Lemony Whipped Dessert

This is a story about the legacy of a delicate tea-cup I purchased last November at a yard sale in Nantucket, a day after moving here from my extensive travel in France.

The journey of a tea cup

Inspired by the French spoken in my booth today, the completion of a special order of a maker’s mark pendant from that very tea-cup and my growing intrigue into the history of various china makers I am embarking on a series of entries focused on history and facts about china.

A year ago, if asked what Limoges was, I would have responded that it was a delicious light lemony dessert more than likely topped with fresh whipped cream. My customers that know their stuff would have scoffed and looked down upon my tasty response. Scorn no more, ladies!! This tasty treat is learning her stuff!

Once adored for sipping tea…

For those of you who are still licking their lips thinking about lemon tarts and fresh whipped cream, it’s okay there is a little trail of drool forming at the corner of my mouth….mmmmmm….lemony desserts….fresh whipped cream…mmmmmm

Anyhow, Limoges is actually a city in the Limousin Region of France. The city of Limoges was destined to produce some of the worlds finest china, it was as many will say, written in the stars.

It was thought that the material necessary to make fine porcelain was only available and well-guarded in China. But in the late 18th century a chemists wife found a substance in Limoges that she hoped would be viable for soap. Turns out the material was Kaolin, a key ingredient in making hard-paste porcelain (the fancy shit from China). Cha- CHING!!! France hit it BIG!!!

FUNNY SIDE ANECDOTE is that back in the day (around 1520) when Marco Polo brought back the first fine china from none other than China, the French (along with the Italians) tried to ban the import. It seems that they were not happy being upstaged in the fashionable fineness department, they simply couldn’t create the kind of fine detail coming out of China, at least not for another 200+ years.

So JACKPOT!!!!!!!!! With abundant Kaolin stores at the ready France could now get to work upstaging the rest of the world in the fine art of porcelain…can’t you hear the collective sigh of relief.

And truly France did hit the high ranks. Not only did Limoges have Kaolin in their back yard it is surrounded by the forests of the Limousin Region, harvesting this energy meant ample fuel to feed the fires of the kilns. What is even cooler is the Viennes Rivers floats through Limoges providing quick transportation for the logs AND the power to beat the clay into artful submission.

See what I mean…DESTINITY! Talk about taking advantage of your local geography. To add to that pot of gold, the surrounding region had a high unemployment rate so when the factories started getting hot, the people flooded the area for work (labor costs were also cheaper in the countryside than in the city….surprise, surprise).

Pre-French Revolution the French Roy-al maintained strict control over the production of fine white ware (these were blank pieces that would be sent to prominent artists for decoration and then exported around the globe). After the French Revolution private factories took over and the porcelain industry took off.

The tiny tea-cup I discovered at the yard sale in Nantucket ultimately began its life at one of these private factories started by David Haviland, a New Yorker on a mission. Haviland working as a ceramic importer in New York was brought a mysterious tea-cup to repair. He couldn’t resist the temptation to find the exact location where this work of art was produced. His quest led him to none other than Limoges, where he set up shop and became one of the most noted producers of the city, specifically because he hired in-house artist to complete the white ware on site. His son Theodore, the maker of the inspiration of the story, apparently branched off and started his own company. The Haviland name, while today is no longer run by direct family, is still synonymous with fine porcelain among crystal and other expensive chocki gift kind of stuff (said with the utmost respect).

And today, in modern times, that little tea-cup got tastefully mutilated and turned into a charming necklace to be worn with pride by an owner and connoisseur of Limoges.

…now adorns the neck of Limoges Loving Ladies

Stay tuned for the next of edition of “Loosely Researched Fun Facts in the Exciting World of Ceramic Production”

Disclaimer: This is not a thesis or doctoral dissertation and certainly not intended to be overly researched, annotated or cross-referenced. Please forgive any inconsistencies and by all means correct them if you know…

Blessings and love to all!

Tools of the Trade

About 17 years ago I was living in Texas with my mom and step-dad, Peter. I was young and in the clouds about life, chasing my heart toward the West Coast in following my heart and then current passion. I don’t remember exactly what I was telling Peter, I am sure it was a litany of plans for what I thought would happen when I left Texas and made my way to New Mexico and onward to whatever. After spewing forth my tempest of ideas, thoughts, desires and wishes, Peter’ ever responds ever so simply: “Well, SOMETHING is gonna happen…” I wish I could insert the sound of his voice into that quote so you could completely get the ultimate zen simplicity with which he delivered this quintessential message that I would return to over and over again in my life.

Peter got involved with my mom when I was around 9 years old, I am sure he didn’t have a clue what he was getting into, the tempest that is the energy of my mom followed by the whirling dervishes that are her children. Something tells me that Peter either knew in some cache of infinite wisdom the power of his catch phrase or this was when he was beginning to discover it. Either way “something happened” for all of us.

One might ask what the hell this has to do with business or business philosophy? Well, everything. How I have interpreted this saying over and over again in life is that it is critical to take some action, to go live life, take care of business and then beyond the simple actions we take all we can do is sit back and see what happens. This is something I have NEVER been good at. I often have a clear idea of what I want to happen so it has often been a struggle for me to sit back and accept what life brings. What I am learning from that phrase these days is that rather than being a period on the end of the sentence that phrase is actually a rolling dialogue: I take some steps, the universe responds, as much as I would like to know what the universes response is going to be (and I often try to pretend to know this) I don’t know, so what there is to do is to respond to what is in front of me.

For example, this weekend my mom and step-dad are in town and I was so looking forward to sharing the Saturday Market with them, after all they have played the largest part in getting this crafty business up and running. They paved the way with their craft business, Flowers in Glass. Their choice to lead a funkier than normal lifestyle and choose work that supports their lifestyle is the source of my inspiration. When I think I am making crazy choices about starting this business or wonder if it will ever amount to putting food on the table I look to their life, take a deep breath and a few steps in the direction of success confident in the knowledge that…”something is going to happen…”

No matter how prepared I might have been to give it a go this weekend I couldn’t control that the Market would be canceled due to major storms passing over. I believe that because of my commitment to practicing principles in this business such as trust, faith, open-mindedness it was so easy to let the cancellation roll off my back and open up space to enjoy their company. I trust that I have done and continue to do the work to create a successful and honorable business so when something happens that I didn’t foresee I can roll with it and enjoy the “something” that shows up.

 

Wild Bull goes to Market

Sustainable Nantucket Artisan & Farmer’s Market that is!

This marked week two of our local market and my commitment to taking things one step at a time, the turtle business model. So far, allowing this business room and time to grow is proving itself in the market place. In the short weeks since the market started I have had several people connect with me via word of mouth, my favorite way to advertise! Not only is word of mouth or “creating a buzz” an inexpensive way to get press it is in my opinion the most powerful way. It begins with my sharing the passion I have for creating this work which is why I love being the one in my booth connecting with people. From there people who love the work share about it with an enthusiasm I often can’t match!

It includes choosing pricing that reflects the quality of the work and standing by that pricing (I choose not to barter, discount or offer “specials” for frequent flyers, I believe those practices can cheapen the work). I find that as an American shopper we are always out for the discount and often compromise quality to get something for 20% off. I am on a mission in my own life to rid myself of that practice and assist others in the pursuit of quality. There is nothing sustainable in cheap! Truly purchasing a high quality item at a bit higher cost usually translates to a longer, happier life with that product. The alternative is usually buying that similar lesser quality item 2-3 times over the course of the same life, at the end I usually end up spending more time and energy in the pursuit of a cheaper alternative…oh boy, I wasn’t expecting that rant…!

I digress, anyhow, in the end this all means that I must employ the patience and trust principles, this kind of company builds over time not overnight. I am happy to say that in a short two weeks at market I have experienced the build already, specifically in a way that is sustainable to the rest of my life!

Keep on truckin’

Building Foundations

A few local contractors here in Nantucket have unearthed bits and pieces of antique china on the projects they are working on. One of them, I mentioned a while back, commissioned me to do a piece for the homeowner. I just LOVED that project and since then have a had a run of a few special orders that also came with sweet stories and cherished memories. Anyhow, the connection I am drawing here is between the foundations where these relics have been discovered and the foundation I am setting with Wild Bull Designs (Just so no one gets confused in my meandering of words).

Wild Bull is but a fledgling business, we are in our first year and working through so many details and kinks that many days it is hard to wrap my  mind around all that needs to be addressed without bursting at the seams. As I have shared many time in my blog what has brought me personal success in dealing with the insane amount of details is my commitment to a spiritual meditation practice, sharing with my trusted loved ones and heading wisdom in any form it comes my way.

Over the winter I pursued many options for potentially marketing Wild Bull in this new community I live in a store, a salon, farmer’s market and festivals off island. A few weeks ago I launched at a downtown shop and have since made the choice to exclusively market and sell my work in venues where I am fully managing the merchandising and selling, at least for now. Many reasons went into the final call to pull my jewelry and get back to slow and steady growth. When I sell at a store I miss out on being present to share about my business and connect with the people buying the product I also lose merchandising control and the opportunity to really express what is so unique about my business. I have realized that in this developing business, it is just that still developing. While I am clear about the values that form the foundation, I am only now getting clear about how I want the end result to be received by the client. Branding is truly everything and while it may be an overused advertising term, branding really sums up the total image of a product, business and at the end of the day the person running the show. All the reason to spend significant critical time at the branding stage and to develop relationships that support the special type of branding you may want for your business, whether in the hiring, marketing, training process. It is so hard to get back to this stage, the laying of a foundation or the branding of an organization.

People here decide to winterize their 50+ year old homes and in that must lift up the building and pour a foundation, 50 or more years into the life of a home cannot make that process simple or cost-effective. What would make that simple and affordable is to do it in the beginning. I am fortunate I am at that stage of building and have the opportunity to take my time pouring the foundation: how is my work displayed?, how do I want people to talk about my work?, what feeling do I want them to have when they walk into my booth at a festival?, what kind of stores would I want to show my work in? All of these questions and more are springing out of earlier work where I dove into the values I want this business to develop out of: creativity, community (communication) and sustainability.

The next step beyond these values is to take the time, and as much time as I need, to choose wisely the type of packaging I want, the display I see representing my work, the images on my business cards, the business’ where I buy supplemental products from, the type of venues that match my values, etc. There truly is so much for me to wrap my mind around that sometimes it is a welcome breath to take a step back, get back to ground level and ask some more questions. I am noticing that this growth process is about taking maybe a few too many steps forward only to have to take a step back, get curious, gather wisdom and wait for the moment to move forward. Once the next foot is out, stay really present and aware if something isn’t matching up or doesn’t feel right, LISTEN, try something new. Development is a process not an end.

The next thing…

3.13.12

One practice I am working on in simplifying my life is “The next thing…”, which to me means that when I am wound up in a tailspin of trying to “do it all” right in this moment that I stop, take a deep breath and ask myself what REALLY needs to be done right NOW. In that tailspin everything seems urgent and soon enough I am caught in a tempest of activity that demolishes my access to savoring the sweetness of life. And oh how sweet life is underneath all that perceived urgency…and when whatever it is I can work on in the moment is complete I can ask myself “What is the next thing?”.

3.14.12

So yesterday was a perfect example of this practice…mid sentence in this entry I looked at the clock and noticed the next thing was to get my butt to work. Throughout the day I found myself noticing all kinds of opportunities to practice. There are so many things I would like to complete in a day and they all seem to carry equal weight in my mind. As I let go of the panic that sometimes comes with me multi-tasking, it becomes clear what the next thing is. When I received two letters from a dear friend in the midst of setting up my state business account, it was clear to put down the computer and enjoy hearing his voice in my head as I read each word, knowing that I still had plenty of time to take care of  business.

I have been finding this particularly helpful as I go through the daunting task of “legalizing” my business. Getting the name registered, a state certificate so I can charge sales tax (and of course pay the piper back), applying for markets and festivals, meanwhile making stock and working a new gig. All of it carries a huge urgency in my mind that almost makes me want to throw up my hands and say “FUCK IT ALL! Why bother, it’s so much work? You’ll never get it all done? You should just forget about this craft business stuff, you’re safe with a good paying full time job now, what do you need with this artsy shit anyway???”. Well, there it is friends, a window into the banter in my head. Fortunately, faith, courage, and experience with success have come to the rescue and remind me daily to take a deep breath, look at the next thing there is to take care of and do it…the rest will follow. In that space I believe I open up to ease in the experience of what often seems like annoying tasks (I have applied this same practice to my taxes and for the last two years they have been simple and done with ease). When the task doesn’t carry a note of ease, which we all know is often the case in daunting tasks, I get access to acceptance with the discomfort, which in an odd way opens me up to ease. Or recognition that maybe this particular task can be completed at a different time, under less duress (wisdom to know the difference…)???

On a completely practical note, it is also recognizing priorities (this for me includes time with people I love and the business I love) and honoring them. Identifying whether it is a time sensitive task and how important the tasks is relative to my growth (business and personal) all play into choosing what’s next. And so here I am completing my weekly blog (a little later than I would like) AND honoring priorities. I am so grateful I didn’t try to finish this off yesterday and then RUN out the door to work…all things in their time I suppose…

Partnership

The seas are rough this morning! I should probably leave the coffee alone, set aside any reading and meditate my way across the ocean and yet I type. Jared and I are watching our little island home shrink in the distance as we head off in the direction of the mainland. There isn’t much going on in Nantucket in the winter, a major selling point for me especially with Wild Bull just beginning. I have ample time to play in my studio, develop a website, research art shows and other marketing opportunities. I am incredibly grateful for that time, without a business partner or staff, crossing all the “t’s” and dotting all the “i’s” is both my creative and practical responsibility. Anyhoo…we are heading to Beantown for some much needed culture: grab some shows, historic walks, good eats in the North End (I know nothing of Boston and am very excited for Jared to share one of his favorite cities with me).

I had a perfect opportunity yesterday to practice infusing my personal values into the values of this budding business. The top billing value in life these days is SUSTAINABILITY. Not just sustainable earth practices but life practices: not overdoing it, less turning my life into a series of lists to simply be checked off, more savoring things and lingering in the details. This past week I took a job offer working for a hip chic on the island doing landscape design and installation (like it or not, Wild Bull is still on its way to sustaining my life financially and the small sales I have on Etsy are not going to pay the bills). I knew I would have to find something and found myself pickling between the ever promising big bucks of waitressing and finding something that matched my soul a little more. My connection with this woman and appreciation of what she does and how she does it made accepting the job a no-brainer. Immediately, I found myself in a state of worry and control (this is my default setting practiced for many many years)! “How would it all work out? I am going to have to make all my stock TODAY! We can’t go on vacation NOW I have a sales season to prepare for before going to work a full time gig!!”

The thing about my default setting is that…well, quiet frankly IT SUCKS! It’s no way to live a sustainable, savory life. I get all worked up into a controlling frenzy, Wild Bull becomes a job not a joy, I have no room for enjoying life with my partner or making calls to hear about friends and family, the future is damned…you get the drama.

I may not have a business partner in the practical sense but I have a lot of loving partnerships that help me sustain this transition into a more gentler way of doing things (including business). It was in leveraging these relationships yesterday that I found access to peace and sanity…I kept my standing phone date with my therapist, my phone date with my friend in Philly, I made plans to go walking with new friends and in the in-between time I did some work and packed leisurely. Default was telling me I needed to cancel everything so I could make stock in order to justify this vacation that falls just before starting the new job and balancing that with a growing business. “I’ll have to be making jewelry at 2am to make it all work!”

In practicing the value of sustainability I find that trust and faith are the magic ingredient. I mean really, when has my life turned to shit because I missed a list item? How do I KNOW my business will fail if I don’t do everything yesterday?! Welcome to some of the drama in my head. I am so grateful to the people in my life that let me unload that drama, who help me recover a sense of humor and gentleness. These relationships are turning out to be the best and most valuable investment in business development I have come across yet…