by Wendy Scheel | Nov 16, 2015 | Business
Customer service is a big part of my business. It is also the part I enjoy the most. Okay, customer service and fabric shopping tie for most enjoyable. 🙂
With Etsy, if you like something in my shop but don’t see a size you need or if you would like to have something customized, there is the option of sending me a “conversation” so we can work together.
I have made several pillow covers, a table runner and coasters for a customer from Michigan. Then they sent me a conversation asking if I could make them a custom bench seat cushion.
Of course! was my immediate response.
It was so fun to make something different and stretch my sewing skills.
I heard from Justin last week that they had received the bench seat cushion and how much they were enjoying it!
I was so happy they were happy.
Justin also sent a picture showing where they had put the seat cushion.
How cute is that! They picked a four inch foam cushion with blue and white cotton ticking stripe fabric that had matching piping around the edges and a zipper on the back.
But wait…what really caught my eye was the antique level they hung on the wall as a place to hang their coats. How cute it THAT!
So I got to thinking. I wonder how the pillow covers look and the table runner they wanted for their 9 foot French farmhouse dining table?
I contacted Justin to ask if he could send me pictures of the other items they had purchased.
He graciously agreed.
And attached this note with the pictures.
Hi Wendy, Sure you are welcome to blog about us if you like 🙂 We recently moved into our house in March and had Claire in June. We live in Birmingham, MI, a suburb of Metro Detroit. Julie is an OBGYN and I’m an engineer in the auto industry. We’ve been rushing to get everything ready for Claire’s arrival and to get the finishing touches done. We’re very busy, so we really appreciate the ability to work remotely with you. Have placed several orders already, it’s great to have a source that we can trust. My wife and I both work and are busy with daily activities. Your quick support has been a great help. Let us know if you’d like any more specifics! Have a great day!
JT, Julie and Claire 🙂
Justin and Julie designed and decorated these rooms themselves. Beautiful. Job well done!
And that safe as a coffee table…speechless.
Thank you Justin for sharing. 🙂
Wendy
by Wendy Scheel | Nov 4, 2015 | Business, Home Tour
The retail world is always a season ahead. My Etsy shop is no different. I do not have a lot of items listed for Halloween and Thanksgiving. That doesn’t mean I don’t love to decorate for them, it just means that I have to concentrate on different holidays listings. 🙂
In previous posts I have mentioned that we were setting up our Christmas décor early so that we could get those Holiday pictures for the blog and shop.
But, there are so many beautiful ideas out there right now to create a Thanksgiving table centerpiece. For example, this picture from Thistlewood Farms. Karianne posted this creation on her blog yesterday along with several other ideas from her blogging friends.
(source)
In addition to using limes in a centerpiece, what caught my eye were some tree slices that were used as vases. I read Karianne’s post very carefully to see if they were actual trees or ceramic, but she was telling such a great story, there was no mention of the tree slices.
The beauty of Pinterest or blog following is that you can re-create exactly what you see or maybe take away just pieces of it.
For instance, if you don’t have tree vases, maybe use something along these lines:
Then arrange grocery store or local florists fresh flowers in a vase and maybe a couple of limes for effect. 🙂
I have used those same candle holders from Fall to the Christmas decorating season in our house.
Sneak peek of the transition from Fall to Christmas on that shelf.
I am fortunate and very thankful that my Mom loves to collect Santa’s. Now that my parents leave for their winter house in Texas before Thanksgiving, and who could blame them, she no longer decorates their house in Wisconsin for the holidays.
So they get the warm weather and I get some of her Santa collection.
I would love to hear where you get your table centerpiece inspiration. A blog, a magazine or maybe you have a kind Mother that shares things with you.
See you on Friday,
Wendy
by spenceralbers | Oct 21, 2015 | Guest Posts
Well, hello there. You’ve read my name roughly 100 times on this blog and probably know I take pictures but I have the honor of knowing about all the behind the scenes things that happen at Old Lake George. Wendy asked me to start helping with the shop about two years ago, back in the Pooh Pooh Pillow days and since then I have gotten to witness the dramatic transformation that this blog and business has done.
In the early days of the shop I would help design banners for the shop or take a few pictures when I was in town, I lived 4 hours away at that point. A year ago, I moved to Minneapolis and Wendy asked me if I wanted to take a larger role in helping create the face of the shop and what would become the blog. In the last year Old Lake George has gone through a dramatic transformation.
The Photos
The transformation really started with the renaming of the shop and with a focus on the product photography. Together, Wendy and I spent hours talking about a new name for the shop. (She covered the story here.) When “Old Lake George” was settled on and a new logo designed, it really started a whole new era for the shop.
We also started photography days. Wendy and I had long talked about how important the photos for the shop were. She took the plunge and had me do all of them. Once a month I make the trip to Wendy’s house and we spend the morning taking photos, laughing, rearranging her house, and usually breaking something. Yes you read that last one right. We have broken candle holders, decorations, and completely dissembled fake flower arrangements. Its all for the perfect picture.
Our photo shoots usually take over the whole living room area. We move couches, carry tables down stairs and just generally destroy the beautiful utopia you can see in the house tour photos. We take great care to create great pictures every time and the light in her living room is perfect for photos throughout the day. The photos below show the great length we went to make a fake bedroom within her living room.
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The “set” in the middle of the livingroom.
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The image we wanted but by my iPhone.
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The final image from the big camera and with some gentle editing in Photoshop.
At this point we have taken over 10,000 photos. Many of these photos will never see the light of day, but they are part of the Old Lake George story. We are doing a big shoot this coming Friday. I can’t wait for everyone to see whats to come.
The Blog
I’ve always known Wendy as my Aunt but also never one to shy away from telling a good story or sharing her opinion. When she brought up the topic of a having a blog last spring, I knew she could do it well. She was nervous at first, like anyone would be when you start sharing your life with the internet. We talked on a daily basis during the first few months. She wanted to do it right, she wanted to make sure the blogs made sense… she cared that she was “doing it right.”
Now, after 50+ blogs I would say Wendy is doing it right. Wouldn’t you???? 🙂 Its been fun to see the progress the blog has made. (For the record she said I could write whatever I wanted in this guest post… so Wendy… take the compliments and enjoy them. I know you struggle taking positive feedback.)
As the blogs have been published, I have seen the writing become more fun to read but have you seen the pictures??? Sometimes I have caught myself thinking, “Did I take that photo?” Nope, Wendy has gotten 10000% better. I may be out of a job soon! 😉
What’s Next
I knew when I started working with Wendy that she would push me to help do great work. She is never sitting still and waiting for the day to just drift by. Her mind is always running and thinking about what’s next. We talk often about how to do bigger and better things. In the last few months I made the jump to working full-time for myself and helping small businesses like Wendy’s. I would never have been able to do that without her support and that of my friends and family. (If you’d like to work together… you can contact me here. Shameless plug!)
Old Lake George will always be trying new things. I look forward to what Wendy will dream up and pitch me. I know when a big idea is coming because I hear…. “Spence… what if we did this….”
by Wendy Scheel | Oct 16, 2015 | Business, Life
Happy Friday everyone! We are off to visit our daughter at Drake University and while we are there we plan to run a half marathon. You know, when in Rome. 🙂
It’s going to be a fun weekend. I’ll share more later about our adventures and that little half marathon thingee. #13.1miles
Yesterday I had the best day.
I didn’t DIY anything.
I didn’t sew anything.
I wasn’t home for most of the day.
That is the trifecta of a non-typical day for me.
What made the day great was that I spent it with my old neighbor. “Old” as in we used to be next door neighbors. We now live 12 miles apart.
Remember Alyssa? She is the cutest pregnant person ever on the right. (Gillian is our instructor, also cute, but not pregnant.) 🙂
After our Body Pump workout, I went over to Alyssa’s house.
Followed this truck most of the way. Nothing screams FALL more than a dump truck full of pumpkins being delivered.
Fall pumpkins changed into their beautiful driveway leading to the house.
Alyssa and her family moved to their new house in May of this year. Just in time to re-paint the entire interior of the house, put in a patio, set up all of the rooms and decorate before having a baby at the end of June.
She “nested” in a big way before baby Liam arrived. I hope some day to post a tour of Alyssa’s house. You will love it.
Getting back to my day.
The reason I went over to Alyssa’ house is because I am so excited to announce that she is going to be a contributor to my Etsy shop! Here’s a sneak peek of what she is working on.
Next week will be the big reveal. She is so talented.
While Alyssa was working, I took care of Liam. He is almost 4 months old now and the sweetest baby. Big brother Logan was at Grandma’s house so it was just the two of us this time.
After supervising Mommy’s work for awhile, it was time to move on. One can only supervise for so long. 🙂
We decided we would play on the floor, practice turning over, practice pulling ourselves up and chat about our day.
Soon we got sleepy.
And for the next hour and a half, baby Liam slept in my arms and we rocked.
Sometimes you just gotta rock.
Have a great weekend.
Wendy
by Wendy Scheel | Oct 5, 2015 | Business, Life
What happened to September?
September use to feel like the longest month. Not any more.
Thinking about what we did last month, I understand why it went so fast.
Here are the highlights; sent our daughter to college, worked 12 long days at the Minnesota State Fair, our son started his senior year in high school and among several other blog postings, I shared A Quilting Tour with you.
In the beginning of the tour post, I selected a new quilt from my Mom that she had made.
Well, last weekend we had a family get together and my Mom gave me the quilt. It was exactly what I had hoped for.
Bright, cheery and colorful.
So today, I would like to share with you how I decorated the daybed with the quilt in the guest bedroom. I broke the process in to pictures of each new pillow I added.
Let me show you where we started.
Yawn, right? Thinking about it, a yawn is a good thing to think when looking at a bed, but not very welcoming for the entire guest bedroom. 🙂
Here is step one. Replacing the dull beige daybed cover with the quilt.
The colors and details of the cover are beautiful. My Mom is so talented.
Second I added two large blue and white Moroccan pattern pillows in the back for depth.
Now a solid blue center pillow to break up the white Moroccan lines.
Next I wanted some transition from blues to greens. These two chevron pillows did that finishing out the back row.
The front row started with a center focal point. A woven rainbow of colors butterfly.
The butterfly broke us into the red and yellow scheme, so I accented those colors next.
Final punch of color with some yellow.
My vision was to brighten the guest room making a welcoming statement by adding a patchwork of pillows on top of a patchwork quilt.
If this looks like a lot of color, you are right. But the rest of this room is very neutral in terms of the walls, carpet, doors and trim. And the sunlight that comes in here….this is the view if you look left of the bed.
A loft guest bedroom that looks out onto the lake. Stunning, glorious light makes everything look better.
by Wendy Scheel | Sep 4, 2015 | Business
Doesn’t May 22nd seem like a long time ago? The official start of summer wasn’t until June 21 and now as we are staring down Labor Day Weekend, the unofficial end to summer.
May 22nd was the day that this blog went live. A very nerve-racking day. All of the what if’s and doubts and anxiety wrapped into the push of one little button and we were off and running blogging. It didn’t take me long to realize that I needed some guidance from someone who had walked this walk.
Like I referenced in my very first post, I read Thistlewood Farms every day. KariAnne is the star behind the Thistlewood brand. My first contact with her was almost two years ago when she was selling advertising on her blog. I had opened my Etsy store and was trying to branch out and reach more potential customers. So I pulled all of my courage together and contacted her to advertise my little shop on her popular blog. She instantly replied and accepted my pillow business to advertise with her. What a huge burst of encouragement!
I love the Thistlewood Farms blog. KariAnne is so genuine, an amazing writer full of wit and her house….oh her house. I read her blog a long time before I left a comment. I figured that it would never get read because she was such a successful blogger, so why take the time. But one day, I couldn’t stand it anymore and I had to tell her how much I loved the tan and white houndstooth chair from her post, The Day I Forgot My Red Lipstick. And guess what? She replied to little ole me, again! In the world of bloggers she is a pretty big deal, Rockstar status, so for someone to take the time to respond about a comment, I was star struck.
KariAnne also has a “build your blog” option available at Thistlewood Farms. This is where she entered my life for the third and most amazing time. I purchased the hour and half phone call session with her. But, it was so much more than a phone call. A questionnaire was emailed prior to the call. It allowed us to think about the direction we wanted the phone call to head. When I reference “we”, I am referring to Spencer and I. Spencer is my photographer and social media expert. With a great sigh of relief, he took over the questions that were way beyond my realm of understanding. He and KariAnne chatted extensively about….things and stuff….and all I could do was listen. At times I had no idea what they were saying. 🙂 But here is the beauty of that. You get to tailor your session however you like, from whatever stage of blogging you are at.
If you are considering staring a blog, improving your blog or want to know what a blog is all about, do yourself a favor and set up an appointment with KariAnne.
Thank you KariAnne. You have opened our eyes to so many possibilities. I am happy to call you friend.
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