A few housekeeping notes

Good Morning,

Here's a classic case of turning lemons into lemonade.  About 2 hours ago I received an order confirmation from the company that we use to purchase bronze infused purple turquoise (Brinputu) from.  The only problem is that we haven't placed an order with them since 2012 when they last carried Brinputu.  Well, as you might imagine, I was on the phone with them within 14 nano-seconds.  It turns out that it was simply a computer glich on their end, whew!  The last thing I need right now is a credit card hacked or some other similar problem.  So I was bemoaning to the lady about them no longer carrying Brinputu, as I've had to say no to countless customers over the past 3 years who've requested it.  Turns out that they do have Brinputu, in chip form only, not the beads.  After I explained that I crush all of the gemstones anyway, chips are perfect.  The lemon to lemonade... I bought them out and have 34 strands being shipped to us as I write this.

The 5,000 stick.  I'm slowly making progress on it, I'm now up to 8 hours and I'd estimate that I'm about 20% finished.  So the count as of now is 17 paua pieces and 19 gemstone inlays.  I'll get there, it's just going to take a while. 

So my question is, what good is a commemorative hairstick if it isn't displayed properly, it deserves more than a little black bag.  With that, I'm pleased to announce that I have teamed up with and basically designed a wooden box for the stick to live in, with one of the foremost woodworking talents in Kansas City.  He does have an ETSY shop, with very little activity however, which is in no way a reflection of his work.  It's simply a matter of having too much local demand for custom work, it's a good problem to have.  I provided him with my thoughts only and am otherwise leaving it in his capable hands, I can't wait to see what he comes up with.  More to come on Craig.

So there you have it... housekeeping is now closed.

Have a great week!