I just returned from New York! As always… I love New York. There’s just a magic to it.
I attended the New York International Gift Fair where my Mom and I tried to sell our products. Times are tough in the U.S. Buyers are nervous. No one really knows what to expect.
We seem to be a company always in transition… Our old mainstay product was hand-hammered copper. The problem is that copper has become so expensive that it’s prohibitive to sell. Only a select few understand and appreciate it enough to pay the kind of prices that we must charge. Of course the Santa Rosa Candles have been a product… a great product for many years. My Mom started the company with a glass line and that’s where we’re back to today… Glass… Especially the carved glass that is done in our new factory!
I shared with people “our story.” How we’re trying to hire disabled individuals to work, to learn to carve glass. People really responded. I had made a little hand-out that had a few pictures and a few lines about what we’re doing… At the bottom it said… “Be a part of The Story”
As I said, we're a company in transition. We arrived in New York and created the booth with what items we had in our mini-warehouse and some items lent to us by our neighbors who happen to be good friend as well. My Mom hadn’t gone to market in six years. She had to admit that things had changed drastically in that time. We’re located on Pier 94 and since she had been the whole make-up of the pier’s had changed. Not to mention the neighborhood. Pier 94 is located on 52nd and the West Side Highway. This neighborhood has changed dramatically in the last few years. Once what was a rough area has turned into a trendy neighborhood.
It’s good to be back home! There’s lots to do to ensure that the dream survives.
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