Day Two of our Blow-Out Sale is Complete, Now for Day Three!

Day Two of our Crystal Blow-out Sale had a very different rhythm than Day One. We didn't sell quite as much product, but we sold to more people and worked with them in slightly different ways. The system Chickie and I had invented worked great, and a couple of customers who asked for order sheets to be emailed to them for later, more intense, review got that as well. They'll be back in a second time before the sale ends on Saturday night. 

The sale is going very well. We've never offered 
a BOGO on Swarovski before, and our customers 
are loving it. We're not selling the odd shapes 
and sizes that we have. That's a problem. But we 
are selling down our huge stock of the more popular 
shapes, and that was also a goal. I'm calling this a 
win so far. 

As always, I'd be totally lost without Chickie. DH is busy doing DH crap - he's not on the sales floor at all, except to add more product to various parts that needed restocking. So he's increased out cut-up deer hide, and our available feather packs have increased. He's been on a stepstool quite a bit rearranging things. It's all to the good, but he's still a PITA. 

The North Oaks Rummage Sale is HUGE. I wasn't 
aware of how very large it is before now. It takes 
place at the Shoreview Ice Arena, and the proceeds 
are donated to "Children's Minnesota" which is sponsored 
by Children's Hospital Association. That's a big deal, 
and I'm sure they get a LOT of shoppers. 

I had an odd phone call from the North Oaks Fundraising Committee head yesterday afternoon. Apparently they run a garage sale every year to raise funds for various community events they hold for the rest of the year. They had four Native American items donated that they didn't feel they knew enough about to be able to put them out for sale at the event next month. At least, not without additional information. So, as many have done in the past, they contacted the store. 

Pipestone pipes were available for sale at Pipestone National 
Monument (in southwestern Minnesota) until 2019. At that 
time they finally listened to the tribes and pulled them from sale, 
declaring them sacred items. The stone is also sacred to the Sioux 
people, but at least we got the sale of pipes stopped. I've been a 
pipe carrier for the Oyate for decades now. Pipes are sacred. 

The first item was a pipestone pipe, which I immediately said a firm "NO" to. Pipes are sacred and shouldn't be sold or kept by people other than the pipekeeper. They were (and might still be) sold at Pipestone Quarry as a tourist item, but as I told the lady (when she just wasn't understanding well), it's like taking the cross from the altar of your local church, and putting it onto a table for sale. It's just wrong! 

This set of four sweetgrass baskets with lids is 
on sale at Google for $75. I'm simply not seeing 
where the baskets will carry an evaluation of 
$10,000. The market for basketry is at a low 
right now, but that value is WAY over what it 
probably should be. 

Then, apparently there are three baskets, possibly sweetgrass baskets. They are lidded, and one of then had an evaluation inside it for $10,000. OK, that I sincerely doubt - it's possible, I suppose, but sounds way off track for such an item. I'd have to see them. The last item was arrows and a quiver of a type. Again, I'd have to see it. She might set up a before-hours appointment with me to take a look. The sale is in September, so that should be soon. 

Apparently there also is a quiver with bone-tipped 
arrows. The bone arrows were used before traders 
brought metal arrow tips to the tribes, so this might be 
fairly old. Again, I'm probably not the right person to 
give much of an opinion, but I can direct them to one 
of the museums if I feel it might be worth their while 
to get a more in-depth look. 

DH was all in my face after this conversation, telling me that I had no knowledges of basketry, questioning my understanding of the material it was made from (which he simply didn't understand because he thought it was a material different than sweetgrass). He also was over me on the quiver - apparently the arrows have bone tips, which would be interesting, but might not be legal in this day and age to possess or sell. But, I'll be happy to take a look and see if it's something they can include in their sale or if they'll need to find a different way to get rid of them. I expect they'll phone for an early morning appointment within a few days. 

So, I'm off to the pool to work off some of my frustration. We're entering Day Three of our Swarovski Blow-out Sale, and so far I've been very pleased. Chickie's prep work has really paid off, and we're getting orders filled and lots of very happy customers, many of whom plan to drop by at least one more time before the sale ends Saturday night. I hope your Thursday is lovely. I'm looking forward to a good swim and (hopefully) another good day in our Five-Day Sale. I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini.