So Jax has finally figured out that there is a great new play place....the toilet. I USED to be able to lock him in the bathroom with me while I showered - I would just bring up a bin of toys and he would play nicely. No more. Yesterday he discovered the toilet. Now, showers are going to be limited to nap time, which used to be my hyper-speed work time. Naptime used to be my time to make all of my important phone calls without a screaming child climbing my leg (I like to refer to him as baby Jacqueline when he screams - his screams are like the girl-in-the-horror-movie type of screams). No more.
I NEED to clean my house. I'm having guests today and my house is a wreck. I've been putting all of my energy into getting the store open and getting ready for market - cleaning and laundry has fallen to the wayside. I shouldn't even be writing this right now, I should be dusting and vacuuming and scouring my bathroom. I think I look for just about any reason to put it off...
Our open date with the store was moved back to the 21st due to having to tie up some legalese with the company. I'm good with that though - I'd rather have more time for all of our product to get in and set up the way I want to set up.
Must. Go. Clean.
A designer Mama. An organic toddler. An Aspie tween.
6.18.2011
6.17.2011
Are. You. Kidding.
Emails like this are one of the many pleasures of being a business owner:
Would you REALLY like to know my thoughts? I can promise you they are extremely selfish in nature. Only speaks spanish? WTF. So, now our complete sample line for market is wacky, as we may be missing a few key items that would be extremely difficult to produce elsewhere this close to deadline. I'm sorry for your accident, but apparently it did not leave you unable to type emails. Buck up.
So, anywho, the store. On hold waiting on legalese (ish) to sign all of our paperwork. I despise legalese. I don't speak it, and don't care to learn. I understand the process itself in and out, have no problems writing up the business plans in layman's terms, but transferring all of this info into legal terms takes time, and time is not on my side right now if I want to open July 15. Again, buck up all, we are on Ann hyper-speed right now. :) Keep up.
Personal note: I am currently addicted to wearing flowers in my hair. I think my collection of flowers has now reached about 15 flowers (thank you, tootyfruitymonkeyluv). I'm all about hippie headbands and little bobby pin flowers. Love them. This Etsy seller has the CUTEST selection - and, is also, my neighbor (good and bad - very accessible). Oye.
Tutus - still filling tutu orders, but trying to slow it down a bit with both the store and market fast approaching. I finally finished the huge feathered tutu for the little figure skater (she is a total doll), and if I do say so myself, it turned out pretty amazing:
I'm loving our spring 2012 b&b fabrics - lots of jersey knits, some linens and lightweight denim and the pointelle. Hoping to still be able to release the hats and sweaters for holiday despite the snafu in Peru...
Jax is NAUGHTY. He's a boy-boy. He eats dirt and sticks. Logan's report card hasn't come in yet, and he loses his DS for the entire summer if there are any D's or F's. You can bet he watches the mail like a hawk.
The BBQ's and bonfire have started, and we spend most days outside...some random summer pics:
Jaxie playing in the water
The amazing and "special" job I did mowing the lawn for the first time
Jaxie playing peek
The new store...
A happy Mama...
Dear Ann,
I am sorry to inform you that per direct my activities for XXX Export / XXX are ending. A very unfortunate accident has happened within my family and I have to return a.s.a.p. The consequences of the accident result in me not being able to return in Peru this year. Hopefully in the beginning of next year.
I realize that this has also consequences for your business in the potential we were about to uncover. As I am the main person responsible for all export activities, I can not guarantee proper continuity for XXX Export in regards to our communication and agreements we have had and made so far.
However, I do not want to abandon you with the potential order we talked about and therefore offer my personal services in connecting you with the Roxana, if you are still intending to continue with the sample order. As she talks Spanish only, as do other people I work with, I would suggest to run communication between the two of you as personal favour – also ensuring there is no service fee from my side as I can not contribute in fulfilling export procedures and quality control.
I understand that you might not want to continue with this construction, and I will certainly respect that decision. If we do continue for f.e. the order specs we talked about, we need to make sure that you and Roxana have a signed order request (from Roxana and your side), that money flows directly to her (from your side) and that I ensure Roxana is updated on all export procedures (from my side).
Let me know what your thoughts are.
Would you REALLY like to know my thoughts? I can promise you they are extremely selfish in nature. Only speaks spanish? WTF. So, now our complete sample line for market is wacky, as we may be missing a few key items that would be extremely difficult to produce elsewhere this close to deadline. I'm sorry for your accident, but apparently it did not leave you unable to type emails. Buck up.
So, anywho, the store. On hold waiting on legalese (ish) to sign all of our paperwork. I despise legalese. I don't speak it, and don't care to learn. I understand the process itself in and out, have no problems writing up the business plans in layman's terms, but transferring all of this info into legal terms takes time, and time is not on my side right now if I want to open July 15. Again, buck up all, we are on Ann hyper-speed right now. :) Keep up.
Personal note: I am currently addicted to wearing flowers in my hair. I think my collection of flowers has now reached about 15 flowers (thank you, tootyfruitymonkeyluv). I'm all about hippie headbands and little bobby pin flowers. Love them. This Etsy seller has the CUTEST selection - and, is also, my neighbor (good and bad - very accessible). Oye.
Tutus - still filling tutu orders, but trying to slow it down a bit with both the store and market fast approaching. I finally finished the huge feathered tutu for the little figure skater (she is a total doll), and if I do say so myself, it turned out pretty amazing:
I'm loving our spring 2012 b&b fabrics - lots of jersey knits, some linens and lightweight denim and the pointelle. Hoping to still be able to release the hats and sweaters for holiday despite the snafu in Peru...
Jax is NAUGHTY. He's a boy-boy. He eats dirt and sticks. Logan's report card hasn't come in yet, and he loses his DS for the entire summer if there are any D's or F's. You can bet he watches the mail like a hawk.
The BBQ's and bonfire have started, and we spend most days outside...some random summer pics:
6.05.2011
Two months since last post...
Wow. The last two months have been pretty crazy. Between b&b, the tutus, the kids, four websites now, market coming quickly and a some other big news that I can't share quite yet, crazy busy doesn't quite begin to describe where I'm at in my head.
I have been making my "to do" lists every day. Today however, I'm taking the day off. Well, KIND OF taking the day off. I've monitored the websites, sent out about 20 emails (no exaggeration) and finished off a tutu. I've done this all while outside sitting in the sun, so I guess it feels like a day off (except the tutu). And now I'm updating our blog - finally. So maybe it's really not a day off....
I'm not really the type to stop working. I love what I do and therefore just keep going.
I want to finish up some sketches today - that might be my last "to do" for today. I would LOVE to just sit and enjoy the sun. It's a beautiful day - not a cloud in the sky and should be about 85 degrees. In Minnesota you never know how often you'll get these days, so you have to soak them up when they come.
So here's the breakdown of where I'm at with all the different pieces of life in general:
There has been TONS of b&b stuff to get done for market, and I feel like I'm falling behind. Market is only two and a half months away, and I have so much to do still. Production is moving steadily with our samples, but has to be done before the beginning of July so we can shoot everything for our lookbook and banner for the back part of our booth. This is probably my biggest concern of the moment - just getting all of our samples done. Also, I need to start making my calls soon to set up appointments for market. I'll probably start this the beginning of July. Picking which stores to call out of my list of 3,000 will be a challenge to say the least. Then, I'm still working with our vendor in Peru which is also a big project. Importing is a complicated process, and I'm still learning how it works. These are the big things, but this is in addition to my daily little things like taking orders, monitoring the website, photography, accounting and working with clients (just to name a few). It can be a little overwhelming at times, but like I said, I love it, so it's good.
Tutus. I pulled all the tutus from the b&b Etsy and put them on their own Etsy site. This is hard because the new site obviously has no feedback, so it's starting all over again. I'm working on a feathered bluebird tutu for an adorable little figure skater, and that has been SUPER fun. It's close to being done, and I'll for sure post a pic when I finish it.
The kids have been busy bodies. Logan is almost done with school for the year, and Jax is into a tantrum stage. Jax LOVES being outside, and is for sure a boy's boy. He loves playing in the dirt and wandering around the yard to find sticks.
My big news? I'm STOKED about it. I want to tell so so so bad but want to make sure it's 100% before I do. It's at 99% right now, but I never want to jinx anything. It would be an amazing thing, and VERY ironic. Hopefully I can break it on Monday. :) It will add a LOT to my plate, but I'm ready. Bring it.
Lastly - I marked down our spring dresses to 40% off for the month!
I have been making my "to do" lists every day. Today however, I'm taking the day off. Well, KIND OF taking the day off. I've monitored the websites, sent out about 20 emails (no exaggeration) and finished off a tutu. I've done this all while outside sitting in the sun, so I guess it feels like a day off (except the tutu). And now I'm updating our blog - finally. So maybe it's really not a day off....
I'm not really the type to stop working. I love what I do and therefore just keep going.
I want to finish up some sketches today - that might be my last "to do" for today. I would LOVE to just sit and enjoy the sun. It's a beautiful day - not a cloud in the sky and should be about 85 degrees. In Minnesota you never know how often you'll get these days, so you have to soak them up when they come.
So here's the breakdown of where I'm at with all the different pieces of life in general:
There has been TONS of b&b stuff to get done for market, and I feel like I'm falling behind. Market is only two and a half months away, and I have so much to do still. Production is moving steadily with our samples, but has to be done before the beginning of July so we can shoot everything for our lookbook and banner for the back part of our booth. This is probably my biggest concern of the moment - just getting all of our samples done. Also, I need to start making my calls soon to set up appointments for market. I'll probably start this the beginning of July. Picking which stores to call out of my list of 3,000 will be a challenge to say the least. Then, I'm still working with our vendor in Peru which is also a big project. Importing is a complicated process, and I'm still learning how it works. These are the big things, but this is in addition to my daily little things like taking orders, monitoring the website, photography, accounting and working with clients (just to name a few). It can be a little overwhelming at times, but like I said, I love it, so it's good.
Tutus. I pulled all the tutus from the b&b Etsy and put them on their own Etsy site. This is hard because the new site obviously has no feedback, so it's starting all over again. I'm working on a feathered bluebird tutu for an adorable little figure skater, and that has been SUPER fun. It's close to being done, and I'll for sure post a pic when I finish it.
The kids have been busy bodies. Logan is almost done with school for the year, and Jax is into a tantrum stage. Jax LOVES being outside, and is for sure a boy's boy. He loves playing in the dirt and wandering around the yard to find sticks.
My big news? I'm STOKED about it. I want to tell so so so bad but want to make sure it's 100% before I do. It's at 99% right now, but I never want to jinx anything. It would be an amazing thing, and VERY ironic. Hopefully I can break it on Monday. :) It will add a LOT to my plate, but I'm ready. Bring it.
Lastly - I marked down our spring dresses to 40% off for the month!
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