David's Blog February 2010: Well, I guess I’ve committed a Blog Foul. I started my blog with the best of intentions several years ago. Towards the end of last year it became impossible between my business, my family, and everything else we had going on to continue with the blog on a regular basis. For that I apologize.
One of my many 2010 resolutions is going to be to keep my blog updated. Let’s see how I do. We had a great end of year last year. Our holiday sales were great as was our 1st show of the year at the NYIGF gift show in NYC.
We’ve picked up a lot of new customers, including the Plaza Hotel in NYC, we were just mentioned at www.brides.com , a Conde Nast web site, and our boards are going to be published in a cookbook this April. We’ll have screen shots and books for sale as soon as the book is released.
We’ve had less than average snow here in Vermont, and Sugaring and spring are just around the corner. I’ve been sick with my annual February cold, but we’re off to Florida (Key West) in the next week. I’ve never been there, so if anyone has any suggestions, please send them along. Be well, stay warm!
TTFN,
David
August 25th, 2009. Boy, so much as happened, the summer has gone by so quick and I have a lot to say, please read on.
One of my friends from college mentioned this on facebook, “We’re calling it ‘global wetting’ instead of global warming.” Too bad he hasn’t trademarked that one! It has been a wet summer for us! It rains constantly then intermittently, then constantly again. This past week, we have finally had some summer weather. And some summer campfires.
On a personal note, we took a trip to the Jersey Shore, once a Jersey boy, always a Jersey boy! We went to LBI as children and now I take my family back to Cape May every year. We also visited Susan’s family in Maine. (that one was a trip, and not a vacation, no offense Audrey, I had fun.)
Now with school starting in the next week or two, it’s back to waking up at oh six thirty and trying to wake up the children to get them on the school bus.
We displayed at the NYIGF (New York International Gift Fair) at the Jacob Javits Center last week. Sales were strong and we picked up a number of new wholesale customers. We had several great media experiences including being interviewed by the Jewish Channel. If anyone see’s us on the Jewish Channel, please send us an e-mail! I really made the young Jewish female reporter blush when she asked me for my phone number before the interview. I said, “Boy, you’re pretty forward, isn’t it too soon for that?” She turned bright red and blushed before she realized I was joking. I guess that joke helped us either get on the air, or onto the cutting room floor. Not sure which yet.
More media interactions to follow. Be well and I hope you have had a great summer.
TTFN,
David July, 1, 2009: Well, summer is finally here! Behind the scenes, we’ve been very busy! We are in the process of finishing our new brochure. I’d eventually like to come out with a catalog of all of our items, but the expense is tremendous and it’s not so good for the environment. When people ask us for a catalog, we usually point them to our website as the most up-to-date catalog we have! I’ll post our brochure online for people to print out as soon as we get it proofed by my wife Susan and my Mother. (my two best proofreaders!)
I’ve finally gotten around to posting a picture of Duke and her 3 princesses (my 3 daughters) Sydney, Emily and Isabel. This is a picture in our back yard with spring flowers that always bloom in the lawn before my first mowing.
Business has been good, receivables are another story! We are still chugging along and looking for a strong finish to the year. We’re exhibiting at a craft show in Stowe at the end of July (www.craftproducers.com) and if you stop by our booth and mention that you read our blog, we’ll give you a free spoon ($14.00 value) or a free mini cheese board/cheese knife combo ($12.50 value).
Otherwise, stay safe and have a great summer!
TTFN, David
June 1, 2009 Update on the weather, it’s still cold. It was 39 degrees this AM, but it does get warmer as the day goes on. Our kids only have 2 weeks left of school, soon they can sleep in and there won’t be a morning mad dash to get them packed and on the school bus. That means that Mommy and Daddy can sleep in a bit as well.
I have a rant that I need to get off of my chest. I had a customer call me and ask me about bamboo and bamboo cutting boards. This customer pretty much accused us of not selling environmentally friendly products. They went on to say that we should start selling bamboo cutting boards because they are made from sustainable woods and they are better for the environment. At the time, I wasn’t 100% prepared to answer this particular customer’s “suggestions”, but after thinking about it, I have come up with a few reasons of why we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing!
Bamboo cutting boards are made in China or Japan. I love both countries, I have ties to one of them and hold nothing against China or Japan. These cutting boards and bamboo products are shipped over to us using tons of fossil fuels and emitting tons of green house gasses. Add to that that many rural areas are losing forest land to clear cutting for bamboo growing and manufacturing. In addition, there is no standard for monitoring pesticide uses on bamboo, and more and more manufacturers are using pesticides to increase yields. Most manufacturers use formaldehyde or unsafe resins in laminating the bamboo and when you do cut on the bamboo board, you’re cutting on glue or resin, and not wood. This dulls your knives quicker. I cannot tell you how many bamboo pieces I see in stores that are split before they’re purchased. Don’t get me wrong, bamboo cutting boards/utensils are pretty, and it is your choice to buy what you like or think is the proper choice, but don’t think that they are better for the environment than USA made products, that’s a myth.
I stand behind our products and am glad that we sell products made right here in Vermont made from Vermont hardwoods!
TTFN, David
May 19th, 2009 As everyone in the United States feels the pinch of the economy, we’re fortunate that our sales are staying strong. We’ve just finished a large order for a company in NYC, here’s two pictures of one of the finished tables we made along with an underside picture of the supporting angle iron and walnut cross beam. These pieces were made from FSC Certified Walnut.
 
Our new mascot Duke is growing like a weed and has surpassed the 15 lb mark. As a full grown German Shepherd, she will eventually reach 70-80 lbs. Hopefully not too much more. Boy, she’s cute as a button and great with our kids and other dogs of our employees.
Our “free dirt” promotion was a success and we cleared up the pile of compost/topsoil that lingered on my driveway after we planted our garden and strawberry pyramid. For those of you wishing to attend our Spring Open Shop sale, it has been postponed to sometime in June/July because we were backed up with our table order and had tables everywhere! We didn’t want them to get dinged up and we had no room to maneuver!
Rumor has it that one of our pieces is pictured in a national magazine, but until it’s confirmed, I can’t name the publication. Details/pictures to come!
I usually comment on the weather, as everyone up here focuses on it. It’s been cold, but when the sun’s out, it’s heaven. I can’t wait until we can count on warm days as a regular feature of summer!
TTFN, David April 2009 Well, here we are mid April and the snow is (hopefully) finally gone. We had a sprinkling the other day, but no accumulation! I just returned from a week in Mexico with my family and my extended family so no complaints on the weather. We had a great time and the temperature was 87 degrees for most of the trip, I know, tough life, but someone has to do it.
BIG NEWS HERE, we have a new mascot! Yes, that’s right, The Vermont Butcher Block & Board Company now has a German Shepherd Puppy! The motivation behind a GSD was part companion for my kids, part companion for me, and part security for my home. She’s already proven to be a great addition to the family. I’ll post a picture as soon as I stop making 2am trips out to the pee-tree. Duke joins our family of Ella and Marlee who are employees’ dogs. Guess we’re going to have to move forward with that chain link fence for a recreation area!
I always wonder when our business will slow, but, so far, we’re having a great year and have a few large companies looking to add our products to their lines. We also just received a large order for a new product, butcher block tables. We’ll post a picture of them later as well.
TTFN, David
March 10, 2009: March is here and so was my brother’s and father’s birthdays. Happy Birthday to both!
As a business owner, I get a ton of spam and useless e-mails every single day on both of my e-mail accounts. I usually just delete spam and be done with it, but my brother Michael forwarded me this e-mail that I thought was worth sharing. Michael’s sense of humor is unique, and I can never be sure what exactly is going to be in the e-mail, so I have to open it when the kids aren’t in the room (if you know what I mean.) I enjoy his forwards, smile at them, then delete them. BUT FINALLY, he forwarded me an e-mail that I really liked and felt the need and to post here. This is a story that makes you think about the things you have, and about the priorities you make in life. Each of us can only hope to be blessed with family, children and a whole bunch of other stuff that doesn’t really matter too much.
Here’s the story Michael sent me.
The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Beers
When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Beers. A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full.
They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous 'yes.' The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.
'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else---the small stuff. 'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you. 'Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents.
Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented. The professor smiled and said, 'I'm glad you asked.' The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.
OK, sit back in your chair, think about your priorities, and reflect for a minute. Ok, when you're done, please don't forget to check out our new utensils that we've put up for sale in our online store, we have the new 15" slotted spoon along with matching spaghetti forks, rolling pins, meat tenderizers, and potato mashers. All pieces will eventually be in Maple, Walnut and Cherry! We are also coming out with a new line of cherry/slate trivets and walnut/slate trivets! They are in the Trivet section of our site!
Until next post, TTFN, David
February 13, 2009: Happy Valentine’s Day to all!! It’s been teasingly spring-like and warm these past few days, but I’ve been in Vermont for about 5 or 6 years now, and I know that it’s just a tease. The real winter is about to happen. Last night it was 40’s and raining, this morning there’s an inch of snow on top of an inch of solid ice on our driveway. I’ve actually called our plow service to come salt the driveway and parking lot because of the ice.
This month has been good for us, we sold a lazy susan to cooking legend Ming Tsai. (www.ming.com ) I was able to personally deliver the piece to him in Wellesley, MA and see his beautiful restaurant. (www.blueginger.com ) In addition, our piece will be in an upcoming magazine along side Ming.
We’ve come out with a new line of trivets, one company has already ordered them with their logo emblazoned or engraved in to the slate tile. Most trivets are cheap and flimsy, we’ve decided to make ours beautiful and heirloom-like. They are solid 1.25” Cherry (walnut to come shortly) with a Vermont or NY State piece of slate adhered in the middle. These trivets are great to protect any surface from a hot dish.
We’re doing a wholesale show in Maine in March, if you’re a buyer, please feel free to stop by and spend some cash! (ok, even if you aren’t a buyer, please feel free to stop by and say hi.)
I think that’s it, here’s hoping our daffodils will pop up sometime in the next 6 months. At least we aren’t living in Alaska these days.
TTFN,
David
January 7th 2009: HAPPY NEW YEAR! Well, it’s been one heck of a roller coaster ride this past several months. As usual, I would like to apologize for not being more prompt in my blog postings. I have made it a new year’s resolution to post on a regular basis!
If you don’t already subscribe to our newsletter, (you can join on our home page) I wanted to let you know that our “Give Away a Cow” promotion was launched with great success! We had several companies come close to the required $25,000 order, but none got over that threshold to win their very own live COW. We intend to continue this promotion next year starting in September 09, watch the newsletter for details!
2008 was a great year for us. The economy tanked, but our business stayed strong through the end of the year and we had a great year for a smaller, BUT GROWING company! Gas prices have certainly helped us, along with our employees feel the pinch a bit less. We’re pitching to several large accounts this year in hopes that we can continue to expand our reach across the United States. We’ve definitely seen a push towards “Made in the USA.”
This year we’re coming out with some new and exciting products including cedar planks, trivets, and more! We’re also launching another venture to help deal with our mountains of scrap wood we generate. Stay tuned for that as well. Remember, we’re in Vermont, my kids tell me every day, “REDUCE – REUSE – RECYCLE.”
TTFN,
David
November 7, 2008 Well, it’s that time of year again! The phones don’t stop ringing, the fax doesn’t stop printing, the laser doesn’t stop engraving, and we don’t stop working! Already well into our holiday order season, we’ve gotten some great corporate orders! We still have much more capacity, so if you’re considering us to do some holiday gifts for you, please don’t hesitate to call and see a sample! Or you can just e-mail us your logo and we’ll engrave it at no charge and e-mail you back a picture!
Our two new shop mascots, Ella (German Shepard/Husky) and Marlee (chocolate lab) have been keeping us well entertained. They are always wrestling and rolling around and chasing each other through out the shop. They sure are cute, they are about 1.5 months apart! I’ll try to post a picture at some point.
My kids are thoroughly enjoying school and Susan’s enjoying work, business is great despite the economy, I can only think of a fitting phrase, “Life is good.” It’s not great for everyone though, we need to remember the people who have been hurt or effected by this economy. We need to try to help the people that are effected by this economy. Buying products Made in the USA is a good start, we’ve been trying more and more to spend our dollars on made in the USA supplies and we’re definitely buying our supplies and wood locally. I’d say that 90% of all of our wood purchased is purchased here in Vermont, a majority of that wood is domestically produced.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that we should appreciate the people we have around us and be thankful for the things we used to take for granted, like a hot meal or a warm bath on a cold night. Some people here in the USA turn on their faucets and water doesn’t actually come out. Hug your kids every night, tell them you love them, and hopefully, tomorrow will be a brighter day!
I’ll get off my soap box now and wish everyone here a Happy Thanksgiving!
BTW, we’re having a shop sale on December 13th, 9-5 and we’ll be selling a ton of products at really great prices! Hope to see you there!
TTFN, David
September 29, 2008 Business is going strong, sales are strong, and we’re busy!! We’re preparing for our two upcoming holiday craft shows, the first one is October 10-12 in Stowe, VT. (www.craftproducers.com ) The second is the weekend before Thanksgiving. (www.vermonthandcrafters.com ) Both shows will hopefully be really busy for us. If you’re going to visit us at either show, please visit the sponsor’s website for coupons!
We’ve started to get corporate holiday orders in and that’s been great for business as well. What’s been bothering me lately is that our sawdust removal farmer as stopped coming. The sawdust we make has been piling up in the driveway and we need to get rid of it! If per chance you need a few tons of sawdust, please feel free to call. I’ll give him one more week to show, then we’re going to post it to craig’s list!
We’ve been adding functionality to our website, now engraving options are available when you order each cutting board, butcher block or spoon.
As for new product, we’re adding engraved wine coasters! We bought some surplus walnut and maple circles of wood that was destined for the kindling pile and we’re converting them into beautiful wine bottle coasters that we can personalize for you!
Happy shopping and please buy American this holiday season!!
TTFN, David
August 29, 2008 It’s been over a month since I last posted, I’ll try to cut down the time between postings! Since you last read a number of things have happened that I wanted to mention. Woodbury’s of Vermont has decided to cease operations (read on for why I’m reporting this), I spent a week away with my in-laws, we were in This Old House Magazine, and the holiday rush is coming!
First, Woodbury’s of Vermont is going out of business. This is a very sad issue for me because around 10-12 years ago, Susan and I visited Vermont and I went to Woodbury’s. I loved the bowls they were making and we actually bought a cheese and cracker tray. I thought to myself, one day I would like to own this company! Well, it’s never going to happen now and that makes me sad. We did, however, attend their auction of the facility and I can tell you we bought a ton of Woodbury’s product! We have bowls coming out of every storage nook and cranny. We’re putting them up on our site little by little. Of course they will be marked down 25% from their original price to pass along the bargain pricing we received. If you’re looking for a special Woodbury’s piece and don’t see it on our website, please feel free to call, ask for David and I’ll see if we have it in our inventory.
I spent a week with my in-laws in Michigan this past month. We had a great time exploring Michigan and the highlight of our trip was finding Cherry Republic, a store that sells everything Cherry (www.cherryrepublic.com) and also climbing to the top of Sleepy Bear Dunes with my 3 kids. Sleepy Bear Dunes is a huge sand dune rising up over several hundred feet on the bank of Lake Michigan. Thank god I didn’t have to carry any of them!
WE WERE IN THIS OLD HOUSE! How cool is that? We received a call from a friend of a friend who was looking for a premium quality custom fit cutting board for a very expensive sink! That in turn lead to This Old House calling us to talk about cutting board sinks. We sent them pictures and copy and they decided to include us as the go to company for prep sink cutting boards in their September This Old House issue! While we didn’t get to meet Norm, (apparently he spent time going to some of the larger butcher block companies) we still were honored and thrilled to be included in such a prestigious magazine. Check out “in the news” to see the article and what they had to say.
We’re gearing up for a busy holiday season this year and we’re hoping that when you do your holiday shopping or office gift shopping that you’ll keep us in mind. If you don’t see it on your website, please feel free to call or e-mail!
TTFN,
David
July 22, 2008 Well, it’s the peak of the summer here in Vermont and we’re starting to gear up for Winter! Really, we are! I have to go out and buy a salter for our truck to take care of the driveway to prevent any unfortunate accidents like I had last year.
We just finished our “Taste of Stowe” craft show (www.craftproducers.com) and had a great show! We look forward to their fall show as well. One of our employees just got a new puppy and she has quickly become the shop mascot. Her name is Ella and is part German sheppard and part husky, what a cutie. We’ll post a picture as soon as we can.
In our professional news, we were recently highlighted on the local news, WCAX, by “Made in Vermont” Jack Thurston. (www.wcax.com) You can view the clip by clicking on: http://www.wcax.com/Global/category.asp?C=74837&nav=menu183_8 It was a great pleasure to have them out at our shop!
Rumor has it that we’re going to be mentioned in a national publication in September, if it comes to fruition, I’ll make sure to post a copy online.
Business has been strong and we keep on plugging away, trying to take the time to stop and smell the roses. After all, we live in one of the most beautiful states out there (in the summer) while employees squeeze in their summer vacations. We hope everyone who reads this is having a great summer!
Talk to you in August!
TTFN, David
June 17th 2008 Well, coming down off of a high such as being reviewed by Cooks Illustrated, I think we might have jumped the shark. (Happy Days reference) OK, just kidding, we haven’t yet jumped the shark, we’re still swimming and doing well at that!
In our “in the news ” section, I have posted screen captures of a friend and Chef, Curtiss Hemm using our products on his bi-weekly cooking show on WCAX TV. The anchorwoman, Judy Simpson, actually came over to the shop and bought some of our spoons! We’re famous now!!!
I heard a funny joke the other day, “Vermont has two seasons, Winter and Fourth of July” Well, we’re in the start of our really nice weather of 80’s and have already had a 3 day humid streak with temps in the 90’s. My kids are now out of school and cannot wait to go on vacation. We’re going to venture down to the “armpit of America” –New Jersey for our 3rd year in a row. Cape May for all of you New Jersey aficionados. On the way back, we’re going to visit cousins and grandparents. We’re also visiting cousins and grandparents in Detroit later in the summer! Aren’t I lucky, New Jersey and Detroit this summer!!
Our first of three craft shows is next month. We’re exhibiting and selling at the Stowe Craft Fair. (www.craftproducers.com ) At that show, we’re going to showcase our new burl candle holders. They make great table centerpieces! We’ll post them online shortly.
Thanks for reading and enjoy your summer!
TTFN,David
May 6th 2008 Well, it’s time for my latest blog entry. I know it’s time for my next blog entry when my mother calls me and tells me to update my blog!
This Saturday we’re having an open shop sale to move all of our odd sizes, over-runs from larger orders, and just everything that isn’t nailed down. It’s a great time to pick up a smaller cutting board for that onion or garlic use or just to browse our selection in anticipation of the upcoming holidays. (in December)
We received some great news yesterday!! Our 15” maple spoon was tested by America’s Test Kitchen and Cooks Illustrated and the results are published online at the below link:
www.cooksillustrated.com
While we didn’t garner the top spot, we did come in as “recommended with reservations” and their only concern was the length of the handle. We DO sell that spoon in a shorter version, so don’t hesitate and get your spoons now! We are also the only company that can engrave the handles of the spoons as well! I felt it was a great honor to have our spoons tested, I just wish they would list the country of origin next to every entry to level the playing field and give the readers a more complete picture.
On another note, we have landed an order for cheese boards at the US Open Tennis Tournament in Queens this year. We will be providing the executive suites with a LOT of cheese boards.
That’s it for now
April 4, 2008 Well, well, well, where do I start? I must apologize, it’s been way too long since my last blog entry. I do have a good reason though! Well, it’s not really a good reason, it’s a stupid reason. I broke my ankle in two places!! Yes, I’m a Vermont transplant who, on March 4th, was walking to the garage to get some salt because the driveway was slippery, and sure enough, down I went and broke my tibia and my fibula.
1 surgery, 8 screws and 1 plate later, I’m now on crutches and will set off every metal detector within 50 feet of my ankle. I’m healing very well and doing as well as can be on crutches. While in a cast, my brother took me over the NEPTS (wholesale) show in Portland, Maine. We had a great response to our products and landed a bunch of new wholesale accounts. Thanks Mike! I also had 5 days of bonding with my brother, which was a great by-product of my accident. He really came through when I needed someone, as my wife was now in charge of our 3 little ones.
Now that it’s April, the snow is finally melting and the mud season begins. I heard a great joke the other day. Vermont has two seasons, Winter and 4th of July.
Our business has been strong and better than ever. The one challenge that we’re dealing with is that people we extend credit to now pay net 60, net 90 or net 120 instead of the usual net 30 that we offer. That’s been a bit of a challenge, but we’re adjusting our expectations, AND our cash flow! Happy Spring to everyone!
TTFN,
David
2/11/08 Well, our Daniel Boulud pieces were a hit, and I’m tired of talking about it! (not really) Anyway, the piece was featured in Time-Out New York and the article is posted to our “in the news” section. One of our local papers also picked up the story and I’ve posted a copy of that. Our other “local” paper said that our story about Daniel Boulud wasn’t really news and we should contact them again if we had some really big news! I won’t mention their name. (WILLISTON OBSERVER) Ooops, did I say that?
On to more important things! We are attending the New England Products Trade Show in Portland, ME on March 15, 16, 17th if anyone reading this is planning on or thinking about attending. I will be there, and if you mention my blog, I’ll give you a free gift! No Mom, this doesn’t count you.
Gung Hay Fat Choy! For those who didn’t know, last weekend was the Chinese New Year. We celebrated the Year of the Rat by attending a 16 course dinner at A Single Pebble in Burlington, VT. Food was awesome! It was so loud and there were so many kids there, I really needed to bring my shop headphones with the radio in them to block out the noise. I told my wife, next year I am going to bring my headphones!
This past Sunday, I was also tapped to be a judge at a cooking contest. There were 5 teams of chefs and the charge was to prepare an oyster appetizer and a chocolate dessert in the spirit of Valentine’s Day. What a great contest to judge!
Until Next time, TTFN
David
January,28, 2008 Well, it seems like everything isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be. I was so excited about my lunch with Governor Jim Douglas that I had won in the Lake Champlain Chamber of Commerce Auction back in September. I was given information to set up the lunch and I tried. Believe me; I tried to set up this lunch. After several months and a few unreturned phone calls, I decided to cut and run. I asked for my money back from the Chamber of Commerce. They stalled, and didn’t call me back. I sent a not-so-nice e-mail and copied the president of the chamber and finally got my money back. If they couldn’t come through with the lunch, they shouldn’t have put it on the bill. As a small business owner, I put a lot of effort into winning that auction and following up and was just totally disappointed by the whole experience. I’m sorry Governor Douglas, you don’t get to have lunch with me. Enough said.
On the flip side, our pieces have appeared twice in magazines. We’re going to post links to the articles shortly. The first was our Charcuterie Board done for Chef Daniel Boulud, it appeared in Time Out Magazine. The second piece was in an advertisement for Italian leather products in Vogue Magazine.
Business has been steady and we’re doing a lot of early spring cleaning. I think we’re going to have a samples sale in March to unload some of our samples and overruns. Stay tuned for that!
TTFN, David
January 7th 2008 Happy Holidays! Happy New Year! WHEW…….The holiday rush is over and we’re almost back to business as usual. We’ve cleaned the shop, removed our extra packing and shipping stations, and we’ve taken a few days to relax and refocus on the year to come. We’ve also cleaned out the sawdust from every crevice it has gotten in to.
Our holiday season was just tremendous, keeping all of us very busy. In the middle of our holiday rush, we got the green light from Chef Daniel Boulud (www.danielnyc.com ) to proceed with his custom designed charcuterie trays. It’s an honor to do work for him even if it came at our busiest point of the year. None-the-less, we were able to fill 100% of our orders by X-mas unlike some of the mass-manufacturers out there who had really early cutoffs for their products.
Now is the time when we’re going to reflect on last year and see what we did right, what we did not so right and what we can do differently this year to help increase our efficiencies and help us increase our business.
We have a lot of new things planned for this year which we’ll start working on shortly. Please stay tuned and check our site often as new items are going to appear including our line of lazy susans that are beyond beautiful. We make them from Bird’s Eye Maple and Tiger Maple. We also use a high quality mechanism and sink the mechanism into the base so our lazy susans stay low to the table and work really smoothly.
We’ll be exhibiting at the New England Products Trade Show this year (www.nepts.com ) to help us get the word out about our spoon line.
Stay tuned for more, TTFN, David December 10, 2007 As the Backyardigans song goes, “Were in the thick of it” and they repeat it a whole lot of times to a catchy tune. (with our 3 girls of 4/4/6, I tend to watch or hear Noggin a whole lot.)
We are in the thick of the gift buying season. We were doing well working to get our largest order ever out the door when a bunch of smaller orders, all needing to be engraved came in. We’ve shipped ½ of the large order and will ship the other half on Wednesday/Thursday. We’ll all be glad when that one is out the door. It turns out that production is not the bottleneck, it’s actually the laser engraving. Who would have thought?
Our local wine group was last week and we tasted wines from Spain. I’ll tell you that the wines were good, everyone had their favorite, but the food was awesome! JoAnne out did herself. There weren’t any stand out funny stories, but it was just nice to get away and relax for the evening.
As our customers purchase items every day, we’re proud to be able to ship most items same day. I had heard that Sur-La-Table was no longer shipping their engraved cutting boards as of December 1st. Rest assured, we’re still shipping it for Christmas arrival up until UPS says, “No Mas.” I think they should find a better supplier.
As for snow conditions, we’ve gotten clobbered with 14” last week and this week we have a lot of flurries planned. Got to run, the phone is ringing off the hook!
Happy Hanukah to all of our Jewish customers as we light the Menorah here as well.
TTFN,
David November 26, 2007 Well, it's been a bit longer than I had expected to write my blog entry, but here goes:
My in-laws were here for Thanksgiving and cooked above and beyond their capabilities and made a great meal that I've had every night for 4 nights in a row. The food was just amazing. I hope everyone reading my blog has had a great Thanksgiving as well.
The holiday season is here! After starting out our holiday season with a 500+ piece order, we have had several larger orders right behind it. At the same time, we're handling many one and two piece orders every day. Our shop has a great "hum" to it and everyone is really pitching in to get the job done and get the orders out. Did I mention that I have great employees?
Other highlights of our past few weeks were the Fine Art and Craft show at the Sheraton in South Burlington. www.vermonthandcrafters.com We had our best show ever just before Thanksgiving. We've started talking with Orvis about possibly having one of our pieces in their catalog. We've also started talking with a local pewter company about possibly making them a custom line of products. Our Chef Kelly line has taken shape and is now starting to become available on our site. More Chef Kelly items will be forthcoming and his website is: www.kidsculinary.com .
I'm still waiting to have lunch with the Governor and I've also had a VERY large retail company approach me about carrying one of our lines. We'll see what happens there.
On our customer service front, I wanted to include a flattering customer feedback quote in my blog to highlight our great customer service,
"Dear David, That is most kind for you to offer to do that. Now this is good old excellent customer service that one seldom sees much this day and age. I would surely appreciate it if you could send me two of your 8 oz. bottles. With the invoice enclosed I would be quite pleased to send a check off to you in the following day's mail pickup... You likewise are so too and quite refreshing to find. That said, I truly appreciate your trust and willingness therefore to simplify things by offering to simply send this mineral oil to me and allowing me to pay for it once received via a mailed check. So many things, it would seem, are going to heck in this country these days more and more, but this is an instance of good old American goodness and quality in business practice. “
Thanks Roy, enjoy your mineral oil!
Just another update, our wine group is December 1st, so hopefully I’ll have a funny story for you after that!
TTFN, David October 23, 2007 Well, it’s been a busy few weeks here a the shop. We’ve been gearing up production for holiday gift orders as well as finishing up a few large custom pieces. My family and I visited Detroit this past weekend for my wife’s nephew’s Bar Mitsvah. A great time was had by all, but it was a whirlwind trip with our three kids. Next weekend our family visits my side of the family in NYC. I need to talk to the scheduler, my wife, about spacing our trips apart a little bit more!
Our wine group met two weekends ago right after I made my last blog entry. We blind tasted favorite wines under $12.00 per bottle. The best of the 8 bottles was bottle number 4. When the bottles were unveiled, it turns out that bottle number 4 was Kirkland Cabernet Sauvignon. Can you believe it? 8 somewhat average pallets picked Costco brand wine as the best? We were all floored!!! (and running to Costco the next day.) We later found out that the bottle was actually $12.50 which violated the under $12.00 rule made by hostess Lucy. (Lucy was also the one who bought the Costco wine).
Anyway, one last thought, I’ve seen many lazy susans in my day and all I can say is that people who make lazy susans use wood that is either scrap wood laminated together or they use plain/ugly wood. I’ve decided that we’re going to make a line of lazy susans that uses beautiful woods such as birds eye maple and tiger maple, with each piece being a work of art. Stay tuned to our website for that, they will be up in a week.
I just wanted to add a disclaimer that my wife’s name is Susan and there is no correlation between my wife Susan and lazy susans.
Have a good week and I’ll update after our trip to NYC!
David
October 10, 2007 Whew!! Our holiday fine art and craft show this past weekend is out of the way. We met a lot of great people and sold a lot of product. Thank you to all of those important customers and thank you to those who promised to contact us about corporate work! Our next and last show of the year is at the South Burlington Sheraton on the weekend before Thanksgiving. Please visit www.vermonthandcrafters.com for more information and an entry coupon good for $1.00 off.
Over the past several weeks, I (David) bid on having lunch with the Governor of our small state and won the auction. Sometime in the near future I will be having lunch with Governor Jim Douglas pictured below. Of course after the lunch, I’ll post to my blog and let you know how it went. I’m not sure what I’m going to talk about during lunch so if you have any suggestions feel free to e-mail them to me. http://governor.vermont.gov/
As for new products, we have made some beautiful candleholders out of highly figured wood and had a glass blowing friend make us some votive tea light tubes for the top. They are just beautiful and they are listed in the one of a kind area on our site. After making them, I wanted to put one of them on my dining room table, but I disappointingly sold the one I wanted at our craft show. Oh well, guess I’ll have to find another special piece of figured wood for my table. Thanks, Eric for making those tubes! www.eyeandiglass.com
Signing off for this week, David
September 28, 2007 Did anyone read that New York Times article about the difficulty in making time to write your blog? Well, I’m experiencing that. Blogs have become an important part of any business’ marketing plan, so I will try my best to make time each week or perhaps every other week. With our craft show appearance in Stowe (www.craftproducers.com ) coming up this week, we’ve been busy preparing for an onslaught of retail customers at the show.
This week we were contacted by a real estate firm to make some pieces for Butterball™ . Another great opportunity earned for us. Of course the pieces were needed in 4 days, but we had them in stock so it wasn’t a problem.
We’ve added framed and matted photos of a great amateur photographer, Laurie Thompson. Laurie is a full time school teacher that lives in a beautiful area and has a great eye for taking pictures! Feel free to check them out on our site. In addition to her photos, we have added a more complete line of pepper mills including teak and rosewood! We have also added beautiful rolling pins, Vermont Butcher Block Aprons, and VTBBB Potholders! Please feel free to stop in and check out our new selection.
TTFN, David
(TTFN is short from Ta Ta for now – Tigger from Winnie the Pooh)
September 21, 2007: Owner’s Log, Star Date….just kidding that was for one of my geeky trekkie friends. Ted, you know who you are. Well, so much for having a slow September. Our business has, well, gotten busy! We thought we might have more time to build up our holiday inventory and instead we’re making a lot of custom products for the next few weeks. The premier holiday catalog that we’re in has been keeping us busy in building up inventory as well. They have taken not just two of our cutting boards into their folds, but two cutting boards and two knife blocks as well.
Well, we’ve also landed a job working for Chef Daniel Boulud making charcuterie trays for his new restaurant opening in November across from Lincoln Center. We were chosen over a number of other vendors due to my sunny personality, along with a few quality products from our staff. Having the Chef Boulud feather in our cap falls in line with the number of celebrity chefs we have done work for including Bobby Flay, The Food Network, Guy’s Big Bite, and a few others that shall remain nameless.
Our holiday season is shaping up to be a great year for us and we would love to earn your holiday business, we’re able to engrave corporate logos on any of our pieces and can do just one, one thousand, or any quantity in between. Please feel free to e-mail us your logo for a free sample of your engraved logo.
This is David, signing off until next week, Nano-Nano (Mork from Mork & Mindy circa 1978-1982 Robbin Williams/Pam Dawber)
9/13/07 Well, it’s my first blog entry. What do I say? I’ll start by saying, “WELCOME to our new website!” Please feel free to email me with comments, suggestions and mis-spellings to
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and we’ll get them cleared up. Feel free to place an order or two as well while you’re looking around our site. (Someone has to pay for the new site!)
Anyway, we started the year out yearning for a paper catalog that would list our products and better inform customers about them. Our newly hired marketing firm talked me into having our website rebuilt to a friendlier format as initially we were working on a shoestring budget website. Following the website rebuild, we would be able to come out with a catalog that would be cohesive with our website. It all sounded great in theory. I didn’t have time to spare, they were slow getting out of the gate and the site took much more time to build than anyone who was involved anticipated. It’s done and I’m really glad! Next was the catalog.
What we finally decided is that due to the environmental impact of a new catalog with all that paper and chemicals (along with the cost), we would be better off producing a give-away CD of all our products and offerings. Then we took it one step further and decided that anyone that had a computer to play a CD would have internet access and would be able to pull up our site. (Hello, this is 2007) Scratch the catalog, scratch the CD/DVD catalog and now we’re going to come out with a high quality brochure that points customers and people to our website. Stay tuned for that……and e-mail us if you would like one.
We did re-design our logo last year and I think it came out great. Thanks to Ted Kohn of www.moondyneagency.com. Our logo appears on our website and is laser engraved into all of our pieces.
Another milestone this year was our new wooden utensil line. We consulted a number of local chefs from a “top 3” culinary school and they all agreed on several principles, or must haves. They wanted sturdy, strong pieces that were made in the USA, Vermont to be more specific since that’s where we all live. Having flimsy shaped handles or whimsical designs was a turn-off, they wanted reliability, durability, and good strong utensils that wouldn’t discolor or break at the sign of hard work. They also wanted the ability to hang the utensils, possibly from a hanging pot rack or on the wall. Our utensils come standard pre-dipped in mineral oil and also have a leather hanging loop attached. A big WELCOME to our utensil line in Maple, Walnut and Cherry! If the handle ever snaps from overuse, we’ll replace the spoon at no charge!
We can also engrave names and messages on the spoons to add to their charm. Shortly after the Maple line came out, we engraved 30 spoons with a logo and restaurant names for a chapter of Meals on Wheels to give out to supporting restaurants. They just look great in our pottery utensil crocks.
A number of times per week we get asked why we don’t carry other Vermont products. Well, now we do! We have Danforth Pewter, Richard’s BBQ and hot sauces (famous here in Vermont), Wooden bowls by Woodburys of Vermont, Bag Balm, the worlds best skin moisturizer, Way Out Wax Candles, the environmentally friendly aromatherapy candles, some pottery from local potters, and there’s going to be more to come. Whether you need a wedding gift, a kitchen enthusiast gift, or you just want to treat yourself, our website has become the place to shop for Vermont items!
So how has business been going? Well, things have been going really well since our inception in 2004. Our internet orders are very strong along with our custom orders and our repeat customers. We’ve added some very prestigious customers to our portfolio and we’ll include some of the products and customers in future blog updates.
Signing off for now, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments or if you are interested in ordering some of our products!
David Glickman, Owner
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