Hiring is a Talent

So I am learning that hiring employees is just as much an art as painting glassware.  I figured that three hundred and fifty responses to my one paragraph job listing meant that finding a talented artist, who was pleasant, smart, a fast learner, honest, reliable, and miraculously able to perfect an art I've been working on for years would be easy.  I'll admit it, at times I can be a little idealistic.  I have found a few talented people but training will be harder than I thought.  We'll have many glass casualties due to practice work.  It will test my inner patience and I'll have to remind myself that it takes time to get the rhythm of each design.  The hardest part is turning over control to someone else, teach them my designs, and deem them "good enough" to sell as my own.  But I'm sure it'll get easier! I have a few more interviews tomorrow and hopefully I'll pick someone by the end of the week. 

The Expansion

So here it is! A nice sweeping panorama of my new 2 room studio. I LOVE my new camera which was able to take this lovely shot, so now you have an idea of what the whole 1st room looks like with a peek into the 2nd room. I love my workspace. I think I may be one of the luckiest people on earth!

Most Popular

This is "Dolores" and after this spring and summer, she remains the most popular glass to date. Maybe its the balance of color, or the funky spiky flower that grabs the eye. Whatever the case, just wanted to pay tribute to Dolores, you go girl!

Business Decisions

So business is going well, a few reorders, my website almost done, packaging is well on its way and now I'm starting to make the "business decisions" that you fantasize about when you don't have a business. Of course they seem so much easier to make when you don't actually have to make them. But now the question is about packaging and pricing. Do I go with nicer packaging that can be displayed on shelf, or cheaper packaging that doesn't have to be displayed but is still nice enough to add value as a gift box. For my website I just need a box that is protective. For my gift shops, I need something that displays nicely. Being that I'm blessed with a right brain, all I can think about is which one looks the coolest. But my left side business brain keeps telling me to make sure I stick with what is necessary. So I have some deliberating - and some field research to do!

Good Exercise

I had quite a comical experience yesterday. It started out typical,  I went to work in a pair of jeans, cute t-shirt and completely unsupportive flats. Normally this is a fine outfit but not today. Today (well tonight) my heals are throbbing, I have dried sweat in my hair, and my back is sore. Today I got seventy five cases of glasses delivered. Seventy five cases from a delivery man who came in an 18 wheeler, which doesn't fit down my street, and whose policy is to only deliver up one flight of stairs. So after jack-knifing his truck through the parking lot, he began the unload. Since he had to be in the parking lot and not the street that meant there were two flights of stairs. One to the sidewalk, and one inside the building where the glasses should be going. Needless to say I was picking up the slack using a hand truck to take the cases from the sidewalk into the building, then off the hand truck and up the stairs to my studio. It was 80 degrees, and of course my building doesn't have air conditioning so I had to sweat it out. Yep seventy five cases of 12 glasses each up the stairs. Quite comical. Lesson: Make sure when shopping for your new business space, that you think about all the needs of your business. Whether it be an elevator, running water, air conditioning, delivery access, wide doorways, etc. I knew I'd be carrying cases, but I never thought it'd be that many. Now I just need an oven in my studio and I'll cut down on a bit of the carrying.