What I'm Loving Right Now...

My friend Debra of Flying Needle Gallery is one of the most creative people I know. Her online store is chock full of the most beautiful creations in cloth I have ever seen. She truly has an eye for picking out patterns and coordinating colors. Me? I'm glad I'm not a man because there is no way in the world I could coordinate a Thomas Pink shirt with a Brooks Brothers tie. I have no eye for matching colors and patterns. I'm surprised I match my left foot to my left shoe and my right foot to my right shoe - AND have both shoes match! Heeyyy!

So here's what I'm loving from Debra's store. Her new skull & crossbones set is so Ed Hardy and will make the season's perfect accessory since I'm so fond of wearing head scarves/bandanas in the summer. Yes, she has them listed as napkins on her website, but she's assured me that she has plenty of material left to make my bandanas.

I'm also loving this new product we'll be launching in the summer. The idea for this product has been rattling around in my head for over a year now. The beginning of this year, I finally found the time to work on the recipe, test, tweak the formula, test some more and tweak some more. The idea came to me when my friend told me that she doesn't moisturize after a shower. What? You don't moisturize after a bath or shower? What is this atrocity and injustice to all mankind that you speak of I ask? Apparently, she doesn't moisturize because one - she doesn't have the time and two - especially in the summer, she hates putting anything greasy on her body. So here' s my answer to my friend Lais' laziness - er, dilemna. An in shower moisturizer that has the most amazing texture and luxurious application. A light rinse later and your skin is left moisture-kissed, but not greasy and silky smooth. I'm really loving this stuff. Oh and bonus! It works beautifully as a shaving cream too. It's thick enough to cushion the razor's glide and holds the hair upright for a closer shave, but still rinses clean off the blade. This and another new product (which I'll discuss in my next entry) will be featured in our next sampler.

And saving the best for last, I love what I do because I do it for the most amazing and thoughtful women. I get these thoughtful checkout notes and it really makes my day. Instead of going straight to checkout, you gals actually write little thank you notes and greetings. I get postcards from far-flung places. Baby pictures (I'm an adopted aunt to a lot of future CLC customers). Handmade cards. It's amazing to be blessed this way so I just wanted to thank you for the generosity in your kindness.

Thinking out Loud (and it's hurting my head)...

We just sent out a bunch of completed notices today. Yey! Now your order goes to packing and shipping. Expect to see your CnS in the next day or so. Please pardon the typed notes on your invoices. As I've said before, I normally write a personal note on each invoice, but my Karpal and Ulnar Tunnel Syndrome has been acting up lately so my sister typed as I dictated what I wanted to say.

To our beloved French customer - please note that my sister has decided to brush up on her 4 years of French lessons on your invoices. She assured me that she knows what she's doing, but just in case...let it be known that I did not say your nose looks like a potato and that I hope you smell like day old broccoli. I told her to write that I hope your nose likes all the fragrances you picked and that you smell wonderful all day long. If you read anything to the contrary, blame my sister.

Okay, so here's how CLC's schedule is shaking out for the next 6 to 8 weeks. Please keep in mind that these dates are subject to change depending on order volume etc.

Week of May 4th: Some time this week will be the last day to place orders for goodies from our entire Fragrance Bar.

Week of May 4th: A day after the above, we'll feature our Summer Sampler. Deets are still up in the air, but I'm thinking of putting together a TSA-friendly set of multi-purpose products since 'tis the season for travelling. It'll feature scents from 3 collections: Coming Up Roses (brand new collection), Tooth Sweet (making a return from '08) and Summer '09 (featuring new and returning scents.)

Week of June 1st: Launch of the collections and new products.

My dog Sal

On a final note, please keep my dog Sally in your thoughts and prayers. Sally's been dealing with renal failure for 2 years now. When she was first diagnosed, she was only given 2 weeks to live. Being just like her mother (uh, that would be ME), she refused to listen to the naysayers and proved them all wrong. We've been keeping the disease at bay for the last 2 years, but she went into acute renal failure just this past week. She's been in the hospital ever since and I know our time with her is coming to a close. While her kidney values have stabilized, the numbers remain high and we're going to bring her home soon so she can be comfortable and amongst her beloved cat and fish siblings, cousin dogs and human aunts and uncles.

That's it in terms of an update. Thanks for reading.

A Few Items to Note

For those who clicked on our blog link from the newsletter, please read this and our previous post.

Of course, there was one loose-end I forgot to tie up...

Please note that TAT is 10 to 12 business days. I forgot to update our order confirmation e-mail template so if you received an e-mail stating that our TAT is 5 to 7 business days, I apologize as it is actually 10 to 12. Sorry, so sorry.

Peek-a-boo - I see your e-mail...but I can't reply to them.

I'm using webmail right now and my browser is having a temper tantrum and has blocked all pop-ups. In webmail, hitting "reply" means that it opens up a pop-up. Since my computer is hating on all pop-ups, I can't respond to any e-mails. While I find this antic slightly amusing, I find it extremely frustrating that I will not be able to respond to your inquiries until I am able to access e-mail from a desktop. I will do so by tonight. Please know that I'm not ignoring your e-mails - I just can't respond to them. For those who've had previous dealings with CLC, you know
we're very quick on the "reply" button so it pains me that I can't respond right away.

Thank you for your new and continued support of CLC.

Upcoming Changes at CLC - Reprinted

I am re-posting the second half of my previous post for those who missed this update.

We are re-categorizing our fragrance bar and product line. Our Signature Collection will feature approximately 10 permanent fragrances that will be available in our large size products (8 oz and up). We will also have a more dynamic collection that will feature new and returning fragrances.

This means that in May, we will take down our entire scent list and implement the rotating schedule going forward. All the fragrances that you see now and that we've termed classics will continue to be offered, but on a limited and rotating basis. We'll give you plenty of advance notice as to what scents will be coming back in rotation and for how long. This will give you time to a) use up your stuff and b) plan your purchase. Think of it as something similar to how Target features a designer for a specific period of time - Proenza Schouler for Target from x-date to y-date. So none of our scents are actually going away forever. They're just going on a rotation schedule. This keeps our fragrance offering dynamic and give you a chance to try something new.

We'll also offer some kind of sampler prior to the next rotation that will feature some of the scents in the upcoming launch to give you a chance to try and plan your next purchase. And again, we'll give you plenty of notice either on our blog or in our newsletter about what scents are scheduled for release and on what date. We're thinking that each scheduled rotation will feature at least 15 fragrances for approximately 6 weeks. This will give you time to purchase, try and re-purchase before the fragrance goes out of rotation.

Does this sound like a good plan? We think so. From our end, our hope is that by making the scent list more manageable, we'll be able to shorten our turnaround time. To our customers, it means you'll be able to plan your purchases and usage ahead of time. I'll provide more details on our Signature Classics Collection as I scope out the project. This is a more complex undertaking and will take some time to finalize and launch. As of today, I just received the samples of the new jars & bottles I'm considering for this collection and I'm not quite pleased with them so I'll keep looking.