Tonight I worked on the mug cylinders I threw last night…
they were still a little sticky, so I threw some more pieces while they dried up a bit.
But then they were finally ready to be stamped… so I did!

Well, we’re two art fairs into the season… and it’s already time to start
replenishing inventory. So why not start with my favorite?… MUGS!!!
So last night I started by throwing the basic cylinders in assorted shapes.
Every time I try some new shapes, but frequently end up back to the tried & true!
I throw them all on small square bats, and then move them onto ware boards
after they’ve set-up a bit… need to make table space for more work, right?!

Tonight I will so some stamping if they’ve dried up enough to no longer be sticky.
I love the stamping part because that’s when they really come alive with personality!
Then the trimming… handles.. firing… glazing… firing again… and so on…

Well… I had much better telephone reception in Hinsdale than in Schaumburg.
Plus the weather was better… colder, but at least we didn’t have flash floods!
So I had a good chance to actually use the “Square” for my credit card processing.
And now I have a few more things to point out in my ongoing “review”…

1. Yes, indeed it is too good to be true!

2. It was so simple to put the “Square” apparatus into the the headphone jack
of my iPhone, click on the App and process the transaction. Very simple…
especially once I figured out how to set up the sales tax percentage.

3. People get a kick out of signing right on the iPhone screen… especially when they
find out that they can just shake the phone to erase it and sign again!

4. No one even questioned the process… I though people might find it all a little odd
that they were doing things on my phone, and not “really” receiving a receipt
until they get home to check their e-mail or text message.

5. After a full day Sunday, with a lot of credit card transactions, the battery level
on my iPhone was still only half-way used. Plenty of power for the day!

6. When I got home, all of my credit card transactions were right their in my e-mail.
Simple… easy… done.

But here’s my question for anyone who is also loving their “Square.”
Is there a way to list multiple items in one transaction? It seems to me that you can
only take a picture once, and type in a description for one item. That there’s only one
line available to type a description. But what do I do if I want to shoot a picture and add
a description for more than one item on more than one line with more than one photo?

Also… is there a easy way to print out some sort of “ledger sheet” or list of transactions
from the day? Something for the files… short of printing out every e-mail confirmation
that came to my e-mail?

Anyone?… Anyone?… Bueller?… Bueller?…

Okay… so everyone’s been raving about the “Square” and how wonderful it is
for processing credit card transactions on my iPhone. My plan was to use it at
last weekend’s art fair… but everything didn’t go quite as planned!

When I got to the location, with a LOT of “atmospheric interference”…
which is just a nice euphemism for impending doom, gloom & storms…
my iPhone was not receiving a very strong signal. So we decided to go “old school”
with my original system of accepting cards and processing them after the show.
While I’m still intrigued by the “Square”… here’s a few things I learned…

1. With the “Square” you can now accept all four major credit cards for the same
minimal processing fee. No longer is American Express a huge expense to accept.
Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express.

2. You can still use the “Square” to process credit cards manually after the show
by typing the information in by hand. My understanding is that the processing fee
is slightly higher for manual transactions.

3. If you are going to process manually, you need to “capture” the credit card number
and expiration date as normal with your old knuckle-buster. But you ALSO need to
write down the “secret” code on the back of the card and the customer’s billing address
zip code. If you don’t have all of that information, you cannot process the card manually.

4. When you get to the point where the customer has to sign, they literally use the fleshy
tip of their finger to write on the iPhone screen. Here’s the best part… if they mess up
or want to start over, you just shake the phone and it erases the signature. Do over!

5. On the customer’s receipt, there’s actually a Google Map with a pinpoint showing
the actual location of where their credit card was used. Very cool.

6. Seriously seconds after pressing “send” to process & authorize the transaction,
the information showed up right away on my laptop. Right away!!!

So I’m looking forward to my next art fair and the chance to use the “Square”
as it is intended. Swiping the cards right through my iPhone. I’m sure I’ll have more
to say about the “Square” as I continue to use it more. But for now…
I’m hopefully intrigued and think it’s going to be great… as long as I can get past
poor reception and my fear of losing battery power after a long day at the fair?!

Now I don’t mean to gloat… and I’m sure I’m not the first…
but I’m all packed up and ready for this weekend’s art fair in Schaumburg!
Yes, two days ahead of schedule. Unheard of.

Typically, I’d be scrambling all over the place on Friday trying to do everything.
Trying to remember where I left things at the end of last season. Where’s my tent?
How many shelves do I need to take? How much is this? Where is that? Help…
Many potters have been known to be unloading a hot kiln on Friday night
still needing to cool, price & pack on just the night before the show!!! Yikes!

But instead, my parents and I tackled the storage room today and got it all together.
We’re all packed up for this weekend’s art fair in Schaumburg! Done. Packed.
In the van ready to go… and it’s only Wednesday!!! Unheard of.
Again, I’m not gloating… but I’m just sayin’..

Sure, I still have a few last minute projects to complete. A few supplies to gather.
Snack. Flowers. Signs. But it does feel great to be ready… I’ll sleep well tonight.

Well, that depends on what you consider fun?
If you like a lot of pots, lots of pricing, packing, schlepping, piling, sorting, cleaning…
more pricing… more packing… well, then the “fun” begins this morning! Yippee!!!

It’s time to make sense out of the mess I’ve made in my storage room.
A lot of pots have come out of the kiln, just to be boxed up and piled up in my
storage room. Waiting for today to come… the day of pricing & packing!
Luckily, my best art fair assistants are coming over to help… thanks Mom & Dad.
By the end of the day (and evening?) we’re going to try and have TWO art fair’s
worth of pots priced, packed and ready to go! With two shows so close together,
I think it’s best to divide & conquer – two different sets of inventory ready to go!

Schaumburg Prairie Arts Festival – May 28th & 29th– this weekend!
and then just two weeks later…
Hinsdale Fine Arts Festival – June 11th & 12th

It’s amazing what a difference a little underglaze was can make!
Painted on all over, then the top surfaces are gently wiped off.
All of the textures & patterns pop-out and become even more dramatic!

One more firing, this time cone 10…. and these little treasures should be ready
just in time for the Hinsdale Fine Art Festival. Now just a couple weeks away…

So this little piece of plastic arrived in the mail today.
And from what everyone is saying, it’s going to solve all of my credit card
transaction dilemmas. No more knuckle-buster?… can that be true?!
Just plug it in my iPhone and voila’… instant credit card processing!

So I think I’m ready for this. It seems just a little too easy.
I’ll need to give it a little “test run” before the Schaumburg Prairie Arts Festival
next weekend! And then hope for good weather… and good reception!

With just two weeks until the Schaumburg Prairie Fine Arts Festival…
it’s time to step up my efforts in the “shameless self-promotion” department.
Hey, if you don’t promote yourself, who will?

My mantra for today has been… “postcard, address label, stamp, repeat.”
Going well – but I still have a couple hundred to go!