Shifting Into High Gear Starts This Week *sigh*

Saturday's sale was less than desired, but not unexpected. The majority of our customers are seed bead users - i.e., those who use beads that come in containers which have quantities of 500 to several 1000 per tube or box. That type of bead is used for many different types of projects, from accenting needlepoint pictures, to making elaborate pieces of jewelry. It's a method of using beads that's quite different from taking larger beads and stringing them into pieces of jewelry - beads like shaped stone or larger shaped glass pieces. 

The two countries making the majority of quality seed 
beads are the Czech Republic (for more than a century), 
and Japan (since after WWII). Over time, the Japanese 
product has become the standard - they are more uniform, with 
more colors. I carry all three brands of Japanese seed 
beads, and those from the Czech Republic as well. In 
addition to these rounder beads, I also carry the Japanese 
specialty beads, aka "Delica" beads. They are tiny, 
but cylindrical. 

But we were hopping on Friday - did excellent sales even though I didn't see one particular customer I really had wanted to catch up a bit with. It took me a couple of sales to get into the rhythm of the best (and only) way to ring the sale items out properly with the correct discount levels applied to each type of bead. After I got that back into my mindset, things went smoothly and we were pleased with the sales numbers at the end of the day. 

The pattern on the left was done with Japanese size 11o 
seed beads. The one on the right was done with Miyuki 
"Delica" beads - a seed bead that they number as a 
size 11, but we number as a 12 since they are slightly 
smaller than an 11. They are also cylindrical (think of a 
drum shape) instead of rounded (like a tire). Although 
there is one type of bead even more uniform than the 
Delica, it's also WAY more expensive. Delicas come in 
more than 1200 colors, and I carry most of them, along 
with all of my other seed beads. We are small bead 
specialists, and I love working with all the different 
sizes and shapes. 

Saturday was quite different. We were slow, we had plenty of time to gather the items our customers were asking for, and, although I don't know how our sales compared to last year's numbers, I suspect our sales numbers were down. It was slow enough that DH left shortly after Chickie's lunch break. If we had been busy, he would have stayed for the day. I don't even think I had a coupon redeemed until late afternoon - and it was a very nice sale from an appreciative customer. But, I'd call Saturday's sale a bust. 

DH decided on "Sherlock" for our next batch of DVS's 
to watch and I highly approve of his choice. It was a 
wonderful series - ended far too quickly, and won't take 
us long to work through. 

On Sunday, we relaxed and enjoyed a day of hockey, football, and finally, watched a couple of episodes of "Sherlock". We had finished our seasons of "Inspector Lewis", and decided, on a whim, to watch an old favorite - "Sherlock" staring Cumberbatch and Freeman. Delightful, as always, and we're into these now for a bit. Unfortunately, there were only three episodes per season on this show, and only four seasons total. 

It's your final chance to get onto my Holiday Card list, 
or confirm (via message) your address for this year's 
card. I love making them, and even though what I wanted 
for this year didn't happen, it's still a card I'm looking 
forward to sending onward to my friends throughout 
the world. I have a strict numeric maximum, however, so 
make sure I have your address, etc, correct.
Overseas? Not a problem. 

Now we start our 7-day weeks. We'll be open on the next three Sundays from Noon until 4:00 pm. Sucks! But, if we can save the holidays for someone by being open, I'm fine with it. Usually, however, the extra days are a bit of a waste of our time and effort. I'm shifting into high gear for holiday cards, now. I got my "gift" for each of you packaged while cooking my turkey meal on Thursday, and tested out my envelope design this morning. My task this week is to get the interior design of the cards completed, and then I can start the addressing and mailing. So ... THIS IS THE FINAL CALL OUT FOR CARDS. If you want one, make sure to let me know. If you've had an address change, make sure to let me know. I have a strict limit of 50 (which is down to 48 because of technical issues), so that's what I'm working with. I always save one completed card for my own records too, so that means 47 cards are available. Let me know NOW. 

Have an excellent Monday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.