Over a month has passed since my last post and this time I can actually say I KNOW where the month went. Preparations for Emily's wedding, fittings, bridal shower (cancelled and rescheduled due to hurricane), creating Katuba art, soothing ruffled bridal feathers and serious dieting (5 pounds so far and counting). In between, babysitting for an amazingly mellow 10 week old baby grandson has a soothing effect on this MOB and the birth of yet another boy into the family (nephew Daniel's first) fills our lives with happiness.... times twenty! All the joy of 2011 overshadows the sadness of 2009 for the Lieberman clan and each day is cherished and never taken for granted.
Business has been slow and I've slashed prices on the website to see what will work and what people will want to spend, but with the chilly weather upon us and holiday season approaching, my mass mailings are being stepped up. Postcards came in and my mailing list prep is ongoing so all is ready. So far Artsydog.com hasn't done much but the promised ad campaign is almost upon us (magazine ads in October issues of pet magazines) so we'll see how that works out. Another Toronto based pet website
contacted me to carry the line but I'll hold off on any more Internet stores for the time being.
The biggest issue is still cash flow so I'm not doing any ads for a while but twitter often and have offered a free sweater give away for the month of October to those who write in. It's nice to see how much people love their pets. All the harness vest and leash designs for 2012 re complete though I'll continue to update and add to the collection as ideas pop into my head. The new strategy for selling wholesale is to show existing samples and present CAD images and swatches of the new styles so I'm working on that as well, then maybe cut to sales. The raincoat is still an issue but I think I have found the best, simplest and least expensive way to do it. Unless there's an angel out there that wants to invest in this struggling company (in this struggling economy) I'm still content doing it all but would gladly relinquish a couple of hats from time to time.
Meanwhile, Jeff and I have planned our 40th wedding anniversary present to each other.....a trip to Italy......Milan, Sardinia and Florence to be exact! After all the above activities are complete, it will be awesome to just think about us for a change, kick back after the wedding and have fun, which we always manage to do when we travel. We'll be staying with a friend for part of the time (villa in Sardinia...whoo-ha) were we will forget our diets and stuff ourselves with seafood and pasta, walk on the beach which I'm told is beautiful (but have yet to google earth it) and while Jeff and Manlio drink grappa, smoke pot and talk film, I will paint the landscapes, visit flea markets and smile a lot.:::does anticipatory dance::::
