November 23, 2012

More Than Thankful...


I hope everyone had a beautiful day yesterday! I am so thankful to be able to help support my family doing what I love. I am starting a sale today and offering a 15% off @ www.gaea.etsy.com through Sunday. You can find the coupon code on my facebook page by clicking the "like" button at the top of my shop! Many thanks! Gaea

November 18, 2012

Gingerbread and Keys and Such...

Etsy update! Monday 11/19 at noon (PST)! Gingerbread houses, keys, and gift with purchase listings...






November 14, 2012

Ginger Bread.

Oh my! How this year has flown by and the holidays have jumped up on me like a bad dog about to take advantage of my leg. (Down boy! Down!) As usual I am running to catch up to the holiday train that has nearly left the station by adding jewelry to my etsy shop and making a few holiday theme "thank you" gifts...


November 6, 2012

Gift Mob

Did you read my post about my phone conversation with Beverly? It got me thinking... I had sent her a small packet of goods to enjoy. Upon receiving them she called to say "Thank you!" We spoke for a bit more and she told me how she rearranged her work space to accommodate her wheel chair. I also realized how hard it must be for her to get out and shop on her own (thus the need for a catalog). Here is my idea.... If you have a few jewelry making supplies that you are willing to part with (I know I have many things gathering dust!) and perhaps a paper catalog for your business or another supply company that you can part with, I thought it would be fun to surprise Beverly with a gift box of jewelry making supplies. Even a used pair of round nose pliers or cutters would be great! So if you are interested in making someone happy please let me know if you would like to participate! It would be good to get a box to her before Thanksgiving! Leave a comment or email me! THANKS!




November 1, 2012

Feeling Thankful

As I wear all of the hats in this little enterprise, answering phones and returning calls is part of my job. If you have ever had a job where answering a phone is part of your job then you may have had a call or two with customers that would not get to the point and you felt pressure to hurry them along. Goodness gracious knows you wouldn't want to make your boss mad! You can sometimes get a feeling of what type of call it will by by the tone in the other persons voice. Are they angry? Appreciative? Tired? When a woman named Beverly called and left me a message the other day, inquiring about a paper catalog I could immediately feel my stress level go up a bit.

Being expensive to print and not having many requests for them, I had stopped making them a while ago. It has been my experience that most catalog customers do not have computers and usually do their shopping by phone. I was mentally preparing myself for the disappointment of having to tell a potential customer "no" to their lovely request. I called her back and let her know about the catalogs and she asked a few questions. And then a few more. And then a few more.... I started to feel a bit impatient when she was asking me about the cost of goods that I didn't make or carry. Then I stopped myself and realized that all she really wanted was a bit of company and a little chat.

Maybe it was the sweetness in her voice or that she reminded me of my grandmother but something kept me on the line and I didn't feel the need to beg her off or hurry her along. In conversing, I found out she was in the path of hurricane Sandy and wondered if she was in harms way. She told me about her grandson and how he checked in on her everyday in spite of his working 2 jobs. He sounds like a good boy. At 76, Beverly had just discovered her love of jewelry making and was looking for supply catalogs. We talked for a bit about jewelry and magazines and children and missing grandparents and I so enjoyed hearing about her life as a foster parent and and just enjoyed how wonderful her positive spirit is. She reminded me of how lucky we are and how blessed we are. Her final word were "You are wonderful!" I will carry her words in my heart... Thank you, Beverly, so are you.