The Joy of Meeting Your Customers!

"Vivienne" on a very happy owner!


It has been a whirlwind for the last two weeks. The opening of the Fine Craft Studios at Studios on the Park has been nothing short of exhilarating!

I have currently been devoting my energy to re-creating some knitted hats that have been my bread and butter for many years. I had gotten tired of making them so I stopped. When I picked up the needles again, my fingers remembered what my brain had forgotten. The joy of seeing a knitted piece, no matter how simple, come to fruition, was something I had lost in the last couple of years.

For me, one of the best parts of selling out of a brick and mortar shop is that I get to see my customers face (yes... their real live face!) as they try on their hats, primp in front of a mirror and decide whether the hat is for them. There is nothing quite like a woman with hat attitude. When she knows she looks good. When it makes her happy to have a hat sitting on her head. When she knows eyes are turned to see what she is wearing. and for me..., this is something I rarely get to see because I was primarily selling online. There is also the little added joy of not having to package a beautiful hat up for shipping.

Here are some pics of recent purchases by women that were happy. Did their purchase make them happy? You bet it did!
Black & White Pigtail hat!

Inca "Fields" finds a beautiful head!

My brooch has found a new home!

Another PigTail Hat!

Art For Your Head "Lys Noir" - Look at that smile!

Catching Up!

Catching Up!

For the last several years I had been working for 1000Markets.com, a beautiful site that quickly ran into problems. On the 7th of September, we (those that worked at 1000 Markets) were told that the site would be shutting down and to start looking for other work, etc. We also could not talk about what was going on, which created an additional stress level.

It was sad to see such a beautiful site die... and that is what it did... it died, slowly and painfully. While at 1000 Markets I met some of the best people and I met some of the worse. People with agendas and those without a clue. I had to say goodbye to working friends. It was a great learning experience and then it ended....rather abruptly.

Well, there was one other stop along the way… when 1000 Markets closed, it was taken over by Bonanzle, now Bonanza.

On the 17th of September I was hired on by Bonanzle. This was a truly rotten experience for me. In my fear of not being able to bring in the money I needed to, I took a job with an entity that gave me palpitations from day one. It was a mistake and it felt wrong from the beginning. In a complete contrast to what I had experienced with 1000 Markets, this place was terribly the opposite. It left a terrible taste in my mouth and I am no longer associated with them.

During my time with 1000 Markets a lot happened, especially with regards to my DreamWoven business. There was no way to stay on top of both my own business and working for someone else. For me, it didn't mesh and I watched DreamWoven take a dive. It didn't die, but more or less went into hibernation. I still created and sold quite a few beautiful pieces, but it wasn't like it had been.

Out of the bad experience with Bonanza came good. The last few weeks has brought change to my vision, focus and desires. I have walked away from the daily ‘work’ I was doing, with a lot of new experience and usable skills. The creative fire that dwindled to smoldering ashes has returned. Slow and steady.

It hasn’t been a month yet, since 1000 Markets closed, but things move fast on the internet and it feels as if this occurred several years ago. It is time for new. It is time for healthy and it is time for energy!

Some of the great things that are going on now are:

**Bill now has a studio at Studio on the Park and has sold a few small paintings and taught a very successful 2 day workshop and is continuing to paint daily.

**I started a small Art Tile business that seems to be doing alright and fills in the small cash flow problems.

**I became more involved with the local Art Association and have been helping with their exhibit bring-ins and show hangings and met some of the (real live) best people around!

**A wonderful woman is opening a Fine Craft at Studios on the Park here locally and I have the opportunity to help her with some of my gained knowledge and she has inspired me to push myself into creating a new line of hats.

**The new hat line is called “Tissu” (French for fabric, cloth, material) and I am enjoying them immensely. It is not my usual way of creating hats, so this is good for me as well. I also have a huge pancake pile of brilliant colored Attitude hats ready for her shop.






















I want to thank all of you who have purchased from me during the last several years. Thanks for your patience and understanding and I hope you stick with me through all the upcoming new adventures I might find myself in. ~Rachel