The State of the Store: Values, Stock and Products

old I Have A Notion web banner
Where We Were

In a little less than a year the state of the store has changed significantly. The web site started crashing and elements were not functioning requiring major renovations. I Have A Notion™, started down the road to the new look, new web site, new stock; well new everything! The site is modernized, sleek and organized. It will always be a work in progress, but the key elements are in place.

What are the Goals

To improve the State of the Store, new stock and products are being added all the time. Not just the newest hottest things, but the tried and true. Products that have stood the test of time and continue to work as well as the day they were introduced. These tools continue to work and have a long useful life in the sewing room. In addition, adding the new innovative products that will help guide us down the road of creativity, either by updating the method of how or by making the current process easier or better.

a banner with several IHAN products

Values of I Have a Notion™

Modern retail is based on the cycle of buy-buy-buy, but let’s buy right! All of us can fall into the cycle of constantly upgrading before every really learning to use what we have. Part of my job at I Have A Notion™ is finding useful tools that do their job well for the cost. To that end, I am sourcing out the best tools for the best price. We can all find the least expensive items at the big box stores, and most of them will work well. At I Have A Notion™, the goal is to stock the ‘better categories of products where possible. Not the lowest priced “GOOD” and not the top of the line “BEST” products, but the “BETTER” that does the job, will last or have made significant enough changes to ‘Tried and True’ to warrant the upgrade! Focus on the best bang for the buck. Tools that will pay for themselves or elevate your experience to the next level or BOTH! The value will be there, if not by the price, then the benefits of the item.

Tested by Beth

My IDEA is to show you the difference! By the cost or value, by innovation, or that it has stood the test of time and is still relevant. There are many “Tried and True” products, (Blue Washout Markers), that I use when crafting and sewing. Some are “NEW and Improved” products, (Misting Spray Bottles), that make some aspect much better, easier or both. Where there is only one choice of a particular item, (Machingers Gloves), then that is the one you will find here. Where there is more than one choice (scissors or pins), then you get to make the decision on which is best for you. Still not sure… ASK! I will assist you in any way I can, and I always tell the truth. I love helping you find exactly what you need to be successful in CREATING. Can’t find a tool, something you really want to have? Please email (Beth at quiltnotions@gmail.com) and we can see if it can be found!

The State of the Store will be ever changing as the stock and products, but the values will remain the same!

Beth

You can find the above products here: Misting Spray Bottles, Machingers Gloves, Vinyl Decals, Quilters Select Products, and Longarm Books.

That Time of Year …

Its that time of year… when looking forward… into the new year requires a look back into the old year and some planning ahead.

Inventory and taxes and some website improvements . So that is where the time has gone this past week!

What did we see?

picture of rows of numbers
photo by https://www.flickr.com/photos/petervanlancker/

During the inventory, we discovered that during the Internet woes last year a few of the stock items didn’t get added. The product pictures are in the library, but the product information is GONE! Poof! So, yesterday in an attempt to fix the deficit, technology reared another ugly side.

A Store improvement, that was sort of implemented- caused some navigation problems. Once you arrived, you couldn’t go anywhere else. But the time to figure out and correct the problem took about 3 hours… Bleah!

So today, a little more tax work and some product fixes… and may we can do better on the blog… There are so many ideas floating… and in the process, but the prep time just doesn’t flow between the scheduled (and unscheduled) events!

Chicken quilt loaded  on the Longarm
Ready to be quilted!

Looking forward at this time of year, The “chickens” are loaded on the longarm and now to find the courage to begin the quilting. Unfortunately, we still need to acquire the thread. A trip to Louisville for some color analysis and decisons? Mother Nature may get in the way… as we are expecting some snow. We already have the frigid temperatures. Today, before sunrise it was 21F (-6C) and felt like 13F (-10C). It has gotten warmer up to 24F (-4C) and currently feels like 19F (-7C), but hey the sun is shining, and that is a good thing!

So off to load some books to the store. Coincidentally, the books are some really great free-motion quilting/longarm books too. I just might have to give them a perusal for the above-mentioned chickens… If you are looking for a good book on quilting and design, “Step by Step Free-Motion Quilting” from Christina Cameli, “free-motion Quilting Idea Book” by Amanda Murphy, the “Longarm Quilting Workbook” by Teresa Silva and “Free-Motion Meandering” by Angela Walters are all really great for ideas and courage to quilt! Look for them in the store or click the book title to go directly to book.

More Later! Beth

Some fun and lots of work

Has it really been since November that I posted? Where has the time gone? Actually I know where all the time has gone and I am quite sure that you do not want to hear the details, but there has been some fun and work.

The House- no fun, lots of work

Is slowly coming together. The major work is completed, but the followup is slow going. We completed most of the interior painting, but about a quarter of the main floor still needs to be painted, we have requested the contractor to redo some of the wall repairs before we finish the painting. Next is also installing the main level flooring. It took us forever to find a floor that we thought we could live with, and we finally decided on one that is not going to be too dark. The fun was putting the furniture back into the living room area.

The Living Room almost completed
The new fireplace surround and living room arranged for sitting.

The Outside

The weather has made it difficult to tell if it is winter or not… we have a few days of freezing cold that has led to either ice on the pond or snow, and then a few warmer days with lots of rain. The pond is full and it has been fun to see how the pond changes with the temperature changes. Those pesky ladybug-like creatures are constantly trying to get into the house.

Winter-snow on the pond
Snowfall on the pond

Some travel

I went to Houston for Quilt Market and the Threads of Success Conference. It was both fun and work. I met a lot of very fascinating people and even caught up with a few friends. Many that were attending “TOS” were (or wanting to be) pattern designers, professional longarmers or book writers and of course, several were retailers. One couple that I met, have created some really great innovative products. I sure hope to get them into the store!!!

New Fun Notions for Stitching
Some new and innovative notions

TOS notions

Holidays

Thanksgiving had us traveling. A family event that everyone tries to make. The son and family made it in from Texas this year!!! We all participate in feeding the clan. My job, (most years), are the desserts for 20 and getting them there in one piece (5 hours by car), both fun and work. I also started the holiday baking, I make biscotti for gifting to friends and family. This year a new flavor was added, “Cinnamon Swirl” and it was a big hit. Christmas was lowkey because we stay home and have a traditional-ish turkey dinner.

A Critter Report

Chickens

The 6 Chickens are laying… about a dozen every 2 days. They must be happy girls. They have become quite the intrepid free-rangers, going further and further from the coop every day, even in the rain. If they keep laying, we may have to resort to giving a dozen or two away on a regular basis! Keeping up with them is more fun than work.

the chickens
All 6 chickens with coop behind

Cats

Not sure where I left off on the cats, but since the last post 6 have had the reproductive cycle interrupted. Only one more to go and all will be unable to reproduce. Not quite sure how I am going to get Tutone separated from the others long enough to trap. He is not totally afraid nor is he friendly… On another note, they are earning their keep!

Cat Earning Her Keep
Prudence with a snack

K-9

The dog “pupulation” has increased by one!!! That is not a typo. We acquired a puppy in the first part of December. We brought him home at 9 weeks, gave him the name “Patton”, and he is now 3 1/2 months old. Goldie loves having a playmate.

Patton the pup
Patton’s ears are UP!!!

Creative Department

I took a few moments and set up the longarm. It was breaking my mental status to see all those parts just laying on the concrete floor of the basement. Of course, that meant a little testing. So I quilted a yard of fabrics and created some coin purses. The rest of the creative space contents are still boxed up…

Handmade Coin Purses
The Creative Department

Technology

Yes, the real culprit for not blogging was technology. It seems that the blog software had an update that had some major conflicts. That company only has a web presence so all the help is done by email or chat, neither is particularly fun or fast. Using email, you get assigned the next available “inbox”, and aside from them not reading ALL the previous messages they tend to get a bit lazy and start suggesting that the problem is probably with the site host… So some 8 weeks later it is resolved. I could write a post, but once it was saved I could not edit or add the pictures, etc. Making it very difficult to be interrupted… and if you were raised in corporate America, you learned to save periodically, so all your hard work did not go poof- Even if it was going to anyway!!!

So, if you have made it this far… thanks for keeping up… even if I don’t! More Later-Beth