What do you do when you meet up with an artist you admire? 1) You get a picture with her, and 2) you buy up a chunk of the inventory in her store. That’s how today went!
In America, we celebrate Thanksgiving on a Thursday. Then comes Black Friday with huge sales in all the major retailers. After fighting the crowds on Friday, we rally again to shop Small Business Saturday. That’s how I spent today. Shopping via my favorite small business.
Franklin Engraving is the creative venture of a petite powerhouse of a woman. Katie Franklin is a USAF veteran and mom of two. She clearly loves people and it shows in her personalized, made-to-order creations. Her love for other cultures is also obvious in her ease with all comers and her eye for what appeals to her wide range of clients.
I had the opportunity to visit her studio today. The fragrance and beauty of wood welcomed us in. Katie specializes in laser engraving and matches the wood to the designs she creates. I especially loved seeing some of the old reclaimed wood pieces, wondering what barn or old house yielded them for Katie’s repurposing.
Seeing her work was intriguing. Her designs are programmed into the engraver, and then she must set up the laser field to etch the pattern accurately, as designed, on the piece of wood.
It was a little unnerving for me, watching her. No wonder the end products are so beautiful. Unique and exact in expressing the design.
I bought two etched wall hangings that she had fashioned for me. They were more beautiful than I had imagined when I commissioned her to do them. Other gifts caught my eye, so I left happily with more than I had planned originally.
She even threw in some apples from a local orchard for our trip home.
If you appreciate the beauty of natural wood, and if words are a language of love for you, Franklin Engraving is a business you will engage again and again.
Katie, owner-designer, can be reached through her Facebook and Etsy pages. You are going to love her work…and be enchanted by her joy in creating products personalized for you or those you love.
Since it’s Small Business Saturday, take advantage of today’s discount as well… If you miss it, there’s always Cyber Monday.
Another Friday has gloriously arrived. Before we head off our computer and into the weekend’s activities (great idea to do life unplugged for a couple of days if you can…me, not so much), here are my favorite finds for this week.
1) Beyond the Guitar’s Latest – Another TV season of the series Game of Thrones debuts this weekend. We’re not HBO subscribers but also wouldn’t watch it because of the graphic violence and explicit sex. Still, the music apparently is epic. Nathan Mills, at Beyond the Guitar, does justice, on his one classical guitar, to Photo Credit: YouTube, BeyondtheGuitar
2) Designed ‘We’ – One of my husband’s core values is “We is better than me.” I had not seen the news report about the Air Canada flight that almost landed on a crowded taxiway this past week. When Dave told me about it, he talked about how in air traffic control, there is actually a “designed ‘We'”.Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
With the Air Canada flight, the controller instructed the pilot to land on one runway, but he descended to the taxiway right beside where he was instructed to land. I would have thought the controller would have seen the pilot was coming in wrong, but, before it was too late “an unidentified voice” (on the audio released) interjected. He saw the error and the pilot was able to correct before plowing through four other planes lined up on the taxiway. Whew!
The skill of pilot and copilot and their working in team relieves all of us who travel often by air. Also crucial is the role of the air traffic controller and team is crucial for our safety in the air and on airport take-offs and landings. The film Sully demonstrated this real life situation masterfully…the critical importance of team, or many eyes on a situation, and fast thinking and execution.
Designed redundancy (the American use of that word) is worked into the air control team structure. News reports allude to the possibility the controller was working alone (we will know more after the investigation). Still this sort of team makeup is vital in situations where there can be no tolerance for error. We rarely ever hear of a crash based on air traffic control error because of such a built-in team fail-safe.
Something to think about, not just in safety situations, but in any workplace where the outcomes really matter. To establish a “designed ‘we’ and never just a me”.
CNN article – Air Canada Plane Nearly Lands on a Crowded Taxiway at San Francisco Airport (by Eric Levenson, Stella Chan, Carma Hassan and Jon Ostrower, CNN)
3) Tour de France – You are either a fan or not so much. Even with the years of doping scandals, this race remains an annual summer favorite in our home. In fact, the only reason we have cable TV is the easy access to NFL Football and this bike race. The Tour de France is an amazing spectacle of beauty, skill, endurance, and fan support.Photo Credit: NBCSN, Screen Shot
This year’s race, a week in and a week to go, has been full of drama and incredible finishes. Amazing bikers abound every year While the current favorite is Christopher Froome, several this year have a chance to wear the Yellow Jersey and win it all. Yesterday’s Stage 12 is an example of how this year’s Tour is going. Here are highlights:
4) Franklin Engraving – Just a shout-out to a artist in Virginia. Katie Franklin is an engraver and has now incorporated as a small business. Franklin Engraving. She pours her energy, intelligence, and creativity into beautiful and personal works of art made to order. Check out her Facebook page to order. Her webpage will be up shortly.
5) Mission BBQ – Rewarding customers with great products, ambiance, and service can turn all of us from occasional consumers to regulars. A further step is to get us back is to extend hospitality through special offers like Birthday Clubs. I love Mission BBQ‘s strategy on this. Sign up online for a birthday club and get a free sandwich on your birthday. Not bombarding my inbox with emails…just an occasional invitation to remind us of special days (veterans and first responders are also fed free on holidays). This restaurant is all about America in honoring ways. Do you have one in your city? Or a restaurant like Mission BBQ?
That’s my Five. How about you? Any favorites from your week you would share in Comments below. I had so many great finds, the bonuses follow. You might find some useful or inspiring. Have a great and safe weekend.
