What are you working on this week? Obviously I'm working on designing neat new graphics for my blog posts, but other than that, I also have a lot of things going on over in my studio!
In ceramics, I'm glazing up a set of African Violet pots for a custom order - the colors she chose are making me smile (y'all know how much I love the color) and I can't wait to get these fired and show them off. I can only put one more thing in this kiln (another custom order that I need to get one more coat of glaze on), and am hoping to fire tomorrow or Friday - so all the little pots will have to wait until my next firing. They will make you smile! And after that I will be restocking the violet pots for the shop, in smaller sizes (my large mold is being persnickety so those will still be a while). I'm also working on a new mug I hope to have out in a couple of weeks, and this weekend I plan to start handbuilding and restocking those Vivi yarn bowls!
In soap, I'm making a huge list of things that need to be restocked. I'm also planning on bringing back a discontinued fragrance, for a limited time, and will have more on that in about two weeks (I bet you're wondering what it is!). When I ordered that fragrance, a couple more new ones caught my eye (I like fragrance almost as much as I love color) so I hope you're interested in a couple of new fragrances coming in over the next two or three months! Another thing that's been in the back of my mind for a while, and I talked to some people about it at Fiber-In the other weekend, is a Soap Club. Similar to yarn club in that you'd get a shipment of soap every month, but it would be a bar of soap instead of a skein of yarn. Similar to how Amazon will send you things once a month and you don't have to think about it...? Except on my site right now I can't seem to be able to charge things as a subscription service, so it would have to be the kind of thing where you sign up for a year (or six months, or however long I make the service) in advance. I'm torn, though, between making it the kind of thing where you can choose your favorite fragrances that I already carry, or the kind of thing where you have a vague idea ("January through March will be herbal scents! April though June will be floral scents!") and you receive, say, two bars that are fragrances already available, and one is a special-for-you fragrance that may or may not come into the shop as a regularly stocked item. Which means there might be two clubs, since I really can't decide which way to go! Feedback and thoughts on this are welcome, if you have any strong feelings about either idea.
In yarn, I am dyeing like a fiend this week! Expect restocks on Purple Rain over the weekend, some fiber restocks to show up early next week, and various yarn colorways and bases to be restocked a few days after that.
In knitting, last night I finished a chemo hat for a friend, and I'm still working on two different pairs of socks. As the weather cools, though, I start thinking about the unfinished pullovers I have on the needles, but I also can't stop thinking of a giant entrelac wrap... I knit one years ago for a friend, and have always wanted to make another. And wouldn't something in rustic, woodsy colors go perfectly with Fall weather on my new property? Don't answer that, don't encourage me! And don't tell me about gradient yarns in reds and browns and greens!
In studio organization, I'm working on a whole blog post about the work tables That Poor Man has been working on for me... I tried to finish it yesterday but still have a little bit to go, and since I don't want to overwhelm with two blog posts in one day, I'll put that one out tomorrow.
So... talk to you more tomorrow!