Pandemic Woes

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It’s been nine months since our last art show. That is a long time to stay at home in near quarantine conditions for a couple of art show warriors like Laurie and myself. I do make the short drive to my day job almost every day. But all the other people who work there are working from home. Going in to work is actually more isolated than staying at home. Laurie stays at home and works on web sites while making a few pens.

The inventory is piling up even though we only made a small fraction of the pens we would usually have made over the past nine months. Online sales have picked up, not great, not a replacement for the shows we did not attend, but better than in other years. Pens are not a great online product. Not many people sets down in front of their laptop or pulls out their mobile devise and thinks about looking online for pens. But if you are reading this, you did. It does happen.

One thing that has done well this year is the corporate gift business. We make pens that companies use as customer or employee gifts. Quantities typically range from 10 to 200 pens, but we can handle larger orders. We have had several corporate orders this year and would be happy to get a few more. Get in touch with us if you are looking for gifts.

Also we have participated in a couple virtual art show online projects. A few show promoters have organized virtual shows and invited artists like us to put product in their virtual shows. Results of the virtual shows have been extremely disappointing. It sometimes takes many days to load up products for the show sites. Sales have repeatedly been close to zero..

We are attempting to sign up for a few real shows in the early months of next year. We have serious doubts that the shows will happen, and if they do take place, will there be any shoppers? 

The inventory may be piling up, but we still love to make pens and are making some interesting new pens for when the shows return.