Nightmares and Logistics for Next Week's Sale *sigh*

Next week, starting on Tuesday and going through Saturday, is our "Swarovski Blow-out Sale" which sounds wonderful on paper, and is beginning to sound like a nightmare for me. Mainly because I can't see the logistics of making this reality for my customers and my staff without running into major roadblocks throughout the sale. I'm glad I have a few open days to try and get things a bit more organized, but it's a huge component of my inventory valuation and I, truthfully, am completely unsure of how this will work. 

This isn't comprehensive, there are more colors of 
4mm bicone Swarovski than listed on this chart. But, 
it gives you a small idea of a very large inventory 
category. We have bicones in 5 different sizes, we 
have rounds and cubes in 4 different sizes, we have 
a multitude of specialty and pendant shapes, we have 
a huge proportion of our inventory on the books 
invested in Swarovski crystal beads. We need to sell 
that product area down. Now ... how to handle this 
sale effectively and efficiently with just three of 
us and a bunch of customers all bumping into each other. 

We have our 4mm bicones on display - that category/size had the most color selection available of all of the different sizes and shapes. So we have that on display. But there's nothing telling anyone that we have a shape in any particular color available, nor is there any easy way for a customer to check that. I truly don't know what we're going to do. I'll have to try a few things out when I get in to the shop this morning, and bounce some ideas off Chickie to see if she has any input. I might just end up putting boxes of "Rounds", "Cubes", and "Specialty Shapes" on the counter, although that will certainly increase our walk-off percentage on an expensive component. *sigh* Ninety-plus percent of my customers are honest and sincere, but that other ten percent ... well. Nice people (usually), but not exactly above-board. 

There are actually more bicone colors than are 
shown on this color chart, and we also have 
rounds, and cubes, and over 15 additional 
specialty shapes, also pendants and miscellaneous 
shapes. Swarovski is a MAJOR category for us, 
and I'm not sure we're ready for the logistics 
of this sale. 

I did get the two Connie Seabourn pieces finished yesterday. I need to put the sawtooth hangers into the frames today, but that'll be the end of that project. Then I can have Chickie choose which one she wants for Claire's gift, and the other one will be ready to sell. I'm pleased with how they turned out. They look good, and it was a fun project to get back into the framing business. 

This Connie Seabourn is entitled "Pueblo 
Evening". It's predominantly in the blues 
and violets, with a neutral back color mat 
(slightly less green than it appears in this photo). 

DH has been going through the boxes for shredding. He's managed to eliminate more than five boxes of materials so far - things that really don't need to be shredded. The shredding quotation made him go back to the basement and cull because he didn't want to spend that much getting our 20+ year paperwork backlog professionally shredded. We'll have to have quite a bit done, but every box eliminated is dollars saved. I do understand his rationale. 

This is the companion piece - "Pueblo Dawn". 
We get hints of pink coming through in this 
one. The two pieces are priced the same, $150/ea, 
and I'm quite pleased with the end result. The 
navy blue frame allows the softness of blue to 
surround them. 

But, the stress level of the next week, month, and months is starting to get to me. I awakened early after a restless sleep, and just gave up on sleep. Thank goodness it's a swimming day - I'll have the chance to work some of this ARRRGH out of me in the water before heading to the shop to start the day. I hope all of you have a terrific day and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini.