Sunday, May 6, 2012

Things I Might Forget, That I Mustn't Forget

    Six days now, before the Maine Pottery Tour. I have that too-many-balls-in-the-air feeling, like I am going to forget something...and I probably am going to forget something; the best I can hope for is that it not be anything crucial. Toward that end, a list! In no particular order, the things I know I need to get done by next Saturday:
    1. Build and paint [done] sign.
    2. Get change.
    3. Grind [done], sort, and price pots.
    4. Get annual plants for the deck hangers. - done
    5. Restart my Paypal professional account, so I can take credit cards.  
    6. Clean up deck and yard
    7. Figure out tables, crates, other display items.
    8. Get guestbook - this one needs some explaining. We are putting the names of everyone who visits all five studios into a drawing to win one of 5 prizes, so I have to have some way to record the names. A guestbook looks so much nicer than, say, the back of an envelope. 
    9. Clean up studio
    10. Get bags and packing material
    11. Bring wheel outside (Saturday AM.) I am planning to offer demos every hour - educational event, see? - which will work better if the wheel is outside.
    I've highlighted the ones that absolutely must happen; if I'm gonna forget anything, I'll try to make it one of the other items.  Or that other thing, the one I haven't thought of yet.
    To make matters worse - what was I thinking? - I offered to host my family's Mother's Day gathering on Sunday. Actually I know what I was thinking: my location is really the best for everyone to travel to - my godmother would have to drive more than two hours if we hosted it at one of the other sibs house; not to mention  that i have to be here, because of the sale. It'll be fine - I'm sure it will - maybe it'll even be fun. But it generates its own list:

    1. Clean Red's tank. Red is a turtle, a red-eared slider to be specific, and he is a big hit with my little nephew, so I want to tank to be free enough of algae that Red can see and be seen. 
    2. Meal planning and shopping: it's nothing fancy, but I do need to get ground beef, hot dogs, buns, chips, etc., and then make them into something a person might want to eat.
    3. Get Mother's Day cards!! This is on everybody's list, I suppose. 
    4. Get more deck chairs. I lost a couple to winter, and one to a fit of pique.
    The kiln is firing now - a bit behind, as much of the morning was spent burning off a lot of moisture: I'd forgotten to cover the door bricks with a tarp, and they were well and truly sodden. So I'm in the long climb between 05 and Cone 8, during which nothing much happens.
    I may try to catch a nap.


    7 comments:

    Anonymous said...

    Just curious, can't you just use a regular personal paypal account to receive $$ from your customers or are you intending to use a swipe machine?

    Lori Watts said...

    You can, but only if the customer has a paypal account, or if you create a "Buy Now" button for each item. Also, a personal account is limited to $500 in transactions.
    I would also have to use the professional account if I had ordered the swipe device, but I didn't.

    Anonymous said...

    Oh, I would think that you could simply ask a customer to use your computer to send you money via paypal. Maybe that's more than customers want to do in a real life situation.

    People do not need to have a paypal account to use paypal, they can go ahead and simply use their credit card through paypal.

    Also, I did not know about the $500 limit.

    Anonymous said...

    I have a paypal account associated with a fabric business webstore. Sometimes I must receive payments directly rather than through the store, such as when the buyer is from a foreign country and I want to be able to better calculate shipping costs. They send me money directly through paypal outside the store. Some of them have no paypal account at all, but use their credit cards.

    I just spoke with paypal. Folks with a credit card and no paypal account can send you up to $2000. For higher purchases, they need to establish a paypal account.

    You can simply make onsite sales through paypal and not process them through a website store. Voila, no Buy Now buttons, no extra computer efforts.

    Your customers go to Paypal at your computer on on their own smart phone or whatever, and click on "send money", fill in the information that includes the email you use with paypal and the amount that appears on the sales slip you prepare, and the payment appears in your paypal account.

    Lori Watts said...

    Sounds like I have the details wrong, regarding paypal; but I did some research last December, and discover that a standard Paypal account was not going to work for me. Can't remember why now. Maybe because I didn't want the customer to have to do that much work.
    And I just checked, just now; and with my standard account, I can only withdraw $500 a month from Paypal.

    Sue Pariseau Pottery said...

    That's a pretty long list but it is amazing how all these things come together and get done.

    Unknown said...

    Best of luck for a wonderful show!! and thanks for the reminder~ I need to get a Mother's Day card too ;)

    Hang in there!!