Larger Than Eeny-Meeny-Miny-Mo
Mazie’s new way to decide everything is eeny-meeny-miny-mo. What shirt to wear, who should put her to bed, which food should she eat first, the list goes on and on, and each item is put to the test with eeny-meeny. She reports at the end of each round of eeny-meeny, that “it” picked “x”. As if eeny-meeny were a sentient being that had an opinion and that opinion needed to be observed and followed. She rarely likes the conclusion that “it” comes to and this leads to another round of eeny-meeny. She has yet to figure out that if she starts eeny-meeny with the same hand each time, she will get the same result. So, this leads to another round of eeny-meeny, which leads to another round, and so on, until at some point she accidentally starts with the other hand and gets the answer she desires. If she already knows what option she wants, why does she insist on spending many precious minutes each day doing eeny-meeny? I am befuddled…
Small Is An Empire, But Not An Empire Builder - The Final Small In A Short Lineage Of Small
Etsy is small gone big. A crap-load of small businesses use Etsy’s platform to sell their wares. I love Etsy. I first went there several years ago when my extremely tech savvy husband told me about the site. I wasn’t impressed. It seemed like a giant craft sale, where all of the crafts were of the variety that my grandma used to make. No disrespect to grandma, she made nice stuff, but it wasn’t the type of thing I would shop for online. There wasn’t much in the way of edgy, cool or up-and-coming. As the site matured and more people added stores, the cool factor elevated significantly. Now if I’m looking for a purse, t-shirt, jewelry, furniture, art or most anything else, my first stop is Etsy. I can get lost on Etsy the way other people get lost on Facebook. I love me some serious Etsy. If you’ve never checked it out, go now and peruse. Even if you are a dude, there is something for you.
I love the stuff on Etsy and the feeling of Etsy. When you buy something from Etsy, you make a connection with a real person somewhere in the real world. You feel special because you get this special thing and the crafter feels special because someone chose their thing out of the millions of things available for sale. It’s a beautiful relationship. It adds something positive back into the world. So much of our society today isolates and alienates people, but Etsy brings people together. It makes a connection where none existed before and bridges a gap that had no reason to be bridged before. That might sound all high and mighty for a commerce website, but I find it to be true.
Okay, so here’s where the story gets a little less warm and fuzzy and a little more brown and muddy. It seems the business model that Etsy is built on doesn’t work so great for the individuals selling the stuff. It’s great for Etsy itself, they make money on each listing and a percent of sales, but for the small business it’s hard to eek out a living making everything by hand, charging basement-bottom prices (considering the time put into each item), and crossing your fingers hoping that someone will buy your stuff. People are used to paying for things that have been mass-produced and the cost of making things by hand is much greater. The industrial revolution didn’t happen without reason; we all want more stuff for fewer bucks.
The CEO of Etsy is a dreamer and artist at heart. He wants the small businesses on his site to bloom and grow and he’s even started a non-profit to try to help some of the Etsy sellers develop their businesses, but ultimately the thing that makes Etsy so great is the very thing that keeps its sellers from making a living. Handmade = more time = higher price to make a livable wage. The other thing that makes Etsy great is the mass volume of things to choose from. A great thing for Etsy itself and for the consumer, but a tough thing for each individual seller. That’s not to say that there aren’t people on Etsy making enough money to live on, and even some making a pretty penny, but the vast majority find themselves not able to get by on Etsy money alone. As a supplement to income or a hobby it’s a great vehicle to get your stuff out there and have your creative voice heard. But, as a small business generator, it seems the generator is broken. People are willing to pay more for hand-crafted things, but not that much more. So, you end up selling for less or you end up not selling much.
I think to make Etsy a full-time gig you need a few things going for you. First, what you make has to be interesting and cool or different, and second, it needs to be something that a person can’t get at Target, Macy’s or the local mall. It has to be the kind of thing that would garner a comment from a passerby. You need to find a niche market and rock it hard. I think then a person can charge more, collect a following, and make a living.
I’m rooting for Etsy and for all of the people schlepping things on the site. I guess maybe the focus needs to shift from “hey, you can make a living here”, to “hey, you can have a portal to sell your creative wares, but you aren’t going to make much doing it”.
My husband, the same tech savvy husband from the beginning of this post, sent me this article about Etsy a few days ago. The article was what got me thinking about Etsy and the whole idea of small. If you are interested, read it and then let me know what you think. Or, just let me know what you think!
Small Can Build An Empire - The Third Installment Of Small
In my continuing homage to small, we take a look next at Scot Pampuch. The man is a small force to be reckoned with. He owns a small restaurant, The Corner Table, and has for several years.
He’s a local food guru who’s always shouting it out to whomever will listen. I’ve usually got my ears tuned to the local food scene and my head on a swivel and I’ve never seen or heard another foodie shout so often and from so many vantage points. Wherever you turn, there he is. It would be creepy if he was creepy, but he’s not, so it’s cool.
This will be his third summer heading up Tour De Farm, a fully sanctioned copy-cat version of Outstanding in the Field, where dinners are held at local farms, out in the field with local chefs and local food.
I just discovered his latest project, the Corner Table Community Supported Kitchen and it’s sheer genius. It’s like a CSA, but from a restaurant. If you don’t know what a CSA is, it’s short for Community Supported Agriculture and it’s basically a box of veggies, fruits, herbs and other random things that you get from a farm. Shares are available to purchase from many local farms and you pick a farm, buy a share, and pick up your box from a pre-determined location each week. The shares can last all year if you are located somewhere South of here, but in our frozen tundra most shares run 18 weeks or so. The CSK or Community Supported Kitchen that The Corner Table has started is a box that you pick up from their restaurant full of local meats, cheeses and the like, all prepped and ready to cook. He is also offering cooking classes bi-weekly at the restaurant in conjunction with the boxes and interesting, but gross classes where you can break down a whole hog with him. Ick, but probably a good thing to do if you eat meat. According to his website there is also talk of a CSK box for vegetarians. The dude is awesome and is living large the small way.
Three cheers for Scot Pampuch!
The Special Of Small - The Second In A Small Series Of Small
New Glarus makes great beer. At least that’s what people who like beer tell me. If you are in Wisconsin, check it out. New Glarus Brewing Company is following the Small Is Cute mantra and keeping things small and manageable, so the only place you can buy their beer is the state where it’s brewed and bottled.
I think it’s nice that certain things are only available in certain places. It used to be that when a person took a trip they could bring things back from their destination and they would be special things, only available from where they had been. More and more that’s not the case anymore. I’m divided about this, because I love that you can find anything from anywhere on the internet, but I also like the specialness of unique places and things.
Jamie and I were in Switzerland several years ago and we came across Sigg water bottles. They were super lightweight, made of aluminum and looked cool. We brought a few back for family members and within a year they were everywhere. It’s great that the bottles are everywhere, the bottles are a much better product than plastic water bottles and Sigg Bottles ended up inspiring a whole industry, but I was sad as well. Our special find wasn’t special anymore.
What’s your take?
Small Is The New Cute
I’ve always liked small. Small is cute. Baby animals, babies, small bottles of shampoo, miniature whatever, it’s all good. Small business is cute too.
My dad and his brother owned a honey packing plant during my childhood and early adulthood and at the time I didn’t see it as all that great, but looking back now at how the company was run, I respect and admire how they did things. They never expanded product sales beyond the five state region, they bought all of their product from the region, they paid their workers well and my dad and his brother worked like dogs. They had a passion for what they did and weren’t willing to compromise that vision for growth.
I’m not saying that growth is bad, and in certain businesses large-scale, fast-paced growth is fundamental and necessary. But, I think there are lots of circumstances when a business grows faster than it should and the business and those associated with it suffer.
So, all of you small business people out there, listen up. Slow down, grow naturally and enjoy the process. If you are doing what you love, keep doing it. I’ll keep spending my dollars with you and your kind as often as I can. Other people might love the Walmart, but I’m loving you. Thanks for keeping it small and personal; you are all so cute : ).
Of course, I’m in no position to say anything about business large or small, but I’m saying it anyway. I don’t think the six people that read my blog will mind.
Larger Than An American Idol Dream
I’ve never been a Jennifer Lopez person. I know who she is, I don’t live under a rock, but I couldn’t tell you the name of any of her songs, if she’s married, single, dating or really anything about her. She’s pretty and she’s a singer/actress, that’s all I know. However, I am a fan of American Idol even though it shames me to admit it.
Ever since I saw the first show, I was hooked. I many times hate the performances, but watching each week gives me satisfaction. The ritual of every January starting with all of the hopefuls, culling them down to a group of 24, then 12 and then a winner is fun for me. I like a lot of the singers that they have on the show, but I’ve never liked a single song that any one of them have released. They talk on the show about being unique and having your own take and spin on a song, but when the music comes out after the show is over, it’s always the same. Over produced ick, or at least to my tender ears it sounds like over produced ick.
But, none of this is the point. The point of all of this is an introduction into why my daughter knows who Jennifer Lopez is. This is Mazie’s first year watching American Idol. She doesn’t really care about the show and spends most of her time playing while the show is on, but this is the first show we have watched as a “family” and I’m grooving on the idea.
The one thing Mazie does love about American Idol is Jennifer Lopez. From the first moment she saw the show, she has been captivated by her. She refers to her as Ms. Jennifer Lopez. It’s freaking cute and I can’t help but to like Jennifer Lopez myself. I’m never going to be a fan of her music, but as she is my daughter’s first celebrity “crush”, I heart Jennifer Lopez.
Mazie is also in the process of learning to read and write. She’s not had much interest in either activity, but in the last month or two, she’s started to see the light. She now writes phonetically and that’s another freaking cute thing. I’m sure everybody’s kid does it, but it’s my first exposure and I’m digging the experience.
All of this back story is finally going to pay off: Here is the picture that she drew of Jennifer Lopez with included name at the top. I don’t often say these words, but you can quote me…it’s precious!
Larger Than A One-Year-Old
I had a baby, then I had a blog, then I had another baby and now that another baby is ONE plus four days! The newest arrival is a never-stand-still, always moving sort of guy. He prefers crawling to walking which is to say that he hasn’t walked yet, but doesn’t have any desire to try. He’s mastered the stairs and makes several trips up and down each day. He commands his environment and expects things to conform to his will. Open the dishwasher and he’ll have a plate on the floor in seconds. Show him the dog food bucket and he’ll be there in a New York minute ready to throw food at the dog. Give him an inch and he’ll take a mile.
He seems stronger than would be natural for a one-year-old and has broken many things that I didn’t think a one-year-old would be able to break. This guy doesn’t take no for an answer. Diaper changes are never dull as Tyler believes lying still to be an insult to my physical prowess. He contorts his body, screams and many times achieves a stand up position mid-diaper change.
For all of his tough guy routine, Tyler is a softie at heart. He laughs his head off multiple times a day and loves an odd head snuggle with anything soft. He delivers open mouthed kisses to arms, legs, faces, whatever he can reach. And he’s got a smile that can’t be beat. That’s Tyler and he’s ONE plus four days…that’s why he’s larger than a one-year-old.
The Good Woman
Me and the Mister were in Bayfield, Wisconsin for a little R&R in July of 2009. Since then, there has been a new baby and a move, but otherwise much is the same. I started to write this blog post all those many moons ago and never finished. A mere year and a half later I am here to continue what was started…
The evening of our arrival, we stopped in to the local candy/ice cream shop and noticed that it was also a bakery in disguise. A woman stood behind plexiglass with a daughter and husband in tow, making a pie. She was extremely unassuming. We also noticed a couple of carmel rolls hanging out behind the plexiglass. After inquiring we were told that each morning at open there were fresh caramel and cinnamon rolls available for purchase.
The next morning like good little monkeys we arrived. What met our eyes was the loveliest of sights. Big, beautiful rolls fresh from the oven. The “Good Woman” that makes these delicacies was bathing each in a bounty of divine frosting. After acquiring the massive goodness and uttering a few more times about what a good woman this lady was, we headed outside to partake.
This creature was the finest cinnamon roll I’ve ever had the pleasure to eat. The Good Woman has a gift and should be honored. Oh Good Woman you are such a good woman. You sit in your little shop all day and night and bake, bake, bake. You are very good at baking and very good at being a good woman. Me and the mister honor you, your gift, and your dedication to your craft.
The Good Woman bakes all day every day at the little candy/ice cream shop in Bayfield, Wisconsin. If you are in Bayfield, Wisconsin you are advised to seek out the Good Woman and her baked goods. You will thank yourself, myself and most emphatically the Good Woman’s self all while licking the ooey-gooey goodness off of your dirty, sticky, frosting-laden hands.
The New Resolution
Almost every hotel you visit now-a-days features a little sign in the bathroom about saving the environment. If you want to use your towels again and forgo new towels thereby helping out the planet, leave your towels on the rack. If you want your towels replaced, throw them on the floor. So, what do I do every time I’m in a hotel, I put my towels on the rack. And what does the hotel do every time my towels are on the rack, they take them away and leave me fresh towels! Drives me nuts, but my apathetic and scared of conflict self has yet to mention this to any of the hotels in which I’ve stayed.
Well, no more. I’m a little late getting to the party, but better late than never. My New Year’s Resolution for 2009 is to take a little control of the situation and try and end this maddening practice. I’ll be back with updates throughout the year. Stay tuned, I’m sure the updates will be riveting. 
Three Cups of Tea
I just finished reading Three Cups of Tea, a book detailing the work of Greg Mortenson to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. I can’t recommend this book highly enough. The book itself is well written and engrossing, and the story of Greg Mortenson is amazing. His determination and personal sacrifice has helped kids in the poorest, most out of the way places get an education that they are hungry to receive. He has internalized the idea that these kids are no different from his own except with respect to their opportunities and put that idea into action building schools. I’ve always thought that trying to combat terrorism with guns and ammunition seemed counter-productive or at least lacking. Mr. Mortenson is pointing the way to a brighter future for all of us, one school at a time. Read this book and then help out with his cause!