Hi there
Thanks for popping in. I must say, I do appreciate your comments on the blog. I read them every day. Yesterday, one reader (Lynda, I think) said she felt I was movin’ too fast. Ain’t that the truth! In my defence, I honestly think it’s a common Business Owners’s lament. In an attempt to keep the business afloat, to make provision for the next dry period, I really have bitten off a bit more than I can chew again. This is so very cyclical with me, it’s started to get boring! I can hear myself saying things like I shall have to park pottery for a bit, I really haven’t got time to go on holiday, my life is not my own. So once again, it is becoming abundantly clear that we have squatters!
This two pesky gits Wurka and Hollick snuck in the back door again, while I was distracted with Dad and my own health back at the start of the year.
They waited patiently upstairs in the loft, and now they’ve taken up residence in my head again. And Dave’s. He’s a sucker for overdoing it! In fact, truth be told, he had another TIA a few weeks ago. He’s getting better again, but he really does have to slow down! As for Wurka and Hollick, they are not welcome guests, they have taken over the house – and we shall have to evict them again. Blimming nuisances.
So yes, Lynda. We are movin’ too fast, and we know it. I made a plum crumble this morning, in a bid to do something normal, and Dave washed the cars in the rain. Mmm…..
Changing the subject, another reader said she wasn’t a stamper but she thought that the Art Nouveau designs that are going on Create and Craft TV tomorrow 3-5pm would look good as dies. We actually have had four made for us, but we have only three designs left in stock: The Snowdrops, the Tulips and The Damask Rose. Let me find them…
CLICK HERE TO FIND THEM ONLINE
According to the website, we’ve only got 3 of the Snowdrops left, which would explain why we haven’t added them to the TV show. They are on order. We have more of the Tulips and Damask Rose – my personal favourites. My guess is that we have reordered those two in the past, which is why we have more. Dies are the one thing we have to import. We do design them of course! But dies cannot be made in this country, so we go to China. We really like working with the Chinese, they have a real CAN DO approach, like us. They are always so kind and helpful too. Over the years we have developed friendships with these distant business partners – and from where we stand, they run truly hardworking, good, honest businesses. However, shipping costs have gone through the roof, and import takes longer than before. I’m sure there’s more to it than we know, but we see that many Chinese factories are having a hard time. They have been struggling since COVID hit, and they really don’t seem to have recovered, however hard they try to keep going. So we are very careful what and when we order, we are patient and we try not to put pressure on them.
The world has changed. We have to adapt. We continue to be grateful that the Good Ship Clarity is still going strong, but we have to go with the flow.
Today’s quote. There is much debate about the exact wording, but the underlying message runs deep….
It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.
charles darwin
Here is some lovely artwork from the Design team, showing the Dies off to their best…
Time to check the plum crumble and get Dave in!!
Love always
Barb x x x