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SOLAR STORM
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What came first, the inspiration or the dyed wool? For this particular piece Shane came up with the spot dyed formula first and then on a trip to the reading room at home, or bathroom as some call it, I found this copy of Canadian Geographic. The fact that we called the wool "Solar Storm" without even seeing the magazine was a fun coincidence. Of course this piece of wool can be used for a lot more than outer space, especially any kind of fall foliage.
FATHER MOON STOCKING I find naming a piece of wool has as much to do with its success as the look of it. It's an interesting psychology that I like to explore. I'm the kind of person who likes to know why something happens, it's as interesting to me as the outcome to a situation.
Case and point. We had a formula called Blue Heron. It was a beautiful ocean blue or the perfect night sky, but people overlooked it for pieces named for the particular scene they were hooking. Time and time again Blue Heron was offered but the name of a bird didn't inspire any kind of interest for their seascape design. So we changed the name to Night Sky and put it back on the rack. It flew off the shelves like a hot, fresh baked, chocolate croissant. All of a sudden it was the go to piece for all those nighttime scenes and bodies of water. I hooked it into a Christmas Stocking to use as a demo to prove the point that it really made a terrific night sky and then we couldn't keep it in the store. I find this an interesting study and have used it to name subsequent dye formulas, with practical, self explanatory descriptors.
Another retail phenomena I find interesting and have a laugh over frequently is that if you put food in your mouth someone will either phone or come through the door. The shop can be as dead as a doornail so you sneak away for lunch and as soon as you pop in a bite, bang, someone is there. We joke on days that are slow that we should eat something so someone comes by. If I buy one of those greasy, roast chickens from Save Easy, as soon as I break off a leg and my hands are all slathered up with fat, the phone rings. It's as if there's a little devil at work, like encouraging a bird to poop on the newly washed car. Coincidence? I think not!
Trips to the bathroom are always a mistake. It’s best to hold it because it’s guaranteed you’ll be caught with your pants down, sometimes literally. I sometimes open the front door and look up and down the street to see if the coast is clear, scoot to the bathroom but as soon as my butt hits the throne, the bells rattle on the front door knob as someone comes in or the phone rings. Just try to stop midstream! At this point in my life it's a wonder the faucet shuts off at all, so good luck stopping before the job is done. So now there is a customer somewhere on the other side of the bathroom door, wondering where the heck you might be and you only hope to god they aren’t loading up their purse with wool.
At the old shop location previous to this one, I was caught in the bathroom. A man came in, didn't see anyone so came looking for me. The sliding french doors barely made a sound so I didn't hear him enter the shop or that he was walking towards the dye kitchen and bathroom area. The door was wide open so I could listen for customers and I was just standing up, had flushed and was pulling up my jeans when he rounded the corner and had a full gander at me naked from the waist down. I was quick to pull up the pants but I’m not sure if he saw that the carpet matched the drapes, but he was as red faced as I was as I zipped up and emerged from the room. Thinking back, after the shock I can't remember if I washed my hands which might have been more appalling to him then seeing me naked! We both made nervous jokes to hide the fact that we’d just shared a very intimate moment and he wasted little time making excuses and leaving. It was one of those tail between the leg scurries as the door banged shut behind him.
I often wonder why these moments are timed so perfectly. Does the universe connect these dots for its entertainment? How can they be so precise, like the timing in a magic act or a skater's routine. How can the very second it takes to pop food in your mouth, a customer walks in. Why not the second before or the second after? It's like a well choreographed act. It's not chance...no way....because it happens every time, like death and taxes you can rely on it! We predict it now, call it before we do it and sure enough we should have placed a wager.
It's like when a crowd of people show up to a restaurant at the same time. Do we all have some sort of global radar that connect moments together. Pee break equals a trip to buy wool? Am I just unlucky or does this happen to everyone? I’ve never walked into a shop as someone downed a cheeseburger or was momentarily in the bathroom, so why do I have all these experiences? If nothing else it gives me a story to tell but sometimes I’d rather live a boring existence where nothing happens that catches me with black seeds in my teeth or toilet paper in hand.
Case and point. We had a formula called Blue Heron. It was a beautiful ocean blue or the perfect night sky, but people overlooked it for pieces named for the particular scene they were hooking. Time and time again Blue Heron was offered but the name of a bird didn't inspire any kind of interest for their seascape design. So we changed the name to Night Sky and put it back on the rack. It flew off the shelves like a hot, fresh baked, chocolate croissant. All of a sudden it was the go to piece for all those nighttime scenes and bodies of water. I hooked it into a Christmas Stocking to use as a demo to prove the point that it really made a terrific night sky and then we couldn't keep it in the store. I find this an interesting study and have used it to name subsequent dye formulas, with practical, self explanatory descriptors.
Another retail phenomena I find interesting and have a laugh over frequently is that if you put food in your mouth someone will either phone or come through the door. The shop can be as dead as a doornail so you sneak away for lunch and as soon as you pop in a bite, bang, someone is there. We joke on days that are slow that we should eat something so someone comes by. If I buy one of those greasy, roast chickens from Save Easy, as soon as I break off a leg and my hands are all slathered up with fat, the phone rings. It's as if there's a little devil at work, like encouraging a bird to poop on the newly washed car. Coincidence? I think not!
Trips to the bathroom are always a mistake. It’s best to hold it because it’s guaranteed you’ll be caught with your pants down, sometimes literally. I sometimes open the front door and look up and down the street to see if the coast is clear, scoot to the bathroom but as soon as my butt hits the throne, the bells rattle on the front door knob as someone comes in or the phone rings. Just try to stop midstream! At this point in my life it's a wonder the faucet shuts off at all, so good luck stopping before the job is done. So now there is a customer somewhere on the other side of the bathroom door, wondering where the heck you might be and you only hope to god they aren’t loading up their purse with wool.
At the old shop location previous to this one, I was caught in the bathroom. A man came in, didn't see anyone so came looking for me. The sliding french doors barely made a sound so I didn't hear him enter the shop or that he was walking towards the dye kitchen and bathroom area. The door was wide open so I could listen for customers and I was just standing up, had flushed and was pulling up my jeans when he rounded the corner and had a full gander at me naked from the waist down. I was quick to pull up the pants but I’m not sure if he saw that the carpet matched the drapes, but he was as red faced as I was as I zipped up and emerged from the room. Thinking back, after the shock I can't remember if I washed my hands which might have been more appalling to him then seeing me naked! We both made nervous jokes to hide the fact that we’d just shared a very intimate moment and he wasted little time making excuses and leaving. It was one of those tail between the leg scurries as the door banged shut behind him.
I often wonder why these moments are timed so perfectly. Does the universe connect these dots for its entertainment? How can they be so precise, like the timing in a magic act or a skater's routine. How can the very second it takes to pop food in your mouth, a customer walks in. Why not the second before or the second after? It's like a well choreographed act. It's not chance...no way....because it happens every time, like death and taxes you can rely on it! We predict it now, call it before we do it and sure enough we should have placed a wager.
It's like when a crowd of people show up to a restaurant at the same time. Do we all have some sort of global radar that connect moments together. Pee break equals a trip to buy wool? Am I just unlucky or does this happen to everyone? I’ve never walked into a shop as someone downed a cheeseburger or was momentarily in the bathroom, so why do I have all these experiences? If nothing else it gives me a story to tell but sometimes I’d rather live a boring existence where nothing happens that catches me with black seeds in my teeth or toilet paper in hand.
These two yards of wool are the result of Shane and I playing in the dye pan one Saturday afternoon. Remember back in the day when laundry detergent put free towels in their boxes? The ad showing a woman descending the stairs, wearing a towel to dinner? Would you dare to wear either of these wools to dinner?
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