Jamie's Blog

I Don't Care

May 10, 2012.

I was reading all over the web everyone all a flutter this morning regarding the whole Mom breast
feeding her....I don't know 9  year old son (okay he is almost four.....but still) on the cover of Time Magazine.  I read a lot of comments for and against the photo.  Mother's saying it was beautiful, others saying it was gross - and so goes another ridiculous worthless argument about who is a better mother.  

I even started to get involved in the dialogue and started imagining my post on this attrocity to society.  Ya, but not for or against breast feeding toddlers, because I am more concerned with the poor boy and what he may will go through as he grows older.  I mean, was anyone thinking of that four year old boy being a ten year old, a fourteen year old or a seventeen year old trying to date a girl?  I am sure the "Boob Man" jokes will be making a big pressence tonight on Late Night TV.  That poor kid, he will most likely be ridiculed forever, even when he  just orders a chicken breast.  I seriously was gonna dedicate a whole post to it, and ask my soon to be thirteen year old what he thought.....and then I sighed and said to myself, "I don't care."

Not to sound insensitive or crash - but I don't care.  I don't need to spew my own over-inflated opinion out there (even though the irony that I just did is not lost on me).  I don't need to tweet how for/against/agast I am at the provcative pose she is making on the cover.  It's her life and it is her bed (and her son's bed) that she has to lie in....no pun intended since the story is about that type of parenting.

I Don't Care Anymore

I loved being a part of the Mommy Blogosphere for a few years (even though I detest that word).  It was fun to write for an awesome website that got tons of comments and I liked writing about controversial subjects.  Going to Blogher was amazing, meeting some of my heroes in person was amazing.  Getting all the free food, drinks & silly crap they gave away - all Amazing.  I was all about linking, commenting, blogging and staying up on the stupid Twitter feed.  

Now-a-days, I really have no desire to spend countless hours doing all that any longer.  I still love me some Facebook (and now Pinterest) but I don't want to dedicate that much time to the craft of blogging.  The end result (for me) was not as rewarding as one would have thought.   I loved it at the time.....now, ah I am going to say it, "I don't care".

It's not that I dislike or am jealous of the other bloggers out there - it just does not interest me any longer.  Sort of like battling over breast vs. bottle - those days are long gone and I don't care what anyone (or how) they feed their kids.   Everyone seems so damn sensitive these days if other people do not conform to their ridulous standards.  As long as it does not affect me and my children, "I don't care."

Now, don't get me wrong, I still love to blog/write and I will probably do it till I die, but eh.......not religously, not daily and not for profit.  Unless of course some editor comes a callin' and asks me to write a book or my super duper ever exciting memoir...then okay - I will do it.  But until that fantasy comes to life........I just don't care.

I Used to Care, But Now I Don't

I used to go after press for Jamie's Painting & Design and more importantly Jamie with a vengence.  I was a rapid Mama Grizzly Bear on a mission and I was actually quite good at it.  Maybe not so much good - but I had a good story and most times were at the right place at the right time.  Other than getting into People Magazine and on the Oprah Winfrey Show or in her magazine, I accomplished everything I ever imagined for my business in the eyes of the press corps.  

Also, I am not proud to admit this, but I used to turn green with jealousy when other entrepreneurs in my industry (or just close to it) got awesome press.  I assumed they were showered with sales, celebrity clients and calls from......Oprah of course after they were featured in some magazine.  I would obsess over it and would waste countless hours courting that very magazine that just ran a story similar to mine.....ya, not proud of that.  Eventually it would work out and I would get the press from that magazine, a newspaper, TV show - whatever, it came at some point.  

Again, sticking with the theme of this post, I just don't care anymore.  I mean if it happens that would be great - but I am not in the mood to go out and try to get it with my mouth frothing while I repeat my story for the 45th time to some reporter.  I am more a 'Been There, Done That' kind of girl.  The reason being is most of the press did not put $$$ in my pocket, or even equal sales.  Press did equal more press (which is a whole other post about people only want to write about you if some other reporter already did) but it rarely equaled sales.  I loved me some press, but I could not and can not pay for college bragging about being on Dr. Phil.  So......don't care.

I Could Care Less

I have mentioned many, many times how I kept up on my competition pretty closely for many years.  There are many reasons why I did this and I stand by my choices for doing it.  I really think you (me) need to know what is going on in your industry so that you can stay ahead.  This is especially important when you are a young company and a newbie to your industry.  You can not lay on your laurels - because frankly you don't have any.  

Fast forward to what is coming on our ten year mark this November and well, I guess I will take a peek once in a great while at other companies.  Honestly, most of my competition is gone - that is not me bragging, they just are.  Many, many small companies went away in the Recession or they licensed their work to larger companies.  

Also, the trends in the Children industry have sort of hit a lull in my humble opinion.  There are not exciting color combinations and amazing designs coming out these days.  I remember reading that in a Recession (or Depression) people go back to comfort foods, calm & safe colors and designs.  It makes sense and it made for a boring few years of designing new products.  So, now a days I will keep an eye on some othe companies but I am pretty sure if they develop a new design before I do, it won't be the end fo my company or the world.  I tend not to care if they do or if they don't.

What I Do Care About

I know this post sounded very negative and I yes I am singing that 80's song in my head as I write it, but stay with me.  As much as I enjoyed carying soooo much too much about these distractions in the past, I am glad I don't any longer.  I can focus on my business and my family.  I can spend my time caring about getting out good products and getting them on time to our customers.  I still want our customers to love our products and I still care about making them.

I still get excited about new designs.  Even though it has been two long years since I came out with new designs for my company I have worked on designs for sports teams, schools and various licensing companies.  I care about new partnerships, relationships and promotions with other companies.  I care about new customers (and old ones) instead of my competiton and my presence in the press.     I care about me and my happiness, instead of bending over backwards working 24 hours straight to please a channel partner that won't even pay me on time.  I care about my family and our quality of live instead of my blogs popularity and the number of readers I had last week.

So while the rest of the internet blows up over the latest boobie sighting, I will not be joining the conversation.   I am pretty sure my son's email is blowing up right now with this one photo being shared amongst all teenagers around the country.   I am going to spend the evening with my family and most likely explaining to my son about the dangers of a controversial photo and how it can haunt you....forever.  

February um....Where Did You Go? And can You find March?

March 20, 2012.

I swear I have no idea even where February went, and now March is more than half over.  I feel like Rip Van Winkle and I just woke up from a long winters nap.    I mean, I know what I have been doing and spending all my waking hours on, but it is like Spring already!  How can that possibly be when I am pretty sure that I missed Winter, you know while I was sleeping and all.  But in all seriousness this is a list of sorts of what I have been doing:

Traveling The Globe....actually just the State

I swear I have never traveled this much in such a short time in my life.  I feel like I have been living out of my suit case since around October, with trips back and forth to the Bay Area to trips around the state.  I am not complaining, I just keep singing the OneRepublic song Good Life:

To my friends in New York, I say hello 
My friends in L.A. they don't know 
Where I've been for the past few years or so 
Paris to China to Col-or-ado 

It has not been all fun and exciting jaunts around the country, many trips have been soccer tournaments and a business trip (oh wait...that WAS all fun!).  I have found just packing alone takes a lot of time, and some of it has been time away from my family.  So, with that...blogging took quite a back seat.

Lots of Research & Little Remodeling

We have lived in our  home for a little over seven months, long enough for me to know what I like, what I don't like and what I "OH MY GAWD I can't live with for one more day!".  I won't bore you with the laundry list of remodeling projects, but it has turned into an overwhelmingly long list.  The hiring takes time, the purchasing takes time and more time is invested in convincing my husband to PLEASE help takes even more time.  

But most of my time has been doing research on what, when who and how we will do all these projects.  Not shocking to anyone, but the getting bids alone takes a small village to coordinate with schedules.  I am not one that enjoys that much research.  I kind of, no wait I KNOW what I like and that is all there is.  I am enjoying poking around Pinterest for ideas, but really the site is just a plain time suck until I decide to make a cupcake tower made to look like a Disney Princess.

The other problem I have is I am....wait for it...very impatient.  Everything takes twice as long as expected.  Everything. I have a soft spot for little Ms. Verruca Salt in Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factor, "I want a pony NOW Daddy!"  No, seriously the worst part is waiting and then waiting some more.  I am trying not to get too impatient though....that would be the old me, the one who just started tearing down parts of my house without a plan or a prayer (true story).  

Licensing Art.....Best Part of Being Busy

Most of my time has been spent on this larger than life....well not that big, but still big project.  I mentioned earlier that I met a wonderful woman in Atlanta and came to find out we could collaborate on a project together.  A five minute conversation on the bus to the Atlanta Convention Center has resulted in her signing me to create a large number of product lines for her company.

I designed a line of products for her company, frames, mirrors, wall art, clocks - all new and all very very tough for someone who has beeen working on 6 x8 tiles for the last 9 years.  I think in terms of "Jane's Room" and how can I wrap my designs around the tile.  It took a leap of faith for the company to take a chance on me, but I am super excited too see the final results.  Samples are being made in Shanghai as we speak and I am soon starting another line of products.

Of course with licensing (like I know what I am talking about) these won't be available till 2013, so as excited as I am I need to just sit back and wait and see what happens.  I am optimisitc, but more realistic.  I have listed or blogged more than once things that never came to fruition and almost amazing opportunities.  I have a really good feeling about this opportunity, which means either I am getting less pessamistic or I am too old to worry about it. 

Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere. 

                                                                                                                                                        ~Glenn Turner

Atlanta Gift Show 2012 - Take One

January 24, 2011

It has been over a week since I traveled across the country to walk the 2012 Atlanta Gift Show.  It was overwhelming and exciting to walk the show just for the pure excuse of finding inspiration for new Jamie's Painting & Design Products.  I stayed with three other very talented artists; Shelly Kennedy, Kelly Rightsell and London Edwards.  The laughing and the sharing of stories was enough for me, but we did even more.  

We attended a seminar that discussed the 6 top design trends in the Children Industry.  After  that event we were spoiled with drinks and appetizers while we attended a seminar about social media and blogging.  I took more notes on paper and on my iphone than I have ever taken at any event.  I also took many a photos (even if all are not for sharing or viewing....or even focused).

I do plan on listing my many stories and lessons about the show, but thought I would just list a few highlights from the event first:

Things I Learned at The 2012 Atlanta Gift Show

1. Flying first class is the best!  Did you know they let you watch TV & movies for free, eat a meal and even drinks are free?
2. If you bring  a dog on a plane it will bark at take off
3. The artist behind Loalita (Tracy Healy) is fab-u-lous!
4. Sleeping in the hallways of AmericaMart is....frowned apon
5. It is perfectly okay to walk around with a bag on your head that is shaped to look like a hat if and only if you paint it and attach a big flower to it
6. The best showroom was Glitterville
7. Christiane Lemieux of Dwell Studio is adorable and seems brilliant
8. If you are wearing a Buyer badge you can get people to pretty much give you anything (see #5)
9. Shelly Kennedy has the best (and most popular) accesories 
10. Pinterest is the most fabulous research tool EVER!
11. The security guard at our hotel is also the same person that brings up sheets
12. 6 pillow cases is not the same as sheets for a pull out couch
13. Occupy Atlanta or Tent City is pretty damn scary to walk through at night
14. The guy at the bar that offered me a cigarette (I declined) then asked my height (5'4") and THEN asked if I wanted a smoke should not pet my hair unless he wants to get arrested
15. Knomes are big in Atlanta
16. Random people do a conga line/mardi gras/marching band type of thing through the event center at least once during the show.
17. No one really leaves the Alanta Gift Show....it's like Hotel California
18. Freaker USA looks like the coolest company ever....and we are pretty sure they had the best time ever at the show.
19. Women will threaten to "cut you" if you get in between them and some costume jewelry at the Cash & Carry section of the Atlanta Gift Show
20. Meeting someone on a shuttle to the Atlanta Gift Show can be rewarding & exciting....maybe priceless.

I promise to expand on many (or some) of these stories.  I am sure I am missing a ton, but I am working on a project wtih a pretty short timeline so I don't have hours (actually) days to put all my thoughts down.

 

 

Expecting (or hoping) to find at Atlanta Gift Show 2012

January 11, 2011.

The last two times I walked shows (San Francisco Gift  Show, New York Gift Show, Stationary Show & Surtex) I did it alone....with a capital A for the most part.  I hated it.  I mean not the show or the walking (though my feet were killing me because I wore heels), I hated just being alone.  I hated eating alone.  I hated walking alone.  I remember walking up to a booth that licensed children's art and trying to talk to them....I was so green I thought they were the actual artists who created the art.  The looks and eye rolls I got from the Blonde Marketing Gals in Skirts would have been humorous if I were not....alone.  I slinked away and licked my wounds all the way back to the hotel.

This Time It Will Be Different

This will be my third trip to the Atlanta Gift Show.  The other two times I was exhibiting at the Gift Show.  This time I am just walking the floor and attending some seminars.  I am beyond excited to be staying with three great like-minded artists/entrepreneurs also.  Shelly Kennedy, London Edwards & Kelly Rightsell will be in my wolf pack this coming weekend....hope things don't go all "Girls Gone Wild" or anything.  I don't know, but having only traveled with London in the past I know how crazy thinks can get when everyone is punch drunk tired.....

What I Hope To See at the Atlanta Gift Show

• I would love to meet or see other business owners & artisans I have worked with in the industry.  It would be great to meet face to face with some of the business owners that have sold my products for the past nine years.  It would be refreshing to also possibly meet up with artisans and manufacturers that I actually exhibited next to or talked with at previous shows.  
• I really want to see the trends and not just read about what the next color or new gimmick everyone is hawking for 2012.  Reading about polka dots and vintage patterns is one thing, but to see it used in bedding, ceramics, wood or even decopauged on actual products is exciting.  I hope to get tons of inspiration on new color combinations and Industry trends.
• To be able to walk the Children's Section, The Home, The Textiles, The Garden, The temporaries & the Permanent Show Rooms will be fun.  Exhausting and pretty much impossible to see everything, but good to do.   For the first time I won't be hiding my badge or taking a quick trip to the restroom before going back to stand for 8  hours straight in a booth.
• Since I won't be wearing the exhibitor badge I won't get the evil eyes from competitors, or catch competitors sneaking into our booth after I left.  The buyers are treated like kings and queens at Trade Shows.  Buyers get schmoozed at the permanent shows, catalogs shoved in their faces in the temporaries and they get free food and cocktails with just a snap of a finger.
• Seeing what (if any attend) my competition is doing.  NO one wants to admit it, but that is something you do at a Trade Show.  It is smart, it is good business and it is what other business owners do.  I won't be taking photographs from smart phone or stealing samples, but I want to take it all in.
• I would love to meet other artists, or like minded people that are crazy....like me.  Some shows I have met some great people, others....not so much.  I am going to enjoy just going under the radar and taking in the sites and the products.

Almost in Atlanta Baby

So, in a nutshell I have a very, very long list of things I would like to accomplish while in Atlanta.  I am so hoping that it all goes smoothly and there is no drama or....wait I so want me some drama!  That makes great blogging, great reality TV and fabulous stories to relive over cocktails, and snorting while laughing.  I can't wait to feel inspired again.....and I hope my inspiration is coming from Atlanta.

 

 

 

 

Word for 2011....was Change

January 5, 2011.

I am not sure if I am happy or sad to see 2011 come to an end.  It has been an amazing year with lots of changes and new experiences, in my personal life and at  Jamie's Painting & Design.  For most of the year I have tried to keep a positive outlook and stiff upper lip and my sense of humor in order.  Not to say some heated discussions, arguments and tears have not found there way into a few of my days, but I am still standing, so all must be good.  

I have bragged for years about how good change is, how I never look back, hate to regret...blah, blah, blah.  Truth is change is hard, change is tough, but change is what I think makes us grow.   No time in my life has the word change been more appropriate than in 2011.  I may not have totally embraced all of the changes of 2011,  I  do remember them:

Downsizing to Success

Five years ago when we moved the business out of my home and into a new location I was beyond stressed to the point of getting sick, heart palpations and my weight below 100 pounds.  The unknown and the employees that were not making the move with us was a lot for me to handle.  Moving the business this time....was much easier.

The stress of paying for all the warehouse and office space was a huge stresser for me.  The fact is that rental space in Northern California (Recession or not) is extremly high and hard on this small business.  Small is the new big these days and I enjoyed it.  I missed seeing my employees as much as I used to, but I learned to use the phone, email and the dreaded texting to communicate.  I also learned the working from home and staying in your robe and slippers during a bad winter storm can be pretty fantastic.

House for Sale Became House Sold 

We sold our first home in 2001 right at the time that the market in the Bay Area became saturated with home sales and the dot com bubble was a popping.  We had to lower our asking price, all of this was going on while my sister was getting married, and we had to deal with a probate sale....again, stress and the dreaded losing of weight.  Selling our home this time was stressful yes......but much easier.

I honestly never thought we would leave our house, I was thinking I would die in that house.  I still wake up every once in awhile looking around my room and singing a verse from Talking Heads song, Once in a Lifetime; You may find yourself in a beautiful house with a beautiful wife and you may ask yourself, well how did I get here? As much as I complained about the parts of the home I thought needed fixing or were not perfect, I did love my last home.  Seeing pictures now allows me to see it for what it was and how others might have percieved my home.

And for the second time in 2011we  moved the business again, this time half of it came with us 2 1/2 hours away and the other parts stayed in the Bay Area.  Not the best situation to have manufacturing and shipping separate - but it worked.  Leaner and meaner I say, or I just accepted it and moved on.  Getting the new studio situated and decorated here has been.....challenging.  Moving a home was one thing, moving a business at the same time was tough.

We Moved to Far, Far & Away

The farthest move I ever did was a junior in college to the SJSU dorms.  A mere 45 minutes away is not what I would call really living far away from home.  Heck, I came home every weekend for a good meal and to wash clothes.  This last move made it a little harder to run home for some comfort food.

Okay so 2.5 hours away and a new zip code is not that far away, but it might has well have been.  It felt like we moved to a different planet as far as I was concerned.   Just navigating myself out of our neighborhood was a challenge.  Finding new doctors, dentists, a vet, all exhausting excursions for this gal.  I hate to admit it, but I did take a few dips into my own pity party pool this past fall.  I am done with that though and am not going swimming for a long time.

Made New Friends But Ket the Old 

I was an old kindergartner, having been born right at the cut off I was almost six when I started, and I was ready for school.  The first day of school I marched up to a tall girl with a pageboy hair cut and a dress and said, "Do you want to be my friend?"  Luckily she said yes, and even if we don't see each other as often, we are still friends.  I wish making friends this time around was that easy.

I made some great friends and look forward to making more.  However, my olden-golden friends have gotten me through some super tough times and I will NEVER forget them.  I tried my damn-dest to keep in touch with all of them in 2011 and see them as much as possible.  I read a study last year that talked about what made men and women live longer.  For a man it said to get married, for a woman - have lots of friends.  Ya, I got that. 

Raising a Twelve Year Old Boy

 I remember twelve years old being one of the worst years of my life.  I was a sixth grader and I was miserable.  My hairstyle alone brings back horrible memories from that year.  I can remember not knowing where I fit in or who I was supposed to be or act like.  I was not a cool stoner that smoked cigarettes in the girl's bathroom, wore a leather jacket and kissed boys.  I was tiny, bookish and very uncomfortable in my own skin.  I try and remember this when dealing with my own twelve year old. 

Oh.My.Gawd...the changes we have had to deal with.  My sweet, soft spoken well read almost always polite son has changed.  He is a surley, back talking, eye rolling, video game playing skinny jean wearing stinky BOY.  The best part was when I was talking to my mother on the phone about how bad his back talking was and I claimed to NEVER recall acting like that.  She laughed so hard she dropped the phone and had to be practically revived to finish our conversation.

Typing texting and Carpel Tunnel....Oh my!  

I had that dull ache in both of my wrists for the second half of 2011 .   I used my hands to type, to paint, to to ribbon, to move boxes, to gift wrap, cooking....you name it, I was using my wrists.  I don't ever remember having my wrists hurt so bad for so long. I had to totally change my work habits, my work days and the way I work.  I was even put on "Don't Use Your Wrists" lock down by my husband (he even made me get off Facebook).

2011 Gone but Not Forgotten

So there you go 2011 is over.   It was not as exciting or eventful as some years, but it will go down as a very memorable one.  One year that had some pretty huge life changes for me.  I am sure it won't be the last time my world is turned upside down, but I am hoping 2012 will be calmer and more stable.  Considering we rang in the new year with old friends and new friends and laughter  I am most positive 2012 will be good!

I Can Do Anything (well almost) Better Than You

December 6, 2011

Growing up my sister and I were suckers for Musicals,but only those that were on TV that is.  A little Shirley Temple on Sunday morning, Wizard of Oz at Easter, Musicals on Sundays and every single Christmas Cartoon, Movie or Claymation/Stop motion ever made during the month of December.   And if I liked the Musical, then I had to memorize the darn songs.  So, late last Thursday when a RUSH order came in this song was a playing in my ear:

Anything you could do, I could do better
I can do anything better than you!
No you can't!
Yes I can!
No you can't!
Yes I can!
No you can't!

Yes I can!
Yes I can!

These are the only lines I know of the song from Annie Get Your Gun, but pretty much I think that is all I need to know.  I think the rest is about shootin' varmints or doing cowboy-like things all the live long day.  Anyway, so I was singing this song because there are things my company, my manufacturing canand pretty much I  do better than any of my competitors.  I hate sounding like a braggart or an egomaniac, but there is one thing I can do better: I can always win on turn around times for my products.

Handpainted is Great But....

I used to hand paint all of my ceramic products, after a few months I realized it was very time consuming, messy and exhausting.  I hired one artist and then soon many more to help me paint my large number of products I sold.  After the now infamous Gooey Messy Glaze Gone Wrong Christmas Season of 2003 I caved (okay my husband helped me come to the conclusion).  In 2003 I was spending all of my time and money painting instead of growing my business.  I even wrote some lists of what sucked, or was a time suck when I hand painted every single frickin' product:

1. Each item was unique, meaning no two products looked the same. 
2. When a customer sees an image on a website or in a cataloge they want to get something that looks JUST like that image.  
3. Colors can vary when hand painting items (mixing of paint is not an exact science).
4. Taking the time to hand paint something over and over takes countless hours.
5. The turn around time is 3 to 4 times as long as a non-painted product.
6. Artists are expensive to train and charge a lot of money (As an artist I know they totally deserve that, but as a business woman - ouch).

Hand painting (in my opinion) was not a scalable model.  I spent all my time and money on painting products and paying artists to paint my products.  It was great in the beginning, when I was trying to figure out if these products would sell, but after a year it was, again not a scalable model.  We quickly slowly changed our manufacturing process and stopped all hand painting.  By the end of 2004 the paints were used for developing new designs and a new era in production was born.  Turn around times were greatly decreased, errors went down, customers were happier and all was good in the world.

Hand painting Takes Time 

A few years ago I realized that a number of my competitors were also using the same manufacturing process for some of their ceramic products.  What I once touted as an ancient secret or a proprietary manufacturing method, soon became the norm for other ceramic artists.    However they don't maufacture their plates like I do, the companies that I compete with hand paint their plates.  

I manufacture everything the same way, my competitors - not so much.  After doing some online research I found out the difference with my plates vs. their plates:

Competiton: Average turn around for a ceramic hand painted 8 or 10 inch plate is 2 to 4 weeks, possibly six weeks during the holiday season.

Jamie's Painting & Design: Average turn around time for a ten inch plate 1 to 2 weeks.  Never a problem with holiday season.

Competition: To RUSH a plate you pay an extra $10.00, plus possible expedited shipping.

Jamie's Painting & Design:  Each order was taken on a case by case basis, however there is seldom a RUSH fee needed because the turnaround time requests are within my normal service level. 

Competition: A plate that is RUSHED ships in 10 days

Jamie's Painting & Design: We can get a plate shipped in less than 24 hours if needed. 

What Can I Do For Our Customers

So, back to my sing fest....last Thursday night, I got a phone call that one of my sales channels needed a plate made for a first birthday gift.  The customer needed it by December 14th.  Could we get this to the customer in time?  Could we RUSH this order?  The answer was yes and yes.  I was able to make the plate within an hour, it was produced last night.   Turn around time 2 to 5 business days.  

I know for a fact that not one of my competitors could compete with my turn around time.   In fact sometimes we compare notes because we are all sold in many of the same channels and we get the same requests....sales channels sometimes try to find who can do what, how fast and sometimes which of us artisans will give a discount.  We share notes, we talk.  Whether or not the plate was shopped around or not, I was able to get it done and done quickly.  And this time quick equals a very, very happy customer and sales channel.

Take it to the Next Level

To any other like minded Entrepreneurs I say figure out what you do best and do it.  Do your research, know what you are up against.  Can you beat the competition on pricing?  Can you make a better product?  Can you beat them on quality or packaging?  Figure out what makes your product better and do that.

But most importantly brag a little about how you can win the customers business.  It helps you and your business build a good reputation, and that is very important.  So, brag a little, stick your chest out and pound it.....I think every company deserves a little pat on the back once in awhile....or just sing a silly song around the house until your family goes a little batty.

Just a piece of Pottery Barn

October 20, 2011

I wrote over almost a year ago about submitting my products to Pottery Barn Kids, and admited that my products did not get accepted.  I have to admit getting rejected sucked, it was one of the last feathers I wanted in my JPD cap.  I also blogged about a good friend that was much luckier than I was, she actually got contacted by them and they carry her products as we speak.  

Just when I was not totally focusing on not getting in (kidding), I received this nice email in my inbox:

Jamie,

I stumbled across your blog one day and found it entertaining and informative.  I have some business questions for you when you have time.  In one of your posts you talked about submitting your artwork to Pottery Barn, how did you do that?  How did you present to them?

Debbie

Even though I did not get in, I can honestly say this has worked for other catalogs, websites and physical stores.  Take it with a grain of salt, this may not be the correct way but 9 times out of ten it has worked for me.

So....without further ado I will give more details on my submission to Pottery Barn Kids or any other company with buyers, decision makers and leaders in the Chidlren's Industry.

Getting The Contact

Finding the right person at a company is key to getting your products into the correct

hands.  Make sure you are not just sending them to the secretary that gets the mail or worse the shipping clerk.  You need to do your homework either on the company website, Linked In, Industry contacts, Facebook or just Google.  Linked In is a great place to start and I am betting you can find almost anyone in a place of power on that site.*

You can send an email asking for permission to send products or you can just send them to the buyer.  It is also a good idea to find out when they are meeting to review new products and what they are specifically looking for.  Sending products during the Christmas Rush (August though December) if not requested is usually a waste of time.  

This is what I do/did/dione in the past:

1. Find the buyer and send an email asking if I can submit products. 

2. If I do not hear back with in a week or two, I call the main office and try to speak to the buyer in person.  I will leave one voice message and then if I do not hear back within 3 days I will continue to call but I don't leave another message.  You do not want to annoy them. Also do not get mad or angry or take it personally.  These people are very busy and probably get bombarded with submissions from vendors.  Be patient.

3. If I get permission, I put together a package with my best products....and with Pottery Barn I made exclusive designs.  I did my homework (even though it did no good) and I looked at what was best selling on their site.  Do note that they are already onto the next year's products and what you send is probably NOT going to end up anywhere - but it let's them see what you can do and possibly the items can be tweaked to work with upcoming designs.

4. The package contains a very nice well written letter to the buyer and list what I am sending, what I can do and my prices.  If you have any catalogs, postcards or publicity...include it.  Be careful to not overwhelm them with your entire line (45 pices of pottery) and only send what you want them to consider.  Again, do not waste their time with discontinued pieces or...um, crap.  

5. I try to be patient but I do follow up within about two weeks.  I mark it in my calendar every week or so to check in, again I don't send daily emails or bombard them with phone calls.....  Do your homework and if you do not get a response...be patient. Or better yet when you have initial conversation, ask how they would like to be contacted and when.

6. My biggest regret is when PBK said no I did not ask why, if I had it would have answered lots and lots of unanswered questions.**  If the answer is no....ask why. Take notes, be humble and learn from success and failure.  It is good to know what they liked and what they did not.  They may not tell you, but it is worth a shot.

                                                                                           There Are Always Other Options

If you get rejected, and you probably will....sorry but most companies that send their items to big companies get rejected. Don't be upset, do not give up!  Try again, maybe a new line, a new color combination or better yet a new product.  Keep up on industry news - anywhere you can find information about the company you are trying to get into.

You can also attend or exhibit at a trade show that the buyers are attending.  This a total long shot but you may meet their buyers.  I found that the bigger companies actually wore their badges backwards so that they were not inindated wtih requests.  Another regret when I was walking the San Francisco Gift Show back in 2003 I saw the Nordstrom Baby Representatives and did not have the guts to introduce myself.   Trade Shows are expensive and I DO NOT recommend them....but to each is own and you won't know till you try.  Just realize that there are a lot of large costs. 

If all else fails, maybe find a Representative that works with large companies.  Gift Centers all over the country work with large companies....go get one.  The best are of course New York and Los Angeles but Pottery Barn is based in San Francisco, so....they may have a rep in San Francisco...again do your homework!  You can find other businesses in your industry (or close to it) and see if someone represents them, or maybe if they work with PBK.  

One thing I would not suggest is to out right ask (been there) a stranger in your industry for their contact at a large company...big, big NO, NO.  Imagine you spent an entire year (London of My Little Dish) getting into a great catalog and then had someone actually wants you to give them all your information just like that.  It does not work that way.  And...they are probably under contract to NOT give out the information.

Be Prepared....Be Overly Prepared

If you really want to be a small fish in a big pond, or you want to be play with the big guys....be ready.  Be ready to take on huge orders at a moment's notice. Make sure you can make a profit and produce it in a timely manner.  If you fail with a big company, I am guessing you won't get a second chance.  

Also, know what you and your company can handle...again do your homework.  Even if your dream is to work with Pottery Barn Kids, Land of Nod or any other super large company make sure you can do it well.  It may sound all good and well but if you are a one man shop doing the work of 10 you probably can not handle 500 orders a month.  But then again if you are an entrepreneur at heart I am guessing no one can tell you that you can not do it....or maybe that is just me.

*A search I did today on Linked In for Pottery Barn Buyer listed many buyers, however they were listed with just first name and last initial (Susan B.).  It may be harder than it was for me a year ago, but I am sure you can still find the correct people who make decisisons at PBK.

**I found out almost a year later that the buyer did not dislike my work she hated that it was flat.  She wanted hand painted, she liked to touch things and feel the bumps and strokes and she liked the hand painted look.  I also recently found out she is no longer at PBK.  In large companies people move around a lot....so just because someone said no once, does not mean the answer will always be no.

Advice I Should Know Regarding Moving

October 10, 2011

Moving is not for the faint of heart, nor the easily emotional cry baby mess....not that I would know anything about the latter, but I have heard.  To be clear I am not talking about moving from one city to another, going away to college or moving out of your apartment to a new home....I am talking about moving with a capital M.  Moving one, two hours or 3 states away from your home - now that my friend is real moving.

Anywhere you can not get to within 15 minutes is not really moving.  Whether you agree or disagree with me, moving is a difficult pill to swallow and a big change for children, adults and pets....okay, not really pets, but adults for sure, and possibly children.  To quote a good friend when I told her we were moving she said, "I never meant I did not think you would not sell your house, I just never thought you would really move."  Her and me both.

When I agreed, or as my husband recalls it insisted we move this year instead of next,  I had the biggest rosiest glasses on you can ever imagine.  I just assumed it would be one big fat exciting adventure and I would be welcomed with big arms, a picnic, a parade and neighbors begging to have us for dinner....okay, maybe not the parade, but I thought it would be a big love fest.  

Also, I did think it would be the best, best, bestest thing to ever happen to the Lentzner clan.  Which reminds me of that quote that I now get, "If you want to make God laugh....tell him your plans".  I am guessing the big guy up in the sky has been laughing it up pretty good since I relocated my life, my family , my home and my business to El Dorado Hills.  Shame on me, I was the one who scoffed those with a birth plan, knowing that was just a crock.  I should have known better....really I should have.

Now moving the business has not been as hard as I originally thought it would be.  It has had a few hiccups (line NOT transferred to new area code for 30 days) and a few snafus (checks mailed to wrong address) but it has been easier than expected.  Taking on extra responsibilities until we hire employees has kept me busy and more involved in the day to day operations of Jamie's Painting & Design.  It has probably kept me more sane than I care to admit.

So, if you are in the mood or market to move, here are a few easy things to help anyone that is moving their life, children, pets....oh and their business:

Change is Not Easy....and Not for Wimps

Have you ever woken up day after day confused, disoriented and not sure where you were?  Have you ever repeatedly gotten lost just coming home from the grocery store?   The only thing I can compare it to is waking up into a dorm room 3 or 4 days after moving in and you can not stop signing that Talking Head song...."and you wake up with a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife and you ask yourself, how did I get here?"  No?...then you have not moved.  

I will be the first to acknowledge once again that this move was one of the most impulsive things I have ever done in my entire life.  As hard as it has been on me, it has been super easy on my kids.  Never, ever underestimate how easily your children will adopt to change....really, really trust me on this one.  I did not trust friends, family and strangers....children can adapt way easier than any adult.

Make New Friends, But Keep the Old

Being an ex-girl scout, and ex-sorority girl and an ex-Foster City native this one is crucial to your sanity.  Don't lose site of who matters and who has been there for you.  Not to say that there are probably a few acquaintances and friends that you will not keep in touch with, for the most part make the effort.  These are the people that know you for who you are, knew you back when...they will always understand who you are before you moved.

On that note it will be shocking who keeps in touch and who does not.  It will also be shocking how you have affected friends and how the hole you left will be very hard to fill.  I would suggest you do your very best to keep these people in your fold, find every way you can to make sure that even though the friendship changes....it never ends.

Being a creature of, well I would say comfort, but that is not what I am.  I am more a creature of comfort with my friends.  I love, love my girlfriends close, far, Facebook, High school, Grammar School....I love me some friends.  So, keeping them once you move can be challenging - but I highly recommend you do everything you can to keep them.  Because, for me I would be nothing without them.

Don't Be Dissapointed, Be Patient

Face it, people will disappoint you and things will happen in your personal life and your work life that do not make sense.  If you are in the midst of a major life change....then I suggest you let it go.  This is not easy, trust me and I am not an expert, nor have I let certain things go.  However, I have learned to live within the moment and realize that it is just life.

Last weekend my sister and Aunt came to visit and we had a great time.  We laughed, we shopped and we wine tasted.  It is always fun with my relatives, and this time was no different.  However my Aunt did put life in perspective for me.  She bought me a bottle of perfume and left it in my bathroom with this message written on a post it for me:

Jamie

Remember you are learning patience

I love you

Sheshi  (then she added a little cat face that she loves to do & I can't do on the computer) 

I also like to have things done quickly, like an HGTV makeover show.  Or better yet an episode of Extreme Home Make Over or any of those shows that works fast.   Nothing goes that quickly in real life....nothing.  So when I am down or sad I just think of this little simple post it my Aunt left me and I smile and I try to stay patient.

You Trying to Hack Me....Again?

September 1, 2011

The first time I got my bank account hacked I thought I was going to vomit when I was on the phone with the bank.  I wish I had paid closer attention to my bank statements and the signs and clues that I should I have noticed as they happened.  It happened a number of years ago when my children were still young and I was not paying super close attention to things....like when my debit card kept getting declined over and over again at different stores and restaurants. In fact the time that I recall it happening when I was forced to call the bank was when I was purchasing decorations for the trade show in Atlanta.

Small Children + New Business = Very Stressed-Out Mommy

Finally after months of suspicious behavior I had a store refuse to sell me something until they contacted my bank.  I of course was running late, had two whining children with me and started to freak out at the store.  Apparently when a card gets declined after trying over and over you need to call the bank, not just run it as a credit card....only then did we find the problem.  It seemed that at some suspect website where I ordered a super cute Curious George t-shirt for my daughter's birthday some ass.....er person got my credit card information and had been going to a Gas-n-sip in Florida once a week spending less than $70.00.....so it did not raise a red flag.  

Now, back to the me vomiting while on the phone with the bank - the bank at least refunded everything we had lost and started to keep an eye on my account.  Which, would come in handy since it happened a few more times:

Hip Hop Attorney livin' in Compton Beetoches

Yes, you read that right, someone got my social security card number and had filed tax returns. The best part was I was listed as an attorney (who knew right? ).   I um, was pretty busy too making all of $80,000.00, I was living in Compton and I worked for Hip Hop Attorney....yes, that was name of the company.  I also kept trying to open up some credit at all the IKEA's in Southern California.  I had filed a tax return with H&R Block and they are the ones who figured out that me living in Foster City, yet working in Compton was ridiculous.  I even got to fill out a whole Identity Theft form at the police department...exciting stuff and made for some interesting phone conversations with some creditors calling me....."um no I do not live in Compton.  What?  You called a 650 area code in Northern California. No I told you I am an artist....in Foster City!  What?  Hip Hop Attorney - I do not work there!"

 I have Never Even Been to WalMart

Lastly, about a year ago I got a phone call at home from Wells Fargo (that be my bank) early in the morning on a Saturday.  I sort of got freaked out and was getting all nervous, like the teacher called on me when she knew I had not read last nights homework.  The woman on the other line was not cruel or mean she just kept asking me the same question over and over and I guess I was not speaking loud enough for her.  The conversation went something like this;

"Hello is this Jamie Lentzner?"

"Yes, this is her."

"Mrs. Lentzner this is Wells Fargo Bank and we have some questions for you."

"Um....okay (in my head I am thinking I am in big trouble with my bank....and I need some coffee)."

"Ma'am (shoot....I hate when they say that) can you confirm where you were about two hours ago?"

"Um, asleep."

"Yes, but where where you specifically?"

"I was in my bed."

"No, where were you?  What state were you in?"

"You called me at home.  I was in my own bed. In CALIFORNIA.   Am I in trouble?  Or am I being punkd'?"

"No ma'am you are not being...what did you call it? Punk'd?  Can you confirm that you were not in South Carolina at a WalMart purchasing $800.00 worth of diapers this morning?"

"Bahahahah! What? Diapers? In South Carolina?  I have never even been to a WalMart.  No, no I was not buying diapers this morning." 

"So you are positive that the you did not purchase diapers?"

"Um, yes I am pretty confident."

"Ma'am is that your final answer (well maybe she did not say that, but something like that)?"

"Yes I am positive.  Can I go get some coffee now? I need to go look for a place to stash my $800 worth of diapers in my home.  Kidding! I am kidding!" 

Are You Trying to Hack JPD

We just moved part of the business Wednesday and already we have some big excitement here.  My husband informed me that someone or some thing tried to hack my companies website not once but seven times the other day.  

I said tried, it if of course did not happen because we have a fantastic host and superb security system on our site.  I am told that there were seven different IP addresses trying to crash our site and get credit card numbers.....but again, it did not happen.  Why would my site be targeted I asked (If the hackers had read my blog they would know we are not a million dollar company)?  There is of course no explanation. 

At first I thought it was funny, then I was like, "Really? Really? Hackers?"  I started to really stress about it and worry if it could happen again or if next time they would succeed.  I stupidly started to get all worked up about it and freak out, but we made sure it did not happen.  So, nothing bad happened to our site or to our customers.  I will scratch that off my lisf of things to worry about this week.  I hope I have good luck with that...the worrying part, I tend to stress about things that are not worth worrying about.  I like to use this quote when that happens:

Worrying is like paying money on a debt that may never come due

Moving, Moving....Moved

August 22, 2011

I have been thinking about this post for a long time and I had it all planned out as to what I would say, what photos I would show and how in control I would be.  This post, however will not be as I imagined.  First off I broke my camera and the two I borrowed are still packed in some box.  And, this is sort of like all my pregnant friends that spent hours on their "Birth Plans" expecting their labor to turn out like they wanted it to. I have found that life is never what we expect it to be.  I never believed in a Birth Plan myself, it was sort of like if I wrote how I would like it go, I assumed that it would go exactly the opposite.  Murphy's Law and me we got a good thing going and things pretty much never turn out the way I expect it to.  Not to say that it usually works out in the wrong long term, but I laugh at the people that have their life all mapped out.  I don't think life can be mapped out, no matter how hard I still try to map it out.  Hell, I have recently been  forced to accept the fact that I can't even use maps very well.

Moving Out of My Comfort Zone

So, here it is I moved and not just around the block or to the next town over.  I moved 2 1/2 hours away to a whole new area code and a whole new lifestyle.  This from the girl that was never leaving the Bay Area, the girl who rolled her eyes at others that left and always swore I was staying put no matter what.  Well guess what?  No matter what or a specific matter came a calling and made me look at a number of things and I had to eat crow and put my tail between my legs and say to people, "Never say never."  

My family and I moved and my business is moving up in two days.  We put the business on vacation for two weeks to hopefully get me situated and now I am supposed to be ready for it to come to me.  My few remaining employees will be staying in the Bay Area as I prepare for the holidays alone, possibly hiring one employee to help me out.  Manufacturing will stay in the Bay Area for the time being and we will work within our means to keep our customers happy.

The space we have for the business is good sized and it will hopefully be able to grow back to where it was in the pre-recession days.  I am almost nine years into this adventure and I am thinking that whatever happens, then that was what was supposed to happen.  I no longer subscribe to the Self Help Books, the Seminars or the quick fix to getting your business successful bullsh*t.  Not that there is anything wrong with that, but it means nothing to me.  If we grow big again, then great, if we don't then so be it.  Life is too short for me to spend 14 hours of each day obsessing on my business.  My children are growing, people I love have left me or left this world entirely.  It is only a company and this is only a job.  I still love what I do, but I no longer let it run my life.  

 Moving Sucks

One of the other reasons for not blogging was that I could not put into words how much moving has affected me.  Leaving an area I lived for almost 42 years of my life was harder than I ever thought it would be.  I know people that have moved some 32 times in their lifetimes and others that move every two years for work - but that is not me.  I was settled, I was a local girl and I loved where I lived.  Let me rephrase that, I loved the people that lived near me.   I still love those people and even after two short weeks, I so do miss them.

I talked a good game to friends and family, always touching on all of the positive points about the move and focussing on what we would gain, instead of what we would lose.  I only teared up a few times in public or in front of my immediate family.  I kept those dark sad times for when I was alone and I cried about who I would miss, I cried for my children and I cried about the unknown.   I let myself be sad for the changes and I still get choked up once in awhile here in our new home. 

Except, whenever my children would cry or express their fears I shut it down, way down.  I was able to not cry and talk them through their rough times.  Something deep down in the Mommy that I am, I kept it together for them.  I had dogs with explosive diareahea from the stress of the move, I had family members that were hysterical and I had friends made me cry just by a simple text about how they would miss us.  I am not made of steel, nor do I pretend to be.  I just forced myself to be "in the moment" and look ahead and not behind. 

We Moved in, but not Settled In

It has been two weeks since we moved into our  home and in my crazy world I would think we would be settled and calm.  This is far from the truth.  The garage is still full of boxes and no one can figure out where I put the bowls for breakfast (for the seventh time they are in the center island!).  We have had workers here every day and we have found that movers are a very interesting creative bunch that will wrap your my china in my son's bedding....not kidding.  I have also  found that getting lost in a strange town is not that bad.   For the most part strangers can be very friendly.  It is humbling to rely on the kindness of strangers when you just need a fly swatter.

I spent months second guessing myself and I wondered if this was really the right decision for our family.  I agonized over if this was right for our family or was it the right time to move.  Right before we moved a friend said something to me that made me thing we had made the right decision; "You actually did it.  You did what we all talk about doing some day.  You really did it.  I can't believe you made the decision and you stuck with it.  Good for you and good luck." 

 

What's in a Name?

Naming a new product or a product design sounds easy enough, but it really difficult.  There is a reason why multi-gazillion dollar companies spend a fortune on research and development of new products.  Even though I jumped blindly into this whole business pretty much with both feet and just a paint brush in my right hand, I did do some research.  Not having that (or any) budget when I started, I did the best I could, I went to stores, I got catalogs and I purchased magazines.

When I started designing my original Name Tiles (now I call them Wall Letters....but that is a whole other blog post) I also spent countless hours on the Internet looking at my competition.  No, No, NO, it was not to rip them off and copy their designs (like a few wanna-be's I may or may not know) but to see what they named their designs.  The arena was getting a bit crowded when I started in 2002 and I wanted to stand out.  I also wanted to differentiate my designs from other more famous and well established artisans.  

Product Names Mean Something

This is much easier said than done, I soon found out.  There are only so many different ways to describe or name Train inspired Room Decor.  Also, I had the hair-brained idea that my product names should be cutesy, clever and different from my competition. That is the only explanation I have for my ill-named Cotton Candy Name Tiles Wall letters.  Or worse I used to put Lil' in front of all the Name Tile designs and Big in front of the Name Plaques.  There were Lil' Bugs, Lil' Sluggers and of course Lil' Fairies.  Our first web designer pointed out I was trying to sell Big Fairies did not sound so good....we dropped the Big soon after we discovered that.

Some designs could not be changed, like any of our Princess themed products.  There is no way to change out Princess for something that describes it any better way than just calling it what it is and what most girls want to be .....a Princess.  To this day Princess designs are always best selling, always pink and always the one design that will always have to be apart of my line of products.

But, other products were not so easy to name.  When I was researching what to call my Western inspired Name Tiles Wall Letters for Warm Biscuit Bedding I did the research, but I did not get it right.  I toyed with words like Western, Cowboy, Buckaroo, The Wild West, Ranchers, Silverado, Sheriff.  Again at the time I wanted to stand out from the crowd, so I went with Buckaroo....and then I had to get all creative (read baby talk) and call them Lil' Buckaroo Name Tiles Wall Letters.

What Customers Are Looking For

Fast forward to last year when I had our website re-designed and we had to look at what I was calling all of our products.  Instead of calling my products something cutesy and clever, I wanted to call them something a parent would go searching for on the internet. More importantly, I was looking to better understand the voice of the customer.   As I have stated before, my husband is in the  Web Search ( or Paid search industry) so he was able to help me with this project.  Google has some fantastic tools you can use to help you to understand what your are looking for.  

We did have to look at my competition also and make sure I did not call it the same thing - but for a different reason than before.  I already get some other company's orders from time to time, and I knew if we had the same name (Go do a search on Cupcake Plates and your head will explode) it would be an even bigger problem.  I am, uh not a big fan of copying anything - whether it is a design a name, or even a product description.....I am just sayin'.

Pay Close Attention to Your Elders

Lastly, this also explained to me why when websites that would carry my products would change my product names, like from Blossoms to Butterflies.  In the beginning it made me crazy and frustrated.  I did not realize they better understood their customer than I did - the very green, very inexperienced entrepreneur.  

Had one of them just let me in on this secret, I would have probably understood and then quickly changed my product names.  Instead it took me about eight years to know why the themed names had been changed, and changed for good reason.  I have sadly found out that not everyone views the world like I do, sharing sometimes way too  much and hopefully helping out others in the industry.

 

This is Who We Are

I graduated college in the Fall of 1993, but I did not go through graduation ceremony till Spring of 1994.  I literally moved home the day after taking finals - such a rush I was in to leave behind my college days, and especially my sorority days.    I had been in college for 5 1/2 years and away at school for 3 1/2 of those years.  Home was only about 45 minutes away, but it was a world away from the life I had been living for so many years.

As my father kept telling me I had to get a J.O.B (ya, he said it like that, over and over again) and pay off my student loan as soon as possible.  Moving  home and job hunting was my only option.  Having left a large number of my very close friends to move home, I found myself lost and sad to not see my college friends on a daily basis.  Hell, I lived in the sorority house with about 40 other women.  I had spent most of the last 3 years with them every day.   I was sad that some of the friendships just died and went away as soon as I drove away.  It was like a really bad break up with out the constant dwelling of, "How he done me so wrong?" with my close girlfriends.  I was perplexed and I.....oh, I don't  know may have (may still) obsessed over it.....a tad.

Friends For A Time & A Reason

Lucky for me I tended to solve all my problems back then with self help articles in Women's Magazines, like Cosmopolitan.  I could always take the Is He The One Test (he so was not), or Do Guys Like Short Hair or Long Hair Better? (I was sad to learn long hair....and started growing mine out immediatley) quiz.  One weekned, while sunbathing (yes, I used to do that way back in the day....don't judge!) in my backyard I read an article that actually resonated with me.  One that helped me with my obsession about my sudden loss or dis-interest of friends.

The article talked about how you would meet friends at all different times of your life, and how they could affect you in all different ways.  Some friends would come back in and out of your life at monumental times, and they would always be your friends.  It would be as if they never left your side.  Never would you have to reaquaint yourselves, you would just slide right back into that comfortable place, like an old pair of slippers or jeans that you forgot you had.  It would be as if only days , not decades had put themselves between you and your friend.

Some friends would be with you through your entire lifetime, never leaving your side.  Whether
you met them in grammar school, high school or college - these girls were there for the long  haul. No matter the miles, the lifestyle changes or the  many obstacles thrown in your way - these girls were going to be with you forever.  Through every milestone, every heartbreak, every death and every life lesson, they had your back.  If I were still a girl scout I would call these my Gold Friends (and if you were not a girl scout, the song goes like this:

Make new friends, but keep the old.  One is silver, and the other is gold

Yet others,  would only be friends for a specific time in your life.  They were there for one event, maybe one year, possibly just one month.  They would come in and out of your life like a storm or a cool summer breeze.  Most likely they would never return.  They were there for a reason, and then they left.  The article went on to explain that this was just a mild blip in our lives and to accept these friends for who they were and what they meant to us.  We....okay me, or I was forced to realize and accept some friends were not forever, they were there for a specific reason or just a season in my life.  

Being a person that craves, dare I say demands (ask a few ex-boyfriends) closure at the end of a relationship, this was a tad hard to swallow.  But, swallow I did and I learned to accept it.  Since reading that article, I have probably read hundreds if not thousands of articles about romance, friends, parenting and the ever popular - aging.  Most don't stay in my brain long enough for me to digest what it was about.  But that article , seventeen years ago (see I can do math) really stuck with me.  I was forced to acknowledge that  pretty recently. 

Old Friends Have Great Memories

This past weekend I was lucky enough to spend an entire weekend with a large handful (if I had eight fingers) with some of those friends I so missed after leaving college.   These are friends that I have had for twenty of so years.  We get together, sometimes a few times a year, other times we don't speak for years.   This year, we crammed in about much fun as possible in the two days we spent together.

I feel it is important to stay friends with some people that knew me way back when, friends that
knew me before I was an adult, a parent, responsible (okay maybe not that one)....middle aged.  I feel it relative to keep them around me, and I adore them.  Sometimes I do not want to be reminded of who I was or who I have become - but they insist on reminding me.  Old friends call me out, they roll their eyes and point out what I won't.  At the end of the day (or a long weekend) I sort of love that.

So, I get it ladies - I promise to Let it Go, even without the closure I so crave. Which makes me think I would like to end with the best quote EVER.  In the in the 9th episode of Big Love, Alby said something profound to his sister Nikki (after he decided to NOT kill her of course). Alby touched Nicki's collar and said, "This is who we are, this is who we will always be".

Ending Badly

I am not much of a fan of Tom Cruise, I think he is bat-ass crazy actually.  But I used to really dig him (oh gawd, did I just say that?) back when he made  movies like The Outsiders, Taps, Risky Business and of course Cocktail.  I think it was one of the first adult films I got to see at the theatre as an adult, it was probably a date.  Tom Cruise is a bartender who aspires to own a business and finds love with Elisabeth Shue while working in a bar in Jamaica.  However, before the big happy ending comes, Tom Cruise gives one of my favorite quotes;

All things end badly, otherwise they wouldn't end. 

Jamie's Painting & Design officially ended their rental agreement today with Property Management company that owns our space, or what was our space.  Today being the last day of the month and all I scheduled a walk-though at 1:00 p.m.  I was seriously done discussing the move....then this happened:

I Just Wanted Closure

I know this is not the end,but it feels like an ending.  On the last day of the month I wanted to walk through my office one last time.  I wanted to just look around, take a mental note or photograph of where we were.  I am one that needs closure, I do not do well without it.  I like TV shows or movies that wrap up every loose end tie a big ol' bow on it and hand it to me.  That is what I like.

We don't always get what we want though.But I could not do that.  Nope, did not happen like that. This past Monday (February 28, 2011) I went to my office and the locks had been already changed. Let that sink in for a minute - my last day, under contract.  The. Locks. Had. Been. Changed.

Nail in the Coffin

When I marched down to the Property Management Office I was told a number of things:

1. "The locksmith was here so we just figured he could change your locks."
2. "I looked in your window and it seemed you had moved everything out."
3. "We just were trying to save money too you know?"
4. "Well, we have been very good to you."
5. "You owe us for March."
6. "I can walk you through the office."

Ah....WHAT?  How could I rent for March?  I had to correct the landlord and tell her that I was not staying through March....especially since they changed the locks already!  She changed her tune quickly, but still had a lot more due than I thought we owed her.  Apparently when we paid rent late, we got a stiff fine....we paid rent late a lot.

Keep the Good News Coming

So, my slow waltz down memory lane would not be.  I would be followed around my office space with the Property Manager firing questions at me while she looked, sniffed and poked around my office space.

The walk through took a long time and was uncomfortable to say the least.  I had to go in and collect what few possessions I had left there.  I had to keep juggling some paper towels, a sponge,a water and hand soap.  I was Steve Martin in the movie The Jerk, carrying his lamp down the street.  This was not the look was after at all.  I was already a bit frazzled and now I looked like a bag lady clinging to her last worldly possessions.

The End of Our Agreement

The worst part of the exit interview/walk through were the questions the Property Manager kept firing at me.  I felt like I had gotten in trouble at school or something;

"Did you turn off the electricity?"

Yes....as of March 1st

"Did you forward the mail?"  

Yes....again, we were supposed to be out March 1st

"What about the phones?"  

I am not sure why that is relative, since there is no phone....uh, yes anyway we did.

"The garbage? Did you cancel that?"

 March 1st

"What is this shelving unit doing out here behind your office? Is this yours? Why is it out here!?"

Well, I was paying it forward you see and I gave Calvin our neighbor next door all of our large industrial shelves.  They can be quite expensive.  Did you know they cost a lot?  Anyway....sorry I am rambling.  So,  he took them out of here this morning, I gave him a key...before you changed the locks.  It looks like he is dismantling it......"

"But it is on your side of the property?  See the shelves are on your side.  This has to be moved.  You will be fined."

Let me get Calvin and make sure he drags his shelving unit over so I don't get fined.

Another Beginning

So.....instead of taking a quiet walk my rental space, quickly turned into me defending myself and badgering my neighbor about my/his shelving unit.  While, I should be congratulating myself for being smart and downsizing while times are tough - I was instead looking around nervously to make sure things are all in order. 

If I was religious I suppose I would be able to quote something about needing to go through the darkness to come out into the light.   Or if I was a better writer I could come up with something poetic and profound.  Maybe I just need something uplifting and spiritual that I could chant over and over till I believed it.   Instead I think I am going to end with a song that I have been singing over and over in my head the last few days.

Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end

                                                                   ~Semisonic, Closing Time Lyrics

 

Pay It Forward

February 22, 2011.

Back in 2005 after we negotiated our lease, put a bunch of money down on our new space I realized we had no office furniture for Jamie's Painting & Design.  We  had 9 employees, me included and I was not even sure if we would have enough chairs for them (we worked in shifts in the studio).  Some of the cabinets and counters we were able to take out of my garage and utilize them in the break room and the work room.  I think we had two office chairs also, but other than that I had nothin'.

Things Happen For a Reason

As luck would have it our new rental space was located across the street from an old friend of my parents.  He was from their days of coaching my sister and I in softball (okay my sister mostly, I was just there for the snacks and gossiping).  While the rest of my family was measuring and figuring out the logistics of my office, my mother bounded across the street to say hello.  They had just sold their business, so they would not be our neighbors for very long.  However, they were willing to sell us as much of their furniture at dirt cheap.  We picked up 6 great teal colored drafting tables, industrial shelving units, and file cabinets.  We were thrilled.  I quickly made plaques for their grandchildren and sent them nice thank you cards.

As great as that was for our office - we still were short many things.  I for one had no office furniture, until I found me some Craig's List.  I had never used Craig's List, nor had I really had a use for the site.  I found myself trolling the site each morning when I woke up.  I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what I could use, what I wanted and what I could actually afford.  As luck would have it again, I found an entire office set for only $80.00.  There was a desk, a credenza, a book case and multiple side tables.  The gentleman had just bought the house and hated the built-in office furniture. 

After dismantling the furniture my very creative Father put it back together in a formation that worked within my office space.  He made a credenza out of three of the file cabinets and a single file cabinet  He built me a free standing desk, and a 2 side tables, plus a table for the entry way.  He tool the book cases and made them into one large book case.  

Do As We Did

After exhausting the office furniture sales on Craig's List I turned to FreeCycle.  It is a great site where you can find free things that that people want to get rid of.  One afternoon I found a small company that was giving away office furniture.  Desks, chairs and file cabinets.  My husband and I borrowed my father's truck and hauled ass down to San Jose to pick it up.  I thanked the guys over and over and asked what I could give them some compensation (usually in these situation I can offer up some cute baby gift, but these guys were not even 30 and had no use for my cutesy baby decor).  The owner of the company just told me if I was ever in the same situation to please give these desks away to someone that needs it.  He said, " You should know, start-up's are hard enough, let alone having to purchase thousands of dollars of office furniture.  Pay it forward."

We Are Busy Paying Everything Forward

I am not used to downsizing, or minimizing my space.  I don't think it something that I have ever had to do.  But, wow it sure is therapeutic and very calming to have to go through everything you have and figure out do I need it or not.  Or let's face it I had to admit most things I had I just wanted, and did not need.  I am helping some peeps out;

• My cousin's are both starting out and need things for their apartments.  My aunt came and collected decorations, coffee pot, microwave, frames, artwork, chairs, kichten table and the cutest little white chest you ever did see.
• One of the women that works for me took an oak filing cabinet, wood organizer and half of the built cupboards and counter for her garage.
• Two of my favorite teachers a my daughter's school took my office furniture, office supplies, organizers, tissue paper and file cabinets
• Our Art Studio at school took all of the turquoise drafting tables and a large metal cabinet for storing art.
• The Salvation Army got dressers, chairs, rugs, cabinets and anything not nailed to the wall.
• Giving away mistakes and errors are going to be on Facebook for FREE (except for shipping and handling).
• And of course we gave away all of that office furniture that was so graciously given to us.

Small is the new big, or shall I say the new smart.  I did not need all of this "stuff" nor did my employees.  I don't like what the Recession did - but I do respect it.  We have shrunk in size, but not in product.  We will survive, we will survive.

 

 

Be Your Original Best.....Everyone

Years ago (okay around 2007 and then again in 2008) I came to a crossroad, not a major life changing one where I could not decide whether I wanted a paper or plastic bag, but one where my scruples & my integrity came into play.   I noticed an artist in my industry continued to get copied over and over by dozens of other artists.  I just felt that I had to say something - and I used my blog to do it.  Ironically my designs would soon come under a similar attack and I was forced to address the situation head on.  Happy Times?  Ya, no.  But as I have always said, with success comes copying.  It is just a shame it is and was so prevalent in the Children's Industry.

I refused to stand in the middle, I did not want to waiver.  I had to make a decision as to where I wanted to be, and where my alliance stood.  There really was no doubt, nor was there time for me to contemplate what to do - I went with the side I thought was right. It wasn't that I ever doubted who was right, it was just that I decided to say something about it.  

Let's Stay or At Least Stay Positive

I went back today and read my posts about plagiarism and copy cat artists and I was pretty wound up.  It is strange to go back and read your past posts and think, "ouch - that kind of stings."  Yet, even though I was brutally honest and a tad bit nasty - I feel that it was worth being said.  Copying is wrong and if you are going to do it  - then get ready to get called out on it.  And, that is exactly what I did.

Fast forward to the end of December, where I mentioned a short time ago about an industry friend who has been copied again, yet she keeps on creating art.     I am not sure if it was the hair that broke the camel's back or so shall we say the last hair in her paintbrush.  But, this I know - she was at the end of her rope.  If she is anything like me, she probably started yelling, "I am mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it anymore".

Be Your Original Best

Unlike me though, she decided to take a negative and turn it into a positive.  She started a blog, a movement, a facebook page that literally called us artists out on our own weakness.  She made, or asked us to take a pledge to be original, to be unique and to be honest about where we got our inspiration from.  It was not negative, it was not combative, hell it was not even specific as to who or what had ticked her off.  It was basically, "Let's all band together and find a way to educate artists about what the difference is between copying and finding inspiration in others art.  Let's educate each other on what is right and what is wrong.  Let's all get along."

 Shelly Kennedy decided to make lemonade (or lemon drops if you ask me) out of a dire situation.  She started the movement "Be Your Original Best".    She is even looking for guest bloggers, so I would suggest going on over there and taking a gander at what she is doing.  

Shelly took the high road.  She acknowledged she has been copied, yet she decided that we could all learn from what had happened to her, we could all educate each other so it did not happen again.  The day her blog launched it was all puppies and rainbows and love all around.....and then not so much.

Why Get All Nasty?

Her post on her personal blog just let readers know about the movement/blog and how we should all be aware and educate each other on the in's and outs of copying.  Anyhoo - it was all very positive.  Readers started leaving inspirational and "You Go Girl!" comments.  But then things turned the corner.  Take a look at this comment:

Anonymous said...

You guys have nothing phenomenal to be proud of. I can't see anyone wanting to copy you so stop flattering yourselves

WED JAN 26, 10:21:00 AM EST

drooz studio said...

wow... yikes... now that's not nice!

1st: 
i'm against "anonymous" comments ( i really should remove that comment option)
comments are available to create constructive conversation that is "on topic"..
this comment seems to be neither.

2nd: even though it is an anonymous comment - i can track "who" was
on this blog when the comment was made... (again..shout out to PA!)

3rd: 
I will leave this comment "public" just to stress the point that 
is is such a tough topic, and a "nasty" situation -there are obviously
lots of crazies out there who just don't get it 

4th:
this comments reeks of a copy catter. you should spend more time 
working on your "original ideas" and less time reading my blog

WED JAN 26, 10:58:00 AM EST

Anonymous said...

I've watched u slander my mom and her artist friends over the years and despite her attorneys and others telling u that you're wrong and have no claim against them, u continue. My mom stays true to herself even though u try to hurt her. Wonder what ur followers wld think if they knew the real story of how u stole her first design in 2003 n claimed it as ur own. She is a good Christian and refuses to say anything-she turns the other cheek. But as her son and someone who cares about her i am asking u to take a good look at urself and all te wrong u do just to get ahead. Im proud of my mom. Wld ur kids b proud of what u have done to harm so many other artists over the years with the way u bully every new artist that comes along?

WED JAN 26, 10:58:00 AM EST

drooz studio said...

ok - REALLY not nice... really? 

IF (IF) you are a kid... why aren't you are school right now?
(its' mid day/ mid week... and looks like your spelling 
could use a bit a school help!) again - another anonymous
comment ?

i proudly, LOUDLY stand behind ALL of my designs. (why would i go to all this effort to protect images and ideas that weren't really mine?)

-it is not slander if it is true. i have fought for my rights - that's all.
- i have never stolen anyones design. on contrary - i have had ideas that i was about to launch, and decided NOT to when 
others hit the market w similar designs. i go out of my way to achieve a look that is MINE. 
-after copy cats, my next pet peeve is hypocritical- religious folk.
- my kids have SEEN my heartache. they are very proud of what i do- and i have done my best to teach them to be original!

(oh.. PS i have copies of all my emails from 2003 - i have carefully recorded the events of that terrible year (at recommendation from my lawyer) i don't think your mom told you the entire story!)

i'm open for comments - but if you'd like to be taken at all seriously - i'd advise you to stand behind your comments, not hide behind an anonymous claim.

WED JAN 26, 11:20:00 AM EST

 I am at a loss for words to be honest - and that does not happen very often to me.  I don't understand why someone would take what Shelly was doing as negative or a reason to lash out at her.  It is obviously someone with a personal vendetta and if I may go out on a limb, the person, I mean their mother sounds guilty.  The expression "Why doth protest so much?"  comes to mind. Like I said loss for words.   Where is Rodney King when we need him? 

 

 

 

Live Chatting with Sears

The Fridge is Freakin' Out

So for about a month our Kenmore refrigerator has not been working quite right - it's not been on it's A-Game if I must be honest.  In December everything in the fridge was freezing and there was a constant drip of water from the freezer into the fridge.  There was either free standing water on every shelf, or a sheet of ice on every shelf. Each day we'd open up the fridge and we are not sure if our bread was going to be a wet mushy mess or the arugula was frozen solid (both true stories).

That was then, the last few days my freezer and fridge have really been putting on a good show.  It now looks like my freezer was hit by a blizzard, and not the good kind you get from the Dairy Queen.  My freezer is covered in ice, everything has a nice coating of snow on it.  The top of my freezer has icicles dripping down and the bottle of vodka is a frozen solid block of ice. I don't know much about alcohol but I was pretty sure it should not freeze.  

And while my freezer has been covered with a gorgeous layer of white pristine snow - I am not amused.  My fridge on the other hand is about as tepid as a warm glass of milk, oh and yes the milk went bad.  Gone is my frozen (or unfrozen) fridge lake.  Nothing is hot, but nothing is that cold.

My Uneducated Diagnostic Prediction of the Fridge

We were pretty sure that it is the seal around the freezer door is loose, and air is getting in.  And by we I mean my parents came by last night for dinner and they being older and wiser pointed out the loose seal.  I am not really in the mood (read afford) to go buy a new fridge right now and I was optimistic a repairman might be able to fix it.  I didn't even know if that was something a repair person could do, so I went on the good ol' Sears website to find out.  As I was trying to find the 800 number this screen kept popping up asking me I wanted to Live Chat.  I thought that it might go better than a long drawn out phone conversation.  I was wrong:

Live Chatting it Up with Robert Jones

Dear Customer, please wait while we connect you to a Blue Crew member to assist you. 
You have been connected to Robert Jones. 
Robert Jones: Thank you for choosing Sears. My name is Robert. How may I assist you? 
Jamie: Does Sears replace rubber seals around a freezer door? 
Robert Jones: Hi Jamie. 
Robert Jones: I will be glad to check and help you further. 
Jamie: Uh, ya hi Robert.   Does Sears replace seals on freezer doors?  It has come loose on our Kenmore Elite - the fridge was purchased in June of 2001. Our freezer is frozen - with ice everywhere and our fridge is NOT very cold 
Robert Jones: I'm sorry to hear that you are facing a problem with your fridge. I'll be glad to check and help you schedule a repair service on this fridge. 
Robert Jones: I wish I had an option to help you replace the appliance right away, however our technician need to check the appliance first. If he is unable to fix it, he will further help you in replacing the unit. 
Jamie: Um, I don't know yet if I have to replace the fridge, I want to know about repairing it, if at all possible.  So can you please let me know what the criteria would be for replacing the rubber around the door? I don't want to have a repair person come out - pay the fee and have him tell me that he does not replace or fix the seal. We just went through this with our dryer and after he told us it could not be fixed he gave us a coupon - that I had to use at Sears and that was only a small amount of money off the new dryer. 
Robert Jones: I'm sorry, I will be unable to provide technical assistance over the chat as I'm not technically qualified. However, let me provide you the link for a website that has the user manuals for most of the appliances and you may be able to fix the appliance on your own. 
Robert Jones: Please log in to www.managemyhome.com, if you wish to fix the appliance on your own. 
Jamie: Even though the fridge is over ten years old? 
Robert Jones: All of our technicians have been trained and certified by Sears so you know the service you are receiving is the best in the industry. 
Jamie: Um can you speak regular English and answer my questions Robert Jones? I just want to know IF they replace loose seals on fridge/freezer doors.
Jamie: I did not ask if your technicians were trained, I asked numerous times if your technicians replaced the seal around a freezer door. 
Robert Jones: Jamie, I apologize since the appliance is not covered under warranty. 
Jamie: Warranty?  I asked if they would work on a fridge that is ten years old.  Neither question have you even tried to answer.  What is the point of live chat if you can't answer any of my questions? 
Jamie: Just out of curiosity where are you located? 
Robert Jones: We are located at one of the many support call centers for Sears. 
Jamie: Ya, I got that - since I am on Live Chat on a Sears website.  In what country I meant? 
Robert Jones: I am afraid we're unable to disclose that information. All our technicians have been trained and certified by Sears. I am sure they will be able to fix it. 
Robert Jones: If your fridge cannot be repaired, our technician will provide you with a coupon towards a new appliance at Sears.
Jamie: Oh please, again with the "trained and certified".
Jamie: I KNOW your technicians have been trained and certified, you have already told me that! 
Jamie: Also I know that I will get a coupon - I had that with my dryer earlier in the year....as I already mentioned. Do your Repair Technicians (that are trained and certified by Sears) EVER replace seals on freezer doors?  Do you even read what I wrote? I know about the coupon!
Robert Jones: Jamie, once the technician diagnoses the fridge then only he will be able to decide, it is worth to repair or not. 
Robert Jones: May I schedule a repair service on your appliance? 
Robert Jones: I will remain available for another minute if you need further assistance. 
Robert Jones: We are ending this chat since we have not hear from you.

Forget the Live Chat

After Robert Jones typed in  "diagnoses the fridge" & "have not hear from me" I pulled out most of the hair on my head and banged my head against my laptop for a good ten minutes.  Then, I called the 800 number like I was originally going to do.   After only two minutes on the phone the lovely lady on the phone told me that yes Kenmore did replace seals on doors and yes they may be able to fix my fridge.  All I had to do was make an appointment with a Repair Technician (kindly she did not tell me how trained and certified they were.....I would have lost it).  Notice I said lovely - not quick.  After I told her the fridge was ten years old she then followed that up with, "And what year is the fridge?"

The thing that really irked me about Live Chat was, I really would have rather just typed my question and not bothered with using the phone, getting put on hold and asked what year my fridge was.  I like to multi-task and I am a pretty damn quick typist.  The customer service person was clearly not located in this country, he was answering with a script, he had no idea what the repair technician did (but he was positive the technician was trained and certified).  I am not even sure he understood the questions I was asking (ya I am real quick like that).  Also, I am not a genius, but I am pretty sure his name was not  not Robert Jones either!  And this is not a rant against aliens (illegal or not) nor is it a call to arms about how we should not send our jobs overseas.  It is just a company that did not execute the whole "let's chat on line to make your life easier and make this transaction cheaper" very well, at all.

Appointment is tomorrow.....maybe the vodka glacier will have thawed out by then.

These Are & Those Were The Days

As I already tweeted or facebooked (is that even a word?) we are downsizing , and we are doing it big time.  I am not saying that I was not sad (okay, yes I cried a few tears if you must know) by the huge change and pressure to downsize.  We are sub-letting space(s)  and moving some employees to work from home.  We can actually do that you know - without sounding like we losing the battle with the Economy.  I am not saying I am thrilled, but to be honest thinking smaller, meaner and leaner sounds pretty good to me these days. 

When we rented our space 4 years ago we were growing in leaps and bounds and had at any night up to 8 employees in the studio working.  It was very cramped and it was exhausting to manage everyone's schedules.  From morning till night we had people coming in and out of our home.  It wasn't their fault, heck I hired them - it was just too much for me to handle.

The Dog Days Are Over....Almost (oh and yes, yes I do  LOVE that song!)

The Economy still...uh sucks, and retail is um oh well it is challenging (I am trying my best to not be negative or have a potty mouth - so work with me) to say the least.  The Economists (the ones that are not totally bipartisan) claim that we will start seeing some real job growth and recovery in the summer of 2011.  I figure the worst is behind us and we can only get better, right?  Like I mentioned in last post - it could be worse, and right now I soooo know that.  I am thankful for all I have and I am still willing to pull up my pants by the boot straps (okay what does that even mean?  Stir-Up pants? Suspenders? Booty straps maybe?). 

Out With the Old In With the....Not Much New

Anyway - our lease is up and we are outta here.  I have actually started to get excited about scaling down and getting rid of extra baggage.  I already have a pile of decorations, frames and office decor on the table in the work room just ready to throw on Craig's List.  I also have a butt load...ton of inventory/samples/errors/duplicate orders to get rid of.  I am thinking 65% to 75% off retail to my Facebook Fans.  We won't have the space to just keep tons and tons of inventory and samples, which again is good and smart (I think).

So, while pulling a part my office space I have been doing a lot of thinking.  Just ripping nails out of walls and photographing all the samples we have in our warehouse has made me think a lot about the past, and mistakes I have made.  While cleaning out our space I came across some interesting items, and by interesting I mean all my notes, invoices and orders from our eight years in  business.  Most importantly (or most depressing) we saved them from 2005, probably the most prosperous year for Jamie's Painting & Design and the worst year for me personally. 

2005....It was the Best of Times, it was the Worst of Times

So after pouring through the entire year in sales for 2005 I am able to look back with (I hope) an un-biased and rational eye.  The good, the bad and the oh so ugly literally jumped off the pages at me.  The orders, the notes take me right back to that year.  The way we stamped each order and signed off on the inking, the ribboning and the shipping - it was so time consuming.  I can see the mistakes we made and I can see the right decisions we made.  I can remember what it felt like, I can recall most of that year.  It was my last year of not sharing (that is code for before I started this blog) of hiding in my "in-house studio/garage" and finally realizing I was/am a really bad manager.  It was a simpler time back then, or so it seemed.

The Worst of Times in 2005:

• My Living Room had popcorn and bubblewrap  in one corner
• We never entertained because of our employees/business/supplies that flowed into every room
• My un-remodeled Master Bath was un-usable due to boxes and boxes of tiles stored in it
• My life was my business, and my business was my life
• I started work  (and my husband also) at 6:00 a.m. and usually till well past midnight 7 days a week
• We got an order for birth certificates for triplets from a channel, but one was still-born.  We refused to charge them for the 3rd birth certificate.  We got a heart-wrenching thank you letter from the customer.
• My daughter was put in the hospital the middle of December because she could not breathe.
• A few days before our drop dead date Warm Biscuit Bedding sent us a 100 page fax with more than 100 missing orders, due to a malfunction in their system (good for orders - bad that we were having a hard time filling all orders).
• At least 30 plates were shipped 2 day  (on our dime) and overnight (again us) to make our guaranteed Christmas deadline
• I was a bitch to everyone
• No really I was not a nice person

The Best of Times in 2005:

• Our orders were huge, people ordered Name Tiles for their daughter ISABELLA....now they order an I
• Everyone paid their bills on time
• Most companies gave us credit cards and they were never over their limits....NEVER!
• My employees made a lot of money and were paid top dollar to paint/ink our tiles
• I never had to take off my slippers to go to work
• That was the year Roy Disney ordered a tile
• We grew the business by 50% from the year earlier
• Darin (husband in case you are new) worked with me a lot - which I totally enjoyed.
• We had our first TV appearance at the un-godly hour of 6:00 a.m.......for one of our ornaments on The CBS Early Show.
• I got to work with some fabulous women, and I so looked forward to when they came into the office/studio/garage.

 The Past is in The Past

I am not one to really focus or obsess on the past.  I have never been that person, and I do not plan on changing.  When my friends were crying because our children stopped breast feeding, or started walking & talking - I was celebrating.  I approached parenthood like a project, with me checking of an invisible box when my child reached a milestone.    After each big event I gave a big "Hoo Ha!" and waited for the next.  I embraced change, I encouraged growth and I detested trying to hold our children back, but instead focused on moving them forward.

My business, though not as monumental or important as raising my children I have tried to come at it with the same philosophy.  It is hard for me to talk with young (wait for it, I am not being evil)  entrepreneurs that only came into their business within the last 2 or 3 years.  It is just that being an Entrepreneur during a Recession is not like being one during the Glory Days.  Yes, some things are similar - most are not.  Their growth is nothing like mine was and their losses are nothing like mine are/were.  Though in their defense they are probably smarter, leaner and more timid when it comes to taking risks.  Even as little as their companies  grow, they see the best, they are so positive - they are me from five, four or even eight years ago, an even though I do not want to go back to 2005, I wish I could talk to that me.  I wish I could give the me of January of 2005 a bit of advice.  And not that I have given it much thought (oh but I have), my speech would go something like this;

"Look Jamie I know that the last three years have been amazing and your business has been all that you can think of (or talk about - and trust me, your friends & family have all heard just about enough about it), but times are changing.  This year is going to be your toughest yet.  You will find yourself hiring a large number of employees. Please remember, with managing people comes a great responsibility.  You may (will) have to acknowledge that you are not a very good manager.  While we are discussing your weaknesses, I happen to know that  you do not separate business from personal life very well either.   Don't shoot the messenger, but this year will bring you to your knees - literally, not metaphorically.  You will be forced to accept that you can not separate business and home life and let's face it your business may (well will, but I am the wiser Jamie of 2011) over-run your home life.  Sales will be good or dare I say it better than ever."  

"Though I ask you at what cost?  I advice you to stay calm, stay sane and realize that this growth you have experienced will not keep up forever.  Look at the history of our country.  Lastly Jamie - try not to be so tightly wound and anal.  Try really hard not to be a.....uh a bitch.  You will thank me later.  Also, don't be in such a hurry to move the business out of the house.  Times are not as bad as you think, and you can work better/smarter/more efficient if you are willing to look at other options.   Lastly I would suggest you breathe, just breathe and enjoy your success - it will not last forever." 

Back to the Future of 2011

Oh how I wish like Back to the Future the Older Marty McFly could have sat me down and gave me that speech....oh wait I guess it would have been the older wiser Jamie McFly.  Anyways, if anything at least I have learned and grown from my very very hard lessons.  I hope I did not hurt those that worked for me.  I hope that they have forgiven me for the way I was.  As I look to downsize I think quite a bit about all those employees that worked with me in my garage.  I look around my now empty garage and wonder what they think of those years.  I may never know,  but I hope they know I am sorry and I wish I had handled that year better.

Top Ten Things I Didn't Share in 2010

When I was a little girl I always loved the end of the year specials on the news.  They would go over the highs and lows of what happened that year.  I was always so upset if I missed "The Year in Review".  As I got older I became obsessed with the top 10 songs of the year or the top 10 celebrities, top 10 books - I still get all sucked in to those stories. 

I thought maybe I should do that, well not 10 best things but my Year in Review on the blog.  Then I realized that was pretty much the easy way out and I would only be me just cutting and pasting parts of posts I wrote this past year.   Instead I am going to share the top ten things I did NOT share with you this year.  Sometimes I did not feel it warranted a whole post, other times I did not want to share.  Yet, here we are at the end of the year and I figured what the hell I will share what I have learned and what I have NOT blogged about;

1. The End of Warm Biscuit Partnership

Sadly we ended our 6 year relationship with The Warm Biscuit Bedding Company.  There was not knock-out drag out fight or an email battle, we just went our separate ways.  I will only say that with the tough Economy we need to be paid within our 30 day agreement or have a credit card on file - times are/were/still are tough.  Some larger companies are not able to do that - so that is that.

Truth is I really do miss working with them and the friendship I had with their founder, Vicki Bodwell.  What I miss most is the collaborative designing her like I used to do.  She was and is one of the most creative and talented people I have ever met.  Talking  to her could be exhausting at times, she would bounce from one idea to another - I could not take notes fast enough to keep up with her very active mind.  Yet, even if I was exhausted after the call I was ALWAYS energized, motivated and inspired.  I miss those calls.

2. Wall Tiles Fundraiser Project & Then Again

We did another wall tile fundraiser for a local grammar school in San Mateo.  The project lasted most of the first part of 2010 and was finished right before school ended.  When we ordered the tiles from our supplier and discussed the tiles being hung outside and in the sun, there response was something like (and yes I may be exaggerating, but they did say OK) "Okey Dokey sounds fine by us.....how do you want to pay for that?"  What they should have said was, "Um you should not have our tiles hung in direct sunlight because they will fade.....how do you want to pay for that?"

What happened is we had to do the tiles twice, because they were hung in direct sun light.  It was an unfortunate incident and I felt awful for the school.  However, I did the right thing and I got a discount when we re-ordered the tiles....again for the school.  Our supplier apologized for not being forthright and then asked for our credit card number.  A hard lesson to learn during a very hard year.

3. No Sales + Late Payments = Late or No Rent

For the first time in the last four years of renting our space we have NEVER not been able to pay rent.  This year I got to give the 'ol "Never Say Never" speech.  It was a very depressing fact and it was sobering to watch our sales slow down even more than the previous year.  If 2008 saw the Economy collapse, then 2009 was flat I would say 2010 just sucked.  Almost every one of my channels that I spoke with agreed with me - sales were worse in 2010 then 2009.  Other small business owners that I spoke with had similar experiences with their business.  So, we paid rent late and sometimes we paid it even later.  It was not my finest moment - but we survived. 

4. Businesses Are Still Closing Down

Sadly this year we said good bye to some fabulously talented women and businesses in our industry and some other industries.  Some of sales channels closed their doors, other companies focussed on direct and some artists closed up shop.  I will miss talking shop with these talented women;

• Kristen Sloop of Kootie Bug Designs
• Carrie Sommer of Sommer Designs
• Diane Cullen Page of CCC Gifts

There are countless other small boutique stores and websites that quietly closed their doors this year.  Many of them were run by some amazing women that I used to enjoy talking with over the past eight years.

5. Drooz Studio is Copied....Again

Even though I am amazed and maybe some would say a tad obsessed with artists copying other artists, I am still shocked when it happens.  And, it always seems to happen to the very talented Ms. Shelly Kennedy.  I almost wish she would just release new products she would put a disclaimer on the back of each piece that says something like;

"This original piece of artwork is great isn't it?  Please do not copy it - because I will find out.  I will not be happy and it is NOT legal.  Did you catch that last part?  It is illegal."

I do not know what or if anything happened when Shelly saw this product, her product copied and sold through another channel.  I can only imagine and hope she make them stop it.

6.  New Blog Home at The Mommie's Diaries....for a short time

After the demise of Silicon Valley Mom Blog this summer I wanted to find a new home where I could write about life with children.  I tried it out at Parenting on the Peninsula for a few months but it the end I bit off more than I could chew.  I had to blog once a week and it had to be up by 11:00 a.m Sunday morning.  I can't even blog on my OWN blog once a week let alone someone elses!  And, if you must know I do love me some sleeping in on the weekends when I am not being forced to hall my ass to some softball or soccer game.  So there.  I sadly had to give my resignation and I no longer blog for anyone but me!

7. 80 Ornaments You Say? Why, Yes We Can!

For the past three years we have gotten a rather huge order from a housing development back East.  And this year we got the same order.  We give the wonderful customer a small discount andd we make 80 ornaments for them to pass out to their entire neighborhood at their annual holiday party thing.  I had every intention of photographing the large order going out and then they were ribboned and shipped, but then I felt sort of weird about it and did not want to be a braggard.  So, for the record I am not braggin - just saying it was not all bad in 2010.

8. Celebrity Client Drew Brees & Then Some

Okay, so I have had celebrities before.  For the record Charlize Theron has my dog plates, Roy  Disney ordered a birth certificate for a relative, Oprah & Ellen have ornaments by me,  and Nicole Kidman got a birth certificate for a gift.  The woman who wrote Legally Blond once ordered 50 princess plates for her daughter's birthday party.  Larry Sanders sent a birth certificate to Adam Sandler and now I have made ornaments and a birth annoucement for the one and only Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints.

These are all just cool little tidbits I get to throw out there at cocktail parties and um when I try to impress an ex-boyfriend or a reporter.  Until one of these celebs decides to either have their child's room filmed for People Magazine or wanders around outside with my birth certificate around their neck - my business won't be changing much.  But still - happy to have 'em and shout out to Mr. & Mrs. Drew Brees and his family .

9. Moving On Down....Not Up

We are leaving our rental space and soon.  We need to find smaller and cheaper space.  It may even be (though doubtful) in another city.  When we got this space we had 4 other employees and it was the smallest space available in Foster City, oh and times were booming.  Now - not so much.  The thing is we could run the company in about half of the space we use now, and I could work from home more. 

We had a perfect place that I was super excited about moving into....and yes, re-decorating smaller, smarter - I had so many ideas.  And then while signing the 35 page contract I saw on the last page in itty bitty (well maybe not but still) font there was an extra $255.42 (yes I memorized it) added on to each month's rent.  Not that much you say?  Well, no it is not - but yes, it sort of is these days.  Worst yet was that it was SNUCK in there, had I not paid attention and signed the contract I never would have known.  So, I am back to trying to find us a new rental space.

10.  Life Is Shorter in 2010

This year has seen many friends get sick, marriages dissolve and worse - people have passed away.  I have seen first hand the devastating effects of disease and the loss of loved ones.  I have vowed to live more, love better and enjoy life.  I realize that it is not the end of the world if business is slow or even if we do close our doors.  Life is so short and so precious that I pledge to live each day to all it is worth.  When asked this holiday season how business was, I was able to honestly say, "It was not great, but that was fine.  I am healthy happy, my kids are healthy - we were good." 

Here is to wishing everyone who has taken the time to read/comment/spam my blog a very happy healthy (and maybe wealthy) new year.  May you have a better 2011 than 2o10 and may you live life to it's fullest.

Flying, No Busing it to San Diego

Disclaimer: "I am not mad (any longer) at my husband for his mistake (more on that later).  It is not his fault (though I may beg to differ) that the weather was bad.  I do not expect any jewelry (though I would like it) for Christmas to make up for his horrible/terrible/expensive mistake."              - Jamie Lentnzer

Thursday, December 9, 2010.

1:48 p.m  I just got  back to the office after getting my hair done and I went to print out my boarding pass.  Wait, let me back up to get you up to speed.  I was flying out to San Diego to meet my husband for his Christmas Holiday Party Friday night.  I was "supposed"(yes that is me doing air quotes and I am rolling my eyes if you must know) to fly out at 10:30 a.m Friday morning.  His company is based there, and no we are not separated he works out of the house here in Foster City (so many people looked perplexed when I said San Diego & Company party in the same sentence).  Any hoo - he flew in earlier in the week for some sales meetings and I was flying in Friday morning....so I thought.

After close inspection....no not really when I tried to print my boarding pass it said I had to wait 24 hours before my flight and I could not print it yet.  I took a double take at my itinerary and saw I was flying out at 10:30 p.m.........yes P.M!!  I calmly picked up the phone and called my husband - ya right I was practically hysterical when I told him, he booked the flight for me. 

2:15 p.m.  Darin called me back with the news and it was all bad news.  To fly on United the next day I would have to pay $1,100.00, or to change to Virgin American and fly tonight it would cost about $300.00.  Ya, I took the latter choice, only problem was that I had not packed and I had to make sure my kids (and dogs) had a place to sleep.  My fabulous wonderful totally amazing Mom agreed to take the kids & dogs an extra night. 

5:04 p.m.  After taking my son to soccer practice (and picking him up) I frantically packed my bag with what I thought was appropriate for a weekend away in San Diego.  I packed warm clothes, spring clothes and summer clothes.  I packed my kids clothes and my dogs stuff.  I rushed to my parents home and then I was off to the airport.

8:50 p.m. After slamming a beer at the airport bar I got ready to board my plane.....ya  not so fast there sister.  Our flight was late.  We boarded late left the airport at 9:30 p.m.  We then proceeded to circle San Diego for a long, long time.

Lucky for me I had two traveling companions on either side to keep me company.  On my right was  a woman who just wanted to be left alone, and how I knew that was the fact that she wore a sleep mask and pretty much gave anyone who woke her a look of death.  To my left was a Dude (yes I said Dude) who had a tail that was 3 feet long, a hat that was sideways with stickers, tattoo sleeves on both arms and had stolen Tina Fey's glasses from her.  As soon as he sat down he put his ipod on and went to sleep.  He then continued to breathe on me the entire flight.  He smelled like Chinese food, bad breath and gas.  I do not like to be breathed on.

10:25 p.m An announcement over the loud speaker from our lead steward told us we had been circling San Diego and could not land due to severe weather.  This was code for the fog was way too thick to land.  So we circled one more time and tried to land.  I was still being breathed on.

10:52 p.m. Sadly we were unable to land in San Diego so we were going to Los Angeles to either get  more fuel or get on buses and drive to San Diego.  So go ahead and guess which happened?  We got to sit on the plane until about 11:30 p.m.  The Steward claimed we would only have to wait 30 or at the most 40 minutes for buses to pick our asses up and distribute them in San Diego.  Piece of Cake, right? Ya wrong.

The Dude woke up next to me, or actually his friend decided to shake him till he woke up and yell in his face, "Dude (hence the nickname I coined) we are not in Kansas....we are in LAX!"  His response was peppered with explicatives that rhymed with Duck  and he proceeded to yell them over and over as we sat on the plane.  Oh, and he continued to breathe his horrid breath on me as he yelled them out.

The Bathroom Incident Friday, December 10, 2010 12:07 a.m

After finally being let off the plane we all rushed to the nearest bathrooms, which seemed logical since we were all eventually being put on buses that would drive over two hours to get us back to where we were supposed to land.  It was not only our airlines that was unable to land in San Diego, but countless other airlines that were stranded at LAX.

After asking numerous rude airport personal where the nearest bathroom was I found a woman's bathroom.  I stood in a very long line and waited.  Soon after getting in line a rather interesting older woman got in line behind me and she talked the entire time we were in line.  She explained how she had taken a bus before and it was not that bad, she talked about where she came from (Hawaii) and what airline she flew out on.  After each announcement she said ya,ya.  She poked me over and over and asked if I knew if there were more toilets (the answer was no).  She spoke like the Rain Man.

The line was long and we were in line for a long time.  As I stood there I continued to be bombarded with questions from Rain Woman.  She kept poking me and pointing to the bathroom section with the sinks and asking if I thought there were toilets there.  I kept saying no.  I almost yelled "I DON'T WORK HERE!", but I was too tired.  By the fourth poke I almost suggested she go pee in the sinks, but I thought better of it.

As I got closer to the toilets (Did I mention the line was long?) a young 8 year old blond girl with dark glasses (stole from my neighbor on the plane I assumed) pushed and shoved her way to the front of the line.  When she arrived at the front of the line she just stared at the stalls.  A woman asked her if she was looking for someone, she did not answer.   The woman then asked her what she wanted - again no answer.  Finally she asked if the little girl could wait, then the fun started.  From way back in the end of the line we heard at about 100 decibels, "NO SHE CAN'T WAIT!!!".  The poor woman looked around and asked the girl what she needed, still no answer.  Then we heard it again, "NO SHE CAN'T WAIT!".  She reluctantly let this little girl cut in line.  Small girl did not  even say thank you.

At last I finally got to a stall and just as I closed the door I heard this from somewhere in the back of the line, "HEY DO YOU KNOW WE ARE 20 DEEP IN LINE AND WE NEED TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!"  Um, ya WTF?  I had, had it.  I quickly respondedyelled with my own tirade, "Ya We are Having a Frickin' Party in Here!  WE are peeing as fast as we can thank you very much!"

After I left my stall, Rain Woman gave me a strange look and then she asked me if I was okay.  I told her yes and then she proceed to say since I was YELLING at myself she was worried.  Um, okay.

Other Tidbits & Fun Facts While Waiting in Airport

The Virgin Airlines staff was kind enough to pass out water to us.  When the gentleman reached me two older short women proceed to take the rest of the waters and fill up their pockets with water.....I got no water.

A older stocky gentlemen in a trench coat hacked and coughed the entire time we waited for our flight.  Not only did he cough and not cover his mouth he walked around coughing on everyone.

One of the stewardesses had a very small (under 5 pound) puppy that she carried around, changed it's clothes, coddled it and gave it water.....bottled water, that I did not get.  She also did two costume changes at the airport.  Her co-worker not to be one upped also changed - into a super short royal blue dress, tights, thing high boots and put on some fantastic bright red lipstick.  Apparently she was dressing up for our long drive in the middle of the night to San Diego.

The Ride on the Bus, December 10, 2010. 1:30 a.m - 3:30 a.m.

The Bus was crowded, but we all got seats and though Virgin promised that we would be on a bus in 30 minutes, what they really meant was like an hour and a half.  The drive to San Diego was two hours and it was not nearly as entertaining as my time in the bathroom line, but then again I was dozing in and out of conciseness, but this I remember:

• Driver texted most of the way to San Diego
• Driver checked directions about 7 times while driving
• For two straight hours a girl smacked and cracked her gum
• The fog was so thick our driver had to press on the breaks numerous times
• Driver had no idea where she was going and got stuck in the wrong terminal
• A bus driver wearing a Santa hat can not be trusted, unless it is actually Sant

I finally got to bed at oh um 4:30 a.m. in the morning on December 10th.  To say I was not looking my best on Friday would be an understatement.  And even though the flight left me with an entertaining story I did have a good weekend.  And, when I got to the airport on Sunday to fly home - I was upgraded to first class.  Score!

 

 

 

 

 

 

New York Times Baby

As I mentioned in my last post I had the good fortune of being interviewed by the frickin' New York Times a few weeks ago.   And, then the misfortune of the photographer coming to photograph me for the piece.  It went live last night and I was able to post it on Twitter and Facebook.  Most everyone was very positive and gave me major props.   If you read all the way through you will see my good friend Jennifer Christensen (she was my inspiration for saying NO) interviewed also.

So this morning I did go rush out and purchase one, okay three copies of the paper.  I kept singing the old "Cover of Rolling Stone" all day today.  I thought it was funny....my kids not so much.  My new nickname around school is Jamie "No I'm Not" Lentzner.  I heard that the article was passed around a lot today around some Bay Area schools, amongst volunteers, PTA boards and us ex-volunteers who were happy to NOT be at school.  You can read the article here:

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Frazzled Moms Push Back Against Volunteering

Drew Kelly for The New York Times

Jamie Lentzner, of Foster City, Calif., feeling overwhelmed, put an end to her school volunteering.

By HILARY STOUT

Published: December 1, 2010

IT was last spring, somewhere between overseeing Teacher Appreciation Week and planning the fifth-grade graduation party, when Jamie Lentzner, mother of two in Foster City, Calif., reached her breaking point. 

She had already designed the fifth-grade T-shirt, taught art twice monthly to three different classes, and organized movie night, restaurant night and beach night fund-raisers. She was overscheduled and exhausted. She had scant time to help her children with their school projects because — coincidentally — she was always working on projects for their school. “You’ve got to stop,” said her husband, Darin, who worried that the constant stress she seemed to feel was damaging to her health.

Ms. Lentzner realized that she had spiraled out of control. She vowed to put an end to all this volunteering — and to recapture some of the serenity in her family life that had vanished because of nothing more than a well-intentioned desire to pitch in.

Today, more than three months into the school year, Ms. Lentzner is a new woman. She has yet to attend a PTA meeting or decorate so much as a classroom doorknob. When she saw her name listed as chairwoman of the annual Donuts for Dads Day (another event she oversaw last year) on a volunteer sign-up sheet, she whipped out a Sharpie and crossed it out.

“No, I’m not,” she wrote.

Her business — she designs children’s room décor — improved, and at home, the change has been striking. She has time to play Ping-Pong and Wii with the children. She hosted 27 relatives and friends for Thanksgiving last week, and for the first time in years she enjoyed the holiday. “I told my husband, ‘I am not stressed,’ “ she said. “I did not have some event hanging over my head, or a T-shirt design that had to be done. I think I finally have my priorities in the right place.”

Around the country there are a number of altruistic, devoted and totally burned-out mothers just like Ms. Lentzner who are becoming emboldened to push back against the relentless requests from their children’s schools for their time. What started out as an admirable civic gesture somehow snowballed into an inability to say no to any committee assignment or project request, and spiraled into night, weekend and after-school commitments, middle-of-the-night e-mail exchanges, as well as frozen dinners, takeout pizza and baby sitters at home.

With the holidays approaching, the call for parental help at school has reached a fever pitch, but this demand is not just seasonal. As local and state economies continue to struggle, budget cuts to rich and poor school systems are increasing the reliance on unpaid parent help. The need is so great that some school districts, like a couple of specialty schools in Prince William County, Va., have made it mandatory to commit to a small amount of volunteer time, and others are considering it. In San Jose, Calif., one elementary school district has been discussing a proposal that the families of its 13,000 students commit to 30 hours of volunteer work during the year.

Many parents are happy to volunteer uncoerced, and most everyone recognizes the worthiness of the cause. But the heightened need and expectations are coming at a time when many parents have less and less time to give.

“Volunteerism is way down at our school this year,” said Gary Parkes, the PTA president at Carmel Elementary School in Woodstock, Ga., a suburb of Atlanta. At the school’s recent annual fall festival some games had to be closed down because of a lack of adult volunteer supervisors.

Economic necessity, Mr. Parkes said, has forced some stay-at-home mothers to go back to work. “People are so busy trying to stay afloat, they just do not have as much time as they would like to give,” Mr. Parkes said, adding that he has heard similar laments in regional PTA meetings. “This seems to be a problem for a lot of schools.”

(Mr. Parkes has been getting creative. He reached out to the Cub Scouts to help with the fall festival and recruited the girls’ lacrosse team at the high school to operate the crazy-hair and face-painting stations. He is also exploring arrangements with the R.O.T.C. and with corporations that have public service programs.) 

Other forces are at work besides the lack of free time. The growing world of mom blogging has provided ample forums for exposing the darker feelings of motherhood, and a number of women have taken to cyberspace to gripe about school volunteer work. Some complain that the system preys on maternal guilt and that it creates a sense that a mother’s worthiness is measured in how many hours she puts in at her children’s schools. Under the headline “Just Say NO to Volunteering,” Sarah Auerswald, a former PTA president in Los Angeles, wrote in June, “What I am about to say is not very PC, so get ready: Moms, stop volunteering so much.”

Ms. Auerswald, who estimated that she had sat through 1,000 meetings over the last 10 years as a volunteer, said all her work for the schools had left her “a run-down, crabby, resentful wreck.” Worse, she said in an interview, “My kids got really resentful.” When she would leave them with yet another baby sitter, or drag them along for yet another Saturday Clean-up Day at school, they implored, “Why is it always you who has to do everything, Mom?”

Ms. Auerswald emphasized that her children’s school had a very real need for parents’ volunteer work. But she said she has learned that parents need to set realistic expectations about what they can accomplish and how much of themselves they can give.

Because the work is unpaid, some volunteers say, few realize the toll it can take on people. “I know a woman — the work she did for the public schools was so critical — she made me look like a loafer,” Ms. Auerswald said. “Then her husband left her because she was never home.”

That news was startling to Ms. Auerswald. “Not that my husband was leaving, luckily,” she said, “but he was not happy about how much I was doing.”

Part of the burnout stems from the fact that in most schools a small number of volunteers shoulder the vast majority of the work.

Everyone recognizes this, but they can’t help but wring every ounce of commitment out of those who seem willing. Consider the case of Zan Jones.

Ms. Jones is a mother of two in Keller, Tex., who works part time as a booking manager for professional speakers. This fall she was co-chairwoman of the Scholastic Book Fair, a commitment of five full days on top of the multiple meetings required to organize the event. And the decorating.

This year’s theme was superheros, so Ms. Jones made the sign with Superman saying, “It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a book fair!” She made tall buildings out of cardboard boxes. She stuffed the Spider-Man costume that she had found and bought herself. When it was over, she helped pack everything up and take the money to the bank.

That’s a lot of work — especially since her children don’t go to the school anymore.

Near the end of the summer, Ms. Jones’s children, a third grader and a fifth grader, were accepted to a charter school, but she felt uneasy about breaking volunteer commitments she had made to their old school. And, apparently, the school was desperate for help.

“They were panicked,” Ms. Jones said. “There was not one mention of ‘Oh, don’t worry about it.’ If there was, I probably would have taken it and run with it.”

Still, Ms. Jones insisted that she was happy to help, and no sooner did she fulfill her commitments at the old school than she started volunteering at the new one. She has chaperoned three field trips, worked in the library and helped set up a “mad scientist” dry ice center for a Halloween party. But she admitted she considered bowing out.

“Selfishly, I thought, ‘Oh my God, this is my chance for a clean break,’ ” she said. “I thought, ‘I can go somewhere where no one knows me, and I can sit silently under the radar and not volunteer.’ ”

But, she explained: “My kids really like me volunteering. Their faces light up when I’m there.”

That is what most parents assume — that school volunteer work is in the best interests of their children. But some veterans are skeptical. Jen Christensen’s epiphany came on her 41st birthday in May 2009. She was presiding over Teacher Appreciation Week at her children’s school in San Mateo, Calif., and getting up daily at 4 a.m. to work on the school auction. She was so overcommitted, she said, that she could not find time to celebrate.

What hit harder still was that she had given up working when she had children to be home with them — and now she was continually leaving them with baby sitters because she had to attend a meeting at school.

The next fall, Ms. Christensen declared herself off-limits to all school volunteer requests. “I said: ‘I’m done. I quit. Don’t call. Don’t e-mail.’ I said I have given so much of myself. I’m spending 50 hours a week working on a volunteer position. Where does it end? You want some blood? I wouldn’t even let my husband write a check.”

Ms. Christensen added: “It felt fabulous. I took a step back and was able to see what was wrong and appreciate the opportunity I have. I don’t have to work, and being able to spend time with my kids is what my job really should be.”

She noted the simple pleasure of reading with her 8-year-old son, Owen, in their special “reading chair.”

“It was calmer in our home and I think everyone was much happier,” she said.

Some of the push-back stems from just plain irritation over the way volunteer requests are made, often involving large numbers of increasingly desperate-sounding e-mails. A few years ago, Karen Bantuveris was on a plane on a business trip. “I looked down and literally saw my BlackBerry fill up with reply-all e-mails about whose turn it is to help at recess and to bring snacks,” she said. “The more I talked to working moms, the more I heard: ‘I can’t volunteer anymore. This is ridiculous.’ ”

Ms. Bantuveris put her training as a management consultant to work. She invented an online system — similar to the popular Evite invitation service — that sends a calendar of volunteer opportunities and allows parents to sign up for those of their choosing without multiple e-mail exchanges. She now runs a company called VolunteerSpot that markets the system, coordinating 460,000 volunteers, 75 percent of them parents in schools.

Even among those who have made the break from volunteering, there is always guilt. “There is such a need,” Ms. Christensen said. Her year of saying “No” ended when school started this year. But still she is a far cry from her old über-volunteer self.

She agreed to be a “room parent” for the third grade, which means she plans class parties. And she did consent to oversee the kitchen-tour fund-raiser, but she is now “kind of regretting it.” It is scheduled for September 2011, Ms. Christensen said, noting, “I still have time to get out of it.”

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So that is that, I was in the New York Times.  I can scratch it off my bucket list (I don't have one but if I did I would put be in the New York Times on it).  Once I get on the Oprah Winfrey Show (you did not think I would not reference her did you?  I only have till September 2011) and my products in People Magazine I can say I have done everything.  Everything as far as publicity goes that is.

New York Times Came a Knockin'

Just A Silicon Valley Blog Post

After the supposed end of The Silicon Valley Mom Blog I didn't give my posts much thought.  I owned them, I could re-post them and/or just let them live in the Blogosphere.  I enjoyed writing for the Silicon Valley Moms Blog a lot more than I thought I would.  I wrote about events at school, my crazy family and mostly my children. 

This June I was very fed up, frustrated and burnt out from volunteering at my children's school.  I listed all that I had done on this blog and then made a public pledge to not do it again on SV Moms Blog.  I got a lot of comments on and off line from other volunteers like myself that were done with a capital D with volunteering. 

Two weeks ago I received an email from a reporter at the New York Times  who read my post.  She asked if I would speak to her about my volunteering or lack their of.  She wanted to hear how this year was going and if I had kept up my pledge.  Without thinking I said "Hell to the Yes!", or maybe I thought that in my head and just replied very polite like in an email.  Either way I was interviewed the following day.

New York Frickin' Times Interview

Rule one when you get an interview with a very reputable news paper (or any publication) - get the  time correct.  And me being a veteran of countless interviews (okay a dozen or so) I am always prepared and I always get the time right.  Ya, not so much.   I bounced, or stumbled out of bed at 6:30 a.m. and downed two cups of coffee for my 7:00 a.m interview.  Then I waited and waited.  I waited some more. And then waited a little bit longer.  Then I drank more coffee. 

By about 7:45 a.m. I was freaking out and bouncing off the walls.  I looked at the email for the 45th time that morning and realized I had the time wrong.  Don't ask me how or why but I was under the impression the interview was at 10:00 a.m Eastern Standard Time....and uh, it was actually 10:00 a.m my time, Pacific Standard Time.   So now I was wide awake just waiting for the interview.  By the time she called (the correct agree time)  I was the babbling laughing volunteer from Hell.  I was interviewed for over 30 minutes and am pretty confident that I sounded like an insane rabid parent.  Yes, I am scared of what will be taken from the interview.

I calmed myself down by remembering some past interviews.  Having been interviewed in the past I was not even confidant my interview would even be a part of the article.  This happens more than I care to admit.  I have said it before, and will continue to say it - press is good.  All press is good (Jamie's Painting & Design never came up in this interview).  I am fine, the whole article may  not even ever be published.  I did not get my hopes up.  Then last week I got an email.  I had to be in a Photo Shoot, with my children like in a few days........ah, come again?

Ready for My Close Up

When picking out our clothes I tried not to over think it, but I wanted us to look good - so I totally over thought the whole thing.  I figured my kids should dress as casual as possible without looking like we were trying to be too causal - this is not as easy as it sounds.  The urge to dress my children in their holiday finest, get hair cuts and polish their shoes was very tempting.  Sadly I cancelled the fancy up-do, professional make-up artists/stylist and put away my formal gown, diamond tiara and fur.  We were the Lentzners, and we were going with jeans.

Last Wednesday the photographer arrived at my home.  Now, I have to preface this with the fact that the exterior of my house is a disaster.  We are in the process of having the entire house stuccoed, painted and we are replacing all of the lights.  When I answered the door I caught our photographer looking around at the plywood very skeptical.  His eyes kept darting back and forth from the plywood srewed to the house, and a bulb hanging where my light would be.  When he finally made eye contact I could have sworn I saw him sigh.  He was probably expecting Ma Kettle wearing overalls and smoking a pipe.

I took him to all the rooms, seeing which one had the best light or the best angle for him.  Even with turning on every light in the house my home for him, he was not sure about where to photograph us.  After walking back and forth for about ten minutes he still had not found a good spot.  The front yard was out of the question since it would look like we lived in an Appalachian Wooden House and the playroom ( that would be the garage) had ourdogs in it.  I was starting to get nervous.  After two tours of the Lentzner home I caught him eyeing the backyard.  This was not going to be good.

We Have Dogs & Standing Water

As he leaped out our back door and into our backyard swamp I blurted out, "We have Dogs! Watch   where you....step."  I watched him grimace as he took big then small steps while trying to examine his surroundings.  He danced around, eyeing the ground as if he were about to step on a land mind.  With the 3 solid days of rain, followed by 3 days of near freezing weather - my kids had not been out to uh, clean up after our pets. It was not a pretty sight, puddles, mud, poop and some dead plants - I was mortified.

And of course he decided to photograph outside.....yep, even though I was casual I was still rocking my cute suede boots.  Boots I did not want covered in dog excrement.  The children to were told to play soccer and look natural.  After they fought over which ball to bring outside we all dodged dog poop and mud for 10 to 15 minutes.  I am sure the look on my face was part disgust and part shock while I was being photographed.  Nothing says "Working Mom" like a mother and her children playing soccer in a mud/poop swamp.

We then took photos in our kitchen, in my office and me looking out the window at my dinning room table.  I still don't know if I was supposed to look happy, sad, confused or dignified.  I just hope the pictures came out decent.  The article is scheduled to be published Thursday, December 3, 201o.  I am hopeful that we/me sound and look decent and normal and sane.  It could happen.