Thank You

Hi Everyone,

It's been a while since I've posted anything, it seems like I always have several balls in the air, all at the same time. With as busy as our lives are, I have no idea how I once held a full time job and got anything accomplished.  There just simply aren't enough hours in the day.

Like I said, I haven't posted anything for some time now, and I haven't gone back and looked at a single posting from the past.  It's not that I'm reflecting on any one thing in particular, I just really don't want to go back and re-live it, for me, once was enough.

The title of this posting is "Thank You", and that's what I would like to do.  You all have supported us over the past 9 years, and I couldn't be more grateful.  Many of you have been on this journey since roughly the beginning, and I could not be more grateful for your love and support over the years, and you know who you are.  You've listened to me complain, celebrate, and everything in between, and to my hair stick angels, I love you.

In addition to thanking you, I also wanted to let you know that I'm going to begin slipping into semi-retirement next month.  We're finally coming in to the social security age, and the financial pressures of being self employed are finally going to be relieved to some degree. 

My hours and lifestyle won't change one iota, that I'm certain of.  What I'm uncertain of however is where my artwork can take me.  I have had a bazillion ideas bouncing around in my head for what seems like forever, but I've always had to make (and sell) a hair stick to eat and pay the bills.  I'm still going to get up between 3 and 4 every morning, and go to my shop, which I'm transitioning into a studio.  I've always told Erin that I can't call it a studio until it's over 50% finished, and I'd say that today I'm at 51%... it's taken me 4 years to get to 51%, and I'd like the other 49% to be accomplished by the end of the year.  I haven't made any decisions yet about custom orders going forward, as I haven't actually given it much thought.  For now, I think I'm just going to play it by ear.

At the end of the day, there is nothing I enjoy more than making a hair stick and talking to our customers, and I always will. 

Thank you again.

Doug

TT Update

Hi All,

I know that it's been a while since my last posting, I've been a busy guy.  Unfortunately, being self employed and being busy does not in any way relate to making any money.  It's OK though, we haven't missed a meal yet, however we're getting a bit tired of lasagna, our meal of choice for about the last month.   We don't really do dinners, and certainly not sit down dinners,  just a big old slice of lasagna in the afternoon and we're pretty much good.  Erin runs all of her errands and eats when she gets home, and I eat at the lathe, I have a mini kitchen in one of the shops.  We really don't have much of a life, but it works for us.

OK, so why have I been so busy, yet apparently unproductive.  I've been working on several different projects, the Lord and the Lion, Christmas ornaments and sticks so we can pay the bills.

If you saw our shop announcement or the TT FB page, you know that we've begun posting on EBAY, and I explained the reasons there, so there's no need to reiterate.  I have no idea whether it will prove to be fruitful or not, we'll just have to wait and see.  The last time we did so it was with our 5,000th stick, and I was really turned off by the EBAY experience, hopefully this go around won't be quite as painful.

Not a whole lot else to report, we're down to zero custom orders, so if you'd like a stick, there's virtually no wait time right now.

Have a great day!

Doug

It's been a while

Good Saturday Morning,


I haven't checked in recently, because I've just simply been too busy.  I've slipped hair sticks into the equation as best I could over the past few months, we do after all have to pay the bills.  As many of you know, I've been concurrently working on a new mixed media design that we're calling the Lord and the Lion.


For a number of different reasons, I felt compelled to move in this direction, and it began in early January.  It's taken me several months and 9 prototypes to figure out how all of the pieces fit together, but today they finally do.  The prototypes are now affixed throughout the 3 shop areas, and I can't go anywhere without one of them looking at me, which can either be a good thing, or a bad thing given one's temperament  at any given time.


Last night was the annual Art and Hors D'oeuvres event held at Village Presbyterian Church.  There were approximately 600 attendees, or at least that's how many the kitchen staff prepared for.  That had been my target for the past month, and we just barely made it.  It didn't help much given that my computer was hijacked and held for ransom mid week... that wasn't a particularly fun day.  Thursday however was also disturbing when I discovered that all of the Lord and the Lion artwork was destroyed in the hack.  Fortunately I have a decent memory.


I'm back working on sticks again now, as we had series numbers 002, 003, and 004 on display, and then back home tucked safely away.


Just thought I'd share a few photos with you.  Have a great Saturday.


Doug

Royce Douglas Designs

Good Evening,

It's been a while since I last posted anything of actual substance, other than the occasional FNS.  It's not that I didn't want to talk to you, but moreover, I didn't have anything good to say.

Just for clarification sake, I've written on this blog now for the past couple of years, but I've never actually read it, and I don't have much of a desire to do so.  For those of you that have traveled this journey with me, you've seen my up's and my down's, I know they were there, but I just don't want to relive them, so I won't.

Today, I published a new website, www.roycedouglasdesigns.com

For years now, I've traveled down what I have referred to as "rabbit holes", with limited success.  These days however, I recognize that all of these rabbit holes weren't a waste of time, but moreover a learning process, and the new website will bear the fruit of my education.

Thank you all for just being you.

Doug

Holiday Custom and Friday Night Sale

 

Holiday Custom and Friday Night Sale

(From our ETSY Shop Announcement)

Friday Night Sale

The next Friday Night Sale will be held on December 30, beginning at 1:00 PM CST (US), 8:00 PM (CEST). We will de-activate all inventory Friday morning for price adjustment with an overall discount of approximately 20% - 25%, and everything will be re-activated at exactly 1:00. (Please check your own individual time zone to make sure the start time aligns with 1:00 PM Central Standard Time in the United States.)


Holiday Custom Sale

In an effort to compete with all of the Holiday and post Holiday sales that the big box stores are currently having, we are offering 20% discount on any custom hair stick orders between now (12/27/16) and the next Friday Night Sale described above on 12/30/16.  The following outlines the rules:

** Maximum 2 sticks per order, and you can only be on the list one time.

** Existing designs only, no " Create it from Scratch" customs.

** When you've reached the top of the list and I contact you, you must be prepared to order within 24 hours of my contact, and you must be prepared to purchase immediately upon completion.  If you are unable to fulfill either of these 2 requirements, your name will be removed from the Holiday Custom List and placed on the regular custom list if you so desire.

** From an historical standpoint, we offered a similar type of sale back in 2012 (I think, it was +/- 1 year either way), and we took over 200 orders, and the wait time was over 9 months for me to complete the list.  While I don't anticipate anything like that to happen again, I do need to cover myself in the event that we receive more orders than anticipated.  Therefore, I will set a maximum of 40 sticks eligible for discount.  Whether it's 20 (2 stick) orders or 40 single stick orders, either way, 40 is the maximum and I'll show the running count on the list.
 

** Link to the Holiday Custom List - http://timberstoneturnings.blogspot.com/p/holiday-custom-order-list.html

 

Fiday Night Sale

Good Morning,

Well, it's that time again.

The next Friday Night Sale will be held on December 2nd, beginning at 1:00 PM CST (US), 8:00 PM (CEST). We will de-activate all inventory Friday morning for price adjustment with an overall discount of approximately 20% - 25%. Everything will be re-activated at exactly 1:00.  Good Luck! (Please check your own individual time zone to make sure the start time aligns with 1:00 PM Central Standard Time in the United States.)
Have a great day!

Doug

My Happy Place

I think I may have found a nice settling place for awhile. 

But first I want to thank each and every one of you that have sent me a note or two since my last posting.  I received some really good honest feedback, and your moral support was inspiring.  So again, thank you.

One of the many suggestions, actually made by 2 different ladies was for me to come up with a less expensive design like the old banded sticks that I made back in the very beginning before I had a laser.  I never really liked making them, not that they weren't nice, but moreover, I wasn't very good at the time.  Fortunately I've gotten a bit better at what I do over the years, and today they're easier to make in terms of abuse to my hands, they take less time make because I'm not interrupted with the laser time, thus at the end of the day we can sell them at a lower price point.  I think it's a win/ win.  The real bonus though is that they are just naturally pretty, more so than many of the engravings, at least in my opinion.  Plus, I've got a bazillion color combinations to choose from.

So I think I may have found my Happy Place for awhile.

Have a Great Day!