Goodbye to Collage

Today is my last day at Collage - the little shop in Kirkland at Carillon Point. I'm headed in this morning to work my shift, but then pack it all up and take it home.

It's been a difficult decision to leave, because the gals there are truly wonderful and have been so supportive. But it's been a tough fit for me. The work shift requirement is becoming increasingly more difficult as I schedule more shows and try to keep up with the mail order side of the business too. I just keep running short of time to be in the studio making products.

And I realized that stocking a little gift boutique is not the same as stocking a show. Customers were looking more for gift wrapped goodies and specially packaged items to give as gifts. The plain old bars of soap were not as popular. Since that's what I do primarily, it was frustrating to see it sit there on the shelf, especially when I needed it at a show were I came up a little short on one scent or another.

I do like a challenge, and so I was constantly brainstorming a new way to do it, to make it a big success. Different gift sets, different types of bags and bows and packaging. Moving it around and bringing in new things. Making special little things just for the shop. It's been over a year and I finally just decided that I'm chasing my tail, running circles and not getting anywhere.

Oh, the sales weren't bad. They were fairly consistent and most customers seemed to enjoy my products there. But it wasn't quite reaching what I needed it to for all the extra effort and attention I had to give it. It was a special project, and I had to be honest with myself that it was a distraction to my regular business, rather than a bonus.

I need my time back. I need my mental (and physical) energies to be more focused on what I have committed to for the rest of the year. So I'm saying goodbye today. I wish them the best success in the future and hope to stay in touch.

Shop Talk

I worked at Collage yesterday, and with all the beautiful sunshine yesterday, finally people are coming out from hibernation and doing a little shopping. I had people to talk with yesterday!

I brought in some of the Easter card packages for my display there - just in case somebody needs a special little gift for their upcoming Easter baskets. It seems early this year, March 23rd, but I guess I don't really keep track of those things.

Just in case you didn't notice, when I mentioned Collage up there in the first paragraph - I included a link. A LINK! Yes, the website is up and humming. It's not 100% completely finished because a couple of gals are re-writing their little bio paragraph and we want to upgrade some of the photos - but the basics are all there and it looks pretty cute, so check it out if you have a free minute.

We're having a shop meeting on Sunday to make new plans. I will, of course, post any exciting new developments here - and on our spanking new website too.

Plastic Soup

Have you heard about the island of plastic debris that floats around Hawaii in the middle of the Pacific Ocean? It's now twice the size of the US. "The vast expanse of debris – in effect the world's largest rubbish dump – is held in place by swirling underwater currents. This drifting "soup" stretches from about 500 nautical miles off the Californian coast, across the northern Pacific, past Hawaii and almost as far as Japan."

Read the full article here. I had heard a bit about it before, but there are new studies out and it's absolutely horrifying. 100 million tons of garbage.

"Plastic is believed to constitute 90 per cent of all rubbish floating in the oceans. The UN Environment Programme estimated in 2006 that every square mile of ocean contains 46,000 pieces of floating plastic." And the article further warns, "that unless consumers cut back on their use of disposable plastics, the plastic stew would double in size over the next decade."

This was one of the very first news-y stories I read this morning, and I clicked around to read more. Totally disgusted, I then heard the familiar "bomb" of the UPS guy dropping delivery boxes on the front porch. Of course it was the plastic bags I just ordered for shows this year. You might remember that I was agonizing over the paper vs plastic debate for my own little shows and sales. It invariably rains here in the Pacific Northwest and the soap gets ruined in paper sacks. So I searched long and hard to find 100% recycled materials, made in the US bags. The above photo is the cute little design - added bonus.

But of course they arrive today when I am reading about how every single bottle cap, 6-pack ring, bag, etc has made its way into the middle of the ocean and killing untold millions of sea creatures. Ugh.

I guess I'll still need to use them sometimes, but I'm back to paper primarily. I read an article last night that listed decomposition times for these things. It's 1 to 5 months for a paper bag. It's decades for plastic bags. My new recycled plastic bags: "contain 100% recycled plastic which consists of a minimum of 10% Post Consumer Recycled (PCR) and is made in the USA from high quality domestic resins in a clean environmentally rated facility. It also is degradable by the addition of a special additive that allows the bag to degrade in the presence of oxygen. The wildflower design is printed with water-based inks.

Maybe that's the best I can do for now. But I'm still looking for alternatives. Would anyone pay a few extra dollars for canvas bags? Maybe this summer everyone will already have their own tote bags and the little paper sack will be all I need (to keep it from dinging and smelling up other purchases).

I'm trying to keep my "less, less, less" mantra top of mind this year. Trying to leave a smaller footprint. Less of everything, and the business is part of it. There will be less packaging, less ingredients and accessories that need to be packed and shipped from afar. Less buying of anything. Less using of anything. It all seems to go together while we're heading into a bad recession year too. Yikes, it's all scary bad news, isn't it?

Positive note: tomorrow is the Valentine's Sweet Treat day at Collage. 10% off all your purchases. Home-baked sweet treats to munch on. I made red-hot brownies. Parking is free. We are open late - 10am to 8pm. Skip all the crowds at the Hillary and Obama events (heh, now they remember lonely little Seattle) and make a date to go shopping instead.

Cute Stuff

I worked my shift at Collage yesterday and there are some new artists with really cute stuff! Michelle is brand new, and she's got loads of little sock creatures, silly and colorful, and so much fun.

Andrea Bowers has birdhouses, painted with darling little designs. There are full size ones, some smaller ones, and little decorative ones on sticks - plant stakes. I love seeing them hanging in the front window.

There are new items there all the time, and we've started putting in fall gift items too. I added the new fall soaps yesterday, and a few gift sets. But I'll be bringing in more each time I go in this month, just easing in slowly since the letter hadn't even gone out yet, and I've still got the fair to focus on for the next week or so.

The fall newsletter is headed over to the Post Office today, and should be in mailboxes tomorrow. So heads up - I am working on the web site all day. Trying to add new pages for each new item, hoping to get the photos uploaded too - although there are place holder photos on some things at the moment (a fall leaf). It's really going to be a little sketchy and muddled for bit while I'm doing all that - so don't rush right over until later this evening or tomorrow to see it. It's kind of a big process, making sure I've dotted all the i's and crossed the t's correctly. With this server, it's all live action, and not just one big upload of the whole new thing - so bear with me.

I'll post the newsletter online here tomorrow too, with links.

Outdoor Movie Night

I spent the morning working my shift at Collage, the little artist co-op/gift shop over in Carillon Point which I've just recently joined. It's such a crystal clear, sparkling day that the view from my "office" - or rather the view I get from my spot behind the register - was truly something special. After a week of rain and grey skies, it's so nice to have a clear, summer day again. And everyone was out watching the boats in the marina, strolling the waterfront, lunching under the cool umbrellas in the plaza and Blu Water Bistro, just wandering around on their breaks, gazing at the beauty of the lake and mountains. The little white boats bobbing along in the dazzling blue waters of Lake Washington, the perfect breeze blowing through the trees - spectacular. It reminds me why I still live here.

And I was reminded again several times in the last couple of days. Several tourists came through the shop this morning from parts far away - one was Oklahoma and one was Palm Desert. Their stories of weather made me all the happier that I am enjoying such a mild, temperate, gorgeous place. No super hot stretches where you can't breathe air when you cross the doorway from air-conditioning to the outside climate. No monsoon rains which run rivers of mud that was previously dust storms. One woman claimed that our weather here over the weekend was like a day in January, and she was freezing in fleece today (it's 75 degrees). Hoo boy.

And my customer from Alaska who phoned, and was spending last month at a new house in New Mexico had similar stories. Too hot, too cold. I know I complain about the rain and grey sometimes but I wouldn't trade for one minute to live in a climate of extremes. It's the sacrifice we pay to have such perfect summers, such lush springtimes, such mild winter months. Yes, we get bad weather. Yes, it's moldy at times. But the loveliness and temperate-ness of it all far outweighs all the other trouble elsewhere.

I am thanking my lucky stars that I am not experiencing the massive rains and flooding in England (or Texas), the deadly heat in the rest of Europe (and everywhere else), the tornadoes, storms and whatnot. It's nothing but easy in this land of plenty. For now.

Oh, the whole point of my post today was supposed to be Carillon Point's Outdoor Movie Nights. Yikes, can I focus for just 10 minutes ya think? Over in Kirkland at the Carillon Point complex where Collage is located, they are doing outdoor movies on Saturday nights. The above link gets you the schedule and more info. Collage is having a little open house (free glass of wine! meet some artists!) on Saturday, August 11. Just in case you want to catch Casino Royale with the tykes and stop in.

That was it. Back to stressing about how I'm going to get it all done in time for Bellevue set-up tomorrow evening. I'll be tying up little bars of soap for the next 24 hours straight. Not. That's not how I roll. I DO need to work like crazy tomorrow, and a bit more this evening. But my beauty sleep is more important. Whatever I have is ok, whatever I'm missing I can squeeze in as the show goes on, and whatever didn't make it - probably I'm the only one who'll know. Somehow it all works itself out. And I'll need a glass of wine in the garden with the kittens playing chase around the posies this evening.

ETA: I am really losing my marbles. Totally forgot the freakin' labels for this deal. Apologies for posting twice. I WILL get the hang of it, I swear, any day now.

Begonias

Have you ever seen begonias that look like this? Big, fluffy blossoms that almost look like peonies, but are the color of ripe, peach/coral impatiens, and droop over the sides of the pot like fuschias?

I headed out to Collage early this morning to rearrange my display a little bit, fluff up the inventory, and take it up a notch. It was already gray and drizzling. Which doesn't explain why I can't seem to hold the camera steady. I really wanted to take pictures of all of their dazzling planted pots and gardens over at Carillon Point in Kirkland. I'm am absolutely stunned by their beauty every time I go. Several really showpiece types of plants they use that I've never seen before. I don't even know what some of them are. But the endless combinations of pinky oranges and lemony greens, with all kinds of accents are masterpieces. I'm especially enamored by these begonias. I think that's what they are, although the leaves are long and pointy instead of the usual rounder ones.



And if anyone out there reading knows what type of plant this is? please leave a comment or email me. It's got a groovy variegated green and white leaf, trails little tendrils of branches, and the coolest little bright red Chinese lantern flowers that hang underneath. It would save me a bunch of research, or running around with my blurry little pictures to nurseries. Thanks.

Anyway, if you're in the neighborhood -- stop by for the lovely flower pots and garden areas, but drop in to the shop too and see what's new.

Thirzday

Well, my display is all set up at Collage. It was pretty busy there yesterday, lots of stuff happening at once, so I think I'm satisfactorily initiated. I'm heading over in the next couple of days to fill in some more. It's hard to picture it all in your head while sitting on the floor of the office. And after I got everything unpacked and shifted around, I realized that I could shove a whole lot more on those shelves - really jazz it up. As of this moment I'm planning on running over tomorrow with more, but I need prep and pricing time and today is packed.

Ginormous eyeroll -- Paris is already out of jail. She's been in there pitching a fit since she arrived about how it's too bright in her cell, she can't sleep, can't eat and crying her poor little eyes out. If only it was really that easy to get a "Get Out of Jail Free" card. Well, a few tears and a bazillion dollars. If anyone needed a little more coaxing that life really isn't fair, there you have it.

I'm mired down in supplier hell too this morning. My huge-o order of pretty purple dragonfly sachet bags arrived stinking like musty, moldy, basement rags. Lovely little extra scent to the lavender sachets. I've aired them out, but it's not making a bit of difference. So they need to go back. The whole box of them. And I really needed them. Now.

I'm running circles to see if they can exchange them at this point, that the new bunch will not reek just as badly. Or I could pay twice as much and get them from another supplier. But that would take longer, cost more, and there's no guarantee that the other ones are any different. The entire container load or truck load or cargo load or whatever it is, could very likely all be made of the same crap. Bleh.

And the new ton of Dead Sea Salt which I was supposed to pick up tomorrow (yes, I waited til I was almost out of them) is now not arriving. It's on back order. And I really needed it. Now. Hopefully the boatload from the Dead Sea is arriving some time next week. Fingers crossed. Double bleh.

Plus I'm dangerously low on Healing Salve because the herb supplier was out of a couple of the main herbs I infuse the oils with. I need to make a special run to my back-up supplier, always short on time and never headed that direction. But it's got to start steeping this weekend so I'll have plenty of it ready for the Sorticulture show next weekend. Triple bleh.

Gotta run. Busy bee.

Back to work

I never thought I'd say this, but I'm actually glad its' cooler, grey and raining today. So many hot, sunny, summer days in a row and I've almost forgotten how to work. And I need to focus and get a lot done today, so the weather is absolutely perfect. No temptations to head outside and rustle among the plants or siesta in the lounge chair. I've got stuff to do. And a lot of it.

Tomorrow I go whole hog at Collage, the little artist co-op in Kirkland. Sarah and I arrive before opening to transform the soap display. She's taking her products out, and I get all the shelves and space, instead of just half of it. So I need to figure out what to bring, price it all up, round up the display items I had picked out but have been languishing here for the last couple of months. I want it to look good, have a little smattering of everything - a little something for everyone. And ultimatley I need to make some money there. That's the plan.

And there's a big wholesale order, soap to be made, bars to be packaged, labels to be applied, laundry, house cleaning, chores, chores, chores. Quite a big list. So today I'll be inside, and in the office, and working. Poo.

Better get cracking, no more slacking.

Final preparations

Final day before the whole Folklife festivities begin! I think I've got myself pretty much ready to go. I'm sure I'll be doing some last minute packaging as the weekend goes on. You never know exactly what will sell, what won't, what you'll need more of, etc. I expect a few hours of work in between my days over there, getting a few more soaps labelled or sachets made up. But that's fine. I'm excited to get over there and begin setting up this afternoon.

And it's the last day for orders before the long holiday weekend. I'm finishing up a few orders that need to go out today. And everything else that comes in will wait until Tuesday. I want to have my desk cleaned off by noon, bills paid, mail and packages shipped, all my emails and phone calls returned. So I'm finishing up all those little work items this morning.

What a beautiful, sunny day. The forecast this time is for dry weather - all four days! Even if it's not supposed to be really hot or very sunny, at least it will be pleasant. So it looks promising, and I'm encouraged that I might actually have a good show this time around. So even though I'm going to miss the usual barbeques and activities of the holiday weekend because I'll be working long days for the entire time, I'm especially looking forward to a little prosperity and a bit of free time on the other side of this hectic month. It's all good today.

One other note: my June Collage schedule is up on the calendar. I'll be there full-time as of June 6. We'll rearrange and set up the full display that morning, and I'll be working 4 days per month at the shop from June on.

Saturday Slalom

Stirring soap, paying bills, bank deposits, cleaning house, laundry, grocery shopping, prepping food for big Easter Sunday Brunch tomorrow, pulling out all the decorations and dishware, running errands, tearing down the Top Notch show, unloading the car and unpacking the debris, harvesting the new rhubarb.

I worked my first training shift at the Collage shop yesterday - it was fun! And I sold stuff too!

I've added all the information to the web site under "shops" as a reference. New button. Yep, I do my own web site too. So many hats.

Small gift to any blog readers -- ALERT! If you are reading this blog, and you are wanting to go to the Best of the Northwest show in Magnuson Park, May 11-13 . . . I just got a little handful of "Admit 2 free" cards in the mail that I can give away. I think there are 10. So if you want to go for free, shoot me an email and I'll pop it off in the mail to you. First come, first served. Get 'em while they're hot.

Collage!

Sorry, I meant to post this yesterday, but I've been a little under the weather, and so fatigued that it was all I could do to drag my butt through the necessaries all day.

The scoop is that I was asked to join a little artist's co-op type gift shop in Kirkland a couple of months ago. It's called Collage, and it's located in the Carillon Point complex, just across from the entrance to the Woodmark Hotel. There are about 25 artists, ranging from baby clothes to jewelry to cards to clothing to glass to whatever, and some nice little commercial gifty stuff too mixed in, just to cover all the bases.

Sarah Anderson, The Soap Lady from Snohomish, has been the soap gal there for the past 5 years, but she's moving on to her other love, fiber art, and needing time for family so she's slowly moving away from the shop. I'm the replacement soap gal. This month we are sharing the display - half the area is hers and half is mine - as we figure it all out. So I set up my little shelves of soap, sprays, sachets, and gift items on Wednesday. It's not my total and complete line, but most of it, and all the most popular stuff. Next month, May, we are working towards the whole space being just me. Fingers crossed that it all works out. (Hint: if you are going over there, it wouldn't hurt to mention that you love my stuff or are glad to see me there, *wink)

So for those of you who have forever been asking about where in the Seattle area you can find a shop to pick up some of the products, it's finally here! It will be especially convenient for folks on the Eastside, but it will be the one local shop that will have the full array of (almost) everything in the product line. I'll keep it stocked with all the usual suspects, and bring over the seasonals as they are available. The only things that may not always be fully stocked are a few of the more unique soap scents, like Sacred Smoke, Havana and Anise -- just because there is always a limit on space and I need to have room for the most requested items. Anyway, if you have a question - either call me or the shop before you head over, just to make sure.

Parking is free! You need to park in one of the public parking lots, take a ticket, and have it stamped at the shop - but it gives you an hour and a half of time to wander about the area, marina, etc. as well. Hope to see you there one bright day!

Deets: Collage, at Carillon Point
2245 Carillon Point, Kirkland WA 98033
Drive straight into the complex, it's just past the first stop sign on the left, near the entrance to the parking garage and around the circle, directly across from the Woodmark Hotel.
Phone: 425-828-7557