From our Archives

Meet the Maker March continues with a look back at our archives. We found a few photos of our first art shows, and the not so sophisticated display we offered back there. We love to see how far we have come from those first days, and how exciting it is to keep on growing.

Our very first art shows used baskets or clay pots on tables so that you look down to view what is on the table. We learned a lot about merchandising, and how important it is to display products elevated so the eye can scan the available things. Our first rack was a curb side find that was a shelf-less book shelf. We found baskets that fit at an angle and could display 18 variety of our soap. Top baskets were for mini soap packets which we cut from trims of the soap. That came to an end when we began using more structured molds, and cutting to accuracy.

My silk was displayed on a standing wrought iron towel rack. Back in those early days i only did Shibori (which is a form of tie dye). Our display looked rather crude, and simple. And back in the day i was confused on what i wanted to create – i started out turning grocery bags (plastic) into yarn and crocheting tote bags. One of my big beach bags is photographed below. While that was really fun, it was tough on my hands, and at some point i had to stop crocheting because i was developing trigger fingers.

Looking back in our archives it is exciting to see how our business has evolved, grown and all of the skills to run a business have been getting sharper. I love our humble beginnings, and respect all i have learned from those times to now. How about you? When you look back in your history are you seeing great changes, pivots, evolving?