Yep, I approve of Hawaii as a vacation destination. Oh, yes, most people have been there before the ripe ole’ age of middle aged so you know that!

While we were jamming our brains with pricing information at the last meeting, I was preoccupied with my journey the following day. However, I focused enough to know that we needed much more time to discuss the issues of pricing, to share our own triumphs and struggles and to mentor those who needed it. So, at the March meeting, in addition to our discussion of suppliers and resources, we may have time to do a clean up on the pricing discussion. I’ll start. Since the beginning of CH Studios, my company, I have made it a practice to increase my prices every time there is a recession or slump in my business. It works. Go figure. I don’t even have any great psychological analysis to back that one up! Try it. You’ll like it.

Back to Hawaii. I routinely do two things when I visit a new place. I try to find a unique piece of textile or textile art as a memento that represents the area. I also look in the phone book to see listings for tailors, custom dressmakers/seamstresses/clothiers, alterations specialists, bridal specialists.

The result of the first, textile art, was the discovery that Hawaii originally only had vegetable products for textiles and that woven cloth came with the first ships. My mementos included tapa cloth and baskets woven of coconut leaves. Many of the designs attributed to Hawaiians are really Polynesian.

The result of the second exploration yielded pleas from the locals for our profession, at least on the Big Isle. There was one custom dressmaker listed. Since the balmy trade winds had evacuated my brains, I contemplated just such a business and a total lifestyle change. Once on the plane, however, I queried, “what was I thinking??” And upon landing in Denver, the brown (read “snow free”) expanse of the plains edged with snowy Rocky Mountains welcomed me home. That leaves plenty of opportunity for someone with a hankering for driving in circles.

See you at the meeting.
Christine

Members may pick-up membership rosters at any meeting. New rosters will be printed for the March, July & November 2007 meetings. If you can not attend a meeting, please email Toni at toni_fitzwater@msn.com, and one will be mailed to you.

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