Keeping up with Demand

The wind has continued to blow strongly and this week there has been the added problem of threatening thunderstorms. Having checked several weather websites I decided to opt for my usual Friday stint to sell on the beach. The combination of wind and rain forecast for Thursday was too much of a risk, so Friday seemed the best choice. How many of us have felt cheated by predicted weather sites? This is how I felt today because it turned out to be far worse than yesterday. By lunchtime, black clouds looked ready to dump a heavy shower all over my artworks! This is so bizarre and unusual for June in Crete but after all, strange weather patterns have been occurring all over the world so why should Crete be an exception?
Anyway, playing it safe, I took down all the pictures from the displays and put them into my car, to wait until it blew over. And blow over it did. An hour later the black clouds disappeared to leave sunnier skies and the rain never materialised. The wind had completely dropped and it felt about 10 degrees warmer again.

I had deliberated whether to pack up completely and return home yet again but I am so glad that I waited it out. Sales for the day far exceeded my expectations and in fact, I noticed that certain designs are selling faster than I can make them!

Georgoupolis Chapel

Little Chapel at Georgoupolis

It takes hours to make some of the more detailed mosaics and I don’t always have enough of the precious shells that create them. A lovely lady called Rose, from the USA, actually hand-picks some of my most special seashells and it costs me dearly to get them shipped out here. Rose and Jim run a website that sells seashells for sailor’s valentines and they were so impressed with my unique style that they offered me a free webpage on their site, to showcase my designs. Their website is www.seashellsandwood.com and I would be lost without the gorgeous seashells they are able to supply me with.

Children with Sunhats

“Children in Sunhats” Design

Even though my prices have remained the same for over 3 years now (due to the ongoing recession), all my supplier costs have risen, which means that I have to produce and sell more to make the same money! So I decided that certain artworks should be priced higher and one example of this is the “Children in Sunhats” design. One particular customer has been ‘eyeing up’ this artwork for a few days now, but hasn’t made the leap to purchase it. This afternoon I sold it to a Russian tourist at the new price. I had only just finished it last week. Two other designs also sold, having only put them on display today. These were completed just two days ago!

Flipflops and Footprints

“Flipflops and Footprints” Design

So it would appear that this is the way forward. Designs that are more difficult to produce for a variety of reasons, must now be increased in value. Taking everything into consideration, I think this is only fair and makes good business sense.

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