2018 Year End Review...or Year In Review

It’s halfway through the year and I started this post in January. #threekids.

The photo above is from the Christmas card we sent out this year. You’ll notice a few things… the most obvious being that there’s an extra child in it. Maybe the next being that not a single soul is looking at the camera. Because that’s my life now. When you have 3 children, 2 things will happen. Never again will all the people in your home be healthy at the same time, and you will never.ever.ever get a photo of your whole family looking at the camera at the same time… until all of them are old enough to understand what a bribe is, and that it should be taken.

So, what’s been going on with Pretty Little Plates this year? If I remembered anything of the last year I would tell you, but it’s been a total blur. Just over a year ago we welcomed Madeline Elise into our home, officially making us a family of 5. I heard my husband say often during the last year, “3 is a game changer,” or “3 is wayyyyyy harder than 2.” I honestly didn’t know what he was talking about. It seemed the same to me. Young kids are hard. 2 is hard, 3 is hard, 1 being extremely hyperactive is hard, it’s all just hard. So I kept my head down and just got through it. Fast forward to this year when our oldest son started full time pre-kindergarten, and our youngest two started 2 days a week at day school. Um…HOLY CRAP. I had NO idea what type of stress I had been under the last year until it was lifted from me. Having 2 kids at home during the day rather than 3, and then getting those 2 short work days back….changing my life over here. I think about the last year and I know I worked. I had weddings, I did some styled shoots, got a few things published. But I couldn’t tell you what any of those things were. I made exactly ZERO blog posts, I did nothing to my website, attended NO networking events. I basically kept the business on life support.

A few things did have to change based on our new family situation. Sadly, I moved out of my space on Camp Bowie with Grit & Gold. I loved my time there, I really loved the ladies who worked there, and enjoyed the sharing of creative minds. It became too complicated to pack for events when I had to visit 2 different locations to get what I needed. Finding childcare for 3, or lugging them all with me, it didn’t make sense anymore. So, we made the decision to move all of the rentals close by the house and now I meet clients at my home or up at We Works Fort Worth. I miss the studio but I must admit… We Works is an exciting and creative space to work as well, when I actually make it up there.

I also cleaned out my inventory this year. I was hoarding some plates that just weren’t up to my expectations in case I had a large wedding pop up, but I Marie Kondoed everything and I’m left with only what I love, and a commitment to myself to just say no to giant weddings.

Other than that, not much has changed. I’m still here, still doing weddings and other events and still loving every minute of it…there are just fewer minutes of it. A few years ago I would have sworn to you that my kids were going to need less of my time pretty soon and I’d be back taking on more and more weddings, but that’s just not what God had planned for us and that’s ok.

Productivity Tips for Small Business/Work At Home Parents

I have children...wild children.  And I work from home.  What that's saying?  If you fail to plan, you plan to fail?  I spent several years failing miserably before slowly getting it together.  Here are a few tips I've learned along the way.

Set Office Hours and stick to them.  Whether you have an office outside the home, have an office space in your home, or like me, have a hybrid situation (I do the bulk of my work at home, but I meet clients at my office space,)  set hours as though you report to a supervisor.  You will get much more done allocating blocks of time to your business than wandering around your house stopping to work periodically.  If your children's schedule changes frequently, schedule your hours weekly on Sunday nights.  Keep a list of action items so you never show up at your desk and say "Why am I here?  What should I do?" 

Ignore your Inbox.  If you work from home, chances are email is the primary way you communicate for work.  So if it's that important, why would you check your email at stop light, while on a run, or at the grocery store?!  I get it...unread emails are so tempting.  I used to check them in the carpool line, the bathroom (gross,) and yeah, in the car.  The problem was although I was physically reading them, I wasn't focused enough to retain the information and actually get back to the person who emailed me.  Worse, I was distracted with my kids and in the car.   Do not mindlessly check your work email account.  Take it seriously and give it your full attention...later.  It may help to remove or hide the email app you use from your phone's home screen.  

Until you stop Ignoring your Inbox...Choose a time (or multiple times) in a day that you can devote to your email communication.  Give it at least 30 minutes, not just to read but to give a meaningful response.  As soon as I put my kids down for naps, I go to my desk and check email.  Nothing gets missed and I retain and respond to what I read.  I check it again quickly right after we put the kids to bed and after that, I leave it to the next day.  To be clear... this is my work account.  You better believe I'm like "What's the latest sale at Anthro???  Gimme more email!" on my personal account.  Yeah, I still check that one the bathroom because kids.  Quiet time.  None.

Make communication with clients a priority.  Let your clients know when you are available to do business and when they will expect to hear from you.  Make it easy to find.  Put it on your website, use an auto reply system for your emails, or include it in your voicemail message.  Then actually follow through with that you said.  Think about who you choose to do business with.  For me, I research my options and reach out to those I think might work.  9 times out of 10 I go with the person who gets back to me first, and the person that communicates with me the best.  (Read: gets back to me in a timely manner and actually answers my questions.)  My old method of checking email on the fly was KILLING my communication with potential and current clients because I wasn't returning those emails in a timely manner.  I also had a serious case of phone call phobia.  I HATE talking on the phone, so I would ignore it when it would ring and then never check voicemail.  That's a little self sabotaging for a small business owner don't you think??   Now my "office" hours are clearly posted on my website.  I let clients know when I'm available to meet them in person, as well as when they might expect to hear back from me if they send an email.  I also have this information on my voicemail.  When I sit down to work after I put my kids down for naps, I check those emails and voicemail and I get back to every single person with the information they requested.  

Utilize your chosen calendar.  Do you have a calendar on your phone?  Use it.  Allow whoever you share childcare duties with to see it.  For me that's my husband.  I can see his calendar and he can see mine, this way we can anticipate any conflicts in our schedule and know if one of us needs to pick up the slack for the other.   Do you prefer a hard copy calendar?  That's great!  But learn to use the one on your phone anyways.  You know you aren't carrying that big old day planner in your clutch when you go out on a date right?  It's pretty useless to you if it's sitting on your desk back at home.

Plan your day or you'll waste it.  I'm sure there are lots of ways to plan a day, prioritizing your tasks, etc... but for me, I just start with a list.  I keep a long term list going with big items I know won't get done quickly and need to work on overtime, but I make a daily list before I go to bed.  It frees my mind so I can sleep peacefully, and I always wake up with direction.  With kids the day can slip away very easily without a plan and your working hours will be the same way!  I get two days "kid free" to work.  I have to get a lot done during that time and my list keeps me focused.  I do the quick tasks first and then go for the more time consuming ones later but that's just my personal preference.  

Take advantage of alternative childcare options.  Sometimes last minute things pop up.  Know what your alternative childcare options are.  In our city there are two awesome places parents can utilize for those unexpected moments.  One is an indoor play space filled with fun no tech toys.  I can take the kids, grab a coffee and sit in the corner to work while my kids are safe and occupied with quality toys and other kids.  Our other option is a drop-in childcare.  Best idea ever!!!  My kids are preregistered, I sign them in with my fingerprint, they provide meals if I request them... it's awesome!  They charge by the minute so I only pay for the time I use, and it'a actually less expensive than hiring a sitter.  The kids love it and they aren't glued to a television, which is something that's been a slippery slope in our house so we try very hard to stay away from it totally.  

***New tip: Online Grocery Shopping.  I wrote this post a few weeks ago and from then to now, our family has grown unexpectedly by one little lady!  I now have NO child-free days until May so I’ve had to fine tune my day.  I took a look at how I used my free time and realized most of that time was spent at Target.  I know... I’m a cliche.  After a tear-filled rant to my husband about being completely emotionally exhausted and feeling like my business was going to go down in a ball of fire, I jumped online and 1. Bought an Instant Pot. 2. Signed up for Amazon Grocery.  3.  Committed to Sunday evening meal planning and 4. Committed to mindful and reduced shopping.  I tend to buy on impulse only to return at least half of it.  The impulse part is fast, but the running around town returning is a major time waster.  Instead of using precious moments to relax and recharge, I was letting it slip away from me only to slack during my work time because I was just so “done” with the day.  

What about you?  Do you have some work at home parenting tips?  

Depression Glass: The Walmart of Glassware

Delicate, feminine and pretty, Depression Glass is a well recognized table top item.  It's one of my personal favorites and in a house full of boys, I like to pull it out when I host showers or have my girls over for wine.  It can be delicate and easily broken, so I keep it far away from my little trouble makers.  

Depression Glass was produced in the United States in high volume during the 1920's and 30's.  It came in colors such as pink, green, pale blue, and amber, as well as clear, white (milk glass,) jadeite, red, aquamarine, black, yellow... you get the idea.  Lots of colors, although pink and green are by far the most well known.  Have you ever walked into an antique store and wondered why it looked like there was a smoke shop in the corner of the store?  (and I mean the Colorado kind.)  It's because dealers (the antique kind, not the Colorado kind) are trying to highlight the authenticity of green depression glass, which glows green under black light.  They may also be trying to show off Vaseline Glass, but that's a topic for someone else...I don't care for the stuff.  

Prior to the 20's, glassware was mostly hand-poured, pressed and polished.  Only wealthy families owned fine glassware because it was so expensive to make.  And just like today, what wealthy people have, other people long for.  Manufacturers saw an opportunity and evolved their processes in order to make the glassware more cost effective for the average family.  What I'm trying to say is... the stuff was cheap.  CHEAP.  Poorly machine-made, full of flaws, Family Dollar cheap.  But it made the common folk feel fancy so it was OK with them.   

Unfortunately for everyone, the Great Depression hit a few years later and suddenly, what little money families had to spend on pretty glassware was tied up paying essentials like food and shelter.   As a way to lure people out to spend the little money they did have, places like movie theaters or the local fair would offer a free piece of glassware with the price of admission.  Everyone likes free!  It was easier to justify frivolous expenses when you could take home something pretty that you would never buy otherwise.   Even grocery stores got in on the action, giving away stamps that customers could save up and turn in for glassware.  Grocery stores actually still do this for various kitchen items like cookware.  Brookshire's anyone??

The irony is, what started out as knock-off, super cheap glassware has turned into highly desirable collector's items.  Those same flaws are actually used to identify certain patterns and brands of Depression Glass.  Many patterns were so beloved that they are still replicated today.  You can actually buy a brand new replica glass, which is far and away better quality than the original!  

So, if Depression Glass was cheap, flawed, and widely available, why is it so desired today?  There are lots of answers to that question, the simplest being that what seems desirable, IS desirable.  I've owned Pretty Little Plates for 5 years now, and what I used to be able to get for next to nothing,  has now become increasingly rare and way more expensive.  The more likely reason is that this type of glassware evokes a sense of nostalgia in the collector.  Depression Glass often represents early childhood, or like myself, time spent with a much loved grandparent.  

So that's your History-Light lesson for today PLPeeps! 

Year in Review: The momboss Struggle

I'm taking the blog in a bit of a different direction today and doing a little reflecting.  If you prefer to keep it pretty tabletops and etiquette... stay tuned for next week and I'll get back to business.

2016 was a busy year for the little PLP family.  You may have seen this:

Working with the wonderful Hilary Rose Walker and the Magnolia team was definitely a fun highlight, and working with them repeatedly was even better!  (Yes the Gaines' are just like they are on TV: goofy, funny, kind, and genuine.)  We were able to provide china, glassware and serving pieces for the feature article in the debut issue of the Magnolia Journal  as well as a few other projects.  

We also finally debuted an online catalog for our current clients and vendors.  The catalog features all of our current rentals (minus brand new buys) so clients and planners are able to exactly what they are renting, and style head tables and parties down to the smallest detail.  I feel very strongly about transparency and am proud to be able to show clients each and every rental we have, we aren't hiding ugly plates at the bottom of the pile! ;)  

In addition to the online catalog, we built up our clear and colored glassware collections to match our plate inventory... and began offering flatware rentals for head tables and photo shoots.  I almost forgot... probably my favorite change of 2016, we updated the logo and redid the website!

So along with lots of other little things... published styled shoots, our great new office space with the Grit and Gold Collective, working with fun new vendors, and having the sweetest clients around, 2016 was a great year.  In fact, even writing about some of our growth I'm feeling more positive about that statement so let me say it again...it was a great year and I'm so thankful for that.  But you know what it wasn't?  It wasn't a year full of tremendous profit gains, my book of business didn't bust wide open, I didn't have my rentals maxed out every weekend.  

So why is that?  It begins with the fact that Pretty Little Plates is a small creative business, emphasis on small.  I'll let you in on a dirty little secret... I'm not paying for private school educations, a big mortgage, and some Louboutins on my salary. ;)  When I started 5 years ago, I'm not even sure I was paying the electricity bill on my salary.  I don't have a giant warehouse and fifteen employees, I notice exactly what pattern of plate doesn't get returned because I am the main person that goes through the stacks day in and day out.   Growth is hard and growth can be slow.  And the reason why (for me at least) is this: 

Arden Prucha Photography

Yup.  Those are tiny people.  I'm a mom.  I work from home most days, and what that really means is I work during nap time, after 7pm, and on the weekends.   I'm lucky to have an incredibly hard-working husband, so when he gets home from the office he's somehow magically ready to jump right back into parenting mode, and then seamlessly transition into supportive husband mode when I have events, but it's not easy.  In our family, the littles take priority over my business right now and my husband's company takes priority over my business as well.  Don't misunderstand, if you work with Pretty Little Plates, you absolutely get our best work.  But I find myself having to turn down projects, and say no a lot, and honestly, it kind of sucks.  My job is not at the top of the family totem pole.  Ouch.   I'm a highly competitive person, focused and driven to a fault so this is hard for me.  This phase of my professional life has been hard.  Personally, I am doing what I know is God's plan for our kids and our family and that feels overwhelmingly right, and I feel overwhelmingly blessed to even have options when so many parents don't, but that doesn't mean it hasn't come without a sense of loss professionally.  What gets me is... I chose this!!  Why do I feel so... weird about it sometimes?  I can't be the only one that feels that way right?  Transitioning from #girlboss to #momboss?  I would LOVE to be so busy in 2017 that I hire more help, or I'm able to book every single weekend solid, but the truth is that's not likely.   The reality is that I will need to continue saying "no" pretty often.  I want to cherish this time and not spend my days wishing I was somewhere else, and most days I do a good job of that.  The emails wait until the evening, the calls go to voicemail unless you happen to get me during a nap time or on a Wednesday.  But there are those days were I crave the pressure of a deadline, or wish I was out hunting for that perfect glass.  Did you know rambunctious three year olds and crying babies aren't super welcome at auction houses?  Who knew??  They won't always be little bitty so for now I strive to be content and soak up the snuggles... but when these kids get to elementary school, it's on y'all.  ;)  

Cue the Coupe

“I only drink champagne on two occasions, when I am in love and when I am not.”

— Coco Chanel

Dyan Kethley Photography

The coupe is a shallow, wide-mouthed stemmed glass commonly referred to a champagne coupe or champagne saucer.  Or, if you grew up Southern Baptist, we call it a sherbet glass.  :)-  Coupe is pronounced "coop," so now this blog post title doesn't sound as clever does it?  

The coupe arrived on the scene way back in the 1600's when it was basically a bowl sitting on a stand which had to be picked up with both hands when sipped out of.  It became popular in the US during the 1920's as the champagne coupe when Americans were drinking a much sweeter champagne.  In fact, a sweet syrup was often added to it.  The champagne we drink today is much dryer and Americans especially, love the bubbles in their bubbly.  For this reason, the coupe is not the best glass to drink champagne out of because the opening is much too wide and causes the champagne to quickly go flat.   It is in fact, the worst glass to drink champagne out of.  

Let's take a detour, because I like a good tangent... I'm sure you aren't surprised to hear the flute* is actually the best shape to drink your average champagne from because the long narrow shape prevents the champagne from loosing that festive fizz.  The flute is delicate, fun, and creates a memorable experience and that is what champagne is all about... the drink embodies celebration and special memories.  *The exception to this would be if you regularly buy champagne over $40-50 a bottle.  These champagnes are best enjoyed out of wine glass because the shape will allow the aromatics to open up (just like they do with wine!)  If you're like me, my budget prefers a $25 or less bottle and let me tell you...drink that out of a wine glass and you will quickly understand why I travel with my own champagne flutes.  Yes.  I'm serious.  Totally.  If you like champagne and you do not own at least 2 proper flutes, I beg you to go buy them right now.  You are missing out and it's criminal.  That's all I'll say about it.  

Thanks to the resurgence of speak easy style clubs and prohibition era cocktails, you can once again find drinks served in a coupe.  Instead of champagne, specialty cocktails such as an Aviation or Sidecar are fabulous in a coupe.  Coupes are perfect for a signature Bride or Groom's drink or a special cocktail at a shower or dinner party...they are just fun!  As a society that often over consumes, I think we forget to savor and appreciate, or make special the little things in life.  A well-make cocktail or a fine champagne can only be more appreciated by using that perfect special glassware to enhance the experience.  

How valuable is Grandma's china?

How cute is this little graphic?  I've linked an article published in Country Living, highlighting some of the most popular types of floral china in US history.  Chances are you've seen at least a few of these at grandma's house or during a holiday dinner gathering.   

So, how "valuable" is the china you have?  When pricing china, the first thing you need to remember is that there is a difference between value and worth...and sometimes it's a big difference.   

Value:  "What it's worth to me."  Value is not a real number, but more of an individual or societal preference.  If you are emotionally attached to an item, chances are you feel it's quite valuable  For me, my college sweatshirt is pretty darn valuable, but most people would find it virtually worthless.  Along those same lines, many people assume that as a buyer of antique china and glassware, I am very interested in Waterford pieces.  This isn't the case.  I don't really care for crystal personally and have no interest in renting it through PLP, so it doesn't hold a lot of value for me.  However, I know that as a society people feel Waterford is valuable, so if I found myself with a set I would know better than to just give it away for next to nothing.  

Worth: Worth comes from the viewpoint of the owner or buyer of the china and what they expect to sell or buy it for, or pay to replace it if damaged.

In an ideal scenario, you find a buyer that values the china as much as you do, and feels that the price you have set is worth paying.  I can tell you from experience that the stars rarely align in this fashion.  More often than not, people are selling china because a relative has given it to them and they don't have room for it or won't use it, or they truly need the money.  In these cases, they tend to over-value the item beyond what others feel it's worth.  The most dreaded phrase I hear when china hunting is  "Replacements.com says it's worth...."  Well no, not really.  Replacements.com is selling just that.. replacements.  If you have a full service for 12 and break a dinner plate, it] may be worth it to you to pay $50 to replace that one plate.  You value your complete set, so the higher cost of the individual plate worth it.  It does not mean that you should take your 12 dinner plates, times it by $50 and try to sell them for $600.  China is always worth more individually to separate buyers than it is as a set to one person because the value lies in the completed set.  

In my opinion, the best way to price china is to comparison shop.  Look on Ebay, Craigslist, talk to local experts and see what others are selling at.  Ebay actually has some very helpful buying guides.  It may take a few pricing adjustments but eventually you'll find the sweet spot- that magic price where you feel you've made some good money and the buyer feels they've gotten a great deal.   At the end of the day,  your china is only worth what someone will pay for it.