#listen . . . ebay gave me a buy 1 get 1 off deal

[armoredone]

so i may or may not have ordered more charms. a 2 pack of reiner and pieck and a 3 pack of reiner, bert and annie

[topicprinter]

Fifteen years ago, I was a skinny, white girl in my late 20s living near the border of south Texas and Mexico. I was also in the final stages of shutting down my (failing) eBay franchise business. In an attempt to put food on my table, I evaluated resources natural to south Texas and Mexico. Saltillo tile was my Ah-Ha moment.I approached a local distributor of Saltillo tile with an attitude of ambition and a friendly smile. I proposed that he allow me to sell his tile on eBay. My sales blew up rapidly. I sold 2 truckloads of tile within my first two weeks. That local distributor collected his sales revenue and refused to pay any commission to me. Lesson learned. But even so, I still smiled. I knew I had a great idea.Next, I partnered with my (new) boyfriend, Ray. He owned a successful boat and ATV business. Being originally from Mexico, he suggested that we take a trip to Saltillo, Mexico in search of a manufacturing source. While there, we found our source and paid cash for a truckload of tile. I already had it sold through eBay.Paying cash upfront was a huge deal to these family producers of an artisan tile. At the time (2005), Americans purchased the tile from the Mexican artisans on credit. The terms included payment upon delivery of tile in the U.S. Sadly, Americans earned the reputation of either not paying or short paying for the supplied tile from Mexico. So, when we paid cash for a truckload of tile, it was a bold statement of “You want to do business with us. We will mutually benefit one another. ” Thus, Rustico Tile & Stone became a business.That leap of faith paid off in many ways. I married Ray months later and we still are business partners. Now we have 2 kids, pets, and we are pursuing becoming a foster family. I’m still a skinny, white girl who knows more about Mexican tile than nearly anyone. I don’t sell tile on eBay anymore.Also, fifteen years later, we are the largest producer for handmade Saltillo tile in Mexico. And, we are the largest distributor for Saltillo flooring and other artisans Mexican tile and stone. Today, our headquarters is near Austin, Texas. We ship tile worldwide.Interestingly, we are not a brick and mortar tile shop. Rustico Tile & Stone is an online business. Everything that we sell is shipped directly to the customer. 99% of our clients are only met via email and phone conversations.And what about that original man whom we paid cash for our first truckload of tile? In hindsight, it’s easy to see that it was a divinely appointed meeting. I am happy to say that he is our manufacturing manager in Mexico today. Throughout the years, we’ve worked alongside him as he built his business and took on the role of running manufacturing for us. We’ve watched each of our families develop, too.What makes Saltillo tile so sought after?Saltillo tile is handmade Mexican terracotta flooring in a variety of Saltillo tile colors. It’s an affordable type of custom flooring. People around the world seek out Saltillo tile for its rustic charm and durability. This flooring is seen in homes, businesses, hotels, and restaurants around the world.Selling Saltillo tile on eBay was a lightbulb moment. As my sales increased, we gradually grew the business beyond eBay. Once we developed a website and learned a little about SEO, our eBay days were over.How did you get your first three clients?eBay - Customers bought tile for just $1.25/square foot.I had none at all. Marketing was my background. I had an MBA knowledge in International Business. My husband had a track record of successful self-employment.Neither of us knew anything about Saltillo tile, floor installation, running an online business, building a website, SEO, PPC, or freight shipping. But, we both knew how to sell stuff and provide customer service. We combined our individual skill sets, learned some new ones, and proceeded to take baby steps to strategically become better than anyone else selling and shipping Saltillo tile.Have you raised any money? How much?We did not raise any money. Remember my failing eBay franchise business mentioned above? It bankrupted me. We made the decision to avoid debt financing our tile business. During the early months of our business, we reinvested revenue to buy more tile for distribution. We did not spend money on anything that wouldn’t generate revenue. We accounted for every penny and kept our expenses at a minimum. At 10 months of running our business, we took our first paycheck for $200 each. (Today, we take home a bit more than $200/month.)Who is your target demographic?Anyone who needs flooring. Primarily, that means adults ages 27-65. We sell directly to end-users (homeowners), trade professionals (builders, interior designers, architects, etc), and flooring distributors. We serve amazing customers worldwide.How do you attract clients?Once we built a website, I learned that no one would find us online until SEO did its magic. Being a hands-on learner, I dove deep into researching SEO and affiliated topics. Then, my shift focused on learning anything I could about PPC. Next came social media marketing and content marketing via an industry-related blog. Today, most of our clients find us throughA strong organic presence in the topics of Mexican tile and stonePPC advertisingSocial Media outlets (Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn)Our BlogReferrals from previous customers or repeat customersWhat is the funniest/most strange request you have received from a client/prospective client?Years ago, we lost a sale of tile because we couldn’t meet a customer’s request to hand-carry 3 pallets of tile (7,500 pounds of tile) up three flights of stairs to his apartment. He said the cargo elevator in the building wasn’t reliable and would only buy tile from us if we’d empty and hand-carry it up the stairs. Can’t win ‘em all.How did you fund the idea initially?Cash. We paid cash to buy our first truckload of tile. Aside from a mortgage payment for our warehouse, we’ve never debt-financed our business or taken on investors. We’ve maintained profitability since inception.Where did you meet your cofounder?I met Ray in south Texas. He was one of my eBay customers. I sold ATV and boat parts for his business on eBay. We became business partners very shortly after meeting one another. In our early months, he ran his ATV business during the day while I sold tile from my apartment through eBay and our website.Then, at the end of each workday, we packed thousands of pounds of tile at a rented warehouse location until 1-2 am. The conditions were poor - dirty, laborsome, exhausting, and plenty of arguments between new business partners. But after all of that, we enjoyed 2 am tacos at a 24-hour taco dive. Lastly, we got in a little sleep in preparation for the next long day. Now we reflect on those days with fondness. Those are the times when we solidified our relationship and the direction of our business.Any tips for finding the first employees?Interviewing people is tricky. When we have a job opening, I tell everyone I know about it, and post it on my social media outlets. We prefer a personal reference vs an ad on Facebook jobs anytime.In an interview, it’s tough to get ‘between the lines’ to see someone’s true personality. Our goal is to evaluate how prospective employees will fit into the vibe of Rustico Tile & Stone. So, our approach is wholesome. We directly tell interviewees things that they may not like about our small business and culture. Working for a family business isn’t for everyone. Every role is critical, so every employee’s performance is obvious in day-to-day operations. We put it all out there - the good, bad, and ugly.My favorite interview question is: What are some characteristics of your least favorite boss? If the interviewee describes Ray or me, the interview ends quickly.What is the most common product you sell?Saltillo tile is our bread and butter. Learn more about it with the Ultimate Guide to Saltillo Tile Flooring. And, we also produce and sell decorative Cement tile, Cantera Stone, and painted Talavera tiles. All of our products are handmade in Mexico. We sell the installation materials required for installing our Mexican tile products.Our product lines evolved strategically over the years. For example, most people who want Saltillo flooring also need complementary painted Talavera tiles for decorative spaces. Even more so, we expanded to selling installation materials because we found that many contractors didn’t have access to proper tile setting materials specific to handmade tile. In the end, we remain niche in Mexican products. We know our lane and we strive to be the best in it.What motivated you to start your own business?Hunger. We like to eat. Moreover, we found a concept that generated money so we could eat. Some days were ramen, other days are ribeye. In like manner, we keep running our business because it provides for our employees’ families, 200+ people in Mexico, and a variety of vendors. Now, people rely on our efforts in running good business so they can eat.What motivates you when things go wrong? What is the end goal?When things go wrong, we learn and change. Any success that we have today stems from mistakes that we made in our early days. In fact, we’re still learning. Early on, we made huge mistakes in shipping our clay tile. We had no idea how to successfully package a 2,500-pound pallet of clay tile and deliver it to a location across the country without suffering damage. Fortunately, our first freight rep was with R&L Carriers. She gave us guidance on packaging our freight and we listened. She’s still our freight rep today and we ship truckloads every week.Another illustration of a lesson learned involves how we educate our customers. We realized that many people don’t know how to calculate the square footage of tile required for a space. If they don’t know how much they need, they usually don’t order enough tile. That led to unsatisfied customers who ran short of tile for their project. Unfortunately, shipping small quantities of tile adds unexpected costs to a project.So, we honed our sales and customer skills. We approach sales from an attitude of education. Our staff are uniquely trained to educate customers about the best way to buy tile so they can reap project cost savings. By taking an educational approach to salesmanship, we garner the trust of our customers.So yes, we’re in business to earn money. But, earning a buck is worthless if it leads to unhappy customers. We genuinely care about creating beautiful spaces for a good value for our customers.I have a few pieces of advice for someone just starting out.Learn everything you can about your competitors. Know them better than they know themselves. You’ll be amazed at how this knowledge guides decisions you make about the positioning of your business.Don’t invest in things that won’t generate revenue. Customized stationery, pens, and cups are cool, but only buy those things when you have discretionary income for branding purposes.Don’t hire people if (or until) you have to. Once you hire staff, your day-to-day tasks become managing your staff. If you’re not good at managing people, this will be a challenge. When you do hire people, don’t be afraid to fire someone immediately when you’ve determined that he or she is detrimental to your business or company culture. One person can ruin a happy culture quickly.Value your people - employees, vendors, customers. Treat them well. Serve them well.Don’t be afraid to make money. Make a lot of it. This enables you to give generously, pay employees well, and serve your community. Therein lies a great deal of happiness and blessing.If you work with your spouse, clearly divide your roles according to your strengths. Then, stay out of one another’s way until issues arise. Even then, counsel one another. Also, don’t take work-talk home. There’s a fine line between business partnership and marriage. Respect that line. Nurture your marriage. It makes business better (and more fun!)What is stopping you from being 3x the size you are now?Time. We operate at max capacity for the production of most of our product lines. Rustico Tile & Stone is very busy.As a tile and stone distributor in the U.S, it was a natural fit to develop a separate construction business for flooring installations. So, we ran local construction projects which had lucrative income. But, with 2 young kids, marriage, and a thriving Rustico Tile business, we ended our construction business after 2 years of success. Instead, we chose to maintain a healthy margin for family and life vs. continuing to climb the totem pole of success. Quality of life matters, and we recognized that the timing for building a construction business didn’t align with our family goals, yet.What is your best marketing channel?Google. Our products serve a niche industry for people who are building or remodeling Spanish, Southwestern, or Rustic style homes. People turn to Google for shopping and information. Since we’re an online business, Google runs our life.What are the top 3-5 apps your business could not run without?Zoho Books is our customer database and accounting/finance tool. It’s great for tracking customer requests, sales estimates, invoices, and reporting in one easy-to-use web-based program.Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Customers around the world rely on photos posted to our social media outlets. They need to be able to imagine how our products would look in their spaces. Photos tell the real story.Microsoft Office 365 Email is critical because we’re an online business that generates a lot of emails every day.Are there any new services you’re working on?As we look to the future of Rustico Tile & Stone, we continue to hone our skills for more efficiency in manufacturing and logistics. That allows us to offer the best values to our customers.Also, doing business in Mexico is complicated at times so we also continue to build and nurture relationships there. Without our amazing people in Mexico, Rustico Tile & Stone doesn’t exist.We will also continue developing custom patterns and designs in our decorative tile and architectural stone product lines.Would you ever sell the company?One day, we may sell Rustico Tile & Stone. Everyone needs an exit strategy. But, because so much of our success relies on the relationships we’ve built in Mexico, any future sale must protect the value of those relationships. Our Mexican artisans come from long family lineages of hand-making tile and we want that to transcend into future generations.If you enjoyed this post, check out the original and more here.

[bestpromiserings]

13 Things People Wish They'd Known Before Buying Engagement Rings

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My mother has a story she wants to advise about her commitment to my dad. She was an as of late separated from 25-year-old when they met; he, at 28, was prepared for marriage and felt that she was the one. Following five months of dating — commitment came a great deal sooner in 1969 — he popped the inquiry. She challenged. In spite of the fact that she revealed to me later she realized he was the correct person, she would not like to race into anything, not when dating was so much fun. He continued inquiring. At long last, she reacted in taunt dissatisfaction, "Fine, in the event that you get me a precious stone wedding ring, I'll wed you." His reaction: "How about we go out to shop." (My folks are as cheeky as they are sentimental.) He purchased the ring; after two months they strolled down the walkway, and right up 'til the present time they both fortune the gems and the story. My father says, "Two things Mom gained from our pre-commitment: I wasn't shabby — I got her a major ring — and I was determined.

The custom of wedding bands is not really new. Old Egyptians are believed to be the originators of the custom, however the jewel as the cutting edge commitment standard didn't come to fruition until Frances Gerety made the uncontrollably viable "A Diamond Is Forever" slogan for De Beers in 1947. It was once suspected that the fourth finger of your left hand contained a vein that ran directly to your heart, which is the reason we wear rings there — sentimental, correct? Obviously the present wedding bands come in all shapes and sizes and with a variety of jewels, and a few people don't go for the convention by any means. Likewise with weddings, doing it your own particular manner has turned into the new standard. Obviously, there's dependably help to be picked up from the encounters of others. This is what 13 individuals needed to share about the procedure.

1. You don't need to go through multi month's pay on a ring.

My life partner purchased my wedding band at a pawn shop with his joblessness check and proposed to me five days after I moved on from Auburn. I was insane to state yes! Individuals dependably inquire as to whether it is a "family piece." I state it presumably was from someone's family.

He understood that I was the lady he needed to wed and went and got me a ring he could bear. Each time I consider it, I am helped to remember the amount he adores me and that I am so valuable to him. I've known about individuals "overhauling" their rings when they get more seasoned, however I will never part with mine. — Alana, 37, Alabama

2. You can purchase your ring on the web. (Truly!)

In 2002, we were 25 and in graduate school and poor as chapel mice. After a ton of forward and backward, including hand-wringing about whether or not wedding bands were women's activist, it was concluded that we'd search for a vintage ring. Everything was excessively costly. So then we looked on eBay and discovered one that I loved. It was in our value range, and it looked so sparkly and neighborly. Also, we both resembled, "Ooh! It's so pretty!" But purchasing gems on eBay is crazy, isn't that so? Truly, unmistakably, that is an awful thought. In any case, we offer on it. What's more, we won it.

It arrived half a month later in a cheap little heart-formed ring box, however the ring was so sweet and beautiful and sparkly. We took it to a closeout house in Boston that does free gems evaluations. Incredibly, it was worth possibly somewhat more than we paid. — Katherine, 40, New York City

3. Ring correspondence is meaningful of ALL correspondence.

We'd been dating around nine months, and we were beginning to have discussions about getting hitched. I'd stated, "I'm not into every one of the trappings; on the off chance that you need to set aside some cash, you can get a good deal on a ring." He begins dropping clues, and I'm supposing the proposition is coming any moment now. We stroll into his condo and he motions over the space to a bicycle I hadn't seen and resembled, "This is for you." Earlier in our relationship, he'd shown me how to ride a bicycle, and sooner or later I understood "Gracious, he's utilizing the bicycle to propose to me." He'd taken "I needn't bother with an extravagant ring" to signify "I needn't bother with a ring by any stretch of the imagination," which was not the situation.

My father referenced that he had my grandma's ring, and we chose we'd make our own utilizing one of its stones (and we'd treat the bicycle like a wedding present). My life partner had his granddad's ring, which was gold. He chose to have that softened down for the band, and we'd put my grandma's stone in it. However, after we made sense of this arrangement, he came over and got down on one knee and gave over a container. Inside was an appalling wedding band. I resembled, "For what reason are you doing this?" and he stated, "You said you needed a ring." I can't recollect whether they let him return it or gave him a credit. What a horrendous misuse of cash. It was another opportunity to scrutinize his judgment and listening abilities.

In the end I ended up with my ring, which is excellent. In any case, it's in a sheltered store box, in light of the fact that several years after the fact we got separated. I think the procedure of wedding band shopping was extremely significant of critical ways we didn't impart well. Similarly as with any piece of a relationship, getting connected with is a decent trial of whether you're truly ready to address each other's issues. — Jessica, 44, Washington, DC

Photograph given by Jessica

4. There is such a mind-bending concept as a women's activist wedding band — it's classified "doing anything you desire."

My life partner simply wasn't that into profitable material products being given from a man to a lady as a feature of our choice to live cheerfully ever after, yet she likewise originated from a culture where rings are a truly major ordeal. She was vacillating. She had a gathering of companions she delighted in month to month boozy early lunches with: a Sociology PhD, some book editors—a fairly women's activist and lefty group. So I brought forth an arrangement: Why doesn't she ask them what they think? I sent her off to early lunch secure in the learning I'd recently splendidly spared "two months pay" and struck a blow for women's liberation to boot. The early lunch aggregate wasn't keen on striking a blow for correspondence; they were amped up for the wedding, the wedding band no short of what whatever else. I think one individual knowledgeable and achieved bruncher was cited as saying something along the lines of "You better get that stone, young lady!"

What's more, that is simply the tale of how I found, the following week, wedding band shopping. We did live joyfully ever after. My significant other kept her own name. Be that as it may, she has a pretty kickass wedding band. — Steven, 46, and Karina, 35, New York City

5. You don't should be very nearly a proposition to get one.

My companion Mary and I were having early lunch, and she was revealing to me things were quitting any and all funny business with her beau. She inquired as to whether I was keen on running wedding band shopping with her. I said would it say it wasn't somewhat possible to go wedding band shopping — how could she know whether her sweetheart would propose? "He'll propose," she said.

So we go to a ring shop in downtown Portland and eye a couple of rings. At that point a more established lady came into the store. The representative pardoned himself and told the lady, "I have your ring prepared!" and gave her the little box and she opened it and screeched. Mary and I resembled, "Amazing, that is an incredible ring!" and I asked "Who is the fortunate individual you're wedding?"

"Gracious! I'm not locked in," she said. "I'm not notwithstanding dating anybody at the present time. I simply realize that one day I need to get hitched and I need the person to utilize this ring."

Mary resembled, "There is a lady who realizes what she needs," and I kind of concur, yet I additionally thought, "There's a lady who has abandoned the fanciful notion of being locked in." I'm 31 now and pondering marriage than when I was 22, yet despite everything I figure it would be odd if a person got down on one knee before me and I resembled "Hold up I ALREADY GOT THE RING." — Shefali, 31, Washington, DC

6. Ring shopping implies unlimited things to learn.

There are such huge numbers of choices out there, and a great deal of them don't include precious stones! My ring is "The Oval Gatsby" by Heidi Gibson Designs. It's a hand craft with blended stones. Stick to what you need in your heart, and somebody who might be listening can make that for you!

My life partner had utilized my closest companion as a bait without me knowing. I had zero thought what my ring size was, and my closest companion made me accompany her to get her wedding ring and check my ring size while I was there. She at that point transferred this data back to my life partner.

After I got my ring, it was marginally too huge. I'd gotten my ring size estimated while I was hot and sweat-soaked in August, which implied that my hands were swollen. I expected to get my ring estimated down somewhat. Presently, resizing a ring truly debilitates the metal, and I didn't realize that previously. Be that as it may, Heidi Gibson offers these measuring balls that can be evacuated at a later time, which causes it fit my hand better. — Allyson, 30, New York City

Photograph given by Allyson

7. You can wear it on any finger.

I didn't need one, yet my life partner got me one in any case, and it's great. I wore it on my center finger so it wouldn't be An Engagement Ring. It is anything but a basic band/solitaire, so it doesn't resemble a wedding band, however it has a precious stone — vintage, so it doesn't look prominent. What's more, when individuals requested to see my wedding band, I indicated it to them on that finger, however I don't recollect that anybody saying anything. Before commitment and marriage began d

[jonestowers]

‘But Doctor...I AM Boy Genius!’

For a few years now I’ve been a keen follower of the Left And To The Back blog, where Dave Bryant plucks a forgotten record from the racks and writes about it. I’m always struck by the number of entries which end with some variation on ‘…no one knows who the line up were, or how this came to be made.’

Seeing these dead ends always makes me think of the band I was in, and the record we released.

Like a lot of the records highlighted by Left And To The Back, it sank without trace and, having come out in 2003 - just pre Web 2.0 -  there’s virtually nothing about it online. This being the case, I’m writing this post so that if anyone ever picks up a copy of that single and googles the band, or song title, something will come up. Also, it came out fifteen years ago this week…

The band was called Boy Genius and the lead track on our ep was ‘As Long As The Sun Shines’. I was the keyboard player in the band, having joined two years earlier. We were called Serotonin at the time and played as a three piece (guitar/vocals, bass and keyboards, backed by a drum machine). The other members were Mark Estall (guitar, vocals and songwriting) and Matthew Denley (bass).

Of the songs on the ep, the first two (As Long As The Sun Shines and A Long Time Ago In A Galaxy Far Far Away) were in our set in this first incarnation.

In the second half of 2001 we recorded a demo (‘Crutches For Cripples’) and, I think, sent it out to venues in order to get gigs. We also must have sent it to Radio One because Steve Lamacq played a song from it on the Evening Session some point late in 2001 (in fact, he played half of the song in question because the second half had the word ‘fucked’ in it).

At some point in 2002 we changed names and became Boy Genius, playing lots of gigs around Camden and New Cross. By now we had sequenced backing tracks for gigs, along with some electronica-y interludes.

It was at one of these gigs, playing Nemo’s ‘The System’ night at the Water Rats on Gray’s Inn Road, that we met producer Julian Standen. We were impressed that he had produced The Lemonheads’ cover of Mrs Robinson (as well, it turns out, as a lot of other impressive credits). He gave us his card and asked us to call him. We made the call a few days later and fixed up a date to visit him at his studio, The Library in Harringey.

At this meeting (and a few subsequent ones), Julian outlined a deal to us whereby he would record a high-quality demo with us, producing it and sourcing a good session drummer, in return for a cut of the publishing on the songs.

After a lot of discussion and reading up on such matters, we agreed and contracts were drawn up. These were looked over by the Musicians’ Union (the singer was a member), some small changes were suggested and then we all signed.

As a result of this I own some unlikely-sounding percentage (16.5% or 12.3% perhaps) of the publishing on the songs on the demo.

With the demo recorded, we had a couple of hundred copies made and sent them out to an industry mailing list provided by Julian. There must be quite a few of them still out there as they keep coming up on eBay. I think I prefer the version of As Long As The Sun Shines on this demo to the final version.

One of the people (or perhaps the only person) to respond to the demo was Justin de Takats from CEC Management. He came to see us play and we had some meetings and he asked us if we felt we needed a manager. He seemed nice, and had been involved with managing people like the Boo Radleys and Kenickie (here he is  in a really depressing documentary made during the latter’s final tour).

Also, Justin had a record label; Mother Tongue. In the past this had briefly been home to My Life Story among others. In addition to managing us, he wanted to put out an ep on this label. We were naturally very pleased about this.

We signed another publishing contract with Justin, splitting the publishing on the three supporting tracks with him (that’s why on the inner cover there are different publishing details for the first song to the other three).

For reasons I can’t remember, we opted not to go with Julian Standen for the ep, opting instead for Robert King. Robert was in a band called Alternative 3, who may have been another management interest of Justin. We set dates for recording.

By now we had a drummer, whose name was John. I can’t remember (or possibly never knew) his surname. He was very good and made a living playing in a Greek wedding band.

Recording of the ep took place at Robert’s studio which was beneath a pool hall in Gunnersbury. I remember it was the same week as Sugababes’ Freak Like Me came out (22nd April 2002) as I’d just bought it and listened to it on the way to and from the sessions.

We took a week to do the bulk of recording for the ep, along with lots of half days and evenings in subsequent weeks. The harp on the fourth song was played by Linnea Malmberg, who was a friend of a friend. She recorded a harp part which ran through the whole song but only the glissandi at the opening and close were used on the final version.

The high harmonies on As Long As The Sun Shines were provided by Justin Dempsey, the singer from Robert King’s band Alternative 3.

On the last day available for recording I stayed on at the studio while Robert finished the mixing. For reasons I can’t remember I had to take the tape reels away with me and keep hold of them so they came back in a cab with me to Highgate, where I lived at the time.

I have very little memory of what happened between completion of recording and the ep coming out.

Our manager recommended Simon ‘Spud’ Beggs (as he’s credited on the back sleeve) as a very good masterer so early one Saturday morning the singer and I took a train out to…Penge or somewhere to Simon’s flat where we sat a listened while he did computer things and mastered the four songs. We were there about half an hour.

We had more meetings with Justin to talk about artwork etc. The broad outline of what would be on the cover was decided and each of us did a version of it, with a view towards choosing the best one. As my day job at the time was in Kensington, I sat under a tree in Kensington Palace Gardens with paper and crayons to do my attempt. In the end we used the one the singer had done. He also drew the picture on the back (above). The pictures on the cd itself (below)  were by Justin’s children (they’re credited on the back of the packaging).

At some point in this period we made a video for the song. After work one day I went to CEC Management’s offices in Camden and picked up a video camera. That weekend we filmed the video in and around Greenwich (where the singer and bass player lived). The man with the bottle of wine at 1:44 is our one-time guitarist Matthew Babbs. The video was shot and produced by Alfredo Velardi, who was house-sharing with the singer at the time.

It must have been around this time that we got our website up and running – its non-more-noughties Flash-laden front page is viewable on the waybackmachine.

In planning for the release there was talk of sorting out proper distribution but as far as I know this didn’t happen and the ep ended up being stocked in a couple of shops around the country; the ones I’m aware of were Rough Trade (Ladbroke Grove and Covent Garden), Rhythm Records in Camden and Piccadilly Records in Manchester (who remarkably still have it in stock, along with the only write-up of the thing I’m aware of).

The release date was set for September 25th 2003. As far as I recall we didn’t do a launch gig or anything like that. The singer, bassist, a new guitarist and myself met up in a pub somewhere in Notting Hill late afternoon that day and trooped off to Rough Trade to buy a copy each. I subsequently bought one from Rhythm Records too.

As far as I remember 350 copies were produced and I think I was told subsequently that most of them had sold.

I’m not aware of any radio play for the song; a friend said he’d heard it once on XFM but we never had any confirmation of that.

In that pre-social media age the only way to track online reaction to the ep was by googling ‘Boy Genius’ + ‘The Far Away Sunshine Is The Guiding Light Of My New Religion’. Doing so brought up one page from Portugal and one from Thailand. Both showed the ep’s lead song in a chart of some kind, although due to the language barrier, what kind of chart it was remained unclear. It can’t have been a sales chart, due to the small number produced and lack of proper distribution. Perhaps it was a playlist chart. I’ve still got printouts of both these webpages somewhere. I’ll check them one day.

Whatever the outcome, the manager must have been pleased with how things had gone as before long we were back in the same studio recording another ep, followed by lengthy sessions on an album.

It was towards the end of the album sessions that the band’s singer informed us that he would be carrying on the band without us, so that was the end of Boy Genius. Songs from those sessions were re-worked and were later released under another band name, but that’s not a story I know much about.

The Boy Genius ep remains (and likely ever will remain) the only record I’ve appeared on that came out under the traditional music industry model.

I’d wanted from the age of about seven to be in a band and have a record in the shops and, if nothing else, this release fulfilled that wish.

________________________________________________________________

When I work out a way of putting the three other songs from the ep online I’ll do a write-up of the whole thing, explaining such exciting matters as what was left out of the ‘radio edit’ of the a-side, and what’s wrong with all the keyboard parts...

[missymwac]

The Garage Sale

There are many other things I would rather do than put on a Garage Sale: I would rather photograph a dozen children, all under the age of 3, half of whom just came from getting a booster shot and the other half in need of a nap. I would rather cut the grass on my front lawn with kitchen scissors. I would rather sit on an ant hill while covered in honey. I would rather spend an hour listening to Joy Behar… all these things I would prefer over the dreaded Garage Sale, and yet, last week, host a garage sale is exactly what I did. It’s been about ten years since I last had one, and despite the pep talks I gave myself (“Come on, it will be fun! Hey, it’s not that bad!”) I dreaded it like the plague. Perfect Michelle came over to help organize. She didn’t have to; I told her she didn’t have to, but she insisted, furthering my belief that she is, indeed, perfect. Plus, there was day-drinking, which helped. And after two days of people filing through my garage and backyard, I have come to a conclusion--I have determined that while most of the people who attend garage sales are kind and gracious and respectful, there are certain Garage Sale People who show up at every garage sale and make me oh, so glad there is more than water in my water bottle: 1. The Garage Sale Person who holds up a $5 beautiful lined wool blazer with the tags still on it and ask, “Will you take a dollar for this?” (If you’re wondering, the answer is “No.”) 2. The Garage Sale Person who gathers up a bunch of items: alabaster vases, a porcelain doll, a tea set, a lamp, a set of dishes, and asks for a deal if she buys them all. Your heart is happy that you are able to help someone find things they love; items that will now find a new home where they are valued and appreciated. You help this person carry the discounted items to her truck, and find it is PACKED full of other garage sale items she is undoubtedly going to re-sell on eBay or the flea market. You watch with sadness as your items drive away. You secretly hope this person gets a flat tire. 3. The Garage Sale Person who looks at you with exasperation when they find out you don’t have for sale what they want to buy. “So…you don’t have ANY tools for sale? Really? None?” 4.  The countless Garage Sale People who want to buy everything that isn’t for sale in your garage, requiring you to say every ten minutes: “No, the freezer is not for sale.” “No, those ladders are not for sale.” “No, the paper towels and toilet paper and cases of soda on the back wall cabinet are not for sale.” “No, the drinks IN the garage refrigerator are not for sale.” “No, NOTHING but what is in the designated GARAGE SALE AREA is for sale.”

5.    The Garage Sale Person who asks where your $4 snow boots are made and when you say, “Probably China” informs you that she ONLY buys Italian leather boots. You shut your mouth tight, lest the words, “Then why are you at my garage sale?”make their way into the world. 7. The Garage Sale People who show up an hour before the Garage Sale starts, despite the hours being posted everywhere, and ask if they can just take a quick peek. 8.  The Garage Sale People who don’t watch their children, thus requiring you to host the Garage Sale AND provide baby-sitting services. “No, no sweetheart. That’s breakable. Let’s go find your mommy.” “Honey, let’s not pull the clothes off the line; they’ll all get dirty. Where’s your mommy?” “No, no…that’s the door into my house. You need to stay in the garage. WHERE THE HELL IS YOUR MOMMY?” But, that's all behind me now. My garage is empty and cleaned, with the unsold items donated to organizations where they can make a difference. And hopefully, as their new owners receive their beautiful items, no one will balk at my warm snow boots while asking, “Are these made in Italy? ‘Cause I only wear Italian Leather.” 

[nanasshabyattic]

  Creativity is a disease of the mind characterized by an inability to stop compulsions to discover, produce, and design new things; and is triggered or worsened with chalk paint. Pinterest I had so many thoughts racing in my brain. I had so many ideas, so many things I wanted to try, so many things I wanted to research, and so many things I wanted to learn! I felt and knew in this exact moment, that I was destined to change the world, with this tool. The wooden stick with yellow, wispy hairs seeping from it's end, lay flat in the palm of my hand. It was the most intriguing object I had ever held. I knew, in that very moment, I was in love. I wanted to rub the straw-like hairs across my face, in a circular motion. I wanted to learn what it would feel like if I was a canvas being painted. It was the first chalk paint brush I was able to get my hands on, and the brush I used every day for months, and months on end. That night, I had Mike running to the store all hours of the night, to buy more supplies, tools and chalk paint: I needed inspirational objects that would spike the creativity within me. I needed plaster of Paris and latex paint colors to create the perfect, handmade chalk paint recipe. I needed more paint colors to mix and match. I needed different kinds of chalk paint, from different places. I needed wood appliqués, wood glue, and sand paper. I needed wax, glaze, matte finish, spray sealant. I needed EVERYTHING chalk paint and I needed to test it all! By the end of that night, the hallway from our living room to our bedroom, had became a gigantic chalkboard. I had put a design or two (floral designs, finger paintings, dribbles of paint balls, you name it) on almost every piece of furniture in the house by the end of the week. I even progressed to chalk painting my porcelain toilet seat, and topping it with metallic glitter. I needed to understand how chalk paint reacted with every type of surface. How else was I going to learn, by typing it into google? Nah, too easy. Ill never forget the look on my boyfriend's face, when he entered our small, apartment bathroom that night, and found me on my knees, in nothing but a bed-shirt. My bare legs were immensely covered in an array of paint colors. I was hovering over our porcelain toilet, paint brush in hand, with 8 gallons of paint to my right, and a new package of 50 cotton rags behind me. I asked him if he had to use the bathroom, because if he did, he better go now! I proceeded to blab on in detail, about my plans to turn our boring toilet seat into some bling-bling, by adding glitter to the first paint layer, and distressing the top coats. Michael's jaw, which had dropped several inches toward the ground, his mouth wide open wide enough for a car to drive through, went unnoticed for several minutes. My creative mindset had taken over, and I was in the zone. I picked up the adhesive beside me and brushed it over the top of the toilet seat. Then, I asked my boyfriend to hand me the 16 oz container of silver glitter/sparkles beside him. He did not hand me the glitter. In fact, he did not move or react at all, to what I had just said. Wondering why he had said nothing, I turned to look at him. With no expression on his face, he stood in that spot for what seemed like a lifetime, completely silent. I stared at him the entire time. Out of nowhere, a smile began to gently rise upon his face. It was the kind of smile that only happens when you see something ridiculously adorable, for the first time (like the first time you find out what a Tea-cup puppy is). Then, he sat down beside me on the tile floor, his clothes covered in chalk paint, from rubbing up against the chalk painted cabinet, in the bathroom. Confused, I sat, waiting for a reaction. Michael turned toward me, with the same giant grin across his face and a sparkle in his baby blue eyes, and softly spoke, "You are the most amazing person I have ever met. If you only knew how much I love you." Next, he picked up the 2nd paint brush that lay between the sink and the toilet, and asked, "What can I do to help you re-design the world baby? What is our plan?" "Well sweetheart, for starters, you should give me back that paint brush. We both know that this will end terribly, if I let you design anything. You are not exactly the artsy, creative one in this relationship," I spit out, as he dipped the bristles of the brush, in the open gallon of Ballet Slipper pink paint. "You missed a Spot!" he shouted. Before I could comprehend what was about to happen, Michael brushed the bristles of the brush across my face. Covering the entire surface of my cheek, we rejoiced in laughter. From that night on, Mike and I learned everything we could- we researched everything about reclaimed wood, furniture, decor, chalk paint, etc. We read blogs and shared lunches with established woodcrafters, furniture salesman, important home designers, and soaked in everything they had to share. Mike, having learned a great deal about wood crafting, over the past 30 years, from his father, shared his knowledge with me. My boyfriends father has been crafting and selling wood decor and furniture for 40+ years. I have seen him bring home fallen trees from the forest, and turn them into exquisitely crafted bird houses, clocks, chairs, tables, and so much more! Along with passing on his knowledge to Mike and I, he gave us the hands-on experience: teaching us the proper way of to handle anything, and everything that comes our way- from cleaning the wood to properly packaging items to be safely hauled away, once it is sold. After turning our tiny apartment into a shabby, chalk painted, vintage paradise and acquiring an abundance of knowledge and hands-on practice, we finally decided to open shop. As for Michael, well, he never did quite learn how to generate beautiful paint designs (I still let him paint with me if he wants to try, I just paint over it later). ;) For now, I think he'll stick to watching: he enjoys watching me design every piece, and couldn't be happier. Observing and listening, my boyfriend now understands my obsession with cottage chic, rustic, and distressed styles: It allows me to express how I feel. Our imperfections, flaws, shortcomings and scars tell the story of our life. A story full of many ups, and many downs. But, it is only during times of anguish, when we are forced to fight and win the battle, fight to survive, that we build upon our character. Chalk paint brought forth an incredible trend. We use it to embrace age, imperfections, and scars, in the items we paint. The paint is used to prove the potential and bring out the character within every piece. Chalk paint is used to highlight the distressed areas of reclaimed wood, proving the flaws to be beautiful. The layers are easily removed, and willing to expose what is underneath. With the creation of chalk paint we were quietly reminded that everything has potential. Our flaws and imperfections create more potential for beauty, not less.The deepest cuts leave the biggest impressions on who we become. The mountains we triumph over and the hurdles we jump, leave permanent impressions inside of us and those we impact around us. The scars left behind, prove our strength and growth. Over time, we get cuts, scrapes, and bruises: we age, we learn, and our character grows. Only with age, and in time, can we rise to our full potential and develop a character worthy of recognition. The marks left behind from the hardships we faced, should never be shamed, covered up, or hidden. They should be embraced!   Nobody is perfect. Nothing is perfect. And nobody cares if you look fat in those jeans, besides you. When you learn to accept your imperfections as your greatest qualities, the rest of the world will see them that way too! True beauty lies within those who accept everything that they are. Learn to love yourself. Learn to love your furniture. Learn to embrace the marks left behind from hardships in life. Learn how much potential reclaimed wood has to offer. Learn the story behind what makes it's imperfections, so beautiful. From this, arose my new shop! And now, I have illustrated my abilities in the creation of over 45+ custom designs, and by re-creating 8 POS sales in person, 3 sales on Etsy, 1 sale on my person webpage, 14 sales on EBAY, 12 Sales on Poshmark, 6 completed sales on OfferUp, and my followers are growing! I've even got 1200+ followers on Instagram now!   At NanasShabyAtTic, I have built all of my designs based on my first experience with chalk paint. I always embrace the faults & flaws. This is what makes my style unique & my pieces original. Plus, I offer BRAND NEW wood products, made of reclaimed wood (to avoid added toxins) items. Quality, solid, durable furniture is important. I wanted to give my buyers something special that would last! This is why I do not use reclaimed furniture or decor for my custom designs. However, when I am designing a new item to put in my shop, wood pieces that are dented, scratched, scraped, stained, etc. are perfect.   Currently, I am still distressing and aging my shop website & organizing my shop collections. Don't worry, all of our products will be up and available for purchase, in no time! In the meantime, follow NanasShabyAtTic on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook to connect with us and see what were up too! We would love to see what your up too, and we love to return social media favors! ;)   Nanasshabyattic Shop Instagram Feed  Be sure to follow us on Instagram to get updates on our latest custom orders in the making, discount codes, and free product give-aways. Join our 1200+ growing fans- see why they love us! Or, our free stuff and frequent discount giveaways...  Instagram  We engage our followers & just for following us, you will be eligible for a $5.00 off coupon, that can be spent on any of our products here, on our webpage OR on our Etsy shop!  Be sure to drop us a message and let us know it was you who followed us! OR tag us @NanasShabyAtTic on Instagram for an additional $20.00 off your next purchase! Just include a photo from one of our shops that you really love! You can see whats trending inside NanasShabyAtTic4u, our Etsy Shop by clicking here: @NanasShabyAtTic4u on Etsy Favorite our shop & subscribe to follow our design process. Get our DIY project updates, tips, tricks, photos, & more, on your Etsy shop newsfeed. - Drop us a little note on Etsy after you hit the favorite button, and let us know it was you who did us the favor. We will send you a special handmade gift in the mail, in the custom colors of your choice. - Just hit the favorite button here on our Etsy Shop ;) Check out our custom chalk & metallic paint options. If you want to know what our free product giveaway of the month is.. you will have to subscribe to our shop newsletter. You can subscribe to our low volume email list for monthly updates about our free product promotions. Otherwise, you will just have to hit that favorite button, tell us a few of your favorite colors, and wait! Subscribe to our Newsletter on our shop homepage  Subscribe to our Newsletter for monthly updates about our FREE product giveaways. +first time customers receive 200 customer loyalty points (equivalent to $20.00), a coupon redeemable for 5.00 off your order, & a discount code for 35% off your entire first purchase! Want to get more cash or discount rates toward the products in our store? Or check out what NanasShabyAtTic has to share with you, that you won't find on Etsy, or Instagram? Follow & like us on Facebook for an additional $5.00 off coupon. and be sure to tag us @NanasShabyAtTic4u so we know to send you your coupon!  Follow us on Twitter Use on Twitter and we'll give you an additional 10% that can be added and used with any of your other coupons or discount codes on any of our platforms. Pinterest