Sometimes no glass gets done...

Like today.. It's been a long few days of closing out the books and making sure all the allocations are in the right place. I'm almost finished and ready to close the books on 2011! I'm looking forward to no more paperwork!!!

My year end thoughts are going something like this...

I'm finally ready to admit that our move to the new studio space was a gamble for us. It really could have gone either way, and oh boy, was I afraid of the change... but it was the best possible move we could have made! Business has been really good and very different! We've done more commissions in 2011 then in any other year. Our new location makes that so much easier, and the new wet room is a dream! I hope the trend continues in 2012! We're making a strong effort toward that type of business. We've joined Custom Made, a website and service connecting makers with customers, designers, etc. Take a look! http://www.custommade.com/by/gailstouffer-wireddesignsstudio

KilnFrog.com has had a fantastic year! We've sold more kilns this year than we did in 2008. Maybe in 2012 we'll beat our 2007 record! We're adding Bullseye Glass in 10" x 10"s and 17" x 20" half sheets for shipping, frit and stringers. We're also adding dichroic glass from Austin Thin Films. We'll be entering 2012 with over 60 kilns on the site plus all the glass. We're really excited about it all. By the way, the frogs name is Phillipe!

We went to the Texas Art Educators Conference this year and it was a great experience. We represented Bullseye Glass and Jen Ken Kilns at the show and we visited with our friends at Paragon Kilns. Everyone was lovely! We love the art teachers! Can't wait to do it again in November 2012!  It will be in San Antonio next year, so that will be even better. We're planning on hosting an event at the studio! Hopefully Larry and his mobile glory hole furnace will be part of the fun! Here's a picture of our booth from the show.

I'm really looking forward to beginning 2012, new and free and ready to fly!

I'll share more end of 2011 thoughts tomorrow.