So it doesn't sing as well as Soft Kitty from Big Bang Theory, but the kiln is here and working and not damaged and I love it.  I'm still in the learning curve, getting used to how the new kiln heats and how to program it, but thankfully it's pretty easy.  So what happened?  Olympic shipped my first kiln, and the freight company, Southeastern Freight Lines (SEFL) practically murdered it ...

If this were a small purchase, I wouldn't have cared.  It probably would have been fine with the gouge in the side, but the base was bent so badly it had to be replaced.  The folks at Olympic were FANTASTIC.  I couldn't have asked for better service from them.  SEFL, however, was a different story.  Had it not been for Olympic, I would have had to pay for 2 kilns plus over $1000 in shipping costs.  SEFL is staffed by, in my experience, mostly incompetent people.  No one ever called me to notify me that a driver was coming to pick up the damaged kiln.  No one ever called me to notify me the new kiln would be delivered.  They denied my claim for damage, and then proceeded to bill me over $700 to pick up the damaged kiln (which Olympic took care of).  In one transaction, I got to see both extremes in company quality and customer service.  From the shining stars, to the dregs of society.  SEFL has been added to the list of companies I will NEVER do business with again.  On the other hand, I'm an Olympic customer for life.

So I've been happily catching up on my bottle backlog.  Almost all of my bottle molds fit in here at the same time.  I can actually fit more in than are pictured below, but that was my first firing.  Everything turned out great!

So with all this space, I'm getting new ideas.  I'm thinking bigger!  I can't wait to get all my ideas baking so I can share them with you.

We all have products we love using because of one reason or another.  I'm going to start sharing my products and tools of the trade that I either can't or don't want to work without!  I'm going to start with stained glass supplies and tools.

I've had an iPhone 4 since they came out.  This phone has been resilient even through all the flying leaps I put it though over the last few years.  But when it came to being time to upgrade, I did some quick research.  I found a company that buys old cell phones for a fair price (in my opinion for this transaction).  Assuming the USPS doesn't destroy the phone on the way to Gazelle, they will give me $150 for my old phone.  Through AT&T, I was able to find the same model for $0.99.  Of course, there's a $36 activation fee, but ultimately getting a new phone is going to result in a $113 profit for me.  I'm OK with this!  I'm also OK with sticking with the old model of iPhone for my business because I don't spend a lot of time on the phone and it allows me to use Square for purchases made by folks using credit cards.  I quite enjoy the simplicity and speed of Square.  I know other credit card processing for smart phones have come out since Square, but I haven't had any issues with Square to date so I haven't bothered to look into the other services.  Technology has really revolutionized the way I do business.  Before smart phones and Square, there was no credit card processing at craft shows.  It was just too cost prohibitive.  But now, depending on the show, over half of my sales could be credit card.  That's a huge increase in revenue!