Cajun Corner - Vol. 4, No. 8

Cajun Corner – Vol. 4, No. 8 – March 2, 2012

Bon Jour!  Welcome to Cajun Stitchery’s weekly email and welcome to our family.

ΘΘΘΘΘ

Don’t forget to visit our blog at www.cajunstitchery.blogspot.com, and www.cajunstitchery.etsy.com often.   We are also on Twitter and Facebook. 

Visit our on-line catalogs at:

http://www.imprintit.biz/cgi-bin/cobrand/site.w?location=olc/catalog-home.w&top=catalog&frasmes=no&target=main&sponsor=000699

and www.companycasuals.com/cajunstitchery.

Is it Friday already? 

It was March 3, 2009, when I went down to the tax office and got myself a business license and filed for our Fictitious Name with the State of Florida.  March is Cajun Stitchery’s anniversary month.  Cajun Stitchery has survived three years and we are not out of business yet.

The first thing we have done to celebrate Cajun Stitchery’s anniversary is to purchase a new (used) embroidery machine.  Yes, this will be our second machine.  The new machine, an Amaya, is MADE IN THE USA.  The Amaya’s are the only commercial embroidery machines made in the USA.  There are a lot of really cool things this machine does that our older SWF machine does not.  Nothing that would probably interest this audience but it sure makes us happy.  Instead of a 12 needle machine, this is a 16 needle machine.  That means that we can put 16 different colored spools of thread on this machine at one time and stitch out a design with 16 different colors.  The old machine is limited to 12 needles.  Although 12 needles are not bad, 16 needles are better.  The top speed of our SWF machine is the same as most commercial embroidery machines, 1200 spm (stitches per minute).  The Amaya’s top speed is 1500 spm.  Not to mention that the Amaya has automatic tensioning.  With two machine working for Cajun Stitchery, we can take on twice the number of jobs and size of jobs.  If one machine breaks, for some reason, we will have the other to continue working while the broken machine is repaired.  There are a lot of reasons.  Happy Birthday, Cajun Stitchery.

Our new Amaya should arrive this coming Monday via our embroidery tech friend from Orlando.  The following two days will be training, with and without wine, for both George and me on our new machine.  Right now the old SWF machine will be placed in the living room until the house next door is finished.  The SWF still purrs like a kitten and embroiders beautifully.  So, we will be cramped for space for a little while.  It is worth it. 

Aside from the new machine, I went into our Etsy Store and reduced some prices so that there is nothing in the Etsy Store over $20.  Please visit our Etsy Store and browse around.

George and I are also planning to visit our son and his family in Tampa later this month.  Shernise, our daughter-in-law, is graduating with her RN degree.  I cannot tell you how proud we are of her.  We will be there for her pinning.  She said that she didn’t want to bother with the actual pinning ceremony.  My friends who are RN’s have all told me that they felt the same way but went through the pinning ceremony nevertheless.  In retrospect, all agree that the pinning ceremony is a memory that each of them cherish.  Now I have to figure out a really good gift for her.

Now that the Mardi Gras festivities are over, I had time to attend my WBL meeting today.  I didn’t realize how much I missed those wonderful girls.  I have already set up a meeting with one of the girls who represents Wines For Humanity.  That is the name of the company and pretty much sums up what she does.  I have often said that some day I am going to have a party at my house with Wines For Humanity and our Dove Chocolate lady.  You know that will be a good time.

I have also agreed to have a booth at the Power Link Small Business Conference & Expo at the University of West Florida on April 27 and 28, 2012.  This should be a fun time to meet others in business and determine how we can help each other’s business.

This week has also been consumed writing a fictional story for my krewe.  These annual post-Mardi Gras stories have become a tradition.  They are as zany and outlandish as my imagination will allow.  Someday I may even start another blog for my fictional stories.  I do love to write.

I made a cute dance bag this week.  In retrospect, I probably didn’t glam it up enough but my main reason was to see if I could sew a presentable round bag.  It is really neat because once you unzip it, you see that it is lined in gold lame.  It is blinding.   It is in our Etsy Store for sale.

I’m working on a long scarf right now.  I have a large piece of navy blue, stretch lace fabric that I’ve never used for anything because it is so pretty.  I decided to make a long scarf.  The scarf is 108”.  That is 3 yards, and about 20”-25” wide.  I’m still playing with it.  Since the lace itself is a design and it is so light, I really don’t want to embroider on it.  I have attached some colorful eyelash yarn to the ends and may attach more.  I am just not sure where I’m going with it at this point.

We’ve also embroidered several scrubs for the beautiful ladies at Bloom Spa.

I did have a situation where a lady contacted me for a lap handkerchief a/k/a lap scarf.  She wanted it 30”x30”.  The purpose was to lay the scarf on her lap and cover her knees and legs at church.  Sorry, but I’ve never heard of such a thing.  After doing a Google search for lap handkerchiefs, I found that there are actual stores that specialize in them.  I made one to sell in our Etsy Store.  Take a look.

George showed me a painting of a mermaid and merman entwined that he liked.  So, I digitized it.  I even made myself a scarf with the design.

It has been a busy week and I hope everything remains busy because I truly love what I do for a living.  Please let me know if there is anything you need that might require embroidery.  And remember you do not need to order embroidery if you want something out of our catalogs or through our wholesalers.  We can still get it for you.  Just ask.

If you are not a subscriber and would like to receive Cajun Corner weekly, please email cajunstitchery@yahoo.com and let me know to put you on our email list. 

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Thanks to Marshall Larrivere for the following:

Down in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana , Boudreaux gets a job with BP helping with the cleanup.

He reports for work and is told to speak to a supervisor about his assignment.
He finds the man and asks, "What it is I suppose to do?"
The supervisor tells him to go to the animal shelter and clean the pelicans.

Two hours later, Boudreaux comes up to the supervisor and says,

"Okay. Dey all cleaned. You want me to cook some rice?"

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C’est tout, mes amis

Peggy Henshall

Cajun Stitchery

(850) 261-2462

cajunstitchery@yahoo.com

P.S.  You are always welcome to stop by and look at all of the catalogs and pass some time with me, cher.

Cajun Corner - Vol. 3, No. 47

Cajun Corner – Vol. 3, No. 47 – November 26, 2011

Bon Jour!  Welcome to Cajun Stitchery’s weekly email and welcome to our family.

ΘΘΘΘΘ

Don’t forget to visit our blog at www.cajunstitchery.blogspot.com, and www.cajunstitchery.etsy.com often.   We are also on Twitter and Facebook. 

Visit our on-line catalogs at:

http://www.imprintit.biz/cgi-bin/cobrand/site.w?location=olc/catalog-home.w&top=catalog&frasmes=no&target=main&sponsor=000699

and www.companycasuals.com/cajunstitchery.

Hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving.

We spent Thanksgiving Day with friends.  It was the usual fair of eating until you could barely breathe, took a walk, and then we played an enticing game of Scrabble.  It really was a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We have so much for which to be thankful.

We are still learning our smart phones and still having issues with our U-verse.  Earlier this week the internet went down, again.  This time they sent a repairman who seems to think the problem is in the AT&T wires and not our home wiring.  The internet came up again and we were happy.  It went down again today requiring us to call, again.  We are back on the internet now.  It comes and goes.  I sure wish they would fix the problem.

Today I received The Square.  The Square is the entire reason we got the smart phones and the U-verse in the first place.  The Square allows Cajun Stitchery to accept credit cards.  I must have Wi-Fi available so it should work at the house.  I’m going to the Perdido Bay Golf Club this afternoon where we will have a booth with other local small businesses.  I sure hope we can get Wi-Fi there so I can accept credit cards. 

Buy from local small businesses day is a great idea.  There has been a lot of publicity.  I’m thinking that most shoppers want to buy from local small businesses but the prices that many small businesses have to charge is more than people pay at the Wal-Mart type businesses.  In addition to that, it is the day after Black Friday when shoppers are really hyped about getting bargains.  Cajun Stitchery has drastically reduced the price on many of our items that we will be selling today.  We are also looking into various machines that will help us produce a better product and be able to reduce prices at the same time.  The problem, of course, is that the machines cost a lot of money that we would have to recoup.

The boring needles came in.  I’m a little nervous about using them and I’m waiting for my friend to try her’s first.  I read as much literature as I could find on them, including watching some videos.  It just appears that an attachment is necessary.  I contacted the manufacturer of our machine but they never returned my call.

If anyone is interested in bath robes, let me know.  I’m getting ready to place an order for some waffle weave robes, 48” long, hotel quality, one size fits all.  They are going to cost about $50 each, plus shipping.  Of course, the more I purchase, the lower the shipping rate.

CHRISTMAS is around the corner.  Get that Christmas shopping done now and enjoy the holidays.

If you are not a subscriber and would like to receive Cajun Corner weekly, please email cajunstitchery@yahoo.com and let me know to put you on our email list. 

===============================================================

Thank you Marshall Larrivere for the following:

Walking into the bar, Boudreaux said to Charlie

the bartender, “Pour me a stiff one - just had another fight with the

little wife.”

“Oh yeah?” said Charlie, “And how did this one end?”

“When it was over,” Boudreaux replied, “She came

to me on her hands and knees.”

“Really,” said Charles, “Now that's a switch!?

What did she say?”

She said, “Come out from under the bed, you little

coward.”

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C’est tout, mes amis

Peggy Henshall

Cajun Stitchery

(850) 261-2462

cajunstitchery@yahoo.com

P.S.  You are always welcome to stop by and look at all of the catalogs and pass some time with me, cher.

Cajun Corner - Vol. 3, No. 45

Cajun Corner – Vol. 3, No. 45 – November 11, 2011

Bon Jour!  Welcome to Cajun Stitchery’s weekly email and welcome to our family.

ΘΘΘΘΘ

Don’t forget to visit our blog at www.cajunstitchery.blogspot.com, and www.cajunstitchery.etsy.com often.   We are also on Twitter and Facebook. 

Visit our on-line catalogs at:

http://www.imprintit.biz/cgi-bin/cobrand/site.w?location=olc/catalog-home.w&top=catalog&frasmes=no&target=main&sponsor=000699

and www.companycasuals.com/cajunstitchery.

Veteran’s Day is coming to an end.  The Blue Angels Air Show was right over our house today.  It was a fabulous celebration.  The air show continues tomorrow, as well.

I’m lined up to have a booth at Gallery Night on November 18^th  in downtown Pensacola and at the Perdido Bay Golf Club on November 26^th.  Don’t forget to buy from local small businesses on November 26^th.  It occurred to me this week that the reason people shop at malls is because all of the stores are under one roof.  Just telling people to shop local small businesses is not good enough.  How are people going to find small businesses who work out of their homes, like me?  So, I made a suggestion to our wonderful Women’s Business Luncheon group that we need to find places to gather and have booths on the 26^th.  I really thought the perfect venue would be our Small Business Development Center.  I asked if we would be allowed to set up in their parking lot, which is just on the outskirts of downtown.  I still haven’t received a response.  In the meantime, another member has arranged for us to set up at the Perdido Bay Golf Club from 1-5 p.m.  She set aside a table and chair for Cajun Stitchery.  So, that’s where we are going to be.  If you are in the area, come on over to Perdido Bay Golf Club on Saturday, November 26^th between 1-5 p.m.   Meet some of your local small businesses and do your Christmas shopping.  Of course, it would be nice if there were areas set up all over town to spotlight our local small businesses.

It is getting busy now.  I’ve been working with several friends trying to learn how to make cold calls.  It really all started last weekend.  I was messaging a friend and was still pondering why people loved my merchandise at the craft fair, they touched, they commented, but then would walk away without purchasing anything.  I’m thinking that I am doing something wrong.  So, while we were messaging, she decided that I need to meet a lady who owns a new local small business.  Before the conversation was over I had an appointment for Tuesday.  Tuesday arrived and I did meet with the lady.  I made up a packet of information about Cajun Stitchery and embroidery, including my price list.  I brought one of my catalogs and even created a sample embroidered logo for her to see my work.  I walked in wearing my black fleur de lis scarf with rhinestones.  Another friend happened to be there and she really did all of the work for me.  She told the owner how she orders her embroidery from me and is a completely satisfied customer.  The rest was just chit chat.  Once her logo is done by her graphic designer, she is going to send it to me to have digitized and embroidered on aprons and smocks.  She also wants some scarves made.  We had a very pleasant conversation and have even arranged to meet again next week.  It was a good meeting.

Later, I thanked my friend and was telling her about the meeting when she decided that I needed to come to her office and practice cold calls.   While we sat and chatted I told her that was probably the first cold call that I’ve ever made.  In disbelief she asked how I got business.  I said, “I have a lot of friend and I talked about embroidery a lot.”  In fact, all of my business is via word of mouth.  At this she said that I needed to meet with a friend who is some sort of executive at Circle K.  That was humorous because that night George and I were going to our weekly Scrabble game which included a friend who is an executive at Circle K.  She wants me to put my can wraps on consignment. 

That evening I talked with my friend who said this probably is a good idea.  If I can get this lady to put my can wraps in her local Circle K stores on consignment, then we will be able to see how they sell.  I sent the introductory email to the lady today but so far have not received a response.  So, say a prayer that this works.  In fact, George and I are talking about printing out labels saying, “Made in the USA” to put on the can wraps and everything else that I make.  The nice thing about the can wraps is that they already have their own Can Wrap Rap by 2-Short Cajun Mama.

While I was on my first cold call, the lady showed me The Square.  Right now the only way that I can accept payment via credit cards is through PayPal.  The reason is because the credit card machine cost money, there’s a monthly fee, all in addition to a percentage taken from each credit card swipe.  The Square, however, is a little one inch device that plugs into the top of a smart phone.  It is the credit card swiper.  There is still a percentage charged for each swipe but no bulky machine and no monthly charge.  Now I can accept credit cards at craft fairs, home parties, wherever I am at the time.  I would rather carry a debit or credit card on me than cash.  I assume others feel the same way.  So, George and I have ordered 2 smart phones from AT&T which should arrive on Monday.  We have rearranged our phone package so don’t be alarmed if I’m off line and without phone service on Monday.

My birthday carried over into this week.  I finally had to quit eating completely except for all of the wonderful dinners and wine that I’m receiving.  My Wednesday night ladies were wonderful, as usual.  Our little nurse was still wearing her nurse’s hat from last week.  I received even more birthday presents this week.  As George says, “Looks like this birthday is going to last all month.”  Sure hope so.

Before I forget, I still have the box for non-perishable food for the homeless shelters.  If you are in the area, drop off some non-perishables.  The food drive is going on to December.

I still have some red and white, regular furry Christmas Stockings, approximately 17 inches long.  I will be glad to embroider a name on them for $7.00 each (includes the stocking).  I also made a pattern for a regular Christmas stocking, same size, which is pretty simple.  I’ll make the stocking and add the name for $12.00.  Let me know if you are interested. They are fully lined.  Fabric will change depending on what I have available at the time of the order.

All cell phone holders in our Etsy store are half price ($5.00), so stop by www.cajunstitchery.etsy.com and get some cute cell phone holders as gifts for Christmas.

CHRISTMAS is around the corner.  Get that Christmas shopping done now and enjoy the holidays.

If you are not a subscriber and would like to receive Cajun Corner weekly, please email cajunstitchery@yahoo.com and let me know to put you on our email list. 

===============================================================

Thank you Marshall Larrivere for the following:

Boudreaux opened the morning newspaper and was

dumbfounded to read in the obituary column that he had died. He

quickly phoned his best friend, Landry.

“Did you see the paper?” asked Boudreaux. “They

say I died!!”

“Yes, I saw it!” replied Landry. “Where ya callin' from?”

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C’est tout, mes amis

Peggy Henshall

Cajun Stitchery

(850) 261-2462

cajunstitchery@yahoo.com

P.S.  You are always welcome to stop by and look at all of the catalogs and pass some time with me, cher.