Growing and Changing

Moving Day It has been longer than we would have liked to update our blog, but so many changes have been taking place the last few months, the largest of which has been relocating from the back bedroom of my home into our own office and workshop within the mill that we have been working with the last year.  It has been a great working relationship, and now that we are on the same property, it makes working that much easier.

Direct Check Out

After we got a bit more settled in to our new place, Etsy came out with their direct check out program.  Customers no longer have to go through PayPal to make their purchases unless they choose to.  We signed up for this direct check out option even though it meant not getting paid until the item shipped.  Once we set up direct check out, within a week or so, our sales nearly tripled!  We were overjoyed as well as overwhelmed.  What was a barely manageable amount of orders with the two of us and one laser, was now becoming unmanageable.  We had to consider other options.

Growing the Business

We chose to invest into another laser to double our production.  We were very lucky to find the the same type of laser we currently use  sitting in a warehouse in Colorado having never been used.  Epilog sent it ASAP and we had it within 3 business days.  It was a blessing that it came when it did because we were drowning in orders for Mother's Day.  We decided to name each laser....

Looking Ahead

Sales have maintained and we are expanding in directions we have wanted to go.  We are very busy and now are looking to take on a part-time worker to help with the boxing and shipping of our items.  We have come to the realization that we are no longer the small home based business we started out as, and it is time to have some help.

All in all, the last two months there have been a lot of changes, all good, but challenging at times.  Each challenge brings opportunity to learn and grow to become the company we want to be become.

Corporate Gifts - a new take on giving to your employees

In December we were contacted by a Hospital in Arkansas to make 50 small cutting boards with their logo.  They wanted to give them as gifts to their volunteers for their service.  Although we were swamped with holiday orders, we opted to find time to do this custom order.  In addition to it being for a good cause, it was also a way for us to look at how to expand our buisness into different markets.  We would like to expand more this year into a Corporate Gifts market and give companies an alternative to the standard trophies, plaques, etc... .  These cutting boards are 9" x 12" White Oak Cutting Boards with a handle. Take a look at how they turned out.... [slideshow]

Customer Showcase

This holiday season was hugely successful for us.  I can honestly say we were totally unprepared, and have learned the hard lessons to be better prepared next year.  When Cyber Monday came with an abundance of orders, we realized we had more than we could handle to fulfill orders in time for Christmas.  One month out, we could no longer promise Christmas delivery.  That was a hard pill to swallow, but we never want to make promises we can't keep.  We aren't a Best Buy or a Macy's where we can afford to take your order and then send an email two weeks later saying "sorry, can't fulfill your order."  We are small and every promise counts.  We hope those of you that had wanted to order with us, but were unable to because of our Christmas cutoff, will come back for future gift purchases. That being said, we did produce some amazing gifts for people, a lot of which were customers own creations.  I wanted to showcase some of these fun and amazing designs on our blog!  These are just a few, and I will have more to show later.

[slideshow]

Thanks!

Belinda

StylishHome Catalog

One of our cutting boards was selected to be featured in the Stylish Home Catalog which showcases Etsy sellers for home decor aficionados!  Please download their catalog and look through the many great items they offer!

Click here to download their catalog StylishHome Winter Collection Catalog

Thanks!

Perfect Realtor Gifts for Holidays and Closings

We recently completed a job for a Realtor in Austin, Texas.  She ordered 30 - 9 x 12 Hickory Boards.  On the front side (cutting side) we engraved her logo in the lower corner, and on the back side, we did all the boards with our "Alphabet" design, which has the family name (or couple name).  We thought they turned out amazing, and made great gifts for Ashley to give to her clients!

If you, or a Realtor you know are interested in giving our cutting boards as gifts for the holidays or for closings, please contact us at engravemylife@gmail.com.  We do discounts for bulk orders, and once we have your design into our system, we can keep the cost low.

Thanks Ashley Austin Homes and The Creative Cup Marketing!!

igoyougoblog

We are giving away a freebie on a lifestyle blog!  All you  have to do to enter is go to the blog and leave and comment under our post ad here, and go to our Facebook page and become a fan of our page.  You will be entered into the contest to win a free 12 x 15 white oak cutting board with one of our 9 design options!!  Pretty great deal!