I Give Thanks For Two Days Off!

Before I got up this morning I asked the spouse to make me a BIG pot of coffee. Then I showered and quickly dressed in warm fuzzies as it is a cold one in Hotlanta today. Thus prepped, I opened my laptop for the first time since Wednesday night at 6:00 pm. I have been trying to figure out how long it had been since I went two days without checking email, puttering with a spreadsheet, reading the news, or any of 100 other things I do on the computer every day (blog), and I have failed. The last time has already passed out of memory. But I did it for Thanksgiving (and the day after--aptly called Black Friday as the computer screens were black) as did the spouse.

Instead of working--at all--we had two full family days with just the three of us. We read. We cooked (rather Jessie and Dave cooked), we walked, we gathered leaves and made holiday placemats. We ate, we played games and watched movies. We even went out for a double-feature yesterday "Mega Mind" and "Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows". Then we ate some more (ham, ham, ham, ham, ham, ham, ham, ham, hammity ham, ham, ham!), watched another movie, and played Carcassone before heading off to bed. What a great time out of mind/studio!

But all good things must come to an end, and when I woke this morning filled with dread at the prospect of all I had ignored, I almost regretted taking the time off. I mentally girded my loins to wade through an ENORMOUS pile of email, date night requests, voice messages, and art emergencies which I was sure had been languishing unattended for the past two days. I armed myself with the first cup of coffee and... I'm already done! In less than an hour I read or trashed all the new email (answered where appropriate), updated the Date Night calendar, and left the voicemail for Judy to pick up today at 10:00 when she gets in and the studio opens. Wow. I didn't think I'd have time to post, but here I am! Apparently everyone else also had other things on their minds than an Intimate Urban Glass Studio for the past couple of days. Boy am I not complaining.

Now off to publicize the hot ornament making opportunities we're going to have in the studio starting next Friday...

The Rollercoaster Rides On

It's a banner day here at Siyeh Studio. The new website went live yesterday, the newsletter announcing the second annual Siyeh Sleigh Ride went out last night, and the LivingSocial deal for two-for-one bead-making or kiln-forming classes went live this morning. Wheeee! No time for a long post--got to get the Access Atlanta listings done for the Sleigh Ride, the ornament making during sleigh ride (might as well set it up as its own event) and the bead-making and kiln-forming classes!

The pot furnace went down again yesterday and the new elements haven't arrived yet so we're trying a back-up plan of a crucible in my side and top firing Olympic ceramic/glass kiln. It's deep and it's built to go to the higher temps required to fire pottery. We'll see what happens. In all honesty I expect to lose the elements in it from firing it too hot, too long, but we'll see.

Okay, off to tackle the day!

Open Studio On-line Sign-up

It has been a webful week so far--and it has no sign of slowing down. Today I finished the on-line sign-up for open studio and children's studio times. Next is the November newsletter announcing the upcoming Siyeh Sleigh Ride and the open/children's studios. Then I need to do a quick website overhaul. I need to put so much stuff up on the website right now that I have decided to just put up a quick new site to handle it all instead of trying to work through a comprehensive rework of the current site right now.

The pot furnace went down last Friday night causing a cancellation of all glass-blowing dates for the weekend. Lee and Carol worked tirelessly on it Sunday and, fingers crossed, it's back up now on a band-aid and a prayer. New elements on order, and furnace options going into next year under consideration (another? bigger? smaller? electric?).

Debbie Suchy from Eclectic Galeries was in a couple of weeks ago (did I write this already?) and I am still processing her review of the studio workflow and procedures. I think the word that will drive us going forward is "tweak". Oh yes, and "incremental". Tweaking the existing processes to optimize them and making incremental changes in the business of the studio. It's a great theory anyway. Hope I can live up to it.
Now off to newsletter!

Online Date Night Form Created!

Oh Sergei Brin, we love you. First you brought us Google, then Google calendars, then Google Docs (and let's not forget GMail!). Now we have... Forms!

Open Studio Policy

• Available to anyone who has taken an Introductory Kiln-Forming Class at Siyeh Studio or who has been cleared for proficiency by Brenda (the Head Kilnformatrix).

• You supply all your own materials, we supply the tools. We require that you purchase the glass you use in Open Studio from us so we can continue to offer this Great Deal to the glass community. Use of some coldworking equipment is available for an additional charge.

• No charge for normal firings if worked into our regular schedule. Firing on demand and special firing schedules available starting at $10.

• No instruction is provided during open studio. Brenda is happy to dispense technical advice and answer questions if she is in and her hair is not on fire. Otherwise private classes are available more detailed instruction.

• Space is extremely limited. Please see our on-line calendar for current availability.

• Cost is $5 per hour with time purchased on an Open Studio card. Open Studio cards are $50 and expire one year from purchase. (They can be shared between two people.)

• Allow us to improve your experience by being ready for you--ADVANCE RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED. Please, no later than the prior day.

Once a Year for the Holidays!

Children's Studio is our once-a-year before-the-holidays event during which we open the studio to children (and their adults). It is their chance to come in and make beautiful kiln-formed ornaments, dishes, plates, etc.--perfect gifts for all the Grammas, Grampas, Uncle Joes and Aunt Fannys in the family.

• Suitable for ages 6-10 with parent supervision. Responsible, focused children 10 and up may be dropped off. Irresponsible and/or unfocused children will be given a shot of espresso and a puppy and sent home.

• No prior kiln-forming experience is required.

• All materials, tools and kiln firing provided. The glass is our mixed studio frit (crushed glass), scrap glass, and a clear blank for the base. Additional glass is available for purchase.

• Space is extremely limited and advance registration is required.

New Week, New Wonders, New Woes

Welcome to a New Week! I start of the week with a meeting for the Waldorf Holiday Fair (happening this Saturday from 10-4) as I am the grade 3 holiday fair rep. Then it's off to another meeting with my insurance agent to review the studio coverage and make sure I have adequate coverage for everything we're doing--and everyone working in the studio. By afternoon I should be on to the creative part of the day--juggling what will go in what kiln and casting the first award slab. (And beginning to build the mummy's tomb for the holiday fair).

Biggest project of the day--mummy's notwithstanding is--the award slabs which aren't exactly eating my lunch, but they are stretching my brain in ways it doesn't usually (and tries hard not to) go. In a nutshell, it's too early (in the day, the week, my life) for specific gravity. Last night it was too early for some water-quantity divination (the formula for how much water to use and then how much plaster/silica flour to mix in). I don't remember it being so difficult, but it has been awhile since the last time I built molds. My notes (from Linda Ethier and Bullseye) require lots of weighing and multi-decimal numbers (and decimal points too!) to figure things out. Sigh.

If you have little artists in your house, next time they ask you why they have to do all that dumb math, and confidently state that they'll never use it, send them my way. I've gone from having to muck around with sin and cosine in order to make an angled stained glass window to discounting and repricing product (percentages) to this whole volume, weight and specific gravity thing. When it comes to math, I know I'm not smarter than a 5th grader.

New milestone in the studio today--got the first call from a wife who wanted to verify that her husband and his girlfriend had been in for a date night in the hotshop. They had. :-(

The Frabjous Day

Caloo Calay it's my favorite day! When I was young, my favorite day was Christmas or my birthday (whichever was closer). It was all about the "stuff". But now that I am older and wiser, today is my favorite day. Oh it's still about the presents, but today I (as do we all) get a gift that can never be purchased and cannot be given any other day of the year. Today I get the gift of time--one extra hour of it to be precise. I take this gift and I revel in it, I luxuriate in it, I roll around in it and hug it to myself... and I inevitably squander it. Ah well, all good things must come to an end--even time.

Today is another class day in the studio--kilnformed glass ornaments from 1-3, and we have a full glass blowing date slate starting at 10:00 and going till 9:00 tonight. That long time is not as impressive as it sounds as we only do three dates per day (which uses the max amount of melted glass we can have in the furnace in a given day). It's also a casting day for me--plaster today, glass tomorrow for the first of a series of thick slab awards I am doing this month--and a fusing/slumping day for gallery orders. I can think of a couple more things I would like to add to today but 1) it IS Sunday (not a workday for me), and 2) an extra hour only gets you so much.

Maybe when I am even older and wiser I will be ready to forgo both stuff AND time. One can hope.

The Intense Wee Hour

Why is it that everything has more intense meaning and significance at 3:00 am, but only if you were sleeping and woke up to it? You don't have panic attacks at 3:00 am if you've been up all night. At least I don't. (Note that it is significantly more difficult to type at 3:00 am because of the active, purring presence of Ernie demanding one hand all to himself for pets.)

Judy had jury duty all last week and had it not been for Debbie and Becky H. helping out in the studio, everything would have completely fallen to pieces--me included. I have *got* to become okay with telling people no! Of course one of the people I am not (and should not be) saying no to right now is J who will be nine next week and who would like an old-fashioned birthday party with pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, a treasure hunt, chocolate cake and vanilla cupcakes, a dart and balloon game, and a pinata. I can hand the food bits off to Dave, but I need to get cracking on the rest. She has a swim meet all weekend so the party is going to have to be right after early dismissal on Thursday afternoon.

Looking back on the (really-should-have-been-but-wasn't) terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad week, probably the biggest snafu was caused by UPS shutting my account off yesterday, Friday, and me discovering it at 5:55 pm as I was trying to schedule and process for same-day pick-up and shipment an order that absolutely, positively had to go out RIGHT THEN. And why did they do this? Because they have been trying to pay my invoices (I have auto-draft set-up) against my old checking account in spite of the fact that I changed the information back in August in their on-line billing center/account management interface AND faxed them a cancellation request. I still have not been able to get an answer--satisfactory or not--as to why I can change my information on-line in their system and have the new, correct information show up *for months* and yet that's not what they have and use for billing!!! (Yes, it's really worth three exclamation points.) It was almost 7:00 when I got the right department on the phone and got everything straightened out with them culminating in the assurance that my account would be back on and functional...by midnight. It's now just after 4:00 am and I don't have the heart to check.

Later this morning I have my first official beginning kiln-forming class in the studio. I ran a special at our birthday/anniversary party offering a 10 hour open studio card free if you signed up that day for a class. Of course I forgot Judy has the day off today AND I am running a special for the Atlanta Glass Artists Guild today... One of the people I really have to work on saying no to is myself!

Okay, I'll update the firing schedule for tomorrow (today!) and go back to bed. I feel like I can sleep again.

Wheeeee!

After a bummer of a grey, down, rainy, listless day yesterday (a good bit of it spent in court eavesdropping on the flat tires of the wheels of justice going whapp, whapp, whapp) I am perking up today with the prospect of a Guest In the Studio this weekend! Debbie Suchy, friend, marketer-extraordinaire, blue-sky dreamer, gallery owner, savvy business woman supreme (no, the superlatives are not overdone) is coming to visit for five days, lend a hand, and play in the studio.

She'll be helping with shipping this afternoon in Judy's absence. She'll also be helping me comfort Todd-of-the-bleeding-fingers when I pick up the next 35 trees (shown at right) and 72 keychains for another order. As of today he has done 200 trees in the past few months just for this one store an he has 70 more to go. I called him this morning with an order from another client for 6 people and he practically started to cry. Be careful what you wish for (retail success and popular acclaim), you just might get it.

I continue to struggle through the newly-renamed-but-I-don't-know-to-what obstacle course project for the Waldorf Holiday Fair. It looms over me like a heavy cloud (Dave and Todd are both muttering very grim I-told-you-sos at my confession). Just over two weeks to go, a mummy to design and make, canopic jars to create, and a set of amulets to find, AND obstacle course to design. I'll make it, it'll be fine, what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, I will find a whole new village to get through this one.

Another looming project is a set of 1" thick award slabs with "mountainous" rough-cut top edges. I agreed to the project (and priced it) before I had a clear understanding of what they wanted for this edge. Oh boy. I can do it (I think I can, I think I can, I think I can), but it is just one more stresser right now.

My other casting projects have been delayed (again) and at least one of the artists is chomping at the bit to get a finished piece from me. I think I am going to have to do some really heavy-duty scheduling this fall to see progress on the current in-processes.

Oh my, people to pay, orders to fire. Got to run!

Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, It's Off to Civic Duty I Go

I am sitting outside a courtroom at the Clayton County Courthouse waiting to see if I need to testify as a witness in the criminal trial of the driver in a traffic incident that Lee, Todd and I witnessed last December 4th on the way to the Taylor Kinzel Glass Trunk Show. Coincidentally, Judy was picked yesterday to sit on a jury and may not be in the rest of the week. The sign on the door at Siyeh Studio reads:

CLOSED TODAY
so we can do our civic (jury) duty.
Sorry for the inconvenience!

Life just waits for me, I think. It hides around a corner or behind a door, crouched over it's front paws, tail flipping the air, claws extending and retracting, whiskers twitching, rhythmically kneading the carpet until POUNCE! As soon as I start to see the faintest hint of light at the end of the tunnel, WHAM I'm flat on my back again. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to just sit on this bench outside the courtroom for the day and work on-line (there is open wi-fi, after all). Of course it would be nice if the prosecutor had given me SOME idea what to do after I told her I was here. But she was talking to the person hit in the accident, and when she finished with him, they both walked back into the courtroom. I told her my name, she saw me sit on this fine bench outside the courtroom door... I'll give it a few hours to see what happens. Hmm. I just need an electrical outlet and I'm all set.

Working Stiff

Los Campesinos on the sound system and a medium mocha with an extra shot for the beverage--it's a fast Kavarna morning! It's a fast k morning as it's Judy's day off and so my day to man the studio and answer the phones. I have to man up, so to speak. The morning started late and poorly with the loss of another pet (J's hamster Tuffy). Seraph last week, Tuffy today... I am not looking forward to telling J when she gets home from school. (She fed him and "let him sleep" this morning. Little did she know how soundly he was sleeping.)

So a quick post to stay in the posting groove, an hour and a half on the website, and off to the studio! I was only over there briefly yesterday as we were closed and I was working on other things, but I hope Lee was able to fix the glass furnace. The auto shut-off stopped working the middle of last week and gave him a tremendous shock in the middle of date night. Since then he's been doing a manual shut-off for every gather, but that isn't a good solution as it's a manual shut-off of the computer which then has to reboot every time.

Okay, enough post. To web!

Project Management

I take a break to post and switch gears. The hardest part of immersive projects is switching between them. Right now I have my website, my book (the second), and the design and direction of the realization of the "obstacle course" for the Waldorf Holiday Festival (in three weeks) in active mode. This past Saturday was our birthday and it was a major project too--one that has been replaced by a marketing push to fill classes and boost the sale of materials and supplies for the studio (Living Social, Sparkfly, Kudzu all contacted me in the last week and I need to put together proposals for them). Then there's the web-based date night picture and video distribution system that Dave coded up for me and is in the process of implementing. He is ready for final spec info from me today so he can finish up.

Every single one of these projects is individually fascinating to me and each also requires wholehearted, wholeminded attention. But there are the day-to-day activities that also must be done--confirmation emails for date night to send, payments to process, orders to fire, pack and ship, supply orders to place... AAAAAAGHHHH! There is simply too much for one little (or not so little) me!

So why do I take on so much? Because I love it all! I am a gourmet and a gourmand all rolled into one. Like Gargantua and Pantgruel I want to rompre l'os et sucer la substantifique moelle--of everything. *sigh* Cloning. I need to be cloned and able to hop from body to body at will. Francois Rabelais meets Charles Stross. Now onto the next project for the day...

It Was a Fine Party, Indeed

The birthday party/one year anniversary party for the studio is over, and it was a fine party indeed. We had neither cake nor cupcakes, but we were celebratory nonetheless. Lots of people showed up to take advantage of 40% off sheet, frit, stringer and confetti glass (I even gave someone 40% off a bottle of GlasTac I was feeling so happy). Even more came to sign up for a beginning kilnforming class to get the 10-hour open studio card for free. We still need to work on getting our glass beadmaking programs to take off--especially since I now have two instructors chomping at the bit to get classes going. Hmmm. Think this is the direction I'll go with the marketing people who keep contacting me about doing a "daily deal" promotion...

Today is the first Sunday the studio is open so I think I'll head over to see how Judy's doing, and check-in on Lee's first glassblowing date of the day.

Happy Birthday Siyeh Glass Resource Center!

The clock struck midnight last night as the last keystroke fell on the Birthday Party Reminder email. Whew! Now off to prepare for the hoards who will come tomorrow. If you would like to get lovely emails like the one below from me directly (and not have to scroll) sign-up at right!

Subpoenaed!

Didn't get a chance to post Live From Austin (went for a few days to celebrate our 15th anniversary while D was working there) as I had to take the laptop in to get a new trackpad and lost a whole day of valuable posting time. And I almost didn't get to post this morning either--darn universe conspiring against me! Got home last night to find a subpoena waiting demanding my presence in court this morning to serve as a witness in a criminal trial. I would've thought they'd give me more than 36 hours notice if they really wanted me there (they mailed the summons out on Friday and it arrived Saturday late afternoon), but I found out when I checked in at the courthouse this morning that 36 hours is a luxurious eternity. I didn't have to stay today, but I am on call till 10/29 and they will give me a couple of hours to half-day's notice to get back down there... Joy.

Today is going to be the usual just-back-from-somewhere-the-studio-didn't-sleep-in-my-absence kind of day with paperwork and other administration to do (money in-yay!, money out-sigh), glass to fire, wax models to cast, awards to etch, a one-year birthday party for the studio to plan, and a load of curious glass to cut for the big event. Guess I better make hay while the sun shines, miles to go before I sleep, and all that.

16 Hour Day

Two (three?) day old cold pepperoni pizza (could've had four day old donuts but I think I'll save those for lunch) and yesterday's coffee microwaved for breakfast (can you tell Dave's in Austin this week?). "Choctaw Bingo" (from Live in Aught Three) by James McMurtry on iTunes (going to see him live Wednesday night at the Continental Club, I can't wait!). Let's see if I can finish the post before the song ends (it's 8 minutes and 47 seconds long).

Yesterday was a 16 hour day and man did I kick glass butt. Started the day with Dee and mocha from Stabucks, continuing the work we started last week on the outline of the second book (working title: Studio Practices and Projects for the Advanced Kiln-former). I am really excited about this book--though I still can't believe I'm writing another one. I guess books are like children--nature clouds the memory of the birthing event and makes you focus on the outcome so you'll do it again. But back to the long day... Ended with a full kiln load in at 11:15 pm and then an hour of email, exporting date night photos to make cd's and bookkeeping before heading home. J had a sleepover at a friend's so it was just me and the pets at the house. A bottle of hard cider (well, two) and a half hour of reading to settle down and I was off to sleep! I think this is only the second night I have been alone in the house (save for the four-legged) in nine years.

Tomorrow I head to Austin to celebrate Dave's and my 15th wedding anniversary (Dave is working there this week) with a mini vacation. Well, sort of a vacation. Dave has to work through Friday and I am going to take advantage of the out-of-studio time to FINISH the website layout (got to talk to Mike today to make sure he is willing to take on merging the websites and redo project--it's a monster) and the book outline/project list.

In our absence Judy and Carol are managing the J and the house and the dogs and the cat and the bunny and the hamster and the swim lessons and the cello practice and the studio... I don't pay her enough. But it's good for J to have a third set of grandparents (and local!) and Judy loves to decorate for holidays so I am expecting them to go to town with the plethora Halloween stuff we have boxed in the basement. ("Choctaw Bingo" the studio version just came on iTunes--guess I couldn't get the whole post done in eight minutes. Got to stop fixing my spelling typos as I go.)

The newsletter for October is done and we are preparing for our One Year Birthday Party! No, it never does slow down here. I have my fingers crossed that this event will be better-attended than the fiasco that was Gumbo Day. We are helped by the lack of PGA tour a block away.

Okay, second version of CB is done and so am I. Next: Live From Austin!

Newsletter Time

Another mocha morning at Kavarna, newsletter goes out today, and then it's on to the website! Since my siyehstudio site was hacked recently I have shut it down and now really need to get a new merged site up. (Today is apparently baby morning at Kavarna. There are two who trade off crying/screaming in their querulous little voices. Oh look, they're all leaving... Whew! Back to the website...) Time for online sign-up for date nights, the class offerings I have been promising, open studio policies and schedule--everything I have not had time to get to and more! (The exclamation point is to get me jazzed up at the prospect of the work.)

(Hey! Now that the screaming is over, I can hear that a modern, jazzy version of "La Vie en Rose" is on the sound system. Oh what a nice change!)

Last quick note before I get that pesky newsletter out, we are extending our hours of operation at the studio. We are opening two hours earlier (three on Saturday), and adding Sunday hours. I am still debating cutting Tuesday hours, but it is turning into a decent day and I guess I can put myself on the hook for one full, solo day a week (Judy has Tuesday off as she is picking up Sunday). New hours are Tues-Fri 11-5, Sat 10-5, and Sun 11-5 starting October 19.

Now that you know, it's time to let the rest of the world know in the newsletter. If you're not on our mailing list and would like to be (my goal is one newsletter a month with one reminder before big events--not a lot of email), sign up in the box on the right.

Fall Means Falling Faster

Mocha in a Kavarna mug, something smooth and silky on the sound system. It's a coffee shop morning! Started a post on Monday, never finished it. Didn't get a chance to write anything at all yesterday. Today, before everything goes completely sideways, I'm going to pound one out. Got to practice writing doncha know now that I'm officially starting the second book ;-) .

Last night I got the date night videos through 10/2 up on YouTube. The next step is to send a personal email out to each of the participants with the link to their video. Might not get to that for a couple of days as I also need to finish the October newsletter this morning and get it out AND I still have the Waldorf Holiday Fair obstacle course to design. Oh yes, and orders to fill!

The economy must be on an up as the orders just keep coming steadily in. Just when I think I don't have them all done, I get a couple of little ones or a big one. Today I am waiting to hear about a really big one today (7 X 12 flat rectangles in Tropical, could be 70 pieces, could be 150-200 pieces--and they need them in three weeks). But am I stressed? Overloaded? No sirree. Maybe it's the beautiful fall weather (I am wearing a *sweater* over my t-shirt this morning!), maybe it's the establishment of a regular(ish) schedule and the routine that comes in fall with the resumption of school. I don't know, and this is one gift horse whose dentals I am not going to peruse. I'm just going to go with it.

Date nights have also been extreme. We now book 10-11 per week--that's almost every slot we offer filled. I need to get on Craig's List today and find a real fridge--we have outgrown the little dorm fridge we've been using. We're about out of brochures and I am taking our busyness and lack of brochures to mean that it's finally time to Raise Our Prices. It's also past time to have an on-line sign-up process on our website and to eliminate cd's in favor of photos on-line and a slideshow on YouTube. That will also encourage people to sign the photo release--you sign, I make you a slideshow. You don't sign, you bring your own camera and do the work yourself. I think that's reasonable...

Okay, off to do something else! More tomorrow...

Not Hot, Not Warm, But Cool Glass--Fall is Here!

Coffee in the Atlanta skyline mug, "Ada" by The National on iTunes, Dave just headed off to take a warm bath after sitting on the porch for an hour. Me, I just put on a light sweater. Yep, fall is truly here. First day of October and life continues to feel different, better, slower--cooler.

Glass order from Bullseye was unexpectedly delivered on Wednesday so I need to let everyone who ordered know their stuff is in--and I can finally get to my last big push of orders done now that I have my base glass again. Today is also a good time to finish writing the October newsletter and get it out. What a concept--a monthly publication that actually goes out on the first of the month! I've been wrestling with the issue of classes in the studio and I think I've finally got a solution that works for me, my business model and the small, intimate nature of the studio.

Okay, it's a tiny post, but it's a post. Have a great weekend everybody.