Have
you ever loved doing something then faced a situation where you could no longer
do that fun thing? I have been faced
with that scenario the last few weeks and am hoping to resolve it one way or
another.
When
I first started my art business a few years ago I started with 4”x4” tumbled
travertine coasters and 8”x8” tumbled travertine trivets. I have many designs for each saved that I
made over the years. Some of the design
themes are inspirational, sports, fleur de lis, holidays, monogram, and of course some
that are hard to classify into one category.
For many years I obtained 4”x4” tiles from a local flooring store, Wrights. They provided excellent customer service and quality products. After being in business for about 30 years, Wright’s has closed their doors for the last time due to illness. Just before they closed, I was able to place one last order for 2 cases of tiles. They are such wonderful people it’s hard to see that “partnership” end. I am hoping to see them around town.
I obtained the 8”x8” tiles from another local store until the tiles were no longer available, a few years ago. Well, technically they are available but in sets with a variety of sizes in each set that I cannot use. However, I recently found a stash at my home that I had put away for “safe keeping.” They were put away so well that I had forgotten them for a long time! I am so happy to have found them! I have a couple of my trivets featured here and will be adding more to my website.
The situation now is that I am having difficulty finding even the 4”x4” at a price that keeps this line of products affordable. My costs are tripled or almost tripled with the available locations from which I can purchase, or the tiles were not available for order from their warehouses. I do not want to have to raise prices on my coasters nor face having to offer inferior products just to have this line of products in my offerings.
Considering what I have found I will offer my remaining coasters and when they are gone, they are gone, sadly. My remaining coasters are first quality and something I would have in my own home. If this were not the case, I would pull them from my website. Rest assured, they make beautiful functional gifts for yourself, your family or your friends.
The upside to this situation is that it is moving me toward finding new and interesting handcrafted items to have in my shop. Sometimes we face one door closing to find another door open. So this is a new era at Cynthia Welch Designs. I am proud of the coasters and trivets I have offered but look forward to new things to come!
This is where you, my friends, customers and subscribers come in. I am looking for input from you! See my questions for you below.
- What unique, upcycled, hard-to-find, handcrafted items are you looking for? The unique items you’re looking for may be for decorating your own home. The handcrafted gifts for family or friends may be for holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, a housewarming or retirement, a wedding gift or other occasion.
- What is one thing you are looking for to complete a vignette in your home? This “one thing” could be an accent piece or the main piece to get he vignette started.
- What do you usually look for when purchasing a gift for the person who has everything? When someone seemingly has everything, they are a challenge when it comes to gift-giving. Do you look for practical and functional gifts or something they love but would never purchase for themselves?
- When you look gifts, what price range do you typically look for? I ask this question no to be nosey! vbg I ask because I want to try to cover different price points in my online shop, if possible.
- What comes first when looking for décor or gifts … form (beauty and attractiveness) or function?
- This blog
- My coasters and trivets .... Click here to see my coaster selections.
Click here to see my trivet selections. - My business page and my group! Click here to go to my Facebook business page.
Click here to go to my Facebook group.
God bless,
Cindy
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