they were rocks, real rocks. Samples of the new rock wall. A picture is worth a thousand words, but a rock eliminates the need for any mere verbal description.

I was so happy that someone would send me a rock. Too funny. It absolutely made my week.

just a little to say

For several weeks, I have been thinking about restarting this blog. And so, for several weeks, I've been questioning my sanity. This is RDG's busiest time of year. The Christmas season is already in full swing before the leaves in Wisconsin have barely begun their fall color show. The idea of snow has not yet transitioned from distant memory to upcoming event. Yet here I am singing Fa-La-La-La-La, La, La, La, Laaaaa and creating Christmas gifts for clients around the country.

Yes, it is a stressful time of year, but just as fun and exciting. After almost 8 years in creating my little houses, it still feels novel and amazing to me that people all around the U.S. and Canada search, find and contact me and all those people, or their family member, or their friend, has something I touched and created sitting there inside their home. As completely corny and sentimental as this sounds, it makes me feel welcomed as a small part of that family's life.

Someday, I would like to travel the country making stops at each of these homes to visit my clients and my pottery houses and remember how we worked together and how each piece was created. The Nostalgia Tour. Okay, this sounds a little strange now, but how cool would it be if my future grandchildren or greatgrandchildren went on such journey to learn about me and see my work.

I get especially jazzed about my work this time of year, so I guess feeling like blogging about it makes some sense. When I started this blog in January, I wasn't sure I would have enough to say about my little business-- or enough interesting things to say. And so, the posts morphed into being more personal accounts of my life than business. Those old posts are now nicely tucked away into a very entertaining personal blog. And this blog can get back to business. A place to jot down ideas, goals, struggles, but most of all how fun it is to work with my clients.

Not entertainment for the masses, but a nice little record for me and RDG.