2010 is over, and since everyone is doing their year in review plus resolutions, I'll join in. This year has been one full of ups and downs for me.
I started college in the fall and there went most of my weekday evenings. I started seeing someone, and there went my weekends. I became more involved with the worship team at church, and there went Wednesday evenings. There was much less time for tack, and as a result commissions took far longer and were fewer between for the last six months of the year. I started a new job in October, though, that will help me even out my studying time so that I should be able to work on more commissions and in a more timely manner.
Every time I write a blog post, I promise to update it more frequently. I know that rarely happens, but I'll do my best this year! I'm aiming for one post a week, minimum.
I want to experiment with carving and dyeing more, and I'd like to make cast stirrups a regular addition to my english saddles.
I'd like to take a more active role in the hobby, too. I'm a member on two hobby forums, and one of my goals is to post more frequently on at least one of them.
The only live show that I could manage as a day trip is in May, and I'm tempted to attend again. It's a two-day show this time, though, with performance both days. It'll be a hard call, because of school and other time commitments. It'd be neat to get out and about, though, so we'll see.
I updated the website today as one of my New Years projects. The policies page has been updated, and the most important part is the introduction of required deposits before I start an order. $25 or 1/4 of the total cost, whichever is higher, will now be required to cover materials. I've started dyeing my own leather, buying higher quality materials and I plan to make cast or photo-etched stirrups and bits standard, which makes the deposit sort of necessary.
Prices were also raised for most of the tack I offer. This reflects the better materials I'm using, the added time for dyeing, and an improvement in my technique. Any orders placed in 2010 will use the previous pricing.
I hope everyone has a happy new year, and I can't wait to see what 2011 brings!
I started college in the fall and there went most of my weekday evenings. I started seeing someone, and there went my weekends. I became more involved with the worship team at church, and there went Wednesday evenings. There was much less time for tack, and as a result commissions took far longer and were fewer between for the last six months of the year. I started a new job in October, though, that will help me even out my studying time so that I should be able to work on more commissions and in a more timely manner.
Every time I write a blog post, I promise to update it more frequently. I know that rarely happens, but I'll do my best this year! I'm aiming for one post a week, minimum.
I want to experiment with carving and dyeing more, and I'd like to make cast stirrups a regular addition to my english saddles.
I'd like to take a more active role in the hobby, too. I'm a member on two hobby forums, and one of my goals is to post more frequently on at least one of them.
The only live show that I could manage as a day trip is in May, and I'm tempted to attend again. It's a two-day show this time, though, with performance both days. It'll be a hard call, because of school and other time commitments. It'd be neat to get out and about, though, so we'll see.
I updated the website today as one of my New Years projects. The policies page has been updated, and the most important part is the introduction of required deposits before I start an order. $25 or 1/4 of the total cost, whichever is higher, will now be required to cover materials. I've started dyeing my own leather, buying higher quality materials and I plan to make cast or photo-etched stirrups and bits standard, which makes the deposit sort of necessary.
Prices were also raised for most of the tack I offer. This reflects the better materials I'm using, the added time for dyeing, and an improvement in my technique. Any orders placed in 2010 will use the previous pricing.
I hope everyone has a happy new year, and I can't wait to see what 2011 brings!