Small business Saturday, during a pandemic, is a thought that no one was thinking of last year at this time. As I was on my wheel today, I was thinking of the importance of this day in the midst of Black Friday, Cyber Monday and all the other marketing ploys we have created in our society. We are in the midst of a pandemic and the news media has stories about economy and re-building our economy in the face of this pandemic. (This is not to be political by any means, just a statement) I am so thankful that I over the years, have adopted Black Friday deals for certain things so I can stretch my money as far as possible. I am also so thankful that I have also supported Small Business Saturday as a consumer for all the unique cool items that you can sometimes only get from a small business.
I as a small business owner and operator have benefitted greatly from the Small Business Saturday strategy as well as the new focus of supporting local. My pottery business has been so incredibly supported that I am on a creating marathon from weeks ago til December 7th, when I have committed to taking some time off to work on a personal pottery project! You will hear about it in Studio Stories as I progress. I feel as I am creating in the studio that when the December pottery boxes are opened, I will be connected through my art with so many people this season of staying home and staying safe. I feel that there has been a shift in our thinking this year in that we are looking locally and trying to make a difference for all the businesses we normally support as best as we can. I think that is all we can ask of ourselves and society. We are all in this together!
I also have a little direct sales business with Sipology by Steeped Tea for the past six years, that I have mentioned from time to time. Why am I bringing this up in my pottery business blog? The fuel for my pottery business is TEA of all kinds. I have many tea cups around my studio that have various temperatures of tea, because I poured a new cup upstairs and forgot to bring up the cup. I truly believe my two small businesses provide so much together for my soul, my family, and my day to day life. November 1st, I decided to use my tea business to give back to my community of Wynyard through setting up if I sell 100 bags of tea I would donate $500 to the Wynyard Integrated Health Facility's wifi fundraising project. Well on Small Business Saturday, I had the pleasure of donating my third $500 donation for a total of $1500 to the project, because my community and customers bought some incredible tea. I wanted to share this with my pottery peeps, because maybe if you are a tea drinker you want to support my other small business that I have decided will give back. You can check out www.sipology.com/marea and see all the incredible options and have it delivered to your door step. Know that this is a Canadian owned company with incredibly high standards.
I am on track for December boxes to start shipping on December 1, 2020. Both my kilns have been firing each day one after another for over a week now and will continue til I am done with this box order. I am so excited for this box and will be starting to pack today and so happy with everyone's response. There are a few more boxes left for sale, but very limited.
Thank you for supporting small businesses however you can while balancing out the great deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday!
