News from Earth and Fire
I love you, Meg. Don't hate Tom.
I'm a sucker for a good chick flick. I never get tired of watching You've Got Mail, for example. Meg Ryan is adorable and Tom Hanks is a hunk and.. well, it's a cute story, and you just know they will end up together in the end. I get choked up every time she looks at him with tears and says, "I was hoping it was you..."
Sigh.
If you don't know the story, the quick and dirty is that Meg's character, Kathryn Kelly, owns a cute little bookstore that she inherited from her mother. She specializes in children's books and she has a little story hour and everyone loves the charm of the place. The people in the neighborhood have supported the bookstore for years and years and years. Then one day Tom Hank's character, Joe Fox, opens a branch of Fox Books -- a MEGA bookstore.. a SUPER STORE of books, if you will.. within a block of Kathryn's tiny little store.
Within a few months, it's all over. Kathryn is forced to close her doors. Right after Christmas. Have your hankies ready when she pulls the security door down that last time.
Of course she blames Fox Books for driving her little shop out of business, and she loathes Joe Fox. He thinks she's "a pill".. and the two spit back and forth at one another whenever they meet in real life.
While all this is happening, the two of them are communicating online and falling in love -- not knowing that they are talking to each other.
It is sweet. It is tender. We know they belong together in the great scheme of things.. and that they'll get together in the end.
OK....that's the story. The reason I am talking about this movie today is that I went to the mall the other day with my mouth all watered up for a Kielbasa from Frank & Stein.. and .. YIKES.. it was gone. Just.. GONE. I went there last week and it was there and I had my Kielbasa. And now it's gone.
I'll bet you're seeing the same thing where you live. Poof. Stores are closing down left and right. Everyone is scared and we're all pulling back with our spending.
We are all being much more selective. And as a group, we have selected Bed Bath and Beyond over Linens and Things. We have selected iTunes over Tower Records. We are selecting Amazon.com over Borders, Netfix over Blockbuster. One at a time we are selecting. And as we each select individually, a group decision is made about which businesses will survive and which will not.
And so the people in Kathryn's neighborhood selected Fox Books over The Little Shop Around the Corner. It wasn't Joe Fox that put her out of business. The people in the neighborhood did. One at a time, they were selecting. Did they want The Little Shop Around the Corner to close up? I doubt it. I think they loved the place and had wonderful fond memories. I think they wanted to have it there to share with their children. But they wanted cheap books more. I think they didn't think buying one or two books at Fox Books would make a difference.
Tonight, I'm going to see the movie Duplicity. It's playing at my neighborhood multiplex that is very convenient to my home. But I will drive nearly 30 minutes further to reach Cinema Arts Theatre and see it there. No stadium seats. Only five screens. A little rough around the edges. But a great theatre for seeing wonderful independent films -- which the neighborhood multiplex does NOT show. I will select The Little Shop Around the Corner over Fox Books. I can't keep the guy in business by myself. But I will do what I can. And I will hope that there are enough other people out there who feel the same as I do who will ALSO do what THEY can.. and together, I sure hope we can keep the lights on at Cinema Arts.
And so what does this have to do with pots?
We must support what is important to us. That's all we can do. If the gallery is important to you, I ask that you support it as you are able. And remember that support comes in many forms. If you can tell a friend about the gallery, or remember the gallery when you need a wedding gift, or a birthday gift, or a housewarming gift... little by little, it will all help keep the lights on, so to speak. I am trying to bring in very affordable pots. You might not think that it would matter if you bought a $20 mug or not, but believe me... it does. It makes a difference because YOU ARE NOT ALONE (hopefully!)
My obligation is to do the best I can to bring you the best pots I can, and to find a business model that works for everybody (you, me and the potters). And I will continue to do that for as long as it makes sense. Or until the potters quit sending me pots. And they will stop sending me pots if all I do is send them back. I told you that last time, and that's the truth. I've been strugging with whether or not to discount the pots rather than send them back to the potters, and I have made my decision. I don't believe it's fair to the potters, and if I do it every month, all I do is teach you as a group to wait until I discount. So I'm not going to do it. If the pots that are here don't sell, they are going back. If the potters stop sending me pots... then so be it.
I'm going to scrap the monthly show thing and just start putting up new pots as they come in. It makes more sense to do it that way than to kill myself getting several artist's pages ready in a short period of time.
Today, I have new pots from Lindsay Rogers.
My favorite of this group is:
Oblong Bowl
I LOVE the colors in this bowl!
Buy this bowl, or see the rest of Lindsay's pots by clicking here.
And finally -- don't leave money on the table!
If you received an email on April 1st offering a Rewards Voucher Code.. remember that that code is good only until the end of April. If you're confused about that, send me an email and I'll answer any questions.
That's it! Have a good week!
.......and THANK YOU for your support!
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