Rain Damage?? Menlo Park This Weekend

     This weekend I'll be in Menlo Park for the three day sidewalk art show.
My booth is on the south corner of Santa Cruz Ave. and Chestnut, in front of a bank, and I can never remember which bank! I think it is a Wells Fargo?

      I keep my glass kiln on the deck of my studio, so it doesn't overheat my small studio in the summer. I did a small kiln-load of glass last week, and the next morning it rained (which is a pretty unusual event these days for California) and I didn't have my kiln covered.  I am a little afraid to turn it on to see if there was any damage, but I am thinking of doing one kiln load for Menlo this weekend.  If you don't see any new glass, you'll know it didn't work!

The Rest of the Story

In my previous post, I ended with overcharging a customer about $4400, around that amount anyhow. Of course, she was a new customer so I was extrememly worried that she thought this was malicious, so I emailed her like crazy, and found her phone number on the internet, then called her like crazy.
When I finally connected with her, she was so kind and gracious. Amazing!

But here is the rest of the story.....
It was bad timing for the overcharge on her credit card, since she was heading to Washington D.C. for a week of fun. Bad timing for her as well, since it was the week of the federal government shutdown.
She called her senator about visiting the White House, but of course that was shut down as well. Several days into her trip, she received a phone call from her senator, Sam Farr I think it was ( oh those brain cells) who offered her and her friend a private tour of the White House.
She said it was incredible, a small group of people with the Senator, and something very few people have ever experienced. No other tourists were around, so they got to see much more, unobstructed on their almost private tour.
I really thought Sam Farr needed a shout out for this. What a memory! A much better memory for her than a $4400 overcharge on a credit car!!

I'm not proud of this...

I make quite a few mistakes in my work. Sometimes there is an extra bead where there shouldn't be. Sometimes, I forget to put the clasp on. Once in a while, I get to a show to discover that I left the really IMPORTANT piece at home. And this is the really short list of possible mistakes.

I don't like it when I make a mistake with the money, but I will always remember the time at a show I ran to the nearest thrift store, and was so happy to find this neato calculator for $3! I used it all through the show. Batteries must have come with it.

A few days after the show I got the first call. A mistake on the addition on the charge. OOPS. This happens sometimes. But the second call made me investigate, and it seems the calculator was in the thrift for a good reason. I don't remember how many charges were off by a few dollars, but I was able to contact most people. It always amazes me how really nice people can be.

Then, last year, I ran a woman's charge card after the show, and I failed to notice that her $42.78 earrings became $4,278. 00 earrings. I got a notice from the credit card company I think..this was a year ago, so my memory doesn't serve.

She was on her way to Washington DC for a  week, and the credit card that I almost maxed out was meant to finance her trip.
Big Big OMG.
I will have to finish this later. Sorry,but this is too long for one post.

I have spent an abnormal amount of time this morning fighting with photographs of my work. I would really like to whine about this, but I need t get OVER it, and get to work making fun jewelry.
But since I spent that time, I will post these less than gorgeous photos here. The work is new, and the color relationships between the stones and the glass beads are really wonderful. But the photos don't do them justice.
Listen to me. I know I am right about this.

Thunderstorm at Tahoe

   I always check the weather forecasts before a show, and once in a while I take them to heart. Last weekend was predicted to be on the chilly side, but I am glad I dressed lightly for the heat that was the reality.

     The thunderstorm forecasts for Tahoe were off my radar screen. The lake is so big, I assumed that if there were thunderstorms, the chances that they would be over my head were minimal.
 
     WRONG. Right over my head, directly over my booth was a big blowing, pounding, hailing, lightning thunderstorm. There was a certain charm to it, that disappeared in about 3 minutes. Mud was splashing up from the pavement and spotting everything under my canopy. Every item on the ground was splattered with mud, and rain. I had a new canopy with pristine white walls. Had of course, now all splashed with mud.

    I had brought an extra sweatshirt dress, so that took most of the rain, and at least I could be mostly dry driving home. Thank goodness for the extra shoes I carry, since my sandals were completely waterlogged.

     Today I should be slowly making my way back into the studio. Instead, I am unpacking the van, wiping the new layer of Tahoe mud off of my booth.

   I leave for Tahoe City on Thursday and of course I will check the weather forecast again.

Homewood This Weekend

I just mailed out my newsletter for the upcoming show in Homewood, and of course forgot right away that I added a link to this newsletter. So when I actually remembered, I sat right down to write this up.

I did a kiln load of hearts last night for Tahoe, and got a mixed batch. A few had great color, and a few were muddy. The muddy ones have their own charms, to be sure, but I prefer the bold color patches sweeping across the body of the pendants. But this is the craft. I can sit down in a few weeks and they could be worse, or they could be perfect.

I went to order some glass I was out of, and discovered that my glass supplier doesn't sell glass anymore. HOLY COW. Another recession victim. I know they relocated, and I assumed it was to a smaller space, but not to sell glass? Who knew. So I hustled around the internet looking for a supplier. Since I never bothered to buy a glass numbering chart, I couldn't produce the manufacturer's item number to order more. So something that had been a relative no brainer for my entire glass making career now has become a serious challenge.

I did find a supplier out of state, so I don't know if I'll have more hearts for this weekend's show.

Tahoe is always fun. Hopefully the wind won't be too bad. My goal for the weekend is to actually put my feet in the lake, instead of seeing it from the car on the way to the show.

Los Altos Art & Wine show this Weekend

I think I forgot to update my blog last week. These back to back shows get pretty frantic.
We got home from Tahoe late Sunday night, and Monday is pretty much a useless day. I remind myself of a dull rubber ball inside a pinball machine. I bounce from object to object, but  never get anywhere.
And of course that is a good Monday, when I can actually get out of bed to bounce at all!
So I wonder what I will have at Los Altos this weekend? I have several ideas floating around in my head, but I surprise even myself with what I actually decide to make for this week's show.
Oh..
My booth number in Los Altos is 438. I am close to La Bou on Main Street, maybe closer to the Greek restaurant there this year.