Tuesday, April 12, 2016

My Journey As A Scroll Saw Pattern Designer #1719: Planning a Change

I am running late today because I got distracted. I don’t believe I mentioned it here in my blog, but in a couple of months we are moving into a much bigger place. Most of you who follow me here in social media know that for the past seven years, we have been living and running our business out of a one bedroom apartment. While it is clean and nice and we have used our storage to the utmost efficiency, we both decided that it is getting too hard to do so with our business growing the way it is and it is time to move to a bigger place. It is just a matter of necessity. 



I am bittersweet in this decision because there are a lot of things that I really love about our place here. I love the view for one, with the river just across the road the the woods behind us. I love the quiet neighborhood and rural atmosphere. I love the freedom that we have to do our own thing, as the place we rent is our own wing of a sprawling ranch house which is completely private from the other residence.



But the drawbacks of living here are mounting. 



I am getting tired of scroll sawing at the side of our kitchen. Even though we keep our things ‘minimal’ there is set up and clean up time every time we need to do something. Since I have been providing more and more painting surfaces, my scrolling time has really increased and it is becoming something that is more than just 'occasional’ to make prototypes. We need a shop and designated area to do the noisy and somewhat messy wood working. 



We also have had to increase the amount of supplies and office products that we need to function on a daily basis. Since we are printing and shipping more, we need to store these things and we have simply run out of space. Every square inch of every corner and closet is used, and while we still look rather 'neat’ to someone just coming to visit, we have to dig and move many things to get to everything. It is getting to be troublesome and the time involved is better spent designing. 



Finally, our landlord has somewhat slacked off with caring for things. While she used to be on top of things, we have noticed a definite change. Normal wear and tear things, not to mention a closet that had to be re-drywalled due to a leaking roof has been a low priority on their agenda. The said closet has been torn apart for nearly a year, forcing us to shift half of the contents to our other small bedroom closet, making it over filled.  With a place this small, we need every square inch and once again I am finding that being patient doesn’t always pay off. It was suppose to be completed by Christmas and now we are well into April with no sign of change. Add to that the huge rent increase last year and it was pretty much an easy decision. It is time for a change. 



We have been casually looking for a new place for several months. We wanted someplace that is clean, nice and where the owners would offer us a long-term contract. We don’t want to have to move again for several years, as it is not only expensive to do so, but also disrupts our business as you can imagine. 



By chance we found an entire house that was up for rent. The owners just purchased a different home, but didn’t really want to give up the home that was in their family for many years. Through several circumstances things fell into place and in the end we are happy to say we will be renting their house for the next several years. We are so thrilled!  



After years of living in a tiny place, we will have probably five times the room we are used to. I will have an entire room to myself, which I will make into a studio. It is fairly large (12’ x 12’ or so) and has large corner windows and will be the perfect place for me to create. I am so excited!  The rest of the house is lovely as well, as the owners have done extensive remodeling and upgrading to it. It has just about everything we want in a place to live and I can only say I am thrilled about moving there. 



There is so much planning to do though! We won’t be settled in until the beginning of July, which is good for use as it allows us time to  plan. Keith and I are both very good organizers and we are already having a great time figuring out how to use all the extra space. (Thus my distraction today. I was cyber shopping and looking at furniture!)  I promise to keep you all updated on how we are doing. It is going to be a fun adventure! 



But for now I have to keep moving ahead with work. We are planning to update our site later today and will have some new things for you all to enjoy. 



Keith created another beautiful Bible verse plaque based on the 23rd Psalm:



His SLDK409 plaque is already posted on the site HERE and you can purchase the pattern for it now. 



He is also working on some more plaques to add in very shortly. 



I will be adding in some new painting surfaces for you all to enjoy. These cute ornaments are two pieced like the SLDPK129 Elegant Bevel Cut Ornaments, but they are of different, cute shapes.



I also have matching full sized plaques in these shapes as well. The products should be up there later today by the time we send our our Newsletter



I also am now able to release my wooden Victorian skate pattern and surface from last year’s Art Play Date.



You can now purchase the pattern as well as the surface from my site. (as soon as I post it!) I will also be making the video for that project public very soon. 



I had better get moving on things though. I have some orders to pack and mail out and then the newsletter to write. Hopefully we will get it out by early evening. 



It is another grey, overcast and rainy day here, but that is what spring usually brings. I hope you all have a great day today and take some time to enjoy yourself. 



Happy Tuesday to you! 



via Tumblr http://davidpires578.tumblr.com/post/142686144389

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