It’s a sign!

Saturday, December 8th, 2012 | Bob's corner | No Comments

I took the fact that we finally got our sign up as a sign that I should finally get our web presence going – at least a blog post. The sign I speak of is the sign for the side of our building – something I have been working on since we opened in May.

Yeah, I’m a little slow sometimes.

I suppose I should introduce myself. I’m Bob, the owner of the shop. I pick out the items you see in the store – with help from the lovely and talented Misty Edwards. We have around 25 artists in the store right now (more info on them and their work is forthcoming). Misty and I also do our own work – mine being a variety of things and Misty does sewing and quilting.

Perhaps you have figured out by now that we are named Handmade Adventures. Not coincidentally, we feature handmade items and we also emphasize local items. In fact, right now, 100% of what we sell is both handmade and local. We want to show everyone that drops by to see us what a wonderful variety of talented folks we have here in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina. I’m deeply committed to having handmade items. I’m also deeply committed to not having cheap, imported items. There is PLENTY of that in Pigeon Forge already. I think it is pretty sad what most of this area has become and even though I can’t change it all, I can change my little corner and that is what I intend to do.

Our first day was May 17th and it’s been interesting so far. To be honest, most people don’t “get it”, but I really did not expect them to. It’s going to take a better effort on my part to inform them of what is going on inside these walls vs. everything else they are seeing. But, some people DO “get it”. That’s when eyes grow as big as saucers and we start hearing “oh my!” when they turn the corner and see more handmade goodness staring back at them. That’s also when the fun starts and we have made a new friend. People like Stace and Becky from Oregon or Mr. and Mrs. Julian Pruitt from South Carolina are the type of people that genuinely warm our hearts.

One of the most difficult things for me has been not being able to keep up. I can’t keep up with the items I make and that causes a whole cascading effect with everything else (it’s a long list so I won’t bore you). It’s fun and frustrating all at the same time. Fun because it’s great to have people like your work and frustrating because you feel like you need to be cloned a time or ten to keep all of the plates spinning. Bottom line: I need to improve and I hope the things I am learning along the way will help me do that.

Back to the sign: My friend Ray help me finish it. I did the copper heart and riveted it to the steel. I cut the shape of the hand out of plywood. My letters were too small, so Ray redid them and then found some elevator bolts to connect the steel and wood. Add a frame made of old barn wood and we finally have a sign. Whew!