Today at the Gallery


 
Friday, January 5, 2007
 
First, I refuse to call this a blog. Not gonna do it.
 
What this is, is sharing with you who I am and what it's like to own this gallery.
 
As for who I am, I am 54 years old, divorced, and have two children:
 
My Family


Left to right:
Son-in-law Tim, daughter Susan, me, daughter-in-law Kristin, son Richard

 
Some of you may have dealt with Tim, Susan, Richard or Kristin at the gallery. Every now and then they help me out when I can't be here. Tim and Susan are on final approach with my very first grandbaby (WooHoo!), who is expected to be making his appearance around mid-February.
 
Today what it's like to own this gallery is that I have a lot of re-organization to do. I'm going to try to bring everything downstairs and redo the displays down here to absorb everything and see if I can turn the upstairs into the support area for the website: a place where I take the pictures and pack up the things to be shipped out (and to store the packing materials). I haven't worked out yet how that's going to encroach on the First Fridays, since I have been using the upstairs primarily for the work that comes and goes each month for that. But as Scarlett O'Hara said, "I'll think about that tomorrow."
 
I've also got to get an annual inventory done fairly soon. I figure that job will be easier if everything is on one level.
 
I've been pretty pleased with the reaction to the "everything's negotiable" offer in the last newsletter. The offers I have received have been quite reasonable and have been accepted. The website is getting significant traffic (I can see how many people are looking at the website and what pages are being viewed, but I do not know who any individual visitor is), so I'm glad to see people wandering around looking.
 
Talk to you later.
 
Saturday, January 6, 2007
 
I made a little progress reorganizing the gallery yesterday, but I have a really long way to go. This is the worst part of owning the gallery -- at least for me. It is easy for me to get overwhelmed. I'm not really a very organized person -- anyone who has been into the gallery and seen what a disaster area my desk is will agree with that.
 
What's frustrating about the whole process is that at the beginning, you get started in one area, and you make one area look really great. You have all the inventory to choose from and you can find just the right pieces to go in just the right places and it all works. The further along you get, however, what you run into is that you have leftover inventory and leftover display places, and they don't necessarily work out together. The last display you put together never looks as good as the first one.
 
That's another reason why I like the website. I don't have to deal with any of that.
 
I'm stalling. I need to get back at it. Put my head down and get it done.
 
Talk to you later.
 

 
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
 
It doesn't look like all the inventory is going to fit downstairs, so I'm going to switch back to Plan A (which is what I was going to do before I went to Plan B and the nutty "make me an offer" plan) and move the inventory upstairs that really needs to find a new home, and put some SALE prices on them and see if I make some progress that way.
 
Laura Ross called and needs the teapots back that she sent for the Invited for Tea show last October. I'm really sorry I couldn't sell any of them for her. I thought they were adorable.
 
In general, the Invited for Tea show didn't work as well as the other shows I've put together. I'm not real sure why.
 
One of the things I've learned in the six years I've been in business is -- you can't make any predictions. You try something and if it works, great. If it doesn't you can try to figure out why it didn't work, and make a change and try something else.
 
But as they say, the definition of insanity is to keep trying the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
 
Hence the nutty ideas.
 
Talk to you later.
 

 
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
 
I had to stop at the UPS Store on my way in and buy some bubble wrap for the first time. Yikes. That stuff is expensive. Anyone who has gotten anything I've shipped out from the gallery knows that I do my bit to recycle the packing materials that come in to the gallery from the artiststs.
 
Most of them charge about 5% above the actual shipping costs to cover the cost of the packing materials and their time, so when I offer free shipping, I'm really getting hit twice on packing and shipping. I've paid the artist's packing and shipping charges, and then I absorb it again when I ship it out. It isn't so bad if I can re-use the materials that I've already paid for (from the artists) -- then I'm just giving away my time to pack things up, and absorbing the actual costs to UPS. When I have to go out and purchase shipping materials, that's another hit.
 
The "everything is negotiable on the website" has brought in a few sales, but it isn't really working the way I had hoped. Maybe people are afraid to make offers? I dunno. I'll probably send out a newsletter in a day or two and draw a line in the sand to end it.
 
On the personal side, I saw the movie Notes on a Scandal last night. Really good movie. I highly recommend it. Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett are just remarkable.
 
Talk to you later.
 

 
Thursday, January 11, 2007
 
I've got a problem.
 
One of the ways people find the website is by googling the name of a potter whose work they collect. If the name is on my website, then they click on over and have a little look-see.
 
In addition to being able to see how many people are viewing which pages, I can also look and see what searches they did that brought them here. I can see, for example, that a lot of people search for Jeff Oestreich and Linda Christianson, and find my website that way.
 
The problem is that I can also see that a lot of people come in to the website on the Five Plus Five Show that I did two years ago.
 
It was a great show. The problem is -- my photographs of it were just awful. My photographs of all the shows prior to the Chain Reaction show were just awful. I look at them now and I just cringe.
 
So what do I do? I don't have the pots from those shows anymore, so I can't take better images.
 
People do find the website because of them, but do I really gain anything? If I were searching around and found those pages, I wouldn't look any further than that.
 
I think I'm gonna have to take them down.
 
Talk to you later.
 

 
Friday, January 12, 2007
 
I am frequently approached by artists requesting representation in the gallery. That's always hard for me. Especially when they come in to the gallery and bring samples of their work. It's very hard for me to say "I don't think so," even though many times there's just no question that the work is just not right for the gallery. What's harder, however, is when it's a borderline call for me. The work is technically well executed and of a reasonable quality.
 
I know it's "not about me" in the sense that I have to please the customers but it really does have to be about me. I have to make the decisions about what things are in the gallery, and in the end it's a guessing game. Will people like the things I have selected enough to purchase them?
 
Sometimes I'm very surprised. I'll order something that I'm not completely certain about, and it will sell like gangbusters. Other times, I select something that really appeals to me and I'm very excited about having it in the gallery. And it just sits. There's just no predicting.
 
In another month, I'll be heading to the wholesale shows in Philadelphia and Baltimore to make my purchases for the year for the gallery. It's often overwhelming.
 
First of all there's the selection of the items themselves. Then there is the decision about how many to order, and when to have them arrive at the gallery.
 
I have to figure out how to space things out so they arrive over several months so I'm not overwhelmed by either inventory or bills to pay for it all.
 
Talk to you later
 

 
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
 
Not much going on today. I'm working on another silent auction of Byron Temple's pots and will have it online soon.
 
The website traffic has leveled off to what has looked "ordinary" for the last several months, so I don't anticipate any more negotiations. I've changed the last newsletter to take that offer out. I think it was a novel concept, but something that people just weren't really comfortable with for the most part.
 
I have something up my sleeve for the February First Friday, but can't publicize it yet.
 
I need to start lining up the First Friday artists for the rest of the year. I still like the idea of having local artists who can be here for the gallery walk and talk to people about their work, but that assumes there's going to be good foot-traffic that night to make it worthwhile, and that's a tough call, because of weather, traffic, or any number of other factors.
 
Like a new episode of "24."
 
:/
 
Talk to you later.
 

 
Thursday, January 18, 2007
 
I had quite a few responses to my newsletter -- mostly condolences on the broken teapot. It's interesting the range of comments. These two I thought were very well-written, and represent the two ends of the spectrum.
 
There's rarely an opportunity to "let go" of a piece broken, but when one reaches that point, the experience is bliss. I have an extensive clay collection and have lost several priceless or irreplaceable works that have made me almost physically ill. It still hurts, but I now remind myself that I'm merely a steward of my pots & that if they're not meant to survive the trials and tribulations of life, then so be it!
 
and
 
If you love it, don't get rid of it. Have it restored. There is no collector of ceramics that can live without a good restorer's telephone number in her "services" phonebook. I have spent more money on some of my ceramics restoring them, than on the ceramics themselves, but I love them, and feel honor-bound to keep them alive.
 
Talk to you later.
 

 
Saturday, January 20, 2007
 
A man came into the gallery the other day and introduced himself as a detective with the Leesburg Police. He had come to talk to me about a couple of shoplifters who hit downtown Leesburg last Tuesday. He wanted to ask me if I had seen anything suspicious, and to give me a description of them. Evidently there were two women who came in to several stores downtown and worked as a team. One of them would distract the owner by asking questions about various pieces of inventory, while the other one helped herself to whatever would fit into a bag hidden in her coat.
 
Over the years I've had a few problems with shoplifting. Mostly, my feeling is that anyone who appreciates what is in the gallery wouldn't steal from me. And anyone who would steal, wouldn't be interested in stealing what's in the gallery.
 
I had a teapot shoplifted a couple of years ago. I know that. It was in a spot in the gallery that I couldn't see from my desk. I noticed it was gone within a day or two. I had just set up that particular display and was very pleased with how it looked. Someone came in and was interested in teapots, and I turned to that display to point out that particular teapot, and it was gone. I thought I was in the Twilight Zone for a little bit and I spent several days looking everywhere in the gallery for it. But I never found it.
 
Just a few months ago, I was upstairs with one of my good customers and we were talking about teabowls. I looked at the display of Phil Rogers' pots, and said, "Oh, one is missing."
 
Phil Rogers

 

 
$225

 
Phil's pots are here on consignment from the Pucker Gallery in Boston, which represents Phil in the United States. I have to pay them 70%. I've had Phil's pots here since the Five Plus Five show two years ago. I'm going to send them back before something happens to any of the others.
 
I'll have to enclose a check for $157.50 for the one that is gone.
 
It's very hard for me to get inside the mind of whoever it was who took it. Were they a potlover? If so, I just can't believe they would steal from me. Were they not a potlover, and did they only take it because it was fairly small (i.e., easily hidden), and relatively expensive? Did they think they could resell it? If they weren't a potlover, they wouldn't even know how to go about reselling it, because they probably didn't know who made it.
 
Is it wrong of me to hope that it got broken right after it was stolen from me?
 
I can't imagine someone deriving pleasure from a pot they had stolen.
 

 
Friday, February 2, 2007
 
As soon as I sent out the email this morning, I got an email back from my son. He was horrified that I had made some terrible mistake. "Mom! You mean if they want to buy something that costs $30, you're going to give them $25 off?!"
 
I replied that it was a calculated risk. Sure, some people would probably just buy something very inexpensive, but there was a time limit on it, and since the weather is turning pretty nasty, I have very little hope that anyone is going to come out for First Friday tonight. (My friends at The Potomac Gallery tell me they had 8 YEARS of First Fridays without one being marred by weather. And then I came to town... :/ )
 
You have to try things. Think outside the box and take a chance. I made this offer once before when I was in Vienna, and pretty much the same thing happened there. You'll lose money on a few sales, but overall, you end the day with more money that you would have had if you hadn't made the offer.
 
January was January (i.e., NOT December), and the rent was due yesterday.
 
You try things.
 
A little less than five hours to go, and I'm calling it a success already.
 

 
Thursday, February 8, 2007
 
What a busy week it has been! My first grandchild, Jackson Thomas Ward, was born Saturday morning, February 3 at about 9:30 am. He weighed 8 lbs, 7 oz. and was 20" long. I know everyone says this, but he is truly the world's most beautiful baby.
 
See what I mean?
 

 
Jackson Thomas Ward

 
They all came home from the hospital yesterday, and I stayed with them last night to help out as only a grandma can.
 
We all survived the first night. :)
 
I plan to be in the gallery Saturday afternoon from about 1 - 4 pm, and then back to my regular (unpredictable) hours next week.
 
Talk to you later.
 

 
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
 
Holy Cow, February is almost over. Dan Finnegan's pots arrived this morning, in anticipation of the March First Friday Gallery Walk next week. That means I've got to get busy photographing them and getting them online. Shouldn't be a problem. The sun is out today (finally melting some of the ice that has been blocking driveways and sidewalks around here for the last week), so the lighting should be pretty good upstairs.
 
I was channel-surfing last night and as I passed QVC, I saw they were selling a 6.0 megapixel digital camera that looked pretty good. I'm the Queen of Impulse Buying, so I called them up. I had thought I was getting along pretty well with the little 2.1 megapixel number that I bought years ago (really back when digital cameras were bleeding edge technology), but when I went to Wegman's to get some pictures of my little grandbaby printed and the guy behind the counter offered to GIVE me another memory card for it, one from "an old camera he had," I realized that perhaps it was time for an upgrade.
 
I'll be anxious to see what difference it makes in the images for the website.
 
This weekend, I went to Philadelphia for the Buyers Market of American Craft, and to Baltimore for the America Craft Council show -- the two wholesale shows I attend yearly to buy things for the gallery.
 
I always look forward to it, but it's probably the hardest thing I have to do all year. Aisle after aisle of perfectly beautiful things (I wore a pedometer this year and clocked over 4 miles each day walking up one aisle and down the other). It's easy to eliminate things that don't belong in the gallery, but when I do find an artist whose work I want in the gallery, comes the difficult decision of which pieces to order, how many, what color, and when to have them shipped.
 
Of course if it were at all possible, I have everything arrive next week, but I have to figure out how to space things out so that new things come in an orderly fashion over the next six or seven months.
 
It's a daunting task.
 
I'll be going back up to Baltimore on Sunday -- for the last day of the retail show, and picking up some pots from Sam Taylor and Jeff Kleckner. That way, I get to pick out the pots I want. I don't have to pay shipping, and Sam and Jeff don't have to lug the pots back home.
 
Win/Win.
 
I have the next newsletter all written in my head. I will need some visual aids before I can write it -- in the form of a few of the pieces I'll be picking up next Sunday.
 
I'm excited about the things I have picked out for the gallery this year. Plenty of new faces, and some very exciting things from familiar artists.
 
Good thing I'll have that new digital camera!
 
Talk to you later.
 

 
Thursday, February 22, 2007
 
Lighting was good yesterday afternoon, and I got half of Dan Finnegan's pots photographed to put online (too bad I don't have that new digital camera yet). Because it's mid-winter, I can't do too much photographing until mid-afternoon because the sun isn't right until then. And if it's a cloudy day, that takes care of that.
 
This is a very old building, and I have been watching a spot on the ceiling upstairs as it bubbles and discolors. It's very strange. Looks like it's a leaky spot, but I've had my low-budget photography studio (i.e., the backdrop) set up directly beneath it for a month now, and there has never been any damage down below from it -- even though it rained quite steadily a couple of nights ago.
 
The landlord has sent a maintenance man around to take a look at it, and he's going to be here this afternoon to see what he can do to fix it.
 
The Byron Temple auction ends today. Traffic on the website has been good, so I'm hopeful that will end well.
 
Talk to you later.
 

 
Saturday, February 24, 2007
 
I was excited to see a package on my doorstep form QVC when I got home last night! WooHOOO! The new digital camera had arrived three days before they promised it. (Now THAT'S customer service!).
 
So I spent some time last night getting the battery charged and figuring out how to take a picture.
 
The real test, of course, was to take some pictures of pots with the 2.1 megapixel dinosaur that I've been using for the website, and to take some pictures under the exact same lighting conditions with the new camera and see what difference it made.
 
I normally do a little massaging of the pictures with Photoshop before they are uploaded, but for this comparison, we need to look at the raw images.
 
So here's the unmanipulated image the 2.1 megapixel dinosaur took:
 
Covered Jar by Dan Finnegan

 

 
And an image taken just moments later from the same spot, with the new camera:
 

 
So.. what do you think?
 
I think the dinosaur measures up pretty darned well.
 
Talk to you later.
 

 
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
 
Well, I was supposed to go back up to Baltimore Sunday for the last day of the retail part of the ACC (American Craft Council) show, and pick up some pots from Sam Taylor and Jeff Kleckner. Mother Nature had other plans for me.
 
A real nice winter storm erupted early Sunday morning and by noon, it was snowing so hard that as soon as I had finished shoveling my driveway, another layer had come down.
 
I did start out about 1:00, but after just a few blocks of slip sliding away in the slush, I realized that it was a really stupid plan. Sure, the beltway and I-95 were probably clear, but my chances of hitting a guardrail trying to traverse an on-ramp was HUGE, so I turned around and came home.
 
Bummer.
 
I've discovered that my new digital camera has all kinds of neat little settings I can play with to try to enhance the image.
 
So I went upstairs and took a bunch of pictures of the exact same two pots from the exact same position, just running through the different settings. Since white pots are really hard to photograph, I thought I'd really put the new camera to the test. It had something called "White Balance" that I was playing with. It also had a "Scene Selection" mode where I could pick what kind of image it was, like a portrait, or a sunset, or at the museum, etc.
 
Look at the difference it makes from the "best" setting (for these two pots) to the "worst" setting:
 
The Best Image of the Group

 

 
Two loop jars from Byron Temple

 
and
 
The Worst Image of the Group
 

 
Both of these are the raw photos -- nothing done to them in Photoshop to enhance the image.
 
Makes a HUGE difference what the setting is, doesn't it?
 
I guess the good news with this new camera is that I CAN get some really good images.
 
The bad news is that I didn't take notes on which images were taken with which settings.
 
:/
 
Talk to you later.
 

 
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
 
I was working yesterday afternoon, getting Dan's pots for the First Friday Gallery Walk online, and labeled, and organized upstairs when the phone rang.
 
It became obvious very early in the conversation that the person wanted to sell me advertising that I didn't want to buy, but I thought I'd listen for a little bit and see exactly how badly I didn't want to buy it.
 
What I got from her pitch was that it was for some kind of a group ad for Leesburg to be placed in the Washington Post. (Already, I'm thinking $$$$$$$). She told me they were going to feature just a few really wonderful businesses and mine would be featured along with just one other similar business.
 
"Who's the other business?" I asked. (I sometimes like to mess with them a little before I deliver the news that there's no way I'm going to give them any money.)
 
Well, she didn't know, but she could assure me there would only be two similar businesses in this ad. She went on to say that the copy for the ad was already written and did I want to hear it.
 
I couldn't turn down that opportunity, could I?
 
She read something to the effect that "Many people like to create their own crafts for display and decoration around the house."
 
First sentence and it was clear she had no clue what Earth and Fire Gallery is all about. I just had to hear more.
 
"From candle-making to basket-weaving, you'll find all the supplies you need at Earth and Fire Pottery and the helpful staff is always willing to help you with all your projects."
 
When she had finished, she paused, no doubt waiting for me to ask where to send the check (and for how much!).
 
Instead my question was "Who wrote that?"
 
"Oh, we have professional copy writers!"
 
"Do you know anything at ALL about my business?" I asked.
 
"We can have it re-written! How about that? Just tell us a little about your business and we'll take care of everything."
 
I advised her that it might be a good idea for her to do a little research before making these phone calls.
 
She thanked me for my time and hung up on herself.
 
Sometimes it's hard to decide what to do as far as advertising is concerned.
 
Sometimes it's a no-brainer.
 
Talk to you later.
 

 
Saturday, March 3, 2007
 
Finally got some cooperation from the weather for the First Friday last night. Plenty o' folks out strolling around the streets and exploring the gallery.
 
What I noticed was that the overwhelming number of sales were Dan's work, which tells me that the people who came in and purchased something came specifically to the gallery because of Dan.
 
It's not just about numbers of bodies through the door.
 
This all reinforces my notion that the gallery is a destination.
 
Next week should be exciting. I'm expecting Sam Taylor to send me a shipment of pots (the ones I had hoped to pick out in Baltimore last week). I'm also expecting two other pieces I purchased for myself at the wholesale shows. I'll share them with you when I get them.
 
Talk to you later.
 

 
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
 
Today I called the people who process credit card charges for me and asked to speak to someone about putting a shopping cart/checkout mechanism on my website. I think I lose a lot of sales because I don't have this. Many times, I'll get emails inquiries from people who say they want to purchase something, and I respond to them, but about half the time that's as far as it goes. I think if I could catch them while they are in the mood to purchase, sales would increase.
 
I also think some people are confused by the process of having to send an email or call me to purchase something.
 
What's held me back in the past is figuring up the shipping charges. For example.. I know approximately what it's going to cost me to mail a mug. I also know that if someone purchases two mugs, it isn't going to cost me twice as much. I haven't been able to figure out how to add appropriate shipping charges (not to mention tax if it is an in-state purchase) on to an order. I think the only way I'll be able to deal with this is to put a notice up that shipping charges will be combined and adjusted downward if more than one piece is purchased.
 
I really don't know how the whole things works. Does the charge go through right there from the website, or is there some mechanism that contacts me and then I key in the info on my terminal?
 
I guess I'll find out when the rep calls me back in a day or so.
 
Surely I'm not the only one to have this problem. How does Amazon do it?
 
Talk to you later.
 

 
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
 
Yesterday's the FedEx guy brought one of three pieces I bought at the wholesale shows for myself.
 
Jason Bohnert

 

 
Individual Teapot

 
Jason is one of the new artists I found this year. He's a potter from Morgantown WV and the more time I spent in his booth, the more his work called out to me... to the point that I realized that this teapot actually had MY name on it. Imagine that! I brewed a cup of tea in it last night. It pours really smoothly. I've put it in the spot previously occupied by the John Neely teapot that the cleaning people broke.
 
Jason won't be shipping the pieces I ordered from him until September, but I'm really looking forward to having them in the gallery.
 
It's snowing hard today, but so far nothing is sticking to the ground, which is a good thing.
 
Talk to you later.
 

 
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
 
I called Linda Christianson this morning. She has finally finished building her kiln and the very first firing is cooling "as we speak." She said, if everything went well, she will send me a few pots.
 
Keep your fingers crossed!
 

 
Saturday, March 17, 2007
 
Nothing gets your adrenaline going better than a phone call at 12:47 am that begins this way:
 
"This is ADT Security Service. I'm trying to reach Beth Wiley about Earth and Fire Gallery at 18 South King Street in Leesburg."
 
This time I was lucky -- it seems the power went out at the gallery and the battery back up on the alarm system sent a little trouble signal to the monitoring center. (They have to call you no matter what.)
 
Whew.
 
This happened a couple of years ago when the gallery was in Vienna (a phone call in the middle of the night, that is), and they told me that the alarm was going off and asked if I wanted the police to be called.
 
I thought that was a really good idea.
 
Not being able to go back to sleep, I called Vienna's finest a little while later and asked what they had found. I was told that everything looked secure from the outside. Since there was a stairwell entrance in the back at that location, I realized that if someone had come in that way, it wouldn't be obvious from the outside. I got dressed and drove down and met an officer there to go through the place and check.
 
We found nothing.
 
The next day when I looked around more, I discovered that the door to the stairwell HAD been jimmied and evidently someond HAD entered the back of the gallery that way. The alarm must have scared them off (just as it was supposed to!)
 
A week later, the fitness equipment dealer next door to me was burglarized. We had adjoining rear entrances. He never thought he needed an alarm because -- who would steal big heavy pieces of fitness equipment? (He found out!) I believe what happened was that the thieves broke into the back of the gallery believing that they were breaking into the fitness equipment dealer.
 
I don't really worry that much about someone breaking in to steal things. But I do worry about a roaming band of drunk teenagers deciding it might be fun to break in and destroy things.
 
As disturbing as it is to get a call like that in the middle of the night, it's nice to know there's someone watching the place for me when I'm not there.
 
Talk to you later
 

 
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
 
When I was in Baltimore for the ACC show in February, I found this wonderful glass sculpture at the booth of one of my artists. It's a long story, but I feel a real connection to her work, and I want to help support her artistic expression.
 
At her booth, she had one-of-a-kind things -- work that she was doing not to feed her stomach (i.e., "production work"), but to feed her soul.
 
Initially, the sculptures looked like snakes.
 
I went up to her and gave her a hug, and said, "Now, Elodie, tell me what's been happening to you that you're thinking about worms or snakes now."
 
She laughed and proceeded to "explain" these sculptures to me. She said they were called Time Lines, and they expressed the twists and turns of our life's journey, and the "face" at the end was the consciousness coming through.
 
I'm not sure I would have gotten there myself without that explanation, but as soon as she was finished, the work definitely resonated with me. One in particular kept calling me. I wound up buying it for myself.
 
The snowstorm that Sunday prevented me from driving back up to Baltimore and picking it up, so this particular Time Line had to be shipped all the way back to New Mexico after the show, then back to me.
 
Somewhere along that journey, something catastrophic happened:
 

 
Elodie Holmes -- Consciousness in (interrupted?) Motion

 
I like so many things about it. I like that without knowing/touching it, you really can't tell if it's wood, glass, or even clay. I like that you have to look closely to see the face. And of course, I liked the significance of the expression.
 
I hope there isn't any cosmic significance to the fact that this particular Time Line -- (MY Time Line)... didn't make it.
 
Talk to you later.
 

 
Saturday, March 23, 2007
 
I know a lot of things about traffic on the website:
 
-- How many unique visitors visited the website in any given period of time.
 
-- What pages were viewed.
 
-- Time spent on the site.
 
-- Frequency of return.
 
What I DON'T know is.. who any individual is. I have no identifying information whatsoever. I don't know whether the three people who are looking at my website RIGHT NOW are my kids or a good customer, or someone who has never been to the website before.
 
I think that's the way it should be. If you folks knew that I knew who you were, you might be less likely to visit the site regularly. I don't want anyone to feel they are being spied upon.
 
It's very interesting information. And I think it it is very helpful to me.
 
Sometimes it drives me nuts, though. For instance, over the last couple of days, I can tell that someone (or perhaps several someones?) has been reading a lot of the old newsletter archives.
 
That makes me happy, but it also drives me nuts. Who are you?!
 
Send me an email! Come talk to me!! I want to be friends!
 
:::::Sigh:::::
 
It's a rainy day in Leesburg, and I'm updating the category pages today. I don't enjoy doing that (that's why the category pages don't get updated as frequently as the artists pages do). It's tedious work. I have to go back and forth between several artists pages and each of the different categories.
 
I probably would be even less inclined to update them, except I can see that quite a few people DO look at the category pages.
 
So... back to work...
 
Talk to you later.
 

 
Saturday, April 7, 2007
 
Last Saturday, a couple called the gallery to make sure Dan Finnegan's pots were still here. They had received a postcard that Dan had sent out before last month's First Friday. When they got here I visited with them a little bit. The woman commented that she really liked getting the postcards.
 
I wish I could afford to send out postcards every month for the First Fridays, but it's just not even remotely possible.
 
When the gallery first opened, I had a book out on my desk where I collected mailing addresses. People were eager to write down their information. I was thrilled as the list grew.
 
Over the years, I collected more mailing lists from the various potters I represented, most notably Mark Shapiro and Sam Taylor (who share a list) and Bill van Gilder.
 
What happens is that as the list grows, it becomes a monster. When it is so large that sending out a mailing is too expensive to consider, you think about cutting it back. But how do you do that? Do you know which names are from your very best customers (the people you would want to remain on the list) and which names were from people who wandered into the gallery 5 years ago, never bought anything, and will most likely never return (the ones you would want to delete).
 
You might recognize a few names because you got to know the people, but in general, you just have names.
 
You can't do it by zip code, because some of my best customers are in California, Oregon, Texas, New Jersey and Atlanta.
 
So what do you do?
 
About six months before I left Vienna, I started actively collecting email addresses. I foresaw that it was no longer going to be feasible for me to continue to send out postcards on any regular basis. I have pretty much jetisoned the snail mail addresses now. I did have a sort field on my old list (of over 3600 names -- you do the math on postage alone!) where I attempted to locate my good customers, and I made the assumption that names that appeared on all three lists (mine, Mark/Sam's and Bill's) were "pot lovers" so that I could send out a more manageable mailing to about 750 people. Last September, I sent the last postcard I intend to send. The postcard was meant to transmit three pieces of information:
 
1. The gallery has moved and here is the new address.
 
2. Here are the First Friday shows for the next three months.
 
3. This is the last postcard you're going to get from me, so if you want to stay in touch, you need to get on my email list.
 
It cost about $600 to send out that postcard.
 
I can't tell you about my new grandson on a postcard.
 
I can't tell you about my sorrow at finding a favorite teapot broken on a postcard.
 
I can't make friends on a postcard.
 
I doubt that my CPA thinks "make friends with my customers" is a really good business plan, but folks.. that's the best one I've got.
 
Talk to you later.
 

 
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
 
I was reading an article about another gallery that does marketing via email and was interested in these two paragraphs:
 
If cyberspace is changing the way most organizations do business, Sense of Wonder is no exception. For most of its 12-year history, the business reached customers with a printed newsletter. Recently, though, problems had arisen with this traditional form of communication. “Our mailing list was getting very cumbersome,” reports Jean Smith, who owns both galleries with her husband, Jay. “While we had gathered over 3,500 names, some were a decade old. We couldn’t tell which customers were still active.” And as more individuals on the list changed addresses, up to 5% of each mailing was returned.
 
Print mailings were not only inefficient, but also expensive. “Our printing and postage costs for our holiday flier alone came to almost $3,000,” recalls Smith. “We were becoming convinced that the print newsletter was not an effective use of the money spent.”
 
See? Same problems I mentioned on Saturday. "Couldn't tell which customers were still active." That's the problem. That and the cost, of course.
 
There were a reasonable number of people out for First Friday last week. Unfortunately, the Mystery Pot remains here. For your information, it was the $190 platter from Shawn Grove.
 
Were you eyeing it?
 
Sorry you didn't give me a call now, aren't you? Hmmmmmm?
 
Speaking of mysteries, my reader of newsletter archives was moved by my entry the other day to identify herself. Thanks. I appreciate that. It's always nice to say hello.
 
The Flower and Garden show in downtown Leesburg is the 21st and 22nd of April. Last year that was the first weekend I was opened out here. And it rained all weekend. I hope the weather will cooperate this year. We're in the middle of a cold snap right now (there was a dusting of SNOW on the ground Easter morning!), but it can't last forever.
 
Talk to you later.
 

 
Saturday, April 14, 2007
 
Several years ago a woman came into the gallery when I was in Vienna and we got to talking about places like mine and how you don't really find them with the same frequency as you do a Starbucks.
 
She told me about a place she used to enjoy going to in Arlington. She said it was always such a pleasant experience to go in there and see all the beautiful things and she always made it a point to buy something small to help support the place.
 
She said she hadn't been there in quite a while and when she did go back it wasn't nearly so nice. She complained that instead of all the beautiful things, there were more and more just small inexpensive things that you could pretty much get anywhere. It wasn't special anymore.
 
She was disappointed.
 
I tried to give her what was probably the perspective of the gallery owner. If the only things that sell are the inexpensive "impulse" items, you're going to stock more and more of that. You won't take a chance on the really nice things because you can't tie up your money that long. You've got rent to pay. The gallery owner was only reacting to what the customers apparently wanted -- inexpensive "impulse" items.
 
When I was at the wholesale show in Philadelphia in February, I walked past a booth of cute little chunks of soap that looked like rock crystals. They had them displayed piled in large bowls. It was very eye-catching (it sure caught my eye). I stopped for a moment and pondered. I thought, "What interesting little soaps. I'll bet these would make great inexpensive impulse items for the gallery."
 
People are always looking for inexpensive things that are interesting and different. I figured these might be really good sellers.
 
I picked up a brochure and put it in my "definitely consider" place in my tote bag, and wandered off.
 
I think there was some divine providence that led me to Linda Chamberlain's booth just across the way.
 
Wonderful, wonderful mixed media shadowboxes that just fascinated me. Just a month or so earlier I had gone downtown to see an exhibit of Joseph Cornell's work at one of the museums, and her work had that same sort of look and feel to it.
 
While I was lost in contemplation, I heard a voice behind me say, "I know. You've seen my booth for years and you just love my work, but you've never bought any of it, have you?"
 
It was just what I needed to hear at that point to bring my focus back to what Earth and Fire Gallery is. And remind me what it is not.
 
I did not buy any little soaps that look like rock crystals at the show that day, and I did place an order with Linda.
 
A few of her pieces came in this week and I'm just as delighted with them as I was then. There are three more on their way.
 
I hope you appreciate the decision I made. Trust me.. it was tough. I have rent to pay, too.
 
Those little soaps probably would have sold like hot cakes.
 
But that's not what the gallery is about.
 
Linda Chamberlain -- mixed media assemblages
 
Talk to you later.
 

 
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
 
It's the little things that make me nuts.
 
Over the years I've gotten used to the phone calls asking what my rates are for children's birthday parties. There's always a sort of confused silence on the other end when I answer, "This is a gallery."
 
"Oh," the person might respond. "So you can't come and paint pottery?"
 
"No."
 
Sometimes they ask if I know of a place where they can take a bunch of 10-year-olds for a fun afternoon of pottery painting, and I try to be helpful and refer them to the place around the corner that is such a business.
 
In the mail this morning was my Business License.. with the instructions in big bold letters to "POST IN A CONSPICUOUS PLACE."
 
They had me classified as a Retail Merchant, which is correct of course. As for the Type, someone had selected "Hobby, Toy & Games Stores."
 
Now, I know it doesn't make any difference in the amount of taxes I pay to the town or anything like that, but it bugs me. I called some guy in the Finance Department and tried to get it straightened out. I told him I was an Art Gallery.
 
He didn't know if they had a classification for something like that.
 
That is just so sad.
 

 
Saturday, April 21, 2007
 
I'm so grateful (at last) for the wonderful weather this weekend!
 
An event like the Leesburg Flower and Garden Show is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, you can count on a whole bunch of people wandering through the gallery (especially when the weather is as beautiful as it is today!). That's obviously a good thing. I would estimate that for well over 90% of the people who come in today, this is their first visit to the gallery.
 
On the other hand, sales are generally not spectacular because people are just wandering around enjoying the day. (Do I dare lament the fact that I don't have a big bowl of soaps that look like rock crystals?)
 
The front door is wide open, I put some fresh flowers in several vases around the gallery, I set out some cookies and soft drinks upstairs (if they were downstairs, the probably wouldn't last more than about 15 minutes once the kids discovered them), and I have a 10% discount on everything in the gallery for the weekend.
 
I don't know what more I can to be welcoming.
 
So for most of the day I'll just sit and smile and say "Welcome." And remind people that there is more upstairs and try to encourage them to stay longer and look around more.
 
And hope for a lull when I feel comfortable taking a short bathroom break.
 

 
Sunday, April 22, 2007
 
It's been a great couple of days at the gallery. Someone really screwed up on the weather and it has been GORGEOUS both days.
 
A little while ago, I stepped outside to take a couple of pictures of the street scene with my new digital camera. It doesn't have a traditional viewfinder -- just a (very nice) digital LCD monitor. I've gotten used to it for taking pictures in the gallery and I hadn't missed the small little viewfinder at all. Until today.
 
Taking pictures outside in the bright sun -- you can't see a darned thing in that LCD monitor. I basically just held it up and took a picture blind.
 
I took about 10 pictures, then came back inside to run them through Photoshop so I could put them online.
 
It was a good thing I checked! About half of them turned out like this:
 
What kind of a blue sky is that?
 

 
Luckily I could find the Users Manual on my desk (and if you've been into the gallery, you know what I'm talking about!) and determined the proper setting for "Really Nice Day Out"
 
Much Better!

 

 
Street Scene -- Leesburg Flower and Garden Show, 2007

 
Some of the landscaping vendors really knock themselves out with their displays:
 
Why can't MY backyard look like this?

 

 
A vendor display -- Leesburg Flower and Garden Show, 2007

 
It was good to visit with those of you who came out. If you couldn't make it, I'm sorry you missed it.
 
Talk to you later.
 

 
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
 
Did you see Oprah yesterday?
 
A new career for Oprah?
 

 
"I can understand why you like this," Oprah says. "It's very soothing."

 
So now in addition to the phone calls about children's birthday parties, I suspect now I'll start getting calls from folks who want pots made by this fellow Jonathan Adler (whom I've never heard of, but who has apparently made a ton of money selling "home furnishings").
 
I'll try to remain polite when they call.
 
Talk to you later.
 

 
Sunday, May 6, 2007
 
Well, here I am at the gallery today. The weather is warming up and it seems like a good idea to be here for a few hours on a Sunday afternoon for the folks strolling up and down the street this afternoon.
 
The Road Trip segment in the Washington Post Sunday Source featured a trip through downtown Leesburg this morning. The theme of the trip was getting ready for the America's Cup Polo match that will be held next Saturday at Morven Park. The businesses they featured on the map all had some kind of British or equestrian theme. Earth and Fire Gallery didn't make the cut. But maybe I'll pick up some spillover interest from people who came out because of that.
 
I'll probably pop out here on nice Sunday afternoons through the summer months if I don't have anything else planned. I don't want to advertize that I'm going to be open on Sundays... just more of a hit of miss kind of thing.
 
Talk to you later.
 

 
Saturday, May 12, 2007
 
Today's the day the America's Cup Polo match will be held at Morven Park. I guess it's a big deal. The town's downtown business development person brought a group of journalists by the gallery a little while ago for a little meet and greet.
 
When she came by last week to set it all up, she initially envisioned me having some potter give a demonstration of some kind. We finally decided that I could just do a little tap dance and talk about using functional pottery and what a wonderful addition it is to your daily life.
 
As it turned out, it was much more casual than that, and it was just a group of people wandering through the gallery.
 
I'm glad I didn't trouble a potter to come be here.
 

 
Thursday, May 17, 2007
 
I came across this silly little personality test thing online today and (sadly) had the time at the gallery to take the short quiz.
 
Here's what the test told me about my intelligence style:
 

 
Your Dominant Intelligence is Logical-Mathematical Intelligence

 
You are great at finding patterns and relationships between things.
Always curious about how things work, you love to set up experiments.
You need for the world to make sense - and are good at making sense of it.
You have a head for numbers and math ... and you can solve almost any logic puzzle.

You would make a great scientist, engineer, computer programmer, researcher, accountant, or mathematician.

 

 
You might think it odd, given the fact that own a gallery, that I would make a great scientist, engineer, computer programmer, researcher, accountant (Oh, I don't THINK so!) or mathematician.
 
I don't.
 
I was extremely good at math in high school. I loved geometry the best. Just loved it. It was rational. It was logical. It was a puzzle game. I'll bet you if you gave me a geometry problem today, I could still figure it out.
 
But that was it. Algebra? ::::shudder:::: Trigonometry? AUGH. Calculus? I couldn't solve a calculus problem today to save my life. Probably couldn't even recognize one. I was good at it at the time, but just erased it all from my mind once I didn't need to know it anymore.
 
I remember a conversation I had with my father when I was planning which classes to take in college. He was questioning why I had not gone the math route. I had scored very high in math on the SAT's. I had been good in math all through school.
 
"Why aren't you taking any math courses?" he asked. "You're so good at it."
 
"But I don't LIKE it!" I explained.
 
And I went another direction totally -- wound up being an English major. Read a novel. Write a paper. Fuzzy. No right or wrong answer, it was all about style. Could you write a convincing argument to support your point of view? (Compare and contrast.. bring in a few quotes.. just back up your thesis and you're golden). I liked that much better.
 
Even so I still can't escape the fact that at the very heart of me is logic.
 
Pretty much every day at the gallery I try to figure out what "the answer to the puzzle" is.
 
If "this" worked, then "that" should work.
 
When "that" doesn't work, I try to figure out why not.
 
Was it because of "the other??"
 
Can I test that? Can I change "the other" and see if "that" works now? Or maybe "something else?"
 
I think I would have made a good computer programmer.
 
I just wouldn't have liked it.
 
What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?
 
Let me know how accurate you think it is for you.
 
Talk to you later.
 

 
Saturday, May 19, 2007
 
There's a horse outside the gallery this morning.
 

 
Just outside the door....

 
Downtown Leesburg is celebrating the 250th anniversary of Loudoun County today, and there are plenty o' activities out on the street and within the block. I think there is a mini-parade about to commence. For the past 15 minutes or so, one of Loudoun County's finest has been trying to calm this horse down.
 
The horse doesn't want to be calmed down.
 
The horse has been pacing around in a circle and pawing (hoofing?) the pavement like my cat does when she's trying to bury something that isn't fit for polite company.
 
I worry that the horse is going to break free and come rushing into the gallery.
 
He's got that look in his eye:
 

 
This horse is not happy.....

 
It's a lovely day and there are a lot of people in the street. It looks like it will be one of those days where people wander in, look around, and wander out.
 

 
Saturday, May 26, 2007
 
It was a good day at the gallery today. A woman came in and was totally moved by one of Byron Temple's bowls. Even though she had never heard of Byron Temple, and in fact didn't know that much about pottery at all, she fell in love with the bowl and had to have it. I really do enjoy watching a connection like that happening. I'm sure Byron would have been pleased to see it, too.
 
Later in the day, a man came in and I could tell from watching him pick up various pieces that he did know pots. It's funny how you can tell -- pot lovers pick up a pot and turn it over to look at the bottom. We got to talking and he said he had learned about the gallery through Ceramics Monthly (those ad dollars at work).
 
He commented on what an unusual place the gallery was and posed the question "Why aren't there more galleries like this?"
 
I know why.
 
It's so much easier to sell soap that looks like rock crystals.
 

 

 
Thursday, May 31, 2007
 
There was a meeting yesterday to determine the future direction of the First Friday program in Leesburg. It lasted for more than an hour and a half. There was a lot of agreement around the table about "what is" in relation to the program. There was also a lot of agreement about "what needs to be". Unfortunately, on the subject of "how to get to what needs to be" there were any number of different opinions, each having value and merit.
 
In the end a very difficult vote was taken and it doesn't look to me like very much will change.
 
It is clear to me that I'm going to have to do what I think is best for the gallery and chart my own course.
 

 
Friday, June 8, 2007
 
I got an email the other day from someone who had been in the gallery "6-9 months ago" inquiring about the metal trees that I used to have.
 
I responded that I haven't been able to contact that artist for quite some time and it doesn't look like I'll be carrying those anymore.
 
The person responded that they were very disappointed because this was something a friend of theirs had been talking about for months. I'm not sure what they want from me. I can't call up a factory in China and order another one. If I can't get ahold of the artist, I can't get any more of them. It's art. If you see something that grabs you, you have to seize the moment.
 
Tomorrow is the Classic Car Show in downtown Leesburg. They will be closing the streets at about 4:00, and it runs from 5 - 9 pm. The organizer of the event is encouring all the downtown merchants to remain open, and there will be a Poker Walk -- where the participating merchants hand out cards to those who come in, and several times during the event, an announcement is made and the person with the best poker hand wins a prize.
 
We'll see how it goes.
 

 
Saturday, June 9, 2007
 
I got some incredible bags in a month or so ago and I've been frustrated trying to get pictures of them online. They were dark and muddy and didn't show how beautiful the fabric is.
 
Bleeeeech.
 
Handbag -- Mary Lynn O'Shea
 

 
Would you buy this bag from this picture??!!

 
My good buddy Rex came by this afternoon to have a look at my new camera. I had been whining to him this week online about these photos.
 
He took a quick spin through some of the settings available on my camera, and noticed that I had the Exposure Compensation set to a -1 1/3. ("OK.." was my thought.)
 
Rex explained (and in a very nice way, I thought...) that the camera was trying to darken everything and that this was most likely my problem.
 
We took a couple of the handbags upstairs to test it out.
 
Handbag -- Mary Lynn O'Shea
 

 
Holy Cow what a difference!

 
I guess I know what I'll be doing next week.
 
 
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
 
Unbelievable the difference that light setting Rex showed me on Saturday makes with the pots, too.
 
Check this out:
 
Amy Sanders -- Vases
 

 
With an Exposure Compensation setting of 0

 
And then -- take out the Windex and clean off the window!
 

 
Amy Sanders -- Vases
 

 
With and Exposure Compensation setting of +1

 
Rex complained that the vase on the left is still sitting in its own shadow and offered several suggestions to improve it further, but I've only got so much time to tinker with each shot. I gotta keep moving.
 
The good news is that I feel like I've got a lot more control over the quality of the images on the website.
 
The bad news is I've got a whole lot of pictures to retake!
 
I'm swimming around in new inventory right now. In addition to a lot of non-clay things, I've received some new shipments from Peter Karner, Marty Fielding, Mark Peters, and an artist who is new to the gallery, Amy Sanders.
 

 
Friday, June 15, 2007
 
As I was putting together the Tough Love Sale yesterday, I realized that most of the images of the pots in the sale were really terrible. I had taken them a long time ago and they were dark, or muddy, or cropped too tightly, or the angle was wrong. I figured I'd just quickly retake the images to show the pots off in their best light.
 
That worked OK, except that then I had to go back and update all the artist pages with the new images.
 
That worked OK, except now I realize that I have to go through all the category listings and update those as well.
 
I guess that takes care of the rest of the morning.
 
Speaking of great pictures....
 
Indulge me.. :)
 
Jackson Thomas and his Uncle Richard

 

 
What a face!

 
Back to the HTML....
 

 
Saturday, June 16, 2007
 
Last night as I was leaving for home, I noticed some signs on the parking meters across the street:
 

 
I had no idea what was going to happen this morning.
 
What happened was the National Fife & Drum Muster & Parade. Who knew!?
 

 
There were fairly large groups:
 

 
There were small groups:
 

 
There were costumes from Civil War times:
 

 
and
 

 
And there were less formal costumes:
 

 
... and speaking of hats:
 

 
... one guy even had a muskrat on his head.
 
You just never know what's going to be going on at the gallery on a Saturday morning.
 

 
Thursday, June 21, 2007
 
It occurs to me that navigating the artist page might be somewhat daunting for someone who didn't know what each potter's work looked like. What if a person saw something they liked, but couldn't find it again when they came back?
 
Perhaps some visual clues might help.
 
So I am undertaking the arduous task of creating a representative thumbnail image to go with each artist listed on the artists page.
 
It's going fairly quickly. I'll try to get iteration #1 rolled out this afternoon before I leave.
 
Happy Birthday to Tim. I can't figure out whether he's my baby babydaddy, my grandbaby daddy, or my grandbaby babydaddy.
 

 
Friday, June 22, 2007
 
If you were looking at the Artists' page this afternoon, you probably thought you were having whiplash or something. I was updating and re-arranging and adding images and centering and de-centering and expanding columns and adding line breaks.
 
You sort of think you've got it, and then you get an idea to improve it and you run that up the flagpole. I think I've got it to a place where it can sit for a while. I hope it's an improvement. Tell me what you think...
 
I need to work towards consistency in the size of the thumbnails, but it could be a while before I get there.
 
My immediate goal is to go through the artist pages one by one and improve the images. Today I did Allison Severance and David Norton. I had pots from both of them that I had never put online. That happens when a lot of pots come in for the show, and I don't keep them all at the end of the month.
 
Big Project.
 
Needs to be Done.
 
Head Down.
 

 
Saturday, June 23, 2007
 
You'd be surprised how hard it is to get a consistent-looking grouping of photographs. By that, I mean so that when you're scrolling down the artist's page, all the pots are sized relatively. You don't want to be looking at a pitcher and scroll down to see a mug that looks like it's the same size. I can do it pretty well when I'm processing a group of images. I get a sense of size and it works pretty well. When I photograph two or three pots by themselves (without referring back to the other images on the artist's page) and then add them in, sometimes it get out of whack. You also want the angle of the photograph to look about the same. You have to get just above, so you aren't looking at a complete profile. But, you can't "look down" on something.
 
How do you convey in an image that something is quite small? If the pot fills the image, then there is no sense of scale at all and the pot looks much larger than it is. You have to make the image the same size, but the pot small within the image.
 
You want the lighting to be similar on all the images, even though they were taken at many different times.
 
The longer I do this, the more I see that I want/can improve upon. (I'm surprised Rex doesn't comment more about how bad my images are!)
 
Pain in the butt.
 
Fortunately, I don't whine about it. :X
 

 
Sunday, June 24, 2007
 
A woman came in yesterday and bought a ceramic ikebana for $35. I had it on display with a $3 silk rose in it that I got at Michael's. As she brought it to the desk, she said, "I love roses."
 
I rang it up and thought to myself, "Should I give her the rose? Should I tell her I got it at Michael's? Is she going to be miffed that the rose is just for display?"
 
I wrapped up just the ikebana and handed it to her. She didn't say anything.
 
Today, she came in and returned it.
 
She didn't want the ikebana at all, I guess -- but was willing to pay $35 for a $3 silk rose.
 
You just never know... I shoulda given it to her.
 
***
 
And, a couple of words of wisdom today.
 
I was listening to Car Talk yesterday morning and they mentioned a way to set your mirrors so there is no blind spot. I found the instructions on their website and tried it going home last night. Very cool. It takes a little getting used to, and I find I'm spending time watching as the cars pass immediately from my rear view mirror into my side mirror, but I'm sure I'll get over it.
 
Here's what to do:
 
Instructions for setting car mirrors
 
And finally. Something else I have discovered... Google makes crossword puzzles a lot easier to complete.
 
Pretty slow news day here at the gallery.
 

 
Saturday, June 30, 2007
 
You may remember when last you saw My Timeline, it wasn't in the best shape:
 
Elodie Holmes
 

 
Time Line "Consciousness in (interrupted) Motion"

 
I received the replacement today:
 
Elodie Holmes
 

 
Time Line "Consciousness in Motion -- Try, try again"

 
I'm going to leave it on display it at the gallery for a little while and then I'll take it on home.
 

 
Sunday, July 1, 2007
 
I've finally found exactly what I was looking for as far as a shopping cart for the website!
 
I've been working yesterday and today to get it configured and tested out and I sent out a little beta test page to a few good customers to see what comments they have, or if I've overlooked something important in the process, but initial reaction looks very good.
 
It's going to be a big job to update each artist's page with the link, but certainly not as big a job as inputting my entire website into a database somewhere else.
 
I'm really excited. I should have it ready to roll out by the end of next week.
 

 
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
 
I've been working like a dog putting the shopping cart into the artists' pages throughout the website. It's not hard work, but it is tedious. I have to make sure I pass a unique name (the artist's name a description of the piece) and the correct price to the shopping cart. I have to go slowly so I don't make any mistakes.
 
It's hard to say how far along I am, but I might be half way. I almost wish I was going to come in tomorrow (on the 4th of July) to keep working on it.
 
Almost.
 
It'll just have to wait until Thursday to finish. I do think I'll upload the ones I've finished. Might as well...
 
Have a safe and happy 4th of July!
 

 
Saturday, July 7, 2007
 
The shopping cart is up and running throughout the website, and I had my first email notifying me of a typo in one of the links. It seems the price I passed to the shopping cart was about 10 times what it should have been, due to an errant decimal point.
 
I've been toying with the idea of putting up a little notice somewhere that if you find an error in the shopping cart, please send me an email and let me know about it so I can fix it. I can't figure out where to put it though.
 
Maybe I should offer some kind of little reward? Hmmmmmm.
 
OK.. if you find an error somewhere in the shopping cart links, I'll give you a $5 discount on your order. How's that? (fine print: only one reward per error. You must be the first one to report it.) I hope this won't be an administrative nightmare. I'm not good with those.
 
I sold a little flower holder that hangs on the wall today. I put the tacky little flower from Michael's in the bag with it. It was the right thing to do.
 

 
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
 
I called Linda Christianson last week and left another grovel message. Today there was an answer on my voicemail. She said she has pots cooling in the kiln and she promised a few of them will be on their way here soon after.
 
I know we've all seen this movie before, but ... well... I feel really good about it this time.
 
I've scheduled a show in October with Kirke Martin and Jason Bohnert. I discovered Jason at the wholesale show in Philly last February. You may recall I bought a small teapot of his:
 
Jason Bohnert

 

 
Personal Teapot

 
I had vases from Kirke in my vase show a couple of years ago, and I saw him again at the wholesale show, too. He had these great bowls:
 
Kirke Martin

 

 
Soup/Salad Bowls

 
I thought their pots would be a nice complement to one another.
 
I've adjusted prices for the second time now with the shopping cart for the Tough Love Sale. It's no fun. In addition to the Tough Love Sale page, I have to adjust the prices on the artists' individual pages and on the category pages.
 
Last week we were at 35%. I've decided it's too much trouble updating all those pages 5% at a time, so I'm just going to bite the bullet and bump it one last time to 50%. This will be the final discount on these pots.
 
Think of it as changing the locks. These pots need to find homes.
 

 
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
 
Well, the UPS guy came today and I did the little happy dance. My groveling to Linda Christianson brought three pots today. It's not much, but I'm tickled. She enclosed a very nice note in which she says she just can't keep up -- there are never enough pots to go around. She also says that she intends to send me a few pots like this every time she fires.
 
That works for me.
 
As a little reward to those of you who come to the site on a regular basis, and pay attention to things that have changed, I'm not going to send out a newsletter announcing the arrival of these precious pots for a few days.
 
I'll give you first dibbies on these.
 

 
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
 
The City of Leesburg is repairing the entrance to the driveway right next to the gallery and it's a mess. They've been working in the night, but still have to do some things during the day. You can get in and out of the gallery all right, but it's really noisy outside (and dusty). They've got a machine out there ripping up the asphalt (that another guy that the landlord hired just re-surfaced about a month ago) so they can lay down a new patch.
 
After sitting here for about an hour listening to it, I've decided I'd really like to know if it's going to go on all afternoon, or if they are about finished.
 
It's really annoying.
 
I've got a friend coming to have lunch with me today. Plans were to order in some sandwiches. But those plans were made days ago.
 
I've decided that's what signs that say "I'll be back in an hour" are for.
 
Maybe they'll be done with the noise when we get back.
 
Or maybe the gallery will close early today if I can't stand it all afternoon.
 
Ugh.
 

 
Thursday, August 9, 2007
 
Remember the scene from Good Morning Vietnam where Robin Williams goes on the air with a weather report?
 
"It's hot! Damn hot! Real hot!"
 
Yesterday at about 1:00 the power flickered a couple of times. I was most worried about my computer bouncing up and down trying to come back to life, and didn't think about the AC because it sure sounded like it was still running. A couple of hours later, I realized that "this is no ordinary hot flash" and checked the thermostat.
 
It wasn't pretty. 85 and climbing.
 
I alerted the landlord and closed up early.
 
When the technician showed up this morning about 11:00, I was relieved that it was just a matter of the breaker switch needing to be shut completely off, then back on again. I had checked that yesterday, but it didn't look like there was a problem, so I hadn't touched it.
 
Thank heaven it wasn't anything major.
 
And thank heaven it's not my job to go on repair calls for broken AC units all day.
 
Because:
 
"It's hot! Damn hot! Real hot!"
 

 
Saturday, August 11, 2007
 
I had two very urgent sounding voicemails yesterday morning.. when I called the man back, he told me that a woman was posing as the owner of my gallery and trying to scam money out of people.
 
He told me she had told him that she was in Africa on a buying trip and had run out of money to get home. Could he please send her $550 so she could return home.
 
Just wire the money to her care of her hotel in Nigeria.
 
He faxed me her email today. Sure enough.. right there.. she says she owns Earth and Fire Gallery at 18 So. King Street in Leesburg, VA.
 
What isn't clear from the exchange he faxed to me is whether he decided she was scamming him before or after he sent her the $550. I do hope before.
 
I'm not sure what the man who called thinks I can/should do about this situation.
 
All I can do is post in a very conspicuous place on my website that I never travel to Nigeria and therefore, I'll never need any money from any of you good people to come home.
 
That should do it.
 

 
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
 
Linda Christianson's pots are all gone. I knew it wouldn't take long.
 
Back to groveling mode there.
 
I've got some pots on their way from Mary Law in California that I'm excited about. I imagine they will be here by the end of the week.
 

 
Friday, August 17, 2007
 
Today America's 9/11 Ride came rolling through Leesburg, on its way from the Somerset, PA crash site of United 93, to the Pentagon, and on to Ground Zero tomorrow.
 
Last year when it came through I didn't know what to expect. I was stunned to see hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of motorcycles passing. It must have taken 15 minutes for it to pass through town.
 
America's 9/11 Ride

 

 
The Police Guard that came through first

 
This group rode ahead to prepare the way -- closing streets along the way as the main group of motorcycles passed.
 
America's 9/11 Ride

 

 
And then came the firetrucks and ambulances

 
(Keep an eye on that guy in the distance in the white shirt.... you'll see him in a minute.)
 
America's 9/11 Ride

 

 
And then came the masses

 
... and.. what's that in the distance there?
 
America's 9/11 Ride

 

 
Excuse me!!??

 
Would YOU stand out in the street like that with all those motorcycles roaring past?
 
Lordy...
 
Anyway.. it was a sight to see. Again, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of them. Engines roaring, flags waving and horns honking. You couldn't stand there as it passed and not get choked up thinking about where they had been, and where they were going.
 
How could it be six years already?
 

 
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
 
First, a note about today's entry:
 
Tim, my son-in-law, was chiding me over the weekend because I haven't added anything to this for a couple of weeks. It's been pretty quiet. I didn't have anything to say. What am I supposed to do, make stuff up?
 
I suppose it has to do with the end of summer.. things winding down, and school starting up. Whatever it is, it seems like it's always a little slow in the gallery during this time.
 
Then, right after I came in this morning, I had a little visitor in the gallery, and I figured perhaps I could write a little something about that.
 
Really... I was just going to write a little bit about holding Natalie for a few minutes.
 
But the other pictures were... just here. I brought in the one to put in one of the picture frames in the gallery. And I had the other in my camera from over the weekend. And my daughter-in-law Kristin had sent me the other just a few days ago.
 
I couldn't not write the rest.
 
So.. here it is.
 
Kristen Crosby, the owner of I DO Wedding Essentials next door to the gallery, had her baby last week and brought her in for a few minutes.
 
This morning...

 

 
One-week old Natalie... and me

 
She needed to get a few things from her car, and wondered if I would hold Natalie for a few minutes.
 
Oh sure. :)
 
How tiny she is. She was a few weeks early, and weighed in the 5 pound range.
 
Oh but how quickly they grow, no?
 
My own little grandson is 7 months old now. My son's in-laws had a pig roast in their backyard on Sunday, and, although Jackson isn't quite ready for BBQ, he does have quite an appetite.
 
Over the weekend...

 

 
My grandson Jackson.. and Sweet Potatoes!

 
I remember another BBQ. It must have been about 1986. The Chamber of Commerce of Vermillion, South Dakota, hosted a community BBQ and a reporter for the local newspaper snapped a picture of two grubby little kids.
 
.... my two grubby little kids.
 
Not so very long ago...

 

 
My children, Richard and Susan Wiley, circa 1986.

 
Twenty some odd years go by and that little girl with her toes poking out of her shoes and mosquito bites on her legs is married with a baby of her own now.
 
Just six weeks ago...

 

 
Susan, Tim and Jackson, with Susan's paternal grandparents, Betty and Don Wiley
July, 2007

 
We received word on Friday that Don had collapsed at his home. He's been on life support since then. They have determined that there is no brain activity, and they will be removing the life support today.
 
The Circle of Life.
 
(Now see. How could I not write this?)
 

 
Friday, September 14, 2007
 
My bank got eaten up again.
 
I started out with Community Bank, because they were right down the street from the gallery when it was located in Herndon. Making deposits was really convenient. I got to know old Mary Ann, the Branch Manager, and life was pretty good. I never really understood the terms of the account. Most of the time, there wasn't a service charge. Every now and then, though, the was one. But it wasn't ever the same amount. It was a mystery.
 
A couple of years ago, Mercantile Potomac Bank bought out Community Bank. Mercantile was a bigger bank, obviously, and it felt like I was losing a little of that personal service. Since I didn't bank at Mary Ann's branch anymore (because I moved to Vienna), I didn't feel that much loyalty anymore. Merchantile Potomac was real clear about their terms. I had to leave $1000 in my account as a minimum balance, otherwise there would be a $20/month charge. Ouch. I didn't like that, but I called around, and most of the other banks weren't any better, so I kept my account there. I did pretty well with the minimum balance thing, but it really irked me to have it dip to $975 for one day and bounce back up.. and still get hit with the $20 fee.
 
Now PNC bank has swallowed up Mercantile Potomac. They have no sense of humor at all about service fees. $2500 minimum balance, or a $16 service charge.
 
OK.. time to do something.
 
I do my personal banking at Chevy Chase bank, and I've been pretty happy with them, so I gave them a call. They have a $1000 minimum balance, and only a $10 fee if it falls below that. No brainer. I'll be switching my bank.
 
Only problem is, in order to open the account, I have to bring in my Article of Incorporation for the gallery.
 
Ugh. I'm sure I filed them away somewhere in a very safe place.
 
... over 6 years and 2 moves ago.
 
I wonder where they are now.
 

 
Thursday, September 20, 2007
 
I managed to get a copy of my Articles of Incorporation. I cheated, though. I called my lawyer's office and asked them to fax me a copy. I pay them to be organized so I don't have to be. Hey... whatever works.
 
I got to the gallery a bit early this morning, and I was going to go open my new account at Chevy Chase, but I went up the street and visited with the folks at The Potomac Gallery instead. There was a meeting of the LDBA (Leesburg Downtown Business Association) this morning, and I couldn't be there, so I just stopped in to see if anything earthshattering had happened. None of them went either. We won't be able to gripe about the problems this month, because we aren't part of the solution.
 
Anyway, I didn't get to the bank. But it turns out everything happens for a reason. A few minutes ago a woman came in and put a handful of pens on my desk. She was from Commerce Bank, which is opening a new branch in Leesburg. I had the presence of mind to ask if she knew what their rates were for business accounts.
 
Guess what? No minimum balance, totally free checking.
 
Works for me.
 

 
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
 
There is no joy in Mudville today.
 
When I got to the gallery, I found a bulk mailing letter from my friends up the street at The Potomac Gallery. It was a Special Invitation to a HUGE WALL-to-WALL INVENTORY LIQUIDATION SALE that is beginning immediately and will include EVERY SINGLE ITEM.
 
You have to ask yourself why a business would want to liquidate EVERYTHING two months before Christmas.
 
There's pretty much only one reason.
 
I went up the street to talk to them (they never said a word to me when I stopped in last Thursday) and this is what greeted me.
 
Signs in the window at The Potomac Gallery
 

 
Neon colors?

 
They are closed today (getting ready for the big sale to begin Thursday morning).
 
They were the first friends I made on the block. I felt they were a kindred gallery to mine. They started the First Friday Gallery Walks. They are nice people.
 
I'm very sad today.
 

 
Thursday, September 27, 2007
 
Well, I went to check out the sale at The Potomac Gallery this morning when they opened at 10:00. Evidently they hired a consultant who is advising them about this big sale. I was relieved to learn that they are not going out of business. They are reorganizing their business to focus more on the framing aspect. They are not going to carry art inventory anymore.
 
Could be a smart move for them.
 
Perhaps the only one they could make at this point.
 
It will be interesting to see how it turns out.
 

 

 
Thursday, October 4, 2007
 
The tracking information for the pots that Jason Bohnert sent last Friday indicate that the boxes have been "on truck for delivery" for the last three days. Ridiculous.
 
I called their Customer Support people and I'm not getting much help. After about 5 minutes on hold, they said they would call me back. When they called back, they said that the driver expected to be here around noon.
 
It's 12:10.
 
I realize these things are not exact, but I am quite annoyed. I only have light upstairs to photograph them for another couple of hours. If they don't get here pretty soon, I'm not going to have time to get them all photographed today, which I need to do today.
 
I've sent boxes to California in less time than this. These were only coming from West Virginia. They should have been here Tuesday.
 
I think I'm going to do give FedEx a chance to refund a good portion of the shipping costs for this shipment.
 
Friday, October 5, 2007
 
The FedEx guy showed up about 1:00 yesterday. The first words out of his mouth when he came through the door were "I owe you a huge apology.. Somehow I had the impression that you were closed Monday through Wednesday. I'm so sorry. It's all my fault."
 
I pointed out that my hours are posted in the window, and that he could also have left the boxes with a neighboring business.
 
When he left I called Jason and told him that the pots had finally arrived, and that I thought we had a good chance of getting the shipping charges either refunded in total, or greatly reduced. Since he was the shipper (i.e., the one who paid FedEx), he had to make the call. I told him to be firm and ask for all the shipping charges to be refunded.
 
I pointed out that they can say no. Or make a counter offer. But why not ask for the whole ball of wax? For these pots to have taken 6 days to come from West Virginia to Virginia is just absurd.
 
He called me back a few minutes later with the news that FedEx had said they would "take care of the shipping charges."
 
There you go. You have to ask.
 
The pots are incredible, by the way. I rushed around yesterday afternoon unpacking them and taking photographs before I lost the light.
 
The upstairs was a MESS when I went home last night. It took me several hours today to get it presentable for First Friday tonight.
 
I'm really looking forward to the show on Sunday afternoon!
 
By the way.. I've had several people ask why the name of the show is "By Invitation Only."
 
It seems that if you have an event that is open to the public, you are not allowed to serve wine unless you have an ABC (Alcoholic Beverage Control) license, or hire a farm winery to pour wine for you (because THEY have an ABC license). By making the event "by invitation only".. the ABC people won't come put me in jail.
 
The fact that "anybody who knows about it is invited".. well... that will just be our little secret.
 

 
Saturday, October 6, 2007
 
Two women came in this morning and were admiring one of Peter Karner's mugs. I heard the one saying, "If it didn't have the handle, I could use it to hold toothbrushes in the bathroom."
 
I didn't say anything. (My philosophy is.. "There is no Pottery Police. You buy it, you can use it for whatever you want.")
 
They continued discussing it. It was as if the handle was some kind of obstacle for her.
 
Since it DID have the handle.. what on earth was she going to use it for?
 
They struggled for a few minutes trying to think.. finally I could bear it no longer.
 
"You could drink coffee out of it!" I offered.
 
What a concept!
 
I explained that it was perfectly foodsafe and dishwasher safe and that the joy in it would be in using it.
 
It opened up into a nice discussion.
 
She purchased the mug and went away happy, I think.
 
Another convert.
 

 
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
 
There are a few pots from the show that haven't made it to the website yet. When I took the pictures, a couple of them had to be deleted because they were blurred just a bit.
 
Since I can't use a flash (it makes a harsh shadow), the shutter stays open for longer, which means the camera has to be held completely still while the picture is taken. I set the shutter to go off 2 seconds after I press the button, so all I have to do is hold it still, and I brace it against a box for stability, but still sometimes I guess I breathe at the wrong time or something, and the picture is blurred.
 
Today I bought a small little tri-pid for $19.
 
Just like when I found a doorbell that would ring upstairs when someone came in downstairs (so I could work upstairs), I can't believe it took me so long to solve this problem.
 

 
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
 
Two weeks ago (the week before the show), while I was waiting (nervously) for Jason's pots to arrive, the UPS guy brought me four big boxes o' pots from Tom Homann. I knew he was going to send me some pots, but I had no idea how MANY pots he was going to send me (hint: a LOT!)... and when they would arrive (oh, that was a bad week, to be sure!)
 
I knew I didn't have time to deal with them then, so I just sort of unboxed them and set them all aside as best I could.
 
I managed to avoid thinking about them all last week, but I have to face them this week. I've decided I can deal with them 10 images at a time.
 
I only got 6 done today before I lost the light upstairs. (Boy, do I LOVE the new tripod!)
 
Tsk... I'll try to do 14 tomorrow to catch up.
 
I'll put them online as I do them.
 

 
Saturday, October 20, 2007
 
Today is Court and Market Day in Leesburg. King Street is blocked to vehicle traffic and vender booths line the street.
 
The weather is absolutely gorgeous! (One of the reason August Court Days became Court and Market Day in October was because it was always so blasted hot in August!)
 
A vintage firetruck is parked outside the gallery.
 
Vintage Firetruck
 

 
Part of Court and Market Day, 2007

 
I have a wedding to go to later this afternoon, so my son Richard and his wife Kristin will be here after about 2:00. They should be able to handle it all right.
 
I expect a lot of folks out wandering around enjoying the day.
 
Tomorrow I'm headed to Wyoming for a few days to visit with my family. The gallery will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday (in addition to the usual Sunday and Monday).
 
I'll be back on Thursday.
 

 
Friday, November 2, 2007
 
I had a little excitement at my house last night.
 
I've been feeding a mother cat and her four kittens since they appeared one day in mid-August in my backyard. Since that time, one of the kittens has disappeared, and I don't see the mother as regularly as I used to.
 
I finally got in touch with a rescue organization that would help me trap them, get them neutered, and return them to my backyard where I'll continue to feed them.
 
A woman brought four traps to my house last night and we baited them with some really smelly wet catfood (which they probably have never had). After about an hour, two of the kittens had gone into the traps. The woman left the other two traps and headed home.
 
Shortly after she left, the third kitten was trapped. I brought the trap inside and shut it in the powder room so my housecat wouldn't harass the poor little thing all night.
 
This morning, I took the third kitten to the woman's house to join its siblings. (The mother either didn't come by, or was too smart/not hungry enough for the trap.)
 
I've never had any contact with feral cats before. I expected snarling and growling and scratching and loud crying from the cat all night, and especially in the car this morning.
 
Instead, the poor little thing never made a sound.
 
The woman from the rescue organization said that the mother has taught them to be very quiet and not call attention to themselves.
 
That kitten had to have been scared to death.
 
Never made a sound.
 
I wonder if, when they come back with sore bellies on Sunday.. they'll ever trust me again to feed them -- with "no strings attached."
 
I hope so. They are beautiful cats.
 
I'm going to get an insulated shelter and put it on the patio back there. It's starting to get cold at night.
 
Hope they won't think it's another trap.
 

 
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
 
The little cats were returned on Sunday, full (I'm sure) of tales for their mother (in response to her hands-on-hip questioning about just where they had BEEN since Thursday night) of being abducted by aliens, taken in a strange transport ship, laid out on an operating table, and tortured with abdominal probes.
 
If their bellies did hurt when the door of the cage was lifted, you couldn't have told it by how fast they moved to get out of the backyard.
 
I put their regular food closer to the fence that first night so they'd feel a bit more secure.
 
The bowl has been emptied every night since (which is a good thing, I guess, because it means they are returning), but I've only seen two of the kittens so far, so I'm a little worried about the one kitten, in addition to the mother.
 
Next on the agenda is to find some kind of shelter I can put on the patio for them that doesn't cost me an arm and a leg. This is getting to be quite an undertaking. Such a responsibility! But I guess I'm in it now, aren't I?
 
In other news -- and back to gallery-related events -- I went to a home show on Sunday where Michael Kline, Mark Shapiro, and Sam Taylor were showing some great pots and picked up a few from each for the gallery. I've been busy yesterday and today getting them photographed and put online.
 
I haven't been able to get pots from Mark Shapiro for what seems like AGES, so I was really glad to get those.
 
Check them out:
 
Michael Kline
 
Mark Shapiro
 
Sam Taylor
 
Friday, November 9, 2007
 
I've gotten quite a bit of positive feedback on the newsletter I sent out this afternoon. Seems I'm not the only one that thinks "Start your shopping at the mall and end it with friends downtown" sucks big time. As one email pointed out:
 
I don’t want to go shopping at the mall, and if I end up doing so (heaven forbid!), I certainly won’t feel like shopping in Leesburg, other than perhaps going to Tuskie’s for a nice stiff drink to take the edge off.
 
Another said:
 
they're basically saying "after you've spent an entire day at the mall, fighting other shoppers, feet aching, come downtown and shop some more."
 
Like I said:
 
Ugh
 

 

 
Friday, December 1, 2007
 
No, I didn't disappear from the face of the earth, although it certainly did feel like it at times, at least from this end.
 
Mid-afternoon on November 16, the lights at the gallery dimmed for just a second, and then came back. It was enough to knock my computer down. This has happened several times before over the years (and is one of the reasons I have a surge protector, of course). In all the other instances, the computer just rebooted and came back up -- checked the disk for errors, and then I was back in business. I expected nothing else this time.
 
But, after looking at a totally black screen for a few minutes, waiting in vain to see the Windows XP logo -- something -- ANYTHING... I saw a dire message that said something to the effect that my config file was corrupt and Bill Gates sincerely hoped I had been diligently following an effective backup strategy all this time because mostly likely, I was in deep do-do.
 
I was on the phone for about an hour and a half with some guy in India who barely spoke English and (I'm convinced) knew nothing about technical support other than how to enter information into a database and wait for a script to pop up. In finally hung up on him in frustration and went home for the night to a glass of chardonnay and a jacuzzi.
 
Saturday, the 17th, I called the Geeks -- the ones who cleverly renamed their company from Geeks on Call to 1-800-905-GEEKS -- because they didn't want to be confused with The Geek Squad that evidently Staples (or Office Depot) has. Brilliant move. But anyway.. the guy came out and I was satisfied that he knew what he was doing as he officially declared my computer.... TOAST.
 
It's a pretty awful experience to suddenly have something that you rely on so much taken away from you with no warning.
 
Over the last couple of weeks, I've been slowly (and extremely PAINFULLY -- not to mention $$$$$$$$$$ly) finding out whether or not my backup strategy was a good one. I wound up having to buy a brand new computer and start from scratch rebuilding everything I had on the old one.
 
I'm pleased to report that that I DID have a good backup system -- at least for the critical information, the business data for the gallery. In the end I didn't lose a single transaction.
 
But it was painful... and there are probably SEVERAL newslettters stacked up in my mind all ready to go. Just as soon as I finish updating the website with all the things that have sold -- AND upload images (that I will need to take), of some wonderful new pots I have received from Sequoia Miller. Stay tuned, please.
 
Miles to go before I sleep....
 

 
Saturday, December 8, 2007
 
When I first woke up this morning, I realized I had been dreaming about the gallery and the website and I thought, "That's an incredible idea!!!"
 
As time passed and the coffee had done its thing, I started to wonder what the heck I was thinking.
 
What I had been thinking/dreaming about is that I know so many of you only by your name or email address -- you've been good and loyal customers for years, I may have talked to you on the phone several times, and yet, I wouldn't recognize you if you walked into the gallery. So I had the brainstorm of asking you to send me photos of yourselves -- perhaps with one of the pots you had purchased from the gallery -- and I'd post them on the website, along with just your first name. It would be a sort of community thing. A community of pot-lovers.
 
So. There it is. If you want to send me a picture of yourself, yourself with a pot, yourself with a pot and/or your dog/cat/1967 Mustang/6 kids/13 grandbabies/Grand Champion Walleye/5-point buck... whatever... I'll post them in a little corner of the website.
 
I guess I'll find out if it's an incredible idea or the remnants of a groggy awakening that should best have been forgotten.
 

 
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
 
I seem to be getting more calls from people who think I'm one of those places where you go to paint a piece of molded ceramic and then they fire it for you and you come back and get it.
 
A woman just called and wanted to schedule a birthday party for her 5-year-old.
 
Just once I want to go ahead and schedule the party and see what happens when they show up.
 
Just once....
 

 
Monday, December 17, 2007
 
I never mentioned that I had gone up to Demarest, NJ, this year for the Pottery Show at the Old Church Cultural Center again. It is held a week after Thanksgiving, over the next weekend. Since this year that didn't interfere with First Friday in Leesburg, I went ahead and treated myself.
 
I had a wonderful time, as usual, and brought back some wonderful pots for myself.
 
I also did the traditional grovel dance with Linda Christianson, who was there. We talked for quite a long time.
 
She said she is firing more regularly now, and can send me pots with more regularity.
 
Guess what the UPS guy brought just now??!!
 
I did the little happy dance. It's a pretty big box, and the inventory list she sent looks really good. Now I need to unpack them and hope for a little sun so I can get some images taken.
 
Stay tuned... I'll have them up as soon as I can.
 
Amended (thank heavens finally for a sunny day so I could take pictures!!) -- Linda's pots are online here: Linda Christianson
 
I've also added the new pots from one of the new artists, Jim Gottuso.
 

 
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
 
Today, for the first time in 7 years, a customer broke a pot. I guess I've been very lucky all this time. I've wondered what I would say if/when it happened, and whether or not the customer would pay for the broken piece.
 
The man apologized and did offer to pay for it. I told him I would split it with him, and only asked him to pay half.
 
When he left he was sort of grumbling and vowed never to come back.
 
Perhaps he was angry at himself for deciding to pick up a piece of pottery and being so clumsy as to break it. Perhaps he expected me to tell him not to worry about it and eat it all myself.
 
I thought I did the right thing.
 

 
Thursday, December 20, 2007
 
I've got several jewelry artists in the gallery whose work is really good. Up until now, I haven't gathered enough courage to try to take any photographs and get them online.
 
Today I decided to try. I think it turned out pretty well.
 
Quest Cycles -- Linda Griggs
 
Hard to believe Christmas is next week, isn't it?
 

 
Monday, December 24, 2007
 
The gallery will be closed until Wednesday, January 2.
 
Thank you for your support of the gallery over the years. Have a wonderful Christmas and a safe and healthy New Year.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
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