Yes, we closed for the holidays, though that's somewhat of an illusion. We will be closed and not working for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but then we'll be working behind the scenes.
Even a teeny tiny little business like mine has stuff to do.
There are records to do for tax filing, inventory to be taken and this year I am hoping to upgrade the website (behind the scenes). It's also time to come up with some new designs, both for the bookplates and booklover items.
And assessment of what's going on with the sites where we carry other items. It would also be lovely to have feedback (and replies!) about what works and what doesn't, from customers.
Wishing everyone a happy holiday!
Friday, December 18, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
A new year coming, new directions...
There is a lot of bookplate competition out here these days -- when I first started back at the turn of the century (!!!!) there were only a couple of other bookplate sellers on line -- now there appear to be hundreds.
When I tried to purchase Antioch Bookplate, the President told me you can't make a living selling bookplates, so he was bundling it with the rest of the company (bookmarks, journals, other paper products). My answer was, I don't have to make a big living -- and I don't have to answer to a board of directors where I make a huge profit. AND I do have other things I design and sell.
But.. off went Antioch Bookplate Company, leaving me in the dust. I have a nice stock of inventory yet, so I'm not terribly worried. And some of my own designs which sell well.
And I recently changed the packaging -- I'd been looking for a long time for something to replace the plastic packaging Antioch used. I tried colored envelopes but they always looked like.. colored envelopes.
Christmas 2009 I started using plain brown wrappers with the bookplate on top, then added a twine to close it. Recycled, recyclable. This is all hand done, mind you. Heaven help me if Oprah ever features me (I think I'm safe).
What lies ahead is exciting -- more of what I'd love to hear from customers -- what designs are missing, what would you like?
When I tried to purchase Antioch Bookplate, the President told me you can't make a living selling bookplates, so he was bundling it with the rest of the company (bookmarks, journals, other paper products). My answer was, I don't have to make a big living -- and I don't have to answer to a board of directors where I make a huge profit. AND I do have other things I design and sell.
But.. off went Antioch Bookplate Company, leaving me in the dust. I have a nice stock of inventory yet, so I'm not terribly worried. And some of my own designs which sell well.
And I recently changed the packaging -- I'd been looking for a long time for something to replace the plastic packaging Antioch used. I tried colored envelopes but they always looked like.. colored envelopes.
Christmas 2009 I started using plain brown wrappers with the bookplate on top, then added a twine to close it. Recycled, recyclable. This is all hand done, mind you. Heaven help me if Oprah ever features me (I think I'm safe).
What lies ahead is exciting -- more of what I'd love to hear from customers -- what designs are missing, what would you like?
The holidaze are upon us...
About last week, it seemed everyone (myself included) began to realize that Christmas is upon us... orders started flowing in right as I got this feeling that I wanted... or needed.. (whatever!) to get out and do some serious shopping!
Is the economy picking up? I don't know... I'm not entirely shopping with coupons and sales on my mind -- my youngest son and oldest grandson have things they want on their Wish List -- they seem to be like many others in their age groups (9 - 18) so the things they want aren't deep discounted.
And my dear customers stun me by somehow ignoring or not noticing the 10% discount I've offered through Twitter. My guess is most are my age or older and relatively clueless as to what Twitter is, let alone how to use it. I'm also a bit shocked at how many are a few cents (and I mean cents, not dollars) away from the free shipping, but ignore it.
Of course, I've done the same myself many times -- my own attitude has been something along the lines of "daggone it, you aren't gonna manipulate me into buying another bookplate I don't want or need, just to get your free shipping!"
I'd love to know, aside from good service and good products, what do customers want?
Is the economy picking up? I don't know... I'm not entirely shopping with coupons and sales on my mind -- my youngest son and oldest grandson have things they want on their Wish List -- they seem to be like many others in their age groups (9 - 18) so the things they want aren't deep discounted.
And my dear customers stun me by somehow ignoring or not noticing the 10% discount I've offered through Twitter. My guess is most are my age or older and relatively clueless as to what Twitter is, let alone how to use it. I'm also a bit shocked at how many are a few cents (and I mean cents, not dollars) away from the free shipping, but ignore it.
Of course, I've done the same myself many times -- my own attitude has been something along the lines of "daggone it, you aren't gonna manipulate me into buying another bookplate I don't want or need, just to get your free shipping!"
I'd love to know, aside from good service and good products, what do customers want?
Monday, December 7, 2009
too long a rest
I have neglected my poor blog but... nothing much is new!
The bookplates from fellow artists seem to be selling nicely -- as are the traditional bookplates.
I've also added Twitter to the website -- that's really more interesting and easier to keep up than a blog.
The bookplates from fellow artists seem to be selling nicely -- as are the traditional bookplates.
I've also added Twitter to the website -- that's really more interesting and easier to keep up than a blog.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
New bookplates!!!
This was exciting -- I need to get some new bookplate designs, but with the economy what it is, money is limited. I called out to fellow artists and got a bunch of really nice designs, which I put into my shop just in time for back to school.
I hope these go over well -- some of them are so nice, I want them for my own collection!
They're all laid out in my shop..Right here
I hope these go over well -- some of them are so nice, I want them for my own collection!
They're all laid out in my shop..Right here
Thursday, August 13, 2009
On the road again
Summer time, my favorite... in and out of the house, short trips on little errands. And my customers are always so nice about placing orders and waiting 'til I return. This is a portable business, to some extend -- at least the graphic design part is. The bookplates can also be taken on the road, as long as I have a place to park a few months at a time.
Not much else to say -- gone for just a few days, then I'm back for the fall and winter, despite my itch to go....
Not much else to say -- gone for just a few days, then I'm back for the fall and winter, despite my itch to go....
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Still itchin'
The itch so far isn't going away.
I got a tour of a friend's RV -- much bigger than what I need, but it gave me an idea. And she showed me all the things you have to do.
Went to the library and took out two books, The RV'ers Bible (which I looked at in B and N but didn't buy yet) and Take Back your Life --- both are excellent. Take Back Your Life is especially made for someone thinking about trying RVing full time.
My mother is looking at a retirement home in Dayton - not a good idea because it has to be expensive and she's as broke as I am. But taking her there and discussing it gives me the opportunity to break the news to her that I'm moving on.
My son will be back in school in a couple of weeks, so I can finally start on the house - hard to do with two teen-agers around. I'm going to start first by cleaning out the house of trash and Goodwill donations, sorting yard sale and giveaway stuff, then doing the paint jobs.
Sounds easy, but I know it won't be. But.. you gotta do what you gotta do. Everywhere I go I'm looking at RV's which this time of year are plentiful -- really looking forward to the RV show in early September!
I got a tour of a friend's RV -- much bigger than what I need, but it gave me an idea. And she showed me all the things you have to do.
Went to the library and took out two books, The RV'ers Bible (which I looked at in B and N but didn't buy yet) and Take Back your Life --- both are excellent. Take Back Your Life is especially made for someone thinking about trying RVing full time.
My mother is looking at a retirement home in Dayton - not a good idea because it has to be expensive and she's as broke as I am. But taking her there and discussing it gives me the opportunity to break the news to her that I'm moving on.
My son will be back in school in a couple of weeks, so I can finally start on the house - hard to do with two teen-agers around. I'm going to start first by cleaning out the house of trash and Goodwill donations, sorting yard sale and giveaway stuff, then doing the paint jobs.
Sounds easy, but I know it won't be. But.. you gotta do what you gotta do. Everywhere I go I'm looking at RV's which this time of year are plentiful -- really looking forward to the RV show in early September!
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Am I.. certifiable?
That is the question -- am I off my rocker?
My latest project is enough to make even me wonder. I don't worry so much about my wish to travel and live in an RV - even though from what I read, gas mileage will be between 8 and 11 mph.
In order to get there, there are all these THINGS I have to do about the house, noted in my last post. I am a great procrastinator...there's so much to do, and even giving myself a year.. so little time.
So, I came up with this plan for a way to motivate myself. I've already put the wheels in motion to get a HEL - next I need to get quotes on the things that need doing. Fine, fine. No big deal.. but more than that.... I feel overwhelmed when I look around at my yard and house, all the things I have to do. Lists are great, but you have to do something with the list!
My "do something" is to make this public announcement, complete with before pictures and post it, inviting people to watch as I fix up my house room by room.
Me, I'm a great "idea person" - it's the follow through that's my weak point. I'm hoping this will help -- I'm posting the link to that here and on the side too. For anyone who bothers to follow me (I have the feeling most of the time this is my diary, and I'm just talkin' to myself.. that works to I suppose..it's a lonely life sometimes, no matter who you are!)
My latest project is enough to make even me wonder. I don't worry so much about my wish to travel and live in an RV - even though from what I read, gas mileage will be between 8 and 11 mph.
In order to get there, there are all these THINGS I have to do about the house, noted in my last post. I am a great procrastinator...there's so much to do, and even giving myself a year.. so little time.
So, I came up with this plan for a way to motivate myself. I've already put the wheels in motion to get a HEL - next I need to get quotes on the things that need doing. Fine, fine. No big deal.. but more than that.... I feel overwhelmed when I look around at my yard and house, all the things I have to do. Lists are great, but you have to do something with the list!
My "do something" is to make this public announcement, complete with before pictures and post it, inviting people to watch as I fix up my house room by room.
Me, I'm a great "idea person" - it's the follow through that's my weak point. I'm hoping this will help -- I'm posting the link to that here and on the side too. For anyone who bothers to follow me (I have the feeling most of the time this is my diary, and I'm just talkin' to myself.. that works to I suppose..it's a lonely life sometimes, no matter who you are!)
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Traveling itch
I have a headache. But it doesn't seem to be from overwork... it's that time of the year when my allergies kick in... ah well...
Spending my time patiently waiting for September, when everyone returns and starts realizing that the holidays are upon us. Will orders start pouring in? I'm not sure...
I've been working, if you want to call it that, on writing things for Squidoo, which is an online ...um.. well, what is it? A place where people write all sorts of How to's and What nots ... Some of it is selling junk, but the majority of it is interesting and useful stuff... If you want to know how to do anything, or where to get anything, or if you have information to share, Squidoo is the place!
One of the things I want to research there is living the RV life full time. I'm not sure I'd ever have the nerve to do it.. ever being a short time period that I'll have to go about and do it.
But it appeals to me -- I wouldn't be traveling endlessly, mind you. In my mind, I'd like to sell my house, get rid of all the stuff I have accumulated and live in a somewhat small camper truck, going south in the winter and returning here in the summers. I fancy myself running my bookplate business out of it... it isn't difficult these days to have wifi hook-ups for your computer and printer; orders can be shipped from anywhere.
There is the sticky matter of all those bookplates I'd have to truck around, but they really don't take up that much space.
What is scary about this idea? I'm not mechanically inclined and one of the things I keep reading is, your vehicle is going to break down, you need to know how to fix it up.
I'm also not the neatest person and when you live in a small space, you have to be neat. There's only so much space for things -- and neatness counts in the way of cleanliness too. I read also about the bugs and insects that like to try to infiltrate.
A woman traveling alone - yes, that's a bit scary. I've done it before when I was much younger and more attractive. I've had bad things happen, too - but I survived. If I do this, I'll have a dog with me rather than a gun. Dogs are great companions (I have one now) and they tend to fend off intruders who decide to go find someone who doesn't have a dog.
Although I'm ready to go tomorrow in my mind, there is a huge list of things that would have to be done. I really don't like to do lists (heavy sigh here). My mother and youngest son both need to decide where they'd go. My son is fine with this, we've already talked. My mother is another story -- the first thing I have to tell her is, no, you can't come with me.
Then of course there's the house, which I mentioned before. It has to be tidied up a lot in order to be sold - but then it has to be tidied up a lot anyway. My financial situation isn't yet dire, but I don't have the 20,000 or 30,000 needed to do the updating needed.
A new roof, gutters, kitchen floor and counters -- some electrical wiring work too.
I want to go lie down when I think about it.
And stuff. I have stuff and stuff and stuff. I figure I will begin sorting it out, trashing a lot now, good willing some, and getting a lot of it ready for yard sales next spring. I do not use 3/4 of what I have, I swear.
My good furniture, what little I have... I suppose can be 'left' with my son and his wife, hoping that if I change my mind in a year, I can have it back.
My car. What do I do with my car? It isn't paid for yet - 3 more years. Ideally I'd love to give it to my youngest as his h.s. graduation present, but that would probably backfire on us. I suppose I could just sell it, though I hate to.
Keeping my bicycle. Yep.
There's the matter of my epilepsy - controlled. What would happen if... ?
I want to lie down again. It's a cross that bridge question. It's controlled. I drive.
To be free of most of my junk and free to roam, of course, does not mean I would be free. My youngest will be in college - payments have to be made. I'm not planning to be out of touch with family - and I have to establish a home base somewhere to register my car and my driver's license - and my business.... so I imagine it would still be here in Ohio.
Could rent my shabby home, I suppose, though the idea of being a long distance landlord doesn't appeal to me. My mother would jump at the change to move in here, though she can't afford full rent... that would be one solution. I could go home again.....
Guess I have ample time to think on it...
Spending my time patiently waiting for September, when everyone returns and starts realizing that the holidays are upon us. Will orders start pouring in? I'm not sure...
I've been working, if you want to call it that, on writing things for Squidoo, which is an online ...um.. well, what is it? A place where people write all sorts of How to's and What nots ... Some of it is selling junk, but the majority of it is interesting and useful stuff... If you want to know how to do anything, or where to get anything, or if you have information to share, Squidoo is the place!
One of the things I want to research there is living the RV life full time. I'm not sure I'd ever have the nerve to do it.. ever being a short time period that I'll have to go about and do it.
But it appeals to me -- I wouldn't be traveling endlessly, mind you. In my mind, I'd like to sell my house, get rid of all the stuff I have accumulated and live in a somewhat small camper truck, going south in the winter and returning here in the summers. I fancy myself running my bookplate business out of it... it isn't difficult these days to have wifi hook-ups for your computer and printer; orders can be shipped from anywhere.
There is the sticky matter of all those bookplates I'd have to truck around, but they really don't take up that much space.
What is scary about this idea? I'm not mechanically inclined and one of the things I keep reading is, your vehicle is going to break down, you need to know how to fix it up.
I'm also not the neatest person and when you live in a small space, you have to be neat. There's only so much space for things -- and neatness counts in the way of cleanliness too. I read also about the bugs and insects that like to try to infiltrate.
A woman traveling alone - yes, that's a bit scary. I've done it before when I was much younger and more attractive. I've had bad things happen, too - but I survived. If I do this, I'll have a dog with me rather than a gun. Dogs are great companions (I have one now) and they tend to fend off intruders who decide to go find someone who doesn't have a dog.
Although I'm ready to go tomorrow in my mind, there is a huge list of things that would have to be done. I really don't like to do lists (heavy sigh here). My mother and youngest son both need to decide where they'd go. My son is fine with this, we've already talked. My mother is another story -- the first thing I have to tell her is, no, you can't come with me.
Then of course there's the house, which I mentioned before. It has to be tidied up a lot in order to be sold - but then it has to be tidied up a lot anyway. My financial situation isn't yet dire, but I don't have the 20,000 or 30,000 needed to do the updating needed.
A new roof, gutters, kitchen floor and counters -- some electrical wiring work too.
I want to go lie down when I think about it.
And stuff. I have stuff and stuff and stuff. I figure I will begin sorting it out, trashing a lot now, good willing some, and getting a lot of it ready for yard sales next spring. I do not use 3/4 of what I have, I swear.
My good furniture, what little I have... I suppose can be 'left' with my son and his wife, hoping that if I change my mind in a year, I can have it back.
My car. What do I do with my car? It isn't paid for yet - 3 more years. Ideally I'd love to give it to my youngest as his h.s. graduation present, but that would probably backfire on us. I suppose I could just sell it, though I hate to.
Keeping my bicycle. Yep.
There's the matter of my epilepsy - controlled. What would happen if... ?
I want to lie down again. It's a cross that bridge question. It's controlled. I drive.
To be free of most of my junk and free to roam, of course, does not mean I would be free. My youngest will be in college - payments have to be made. I'm not planning to be out of touch with family - and I have to establish a home base somewhere to register my car and my driver's license - and my business.... so I imagine it would still be here in Ohio.
Could rent my shabby home, I suppose, though the idea of being a long distance landlord doesn't appeal to me. My mother would jump at the change to move in here, though she can't afford full rent... that would be one solution. I could go home again.....
Guess I have ample time to think on it...
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Getting by
Back at work, I can't get myself much into the mood although thank GOD for those bookplate lovers out there who are helping me pay my bills! Not even halfway through the month and I've got about $100 to live on until next pay day. That's what happens when life throws things at you that aren't in your budget!
We'll manage -- moving money from here to there, stalling on some payments. I think of those commercials with the bald moustached guy selling computer software.."buy my products" he says with a slight southern accent. He's so trustful and charming, if I didn't already have most of those products, I'd truly consider it. But I want to say the same thing on my website, if I could just get people to it..."Buy my product".
There are a ton of bookplates out there to choose from. And all the other little items I've made to supplement the bookplates. Competition is so fierce that CafePress, which used to be the main place where I made and had my other items manufatured and shipped, is now competing with its own artists. They sell our items, too, for more than we do and with less commission to us -- but they have the big bucks to fill google ads up, so customers see them first.
What I can't figure is why a customer might see my Cat on Books, Life is Sweet items (my top seller!) in several locations if they do a Google search --
CafePress's more expensive version of my shirt, selling now at $28.00
Direct from my shop - same exact shirt, $22.99, shipping cost is the same
another location of mine where the same organic t-shirt is $19.95 and shipping is about the same..
and my highly recommended manufacturer, a local Ohio company $18.99 plus comparable shipping, and the work is done with consideration of fair trade and labor, as well as environmentally friendly processing. I'm slowly moving several of my designs here, but if I can't get folks to buy from anyone but CP, it seems hopeless!
instead of going to the original artist's store (that would be the second one up there) go directly to CafePress where, not only do they they pay more, the artists who sell there get much less due to CafePress's new procedures. Of course they don't know that, and there's no way I can say "buy my product here!" though I am gonna try!
The matching bookplate for that design is
running out - it was an Antioch bookplate design. That sounds like a sad and negative thing, but on the bright side, I have the rights to print this design on a bookplate of my own -- I'm thinking it will be a matching "Life is Sweet" design. I'm not sure if that will turn away some more serious bookplate buyers. Maybe a survey on my bookplate site is at hand!
We'll manage -- moving money from here to there, stalling on some payments. I think of those commercials with the bald moustached guy selling computer software.."buy my products" he says with a slight southern accent. He's so trustful and charming, if I didn't already have most of those products, I'd truly consider it. But I want to say the same thing on my website, if I could just get people to it..."Buy my product".
There are a ton of bookplates out there to choose from. And all the other little items I've made to supplement the bookplates. Competition is so fierce that CafePress, which used to be the main place where I made and had my other items manufatured and shipped, is now competing with its own artists. They sell our items, too, for more than we do and with less commission to us -- but they have the big bucks to fill google ads up, so customers see them first.
What I can't figure is why a customer might see my Cat on Books, Life is Sweet items (my top seller!) in several locations if they do a Google search --
CafePress's more expensive version of my shirt, selling now at $28.00
Direct from my shop - same exact shirt, $22.99, shipping cost is the same
another location of mine where the same organic t-shirt is $19.95 and shipping is about the same..
and my highly recommended manufacturer, a local Ohio company $18.99 plus comparable shipping, and the work is done with consideration of fair trade and labor, as well as environmentally friendly processing. I'm slowly moving several of my designs here, but if I can't get folks to buy from anyone but CP, it seems hopeless!
instead of going to the original artist's store (that would be the second one up there) go directly to CafePress where, not only do they they pay more, the artists who sell there get much less due to CafePress's new procedures. Of course they don't know that, and there's no way I can say "buy my product here!" though I am gonna try!
The matching bookplate for that design is
running out - it was an Antioch bookplate design. That sounds like a sad and negative thing, but on the bright side, I have the rights to print this design on a bookplate of my own -- I'm thinking it will be a matching "Life is Sweet" design. I'm not sure if that will turn away some more serious bookplate buyers. Maybe a survey on my bookplate site is at hand!
Friday, July 10, 2009
Back to work
I haven't left for Tennessee yet, so back to work. No doubt my customers are not checking my blog to follow my personal life!
One of the uses of a blog is to show what's new -- and to give little perks to those who use it. So, here's the news. For those who are on Facebook and follow Friendly Spirit there, you will find a coupon to use for a discount. The same with my Twitter followers.
As for those who don't I can tell you about new products at my non-Bookplate shops. Two new product lines added this summer.
First is the ".......always Welcome" line. This was inspired by the sign I saw on the door of my son's new house, when helping his family move this summer. He and his wife went to Woodstock this summer (omg, shades of my past, 40 years ago this summer, my husband asked if I wanted to go and I turned him down because I didn't want to take our year old baby!)
I loved that poster and decided to add a whole line of " "Welcome always" to my line of non-bookplate items, including the Hippy offer, which I didn't see much of on-line.
So, here are some of my Welcome signs -- these aren't just signs of course - they come as shirts and postcards, and I a couple of bumperstickers. The Hippy design can be converted to whatever someone wants, so the word "Hippies" can be replaced.
The Grandchildren always Welcome postcard already got some favorable comments! I really love the idea of sending out a postcard with a matching stamp to the grandchildren, letting them know they are always welcome -- but the Cats always welcome is also appealing!
And although it is a bit early, I've started on 2010 Calendars. Mine are almost all for booklovers - quotes and sayings of interest to booklovers. There's only one big one, a wall poster.
The rest are all sweet little pocket sized, or maybe slightly larger than pocket sized - postcard sized or greeting card sized. The prices are really nice - I know a lot of my customers like to buy inexpensive gifts to give as added gifts for friends, co-workers, family or book groups, and I think these will work. The Calendars can be seen here - I'll post more about them later, they really need their own spot!
One of the uses of a blog is to show what's new -- and to give little perks to those who use it. So, here's the news. For those who are on Facebook and follow Friendly Spirit there, you will find a coupon to use for a discount. The same with my Twitter followers.
As for those who don't I can tell you about new products at my non-Bookplate shops. Two new product lines added this summer.
First is the ".......always Welcome" line. This was inspired by the sign I saw on the door of my son's new house, when helping his family move this summer. He and his wife went to Woodstock this summer (omg, shades of my past, 40 years ago this summer, my husband asked if I wanted to go and I turned him down because I didn't want to take our year old baby!)
I loved that poster and decided to add a whole line of " "Welcome always" to my line of non-bookplate items, including the Hippy offer, which I didn't see much of on-line.
So, here are some of my Welcome signs -- these aren't just signs of course - they come as shirts and postcards, and I a couple of bumperstickers. The Hippy design can be converted to whatever someone wants, so the word "Hippies" can be replaced.
The Grandchildren always Welcome postcard already got some favorable comments! I really love the idea of sending out a postcard with a matching stamp to the grandchildren, letting them know they are always welcome -- but the Cats always welcome is also appealing!
And although it is a bit early, I've started on 2010 Calendars. Mine are almost all for booklovers - quotes and sayings of interest to booklovers. There's only one big one, a wall poster.
The rest are all sweet little pocket sized, or maybe slightly larger than pocket sized - postcard sized or greeting card sized. The prices are really nice - I know a lot of my customers like to buy inexpensive gifts to give as added gifts for friends, co-workers, family or book groups, and I think these will work. The Calendars can be seen here - I'll post more about them later, they really need their own spot!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Life is a Journey
It's been a busy week or so. My youngest son's girlfriend is staying with us for a couple of weeks - so two 17 year olds (though she just turned 18) in the house. Lots of energy. I haven't driven in days, they're both getting ready to take their driver's tests. And my second son and his wife just bought their first home, so we all helped them move in - which was fun. The pictures I took of the move and them sitting on the steps with my 8 year old grandson will be part of the family history, talked about and passed down for generations.
You don't realize that, of course, while you're doing that. It's just another day in your life.
But having spent some time recently going through old family stories of my grandfather's life and death, and photos of my own early life and marriages - and even my youngest son's early days only 15 or 16 years ago - I am somewhat stunned now by how meaningful these every day events can be.
Right now I am preparing to attend my first mother-in-law's funeral two states away this coming week-end. The past comes very much to mind - I do not have many photographs of Rosemary, and not even that many memories, not enough.
Whenever someone dies, I find myself sobbing not so much at their passing, but at the things I did not do with them, the things I did not say. It's all about me, still (sigh). Life is so short, and I still don't get it. And a death is about our losses, as well as the losses of the world.
I saw Rosemary last summer, but she wasn't herself. In her 80's she had been suffering from Parkinson's for some time. It had the same effect, after awhile, as Alzheimer's -- it steals away much of the memory and When I saw her, it was clear that the Rosemary I'd known, the person she was, was pretty much gone.
And yet, nobody could mourn that passing. It's an awkward state. She'd known it was coming before she left, and that makes me want to cry, although knowing the woman she was, I imagine she handled that better than most anyone could have.
She was an awesome woman. I met her when I was 19, pregnant with her 18 year old son's child. I have three sons - I don't think I would have been so kind, loving, accepting, funny, direct and genuine in the same situation (and I hope I don't have to find out - only one more to go). I know she wasn't perfect, but she was emotionally healthy, something pretty unfamiliar to me, and I loved her.
Her son and I were, of course, much too young for our marriage to survive under the circumstances we gave it. She included me every Christmas in her mailing of her funny Christmas letter she sent out to friends. She called me to let me know her husband died, though I expect she called me to let her grandson know his grandfather died. She was always there, and I know it was because she loved my ex-husband and my son, not because she thought I was marvelous (though back in those days, so hungry for mother love, I saw it that way). She treated me like I was a good person, when I felt I wasn't. I think she probably was like that with most people. She gave me my first new car in 1978.
She has always been my role-model for what a mother-in-law could be, as well as what a mother could be. I was sad to see that she was there and yet gone last summer - this week as I get ready to go to the funeral, I find memories of her as I knew her popping into my mind.
She had a big toothed smile and a hearty laugh you had to love. I remember and feel both loss and joy for the her I knew, which was just a touch of Rosemary.
You don't realize that, of course, while you're doing that. It's just another day in your life.
But having spent some time recently going through old family stories of my grandfather's life and death, and photos of my own early life and marriages - and even my youngest son's early days only 15 or 16 years ago - I am somewhat stunned now by how meaningful these every day events can be.
Right now I am preparing to attend my first mother-in-law's funeral two states away this coming week-end. The past comes very much to mind - I do not have many photographs of Rosemary, and not even that many memories, not enough.
Whenever someone dies, I find myself sobbing not so much at their passing, but at the things I did not do with them, the things I did not say. It's all about me, still (sigh). Life is so short, and I still don't get it. And a death is about our losses, as well as the losses of the world.
I saw Rosemary last summer, but she wasn't herself. In her 80's she had been suffering from Parkinson's for some time. It had the same effect, after awhile, as Alzheimer's -- it steals away much of the memory and When I saw her, it was clear that the Rosemary I'd known, the person she was, was pretty much gone.
And yet, nobody could mourn that passing. It's an awkward state. She'd known it was coming before she left, and that makes me want to cry, although knowing the woman she was, I imagine she handled that better than most anyone could have.
She was an awesome woman. I met her when I was 19, pregnant with her 18 year old son's child. I have three sons - I don't think I would have been so kind, loving, accepting, funny, direct and genuine in the same situation (and I hope I don't have to find out - only one more to go). I know she wasn't perfect, but she was emotionally healthy, something pretty unfamiliar to me, and I loved her.
Her son and I were, of course, much too young for our marriage to survive under the circumstances we gave it. She included me every Christmas in her mailing of her funny Christmas letter she sent out to friends. She called me to let me know her husband died, though I expect she called me to let her grandson know his grandfather died. She was always there, and I know it was because she loved my ex-husband and my son, not because she thought I was marvelous (though back in those days, so hungry for mother love, I saw it that way). She treated me like I was a good person, when I felt I wasn't. I think she probably was like that with most people. She gave me my first new car in 1978.
She has always been my role-model for what a mother-in-law could be, as well as what a mother could be. I was sad to see that she was there and yet gone last summer - this week as I get ready to go to the funeral, I find memories of her as I knew her popping into my mind.
She had a big toothed smile and a hearty laugh you had to love. I remember and feel both loss and joy for the her I knew, which was just a touch of Rosemary.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
On being petty
Today I'm going to be petty.
I've resisted (somewhat) the complaining online about recent cuts in pay we graphic designers and artists have "suffered" at the hands of CafePress. Here's the story, for those who are not familiar with the set up.
We (the graphic designers, photographers, real artists, and such) design and create the words and pictures you find on items offered in our stores - in my shops, it's the designs on the mini bookplates, along with the interpretations of favorite booklover quotes or simple things like "Grumpa" found in my Nana's Alley shop. We spend hours doing the art, and rather than sell them in real world stores, we upload the graphics to stores on-line called POD's (print on demand) where they are sold for us.
It's a sweet deal - we provide the art and the POD business does all of the tiring stuff - the printing, processing orders, shipping, customer returns and problems. For many of us, the money that's come in has been anything from a little pocket change to a huge portion of our income. We've come to depend on it. In some ways, because I run my own business with bookplates, where I have to do all that tiring stuff myself, I think we the artists have become a bit spoiled by the POD folks!
However, it was a shock to us all this past April when we were suddenly told that any orders not coming from our own websites or links that we had were being drastically cut on commissions. Now, again, I don't think the commissions we are now getting are all that awful, having worked as a sales rep years ago, and then having overseen sales reps - 10% commission (to a sales rep) isn't bad. To an artist, however, I think it's something different.
Bear in mind, many of the artists selling their wares are awesomely talented folks. Their work is beautiful - many of them sell the real deal in the real world (framed and fancy stuff) and just use the POD's to supplement their income -- t-shirts, mugs, bumperstickers -- so having someone tell you suddenly that your artwork is only worth 10% commission has been a bit of an insult.
I haven't felt terribly insulted - my work is creative, and fun and I'm getting better at it, but it isn't exactly Van Gogh. Or Grandma Moses.
Not until this week, when I noticed what happened when a customer of mine,ordered one of my products (coming from my website), then cancelled that order, then reordered another similar product. She either called the second order in, or went in through Cafepress - I'm not sure what all happened but -- the folks at Cafepress decided that she was their customer now, not mine.
So, my commission got cut in half. I wrote and disagreed, but their basic response was, "too bad".
I am feeling a bit petty. CafePress has been very very good to me. And I'm sure they are just trying to stay alive, which I certainly want them to do.
However, what they are doing is .. peculiar at best.
Here's how it works.
Let's say an item is marked as at cost, $10.00 (this is what the seller would see - no doubt that's marked up, and it really costs a lot less - but let's leave that aside).
I can take that Item and decorate it, charge $14.00 for it and make a nice $4.00 profit. That's provided a customer buys it from my website.
If they do a search and find it through the CafePress Marketplace, the story is different, both for the customer, and for me.
The same exact $10.00 item may be marked for anywhere from $10.00's to $30.00 by CafePress.
Let's make it $20.00. Another customer buys the same exact item for $20.00, costing them $6.00 more than if they'd bought it from my website.
I get $2.00 commission.
You do the math.
So, my feel grumpy over my lost little commision may be petty but it's my pettiness.
I am not leaving CafePress, although a lot of artists have. I've found an additional POD, and I'm trying to convince customers to enter CafePress from my website (the search engines, may I add, are overpowered by CafePress -- do a search for any of the items I sell by name, and CP's entrance comes up long before mine)
Just begging, in all my pettiness, if you see something you like from any of my shops, please enter through my stores. And if you have to call in an order, please tell them your purchase was a Shop purchase. Make sure the price I quote is the one you get (if it's the lower one).
Alright. Done whining for now.
Peace!
I've resisted (somewhat) the complaining online about recent cuts in pay we graphic designers and artists have "suffered" at the hands of CafePress. Here's the story, for those who are not familiar with the set up.
We (the graphic designers, photographers, real artists, and such) design and create the words and pictures you find on items offered in our stores - in my shops, it's the designs on the mini bookplates, along with the interpretations of favorite booklover quotes or simple things like "Grumpa" found in my Nana's Alley shop. We spend hours doing the art, and rather than sell them in real world stores, we upload the graphics to stores on-line called POD's (print on demand) where they are sold for us.
It's a sweet deal - we provide the art and the POD business does all of the tiring stuff - the printing, processing orders, shipping, customer returns and problems. For many of us, the money that's come in has been anything from a little pocket change to a huge portion of our income. We've come to depend on it. In some ways, because I run my own business with bookplates, where I have to do all that tiring stuff myself, I think we the artists have become a bit spoiled by the POD folks!
However, it was a shock to us all this past April when we were suddenly told that any orders not coming from our own websites or links that we had were being drastically cut on commissions. Now, again, I don't think the commissions we are now getting are all that awful, having worked as a sales rep years ago, and then having overseen sales reps - 10% commission (to a sales rep) isn't bad. To an artist, however, I think it's something different.
Bear in mind, many of the artists selling their wares are awesomely talented folks. Their work is beautiful - many of them sell the real deal in the real world (framed and fancy stuff) and just use the POD's to supplement their income -- t-shirts, mugs, bumperstickers -- so having someone tell you suddenly that your artwork is only worth 10% commission has been a bit of an insult.
I haven't felt terribly insulted - my work is creative, and fun and I'm getting better at it, but it isn't exactly Van Gogh. Or Grandma Moses.
Not until this week, when I noticed what happened when a customer of mine,ordered one of my products (coming from my website), then cancelled that order, then reordered another similar product. She either called the second order in, or went in through Cafepress - I'm not sure what all happened but -- the folks at Cafepress decided that she was their customer now, not mine.
So, my commission got cut in half. I wrote and disagreed, but their basic response was, "too bad".
I am feeling a bit petty. CafePress has been very very good to me. And I'm sure they are just trying to stay alive, which I certainly want them to do.
However, what they are doing is .. peculiar at best.
Here's how it works.
Let's say an item is marked as at cost, $10.00 (this is what the seller would see - no doubt that's marked up, and it really costs a lot less - but let's leave that aside).
I can take that Item and decorate it, charge $14.00 for it and make a nice $4.00 profit. That's provided a customer buys it from my website.
If they do a search and find it through the CafePress Marketplace, the story is different, both for the customer, and for me.
The same exact $10.00 item may be marked for anywhere from $10.00's to $30.00 by CafePress.
Let's make it $20.00. Another customer buys the same exact item for $20.00, costing them $6.00 more than if they'd bought it from my website.
I get $2.00 commission.
You do the math.
So, my feel grumpy over my lost little commision may be petty but it's my pettiness.
I am not leaving CafePress, although a lot of artists have. I've found an additional POD, and I'm trying to convince customers to enter CafePress from my website (the search engines, may I add, are overpowered by CafePress -- do a search for any of the items I sell by name, and CP's entrance comes up long before mine)
Just begging, in all my pettiness, if you see something you like from any of my shops, please enter through my stores. And if you have to call in an order, please tell them your purchase was a Shop purchase. Make sure the price I quote is the one you get (if it's the lower one).
Alright. Done whining for now.
Peace!
Friday, June 26, 2009
The upside of the downside
Recently -- very recently - some very bad things happened in My Little World, things that are disconcerting, to put it mildly.
There's the Economy, of course. I know I'm not alone in that. For some reason I was blithely meandering along, thinking the shake up we had back in 2000-2001 was the Big One. Denial was not my middle name, but my first name, all the way through October when I suddenly realized, my finances were not good and I really should try to find outside work.
I was also in denial about my Age. Like many of my fellow Boomers, I didn't think my being.. um.. older.. was going to have any kind of negative effect on my marketability - I have all this knowledge, experience, wisdom - surely someone would appreciate it! Several months of job seeking have given me a fresh view.
Realizing that in today's Economy, those few jobs that are out there are going for the younger crowd, I realized I needed to work harder at my own Little Business. Now, I felt smug back in 2000 when I found a niche market - bookplates are a niche market, but my niche market within that niche market was small order bookplates.
Last year my main supplier, The Antioch Company (formerly Antioch Publishing, and before that, The Antioch Bookplate Company) was sold, and along with it my supplier of bookplates. Fortunately I have a good deal of bookplates in stock but I realized I needed to get more serious about the bookplates and sidelines I've been designing.
Except - the Economy. This April, one of my secondary sources of income decided to cut the commissions paid to the artists (or graphic designers, in my case) who provide the art sold on their lines - commission checks starting with next month's check will be about half of what they've been.
Yeeeee gads. I found a secondary source for selling my graphic designs, but it's slow work right now.
To add insult to injury, my oldest computer, the one where my fonts and old records were stored, decided it had had enough, and died on me, followed by my newer family computer, where I do a lot of my design work - the motherboard died. That all happened within a 10 day period and required some technical help to pull out some records and reload them onto the remaining computer, another work computer.
But that wasn't enough. After things were running again, the wireless router decided it had had enough, and went out. On a Friday. We were essentially down and out until the following Tuesday, when someone could make it round and set us up with a new one, though we had sporadic access and work did get done.
Because this is a slow season, this happened at the best possible time for me. But not for some of my customers, who found their orders taking longer than usual and me more frazzled than usual.
So, I'm now down from four computers to two - frightening in some ways, because I don't have the resources (because of the Economy) to buy a new computer if something happens to either of the remaining ones.
This also is the year my youngest gets his driver's license, and my car insurance rockets up again. I'm having to pick up his health insurance, and he's looking at the colleges he'd like to go to, and I just want to go lie down for awhile.
On the bright side, because everything fell apart, I ended up deciding to revamp my website as long as I was having to prepare a new site for my new POD supplier.
There's a silver lining, yes?
There's the Economy, of course. I know I'm not alone in that. For some reason I was blithely meandering along, thinking the shake up we had back in 2000-2001 was the Big One. Denial was not my middle name, but my first name, all the way through October when I suddenly realized, my finances were not good and I really should try to find outside work.
I was also in denial about my Age. Like many of my fellow Boomers, I didn't think my being.. um.. older.. was going to have any kind of negative effect on my marketability - I have all this knowledge, experience, wisdom - surely someone would appreciate it! Several months of job seeking have given me a fresh view.
Realizing that in today's Economy, those few jobs that are out there are going for the younger crowd, I realized I needed to work harder at my own Little Business. Now, I felt smug back in 2000 when I found a niche market - bookplates are a niche market, but my niche market within that niche market was small order bookplates.
Last year my main supplier, The Antioch Company (formerly Antioch Publishing, and before that, The Antioch Bookplate Company) was sold, and along with it my supplier of bookplates. Fortunately I have a good deal of bookplates in stock but I realized I needed to get more serious about the bookplates and sidelines I've been designing.
Except - the Economy. This April, one of my secondary sources of income decided to cut the commissions paid to the artists (or graphic designers, in my case) who provide the art sold on their lines - commission checks starting with next month's check will be about half of what they've been.
Yeeeee gads. I found a secondary source for selling my graphic designs, but it's slow work right now.
To add insult to injury, my oldest computer, the one where my fonts and old records were stored, decided it had had enough, and died on me, followed by my newer family computer, where I do a lot of my design work - the motherboard died. That all happened within a 10 day period and required some technical help to pull out some records and reload them onto the remaining computer, another work computer.
But that wasn't enough. After things were running again, the wireless router decided it had had enough, and went out. On a Friday. We were essentially down and out until the following Tuesday, when someone could make it round and set us up with a new one, though we had sporadic access and work did get done.
Because this is a slow season, this happened at the best possible time for me. But not for some of my customers, who found their orders taking longer than usual and me more frazzled than usual.
So, I'm now down from four computers to two - frightening in some ways, because I don't have the resources (because of the Economy) to buy a new computer if something happens to either of the remaining ones.
This also is the year my youngest gets his driver's license, and my car insurance rockets up again. I'm having to pick up his health insurance, and he's looking at the colleges he'd like to go to, and I just want to go lie down for awhile.
On the bright side, because everything fell apart, I ended up deciding to revamp my website as long as I was having to prepare a new site for my new POD supplier.
There's a silver lining, yes?
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Minimum wage would be a raise!
It's 12:04 a.m.. Do you know where your website business woman is? I swear, I am working for a dime an hour, though I don't mean to complain. I enjoy this, I just wish somebody was paying me!
Spent several hours working on the main web page, not ready to upload any corrections yet. The FAQ page is updated, as is the section that answers questions about problems on the site.
But trying to lay out the bookplates and work with the Miva software in a way to make the whole thing more palatable for customers is taking me years! I'd rather be making new stuff!
Tried to find a way to allow customers to type in their name and test run the fonts, but it just isn't feasible for me -- I know my competitors have it but I don't have the money or the techie knowledge. Perhaps I should put a little jar out on the store front for donations and ideas. It would be cool, but...
Inviting customers and others to read my Blog - and mixing business and personal life on Facebook and Twitter - is an odd feeling. Pleasant in some ways, it has a feeling as though a small business inworld can be something like a local shop you go to, where you know the shopkeeper and they know you, at least a little bit. That kind of business setting suits me more than the impersonal, behind the scenes type of business that I think has been on the internet for sometime. We are going back to a friendlier way, more like it was when I first "discovered" the web in 1993.
Facebook, especially, is like a big small family. I like the way I can see my sons' lives, their friends and comments and find out what's going on with them, without being intrusive or being left out. I posted baby pictures of them on my photo album there, titled "Why You Don't want your Parents on Facebook" - only viewable to friends, but they were well received. Though I wonder, as us elder folks start logging onto Facebook, will the younger ones find another place to hang out? I hope not.
I'm really enjoying the way the internet feels these days. I hope it continues.
Spent several hours working on the main web page, not ready to upload any corrections yet. The FAQ page is updated, as is the section that answers questions about problems on the site.
But trying to lay out the bookplates and work with the Miva software in a way to make the whole thing more palatable for customers is taking me years! I'd rather be making new stuff!
Tried to find a way to allow customers to type in their name and test run the fonts, but it just isn't feasible for me -- I know my competitors have it but I don't have the money or the techie knowledge. Perhaps I should put a little jar out on the store front for donations and ideas. It would be cool, but...
Inviting customers and others to read my Blog - and mixing business and personal life on Facebook and Twitter - is an odd feeling. Pleasant in some ways, it has a feeling as though a small business inworld can be something like a local shop you go to, where you know the shopkeeper and they know you, at least a little bit. That kind of business setting suits me more than the impersonal, behind the scenes type of business that I think has been on the internet for sometime. We are going back to a friendlier way, more like it was when I first "discovered" the web in 1993.
Facebook, especially, is like a big small family. I like the way I can see my sons' lives, their friends and comments and find out what's going on with them, without being intrusive or being left out. I posted baby pictures of them on my photo album there, titled "Why You Don't want your Parents on Facebook" - only viewable to friends, but they were well received. Though I wonder, as us elder folks start logging onto Facebook, will the younger ones find another place to hang out? I hope not.
I'm really enjoying the way the internet feels these days. I hope it continues.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
When there's nothing happening
What do you do when there's nothing happening?
Summertime is a slow time for retailers, even when the economy hasn't crashed and crumbled around you. There's a usual slow down this time of year in orders, but I seem to be more aware of it because we are home more.
Usually we go somewhere around this time, and I put a warning up on the website , notifying customers that they can place orders, but nothing will be shipped until we return.
My customers are so wonderful, most go ahead and place their orders and patiently wait the week or two until we come back without a word of complaint.
Only we're not going anywhere until late July, and that for only a few days over a week-end, so the dribbling in of orders is painful. Not just with bookplates, either - which are slow anyways. But my Cafepress orders are slower than usual, and of course, Zazzle - which is new to me - is painfully slow!
I don't think this is because of anything permanently shocking going on. And it isn't just the Economy. It's the Economy Plus Summertime. People are on vacation, puttering around outside, enjoying time off work or the nice weather, even if they don't have a lot of money to spend - it's too nice to be inside, shopping.
So, rather than panic, what should I do, what should I do?
I could clean house or work on the yard, which I am certain is the weediest house on the block. Nawwww, it's too hot and there are other things to do. Besides, my youngest son's girlfriend is coming for a few weeks. She's promised to help with all that stuff.
So I'm spending my work time (which for me is usually a good 8 - 10 hours a day) on my laptop outside or inside, depending on my mood and the heat, working on:
1) Fixing up my website.
I redesigned the main page and added a couple of new ones that look fresher to me.
I'm going to bravely look into a different shopping cart, a major change. This is the time of year to do that, before fall and the (hopefully!) Christmas rush.
This included stuff like redoing advertising and working with SEO's, techie stuff I never make time for.
2) Cleaning up inventory and old junk out of my CafePress shops shown on my main page.
3) Opening up a new shop on another POD shop (Print on Demand), also shown on my main page.
4) Creating new graphics, learning stuff I've learned over the past two years while creating things on Second Life. And here I thought that was a waste of time, just something I was doing to escape reality and have fun! Turns out, I was educating myself!
5) Wrote a little descriptive piece for Squidoo that I hope will help people who want to make their own bookplates
6) Joined Twitter which I don't really understand, but OK, follow me.
7) Got myself more active in Facebook, which I do kind of understand. I use it both to keep in touch with family/friends, and for business.
8) Started this blog, which seems mostly a place for me to write down some of the thoughts in my head.
I need to get outside more, walk around and spend time with friends. I'll put that on the "To Do" list I started. I figure if I keep a big TO DO list here, I'll do some of the stuff and check it off!
Summertime is a slow time for retailers, even when the economy hasn't crashed and crumbled around you. There's a usual slow down this time of year in orders, but I seem to be more aware of it because we are home more.
Usually we go somewhere around this time, and I put a warning up on the website , notifying customers that they can place orders, but nothing will be shipped until we return.
My customers are so wonderful, most go ahead and place their orders and patiently wait the week or two until we come back without a word of complaint.
Only we're not going anywhere until late July, and that for only a few days over a week-end, so the dribbling in of orders is painful. Not just with bookplates, either - which are slow anyways. But my Cafepress orders are slower than usual, and of course, Zazzle - which is new to me - is painfully slow!
I don't think this is because of anything permanently shocking going on. And it isn't just the Economy. It's the Economy Plus Summertime. People are on vacation, puttering around outside, enjoying time off work or the nice weather, even if they don't have a lot of money to spend - it's too nice to be inside, shopping.
So, rather than panic, what should I do, what should I do?
I could clean house or work on the yard, which I am certain is the weediest house on the block. Nawwww, it's too hot and there are other things to do. Besides, my youngest son's girlfriend is coming for a few weeks. She's promised to help with all that stuff.
So I'm spending my work time (which for me is usually a good 8 - 10 hours a day) on my laptop outside or inside, depending on my mood and the heat, working on:
1) Fixing up my website.
I redesigned the main page and added a couple of new ones that look fresher to me.
I'm going to bravely look into a different shopping cart, a major change. This is the time of year to do that, before fall and the (hopefully!) Christmas rush.
This included stuff like redoing advertising and working with SEO's, techie stuff I never make time for.
2) Cleaning up inventory and old junk out of my CafePress shops shown on my main page.
3) Opening up a new shop on another POD shop (Print on Demand), also shown on my main page.
4) Creating new graphics, learning stuff I've learned over the past two years while creating things on Second Life. And here I thought that was a waste of time, just something I was doing to escape reality and have fun! Turns out, I was educating myself!
5) Wrote a little descriptive piece for Squidoo that I hope will help people who want to make their own bookplates
6) Joined Twitter which I don't really understand, but OK, follow me.
7) Got myself more active in Facebook, which I do kind of understand. I use it both to keep in touch with family/friends, and for business.
8) Started this blog, which seems mostly a place for me to write down some of the thoughts in my head.
I need to get outside more, walk around and spend time with friends. I'll put that on the "To Do" list I started. I figure if I keep a big TO DO list here, I'll do some of the stuff and check it off!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Of Pies and Books
My friend Pat and I had to meet somewhere between here and there to plan the bookstore for our Yearly Meeting next month. I suggested a bookstore with a coffee shop, thinking something like Barnes and Noble with Starbuck's. I have little imagination sometimes. Pat suggested Readmore Books in Richmond, Indiana.
I drove my 72 minutes or so to get there and felt a bit doubtful, the closer I got to 901 East Main Street in Richmond. This is downtown Richmond, where the buildings are old and a little tattered looking. A block or two from Readmore was an area where you might want to lock your car doors. I've lived in places like that, when I was young, pretty, poor and guarded by my own perception of reality. Now I'm an aging female with illusions of wealth and a paranoid streak. I lock my doors.
Readmore was on a corner - no parking, which I think was a good sign for downtown Richmond. It had seemed to me most of Richmond was off in the outskirts, parked in the fancier areas where the fancy bookstore is. Not the one I'd suggested, but a discount chain bookstore with miles of books, many of them remainders - and in the back a large somewhat impersonal coffee shop with decent coffee and an offering of decent pastries and sandwiches.
Readmore doesn't look anything like that. Small, cramped in the corner, with signage that was hand done. Not some cutesy store bought to look hand done, but real stuff, painfully handwritten on plain white paper and taped to the door.
I stepped closer, expecting the sign to announce "Out of Business". But no, it was today's lunch specials. In I went and found myself in a tiny shop with a lot of magazines and a few books, a lot of tables and some smiling people, among them my friend Pat.
Pat and I spent a good three hours there, our papers spread out over two tables, our laptops plugged in around the corner behind the magazine rack (we were shown how to do it carefully so it would be less likely someone would trip on the exposed cords).
For my food, time and electric usage, I spent a total of $7.35 and forgot to leave a tip, for which I feel awful. (I'll go back and leave a big one, that's for sure - but in my mind, I was treating it like a bookstore, where I never leave tips, when in fact it is mostly local small corner restaurant, and a very good one!)
We ate breakfast, drank tea, talked on and on about the books on our ordering list (and other topics not on the approved Quaker discussion list).
While we were sitting there, someone came in asked if there was any rhubarb pie today. He was told there wasn't any today and then asked when he'd be back in.
"Well, most likely Thursday" the visitor said.
"Alright, then, there'll be rhubarb for you on Thursday," the woman behind the counter said.
I didn't need any pie, the breakfast - definitely homemade - was filling. Still, when I'd looked up the directions to get here, there was mention of the pies. Driving all this way, the least I could do was look at the pies. No rhubarb, of course. And I do like a good rhubarb pie. but there were a couple of pieces of apple pie still unclaimed, some kind of pie with nuts across the top and an uncut creamy pie that looked dreamy.
So when I ordered my slice of apple pie (which, by the way, was a generous slice indeed), I asked that friendly young woman behind the counter if the pies were homemade there.
Oh yes," she assured me. "Homemade pie is the best."
I had to agree.
Pat had something else, I'm not sure what. I was so busy moaning and stuffing my mouth with chunks of fresh apple pie, I didn't take the time to try to figure out specifically which pie Pat was moaning over.
Today I was trying to explain this to a young friend - he seemed to understand and I didn't have to apologize for loving a small bookstore that was more a pie shop to me than a bookstore.
"Hmm," he said, "would you rather go to a bookstore with a lot of books and no pies, or a bookstore with few books but great pies?"
Good question - and I think we all know the answer.
I hope many people stop on in.. I live over an hour's drive away in another state, but I'm planning to go back again real soon. Not so much for the books, but for the ambiance, the friendliness. And OK, the pies.
I drove my 72 minutes or so to get there and felt a bit doubtful, the closer I got to 901 East Main Street in Richmond. This is downtown Richmond, where the buildings are old and a little tattered looking. A block or two from Readmore was an area where you might want to lock your car doors. I've lived in places like that, when I was young, pretty, poor and guarded by my own perception of reality. Now I'm an aging female with illusions of wealth and a paranoid streak. I lock my doors.
Readmore was on a corner - no parking, which I think was a good sign for downtown Richmond. It had seemed to me most of Richmond was off in the outskirts, parked in the fancier areas where the fancy bookstore is. Not the one I'd suggested, but a discount chain bookstore with miles of books, many of them remainders - and in the back a large somewhat impersonal coffee shop with decent coffee and an offering of decent pastries and sandwiches.
Readmore doesn't look anything like that. Small, cramped in the corner, with signage that was hand done. Not some cutesy store bought to look hand done, but real stuff, painfully handwritten on plain white paper and taped to the door.
I stepped closer, expecting the sign to announce "Out of Business". But no, it was today's lunch specials. In I went and found myself in a tiny shop with a lot of magazines and a few books, a lot of tables and some smiling people, among them my friend Pat.
Pat and I spent a good three hours there, our papers spread out over two tables, our laptops plugged in around the corner behind the magazine rack (we were shown how to do it carefully so it would be less likely someone would trip on the exposed cords).
For my food, time and electric usage, I spent a total of $7.35 and forgot to leave a tip, for which I feel awful. (I'll go back and leave a big one, that's for sure - but in my mind, I was treating it like a bookstore, where I never leave tips, when in fact it is mostly local small corner restaurant, and a very good one!)
We ate breakfast, drank tea, talked on and on about the books on our ordering list (and other topics not on the approved Quaker discussion list).
While we were sitting there, someone came in asked if there was any rhubarb pie today. He was told there wasn't any today and then asked when he'd be back in.
"Well, most likely Thursday" the visitor said.
"Alright, then, there'll be rhubarb for you on Thursday," the woman behind the counter said.
I didn't need any pie, the breakfast - definitely homemade - was filling. Still, when I'd looked up the directions to get here, there was mention of the pies. Driving all this way, the least I could do was look at the pies. No rhubarb, of course. And I do like a good rhubarb pie. but there were a couple of pieces of apple pie still unclaimed, some kind of pie with nuts across the top and an uncut creamy pie that looked dreamy.
So when I ordered my slice of apple pie (which, by the way, was a generous slice indeed), I asked that friendly young woman behind the counter if the pies were homemade there.
Oh yes," she assured me. "Homemade pie is the best."
I had to agree.
Pat had something else, I'm not sure what. I was so busy moaning and stuffing my mouth with chunks of fresh apple pie, I didn't take the time to try to figure out specifically which pie Pat was moaning over.
Today I was trying to explain this to a young friend - he seemed to understand and I didn't have to apologize for loving a small bookstore that was more a pie shop to me than a bookstore.
"Hmm," he said, "would you rather go to a bookstore with a lot of books and no pies, or a bookstore with few books but great pies?"
Good question - and I think we all know the answer.
I hope many people stop on in.. I live over an hour's drive away in another state, but I'm planning to go back again real soon. Not so much for the books, but for the ambiance, the friendliness. And OK, the pies.
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