Man Oh Man we’ve been doing some workshops here at ROTB WORLD HEADQUARTERS!!!  This week was mostly a promotional affair (except for the Pathfinders) where we wanted to bring professionals from the Accommodations, local government, travel, community service and arts sectors together here at ROTB to introduce them first-hand to Kinkora’s fastest-growing business and to show them all what we do here.  We wanted them to take part in an Experiential Workshop and take away a real sense of what Playing in the Clay is all about.  I can definitely say it was a success !

The week started out with us hosting a group from the Bonshaw Women’s Institute   – that would be here on Prince Edward Island in the BEAUTIFUL Bonshaw Hills.  Anyhow, that was a fun evening spent with 7 of the nicest ladies you’ve ever met.

Then we had 14 folks in from a Pathfinders Group, lead by Mary Beth Guptil on Wednesday evening.  That was a heap of fun as well.  We always get different results from youth groups such as this one and from Katimavik  because they aren’t so concerned about the how and the why… they just make stuff and they’re not concerned with whether or not they are doing it right.  Really, when the grown-ups are asking “Am I doing this right?” or “Is this supposed to look like this?” the kids are full-blast and totally focussed on the wonderous creation that is before them

  On Thursday night we Played in the Clay with 12 folks all together.  There was Nancy Quinn from The Summerside Economic Development Office and her husband Oliver who is a photographer, Wendell and André who own a B&B called Comme Chez Vous  in Summerside, Paula, Melody and Elizabeth from the PEI Business Womens’ Association , and a few more from the Bonshaw Women’s Institute who couldn’t make it Monday night!  That was a really interesting workshop because it brought together folks from 3 or 4 different groups who would have never met otherwise.  That’s always fun.

That brings us to this afternoon when we hosted Cate Proctor from “The Guild”  in Charlottetown and her Mom Margaret, and Tracey & Jennifer from Travel Places International  .  Funny thing is… Tracey made all our travel arrangements for our trip to North Carolina last month, and even all the arrangements for Cindy’s trip to Jamaica a couple weeks ago, yet I had never met her before !  How about that?

So ya, I guess we were a busy bunch!  The way I see it, we managed to get the dust knocked off our workshop skills and got a great chance to try out our new Class Space.  Now to dry, clean up, bisque fire, inspect, sand, wax, glaze, glaze fire, inspect, sort, and contact the new owners of all those masterpieces!

Cheers !

Could it be that they are the first ones I can remember that have successfully instilled (or resurrected) some sense of national pride in the majority of Canadians?  I’ve always been a nationalist.  I suppose that is one of the reasons that kept me wearing an Army uniform for 20-plus years.  Ask our boy how many folks we’ve talked to about the condition of their flag flying out front of their home or business.  He even continues my peculiar habit by doing the same when he sees a Canadian flag in tatters.  Wears the flag, has “Made in Canada” tattooed on his butt, and is strangely fascinated by beavers.  But it really seems to me like the population is far more into being a Canadian than they ever were in the past.  Could the media have finally done something good for a change?  Hard to believe but it is a possibility.

Perhaps my interest has something to do with the “Own the Podium” programme?  I’m not a fan of the government shelling out big cash to keep attractive kids entertained, but some aspect of it seems to have worked.  Could it be a parallel to the growing interest in the Arts in Canada and the fact that being an Artist or Artisan is no longer akin to being a dental floss rancher?  Perhaps it is, either directly or indirectly.  In any case it’s a good thing… however the name is a tad on the pretentious side, don’t ya think?  Did anyone consider “Do way better than we ever did in the past on the podium” when they were brainstorming a few years back?  Wait a sec… Unless we have to send the actual podium back to Olympic Headquarters than we in fact do “own” it, don’t we?  Whose name is on the bottom?  Everybody puts their name on the bottom of something they make, don’t they?  Or did the podium come in the ready to use Winter-Olympics-In-A-Box kit that has to be returned next Monday in the original packaging?

No matter what the reason, I’m pretty happy about our current third place in the overall medal standings.  I’ve watched some hockey (we never watch hockey) and some curling (normally reserved for when I can’t sleep), and even some skating that I’m sure is WAY more difficult than it looks.  We’ve watched people who appear sane head face-first down an icy chute and not scare themselves out of 10 years of growth, and we even watched a woman from PEI and her sporting partner win a gold medal in a bobsleigh.  How about that?

Here’s the question though… will we all go back to our complacent “normal” once all the flag waving is over?  Will the nation’s focus return to the trivialities of our federal government and how even an elected politician (as opposed to a senator) can’t help themselves but shout profanity in public places like the Charlottetown Airport?  I sure hope not.

In the mean time, I’ll be at my wheel…

Both shows went super well.  We met a lot of new friends, saw a lot of old friends, and all-in-all had a great time.  To all our new and returning clients – Thanks very much for your confidence in us and your interest in our product !  OK, I can’t miss mentioning a couple facts that we are really proud of… We were awarded the “Best Booth Award” in Charlottetown and the “Best New Product Award” in Halifax.  Pretty big deals in our humble opinions and both were something we had been shooting for so it was nice to close those loops.  Another awesome aspect of the Halifax show was that we bought ourselves a huge-big 16′ cube van to take the stress out of getting out inventory and displays from point A to point B.  What a difference   Finally and because we always bring a wheel to shows (to entertain me and keep me out of trouble) I got the chance to throw a bunch of one-of-a-kind pieces.

We got to talking during the drive back to PEI late last night (on the crappy slushy snowy windy roads) that there are as many methods that buyers use to decide on their orders as buyers themselves.  There were the folks who hit the booth early and hard and seemed to know exactly what they wanted the second they saw what was available.  15 minutes later and the order was done and done.  Then there was the buyer who would pass by a few times to get a glance, then swing in for a good chat before deciding on placing an order.  That sort was always fun as it gave us a chance to get to know the person behind the retailer and vice versa.  A third type of buyer was the one who would come by for a look, get our retailer’s information package, then come back the next day with a carefully crafted order that seemed so very precise, like they could see directly into the future and decided that they will need 38 goblets… not 36 and not 40.  Very very precise.  We gained one new client in Halifax (more than one, but that’s another story) who placed an order on Sunday, then came back and padded their order on Monday. In the end however we were more than happy to meet every single one no matter what the method.   

We also had 3 opportunities to attend seminars at ACTS.  Day one was an hour and a half on Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Trademark information delivered by Cécile Klein from the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO).  Very interesting stuff that I had never considered before, especially with respect to copyright rights either registered or not, and the option of a simple intellectual property employee agreement just to keep the facts straight.  Day two’s seminar was about exporting to the New England States put on by Wendy Diltz and an extra bonus of a 4-person panel of gallery / shop owners that were able to both support Wendy’s advice and also offer different opinions.  Monday’s presentation was done by Jeff White of Kula Partners all about the ins and outs of social marketing and how it can help business grow.  I must admit that Jeff’s presentation is part of the reason I’m updating our blog.  Thanks for the insight Jeff.

So that’s about it.  We’ve had a busy couple weeks and we’re glad to be back home on PEI.

Cheers !    Darryl