Nothing Comes Easy

I apologize that we haven't posted in a while. To be honest, there hasn't been much inspiration. We've been doing the same thing week to week. Josh is looking for a new job that he can build a career in and is dealing with a few health issues that are taking up a lot of his mental energy. I have been my normal busy self with all of my hobbies and such. Nothing has slowed us down enough to really sit and think about a blog. Sadly, Brass Hammer Designs is usually the first to suffer when we both get to this point. But tonight, I find my mind focused on the phrase: "Nothing Comes Easy."

So what does the phrase "Nothing Comes Easy" mean? Think about it. What ever comes easy? People always talk about how hard they work for things, but how often do you really hear of someone not having to work for something they cherish? Yet, we waste tons of money playing the lottery or gambling for that slim chance that something will come easy. Why do we do that to ourselves? Why in the world would we ever think any differently than the norm?  I search for quotes to inspire me at moments like this and here are two really great ones:

To climb steep hills requires a slow pace at first.
William Shakespeare

Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.
Robert Collier

It really doesn't come easily. You have to work at it at a slow and steady pace. And when you work for it, you respect yourself more and you enjoy and respect everything you earned along the way even more. It's sweeter..... You know those moments you've felt this way...... when you bought your first toy as a kid, when you bought your first car, when you bought your first house..... You know these feelings. Remember them when you think about buying into that easy fix.... As easy as we would like things to come, success just does not come easy. Ever.

Until Next Time.... Jen Crandall, Wife/Manager
Brass Hammer Designs (Follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, Etsy and Twitter!)

Get Mikey to Try it

A few years ago, I had training for work and we covered the generational differences of the 5 generations in the work force today (yes 5). One of the things that was noted of us GenXers was that we are loyal to people and not companies. I find that very true of myself even today. There are certain people in my life that I believe completely in their products, their services and their companies and their friendships. I feel they believe in us too, but convincing someone to switch brands or spend money is very difficult. The only way that I know how is to get people to try things. I tend to do that by giving gifts to the doubters or people that are hesitant and hope that they will start believing in the products and in turn, start buying them for themselves. That's easy to do with someone else's product, but not as easy to do with your own - especially if you are selling artwork. It reminds me of that commercial in the late 70s about Mikey trying Wheaties.

Josh has said it a lot lately: "Art doesn't make itself." That's true and one of our customers just posted  another great quote from Samuel Butler on his Facebook wall: "Any fool can paint a picture, but it takes a wise man to be able to sell it."  How can it sell itself if people don't see it? We need to get exposure. I don't think I can give everyone a gift of art to get them to try it.... That could be $1000 that we don't earn. We have to start working at this if we want our art to sell. Online presence isn't enough. Getting it into people's hands so they can see it in person, touch it, enjoy it and then yes, buy it and take it home.

So that probably is next step. We have quite an inventory built up, so we will be making our way to something soon most likely. Just have to get organized.... Ahhhh - organization with an ADD. Is that even possible? :) And I still am convinced it's contagious and I have caught it.....

Before I go and start trying to organize this, I want to share with you where our loyalties lie.... Depending on where you live, you may be interested in these products and services:

All Natural Face and Skin Care products: Rituals by Nature
The best kettlebell gym and community you could ask for: Swing This Kettlebell Studio in Latonia, KY
My favorite lady at 602 Salon is Jacquie Smith Meadows.

Onalda Martinez at The Garage Massage Therapy and Bodywork in Cincinnati area.
Bridgette Dobbs at The Right Touch Massage & Therapy in New Castle, IN
Yoga - Kim Spivey at World Peace Yoga
Another Great Yoga instructor - Leah Gates at Kenwood Hot Yoga
Makeup Services: Dashing Beauties by Marie
Tour and Limo Service: Night Shift Limousine and Only in Cincinnati
Custom Motorcycle Work at Stella Kustoms in Severn, MD
Daniel's Restaurant and Open Air Bar in Elkridge, MD

"He likes it! He likes it!"

Until Next Time.... Jen Crandall, Wife/Manager
Brass Hammer Designs (Follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, Etsy and Twitter!)

Appreciation for Close Family & Friends

We'd like to take a moment and thank our friends and family that have supported us through this still-very-evident recession. Josh's mom gave us an older car a few years ago that we used to sell and get some money from to make ends meet during that time and she continues to send him money when we're in a rough patch. And today, we drove home a 2004 Toyota Camry that my mom and step-dad gave us to help us through the next few years of this recession. We are thrilled beyond words!

This gift couldn't be at a more timely moment because Josh's Jeep has had no A/C all summer (during one of the hottest summers we've had this year) and blows hot air when the vents are on. It has manual windows. (Holy Crap - I just realized people under the age of 20 probably don't remember manual windows now unless their parents still have a vehicle with them. Our Jeep is 18 years old, and automatic windows were vast then, so it's a rare bird. You have to open them by cranking a handle on the door and you can't just touch a button to open the passenger windows.....) So, back to the hottest summer of the year and not being able to open windows easily and vents blowing hot air - that is a recipe for sweat stains on your shirt and maybe your pants on the way to and from every destination in your vehicle..... Try going to an interview that way. And with gas prices and grocery prices and just trying to survive, we have not been able afford to get the A/C fixed just yet - it was going to cost at least $2000. We cannot save $100/month right now with the bills that we have going out.

So, this just made us realize how much we appreciate our family and friends who know what is going on in our day-to-day lives and step up to help us in ways that we can't even express enough appreciation for. Without these types of people in our lives, we would be a lot further in debt and Brass Hammer Designs would not even be a possibility. Hopefully all of our readers are fortunate to have people in their lives to help them through these hard times. And if not, hopefully you are able to get through this recession with minimal debt or stresses.

Hugs to all of our parents, family and close friends and a big THANK YOU for being there for us. We LOVE you very much. Hopefully you know how much we appreciate you.

Jen Crandall, Wife/Manager
Brass Hammer Designs (Follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, Etsy and Twitter!)

106 Short Days Left.....

While walking through the Oktoberfest in Mainstrauss (Covington, KY), I realized that a lot of these crafty things are what people buy their friends and family for gifts. They see a saying like "Let's save time and assume I'm always right" and crack up, then say "I think that'd be good for: Mom or for Grandma or for Sister or my best friend. I'm buying it." We're still excited about the idea of making it to a Festival or making surprise appearances at a Farmer's Market in the area. But until then, we can still make that product for you.

Light bulb!!!!!!!   Do you have a sign that you've always admired or a saying that you like? We can make it. Just email us and see what we can do. We'd love to be your source for a custom gift for a friend or family member. This sign is a connected sign to the Stella Kustoms job that we did.

Stella Kustom's shop was destroyed just about a year ago by a tree falling into it during a thunderstorm. It's up and running again! (Go like this page - trust us. They'll be doing some pretty awesome things in the future now that it is and he's worth watching.) Note our sign in the background with that "Life is a Dry Hand Job" sign hanging from the bottom. It is reversible too depending on the mood. Here's the other side.

CUSTOM CHRISTMAS ORDERS ACCEPTED THROUGH NOVEMBER 15th. GET YOUR ORDERS IN NOW! And why haven't you checked out our Etsy page yet? You might already want to buy something there. Don't forget going in together on gifts is a great gift for mutual friends or parents...... They love that type of thoughtful gift and especially when it's a beautiful piece like what we can make... We also have done some unique Plyoboxes for Swing This. Some of you Crossfitter fans might be interested in that as well.

Jen Crandall, Wife/Manager
Brass Hammer Designs (Follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, Etsy and Twitter!)

Only.... 115.... Days......

It's August 31st and you only have 115 SHOPPING DAYS left until CHRISTMAS! .... And even shorter if you celebrate Hanukkah! Why not give a Memory this year for the holidays? We're accepting a limited amount of custom orders between now and November 15th. Also, check out our Etsy page for existing pieces. If you want to add a little extra special, we'll work with you for a few extra bucks if you want to add a small message on any piece. The custom-made items add a piece of your soul to any gift and your family members will cherish it for generations.

Here's a few pics from the weekend of gift giving we had.... Remember the couple we did the sign for? They are now officially Mr. and Mrs. Stellwegen. Love them to pieces and we were honored to give them another piece for their collections:

Here's the sign that we did and the bike that was sold soon after delivery by Stella Kustoms.

And here's the wedding gift...... And Josh is so good, he even wrapped it beautifully for our friends. :) They loved it, of course.

Jen Crandall, Wife/Manager
Brass Hammer Designs (Follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, Etsy and Twitter!)

Joint Projects

You've heard us talk several times about our relationship with the owner of Swing This, Joe Daniels. He is so supportive of small businesses and helping them get started. He's been more than supportive of Brass Hammer Designs; in fact, our last project was a project for him. The MOAB (Mother of all Boxes) plyo box we mentioned in last week's blog was delivered to the Swing This on Monday August 13th. That day alone, there were over 600 jumps on it and it was delivered mid-afternoon! We're estimating there already have been well over 7000 jumps on it by now.

So, what makes the box different than all the rest? It is rectangular instead of square like the typical plyo box, so it's actually 2 boxes in one. It's a 24" x 30" x 24" box reinforced so that it can be turned on it's side to be a 30" box or a 24" box. OH! And don't forget the "Ashley edges" to prevent any nasty shin upsets! We're already working on the next box even though it's not purchased yet and can't wait to incorporate that into our daily routines at the gym along with everyone else. Check out Swing This' Facebook page to see how many people are talking about the MOAB and how it's helping their training experiences. Be sure to "Like" the page too while you're there.

MOAB (MOTHER OF ALL BOXES) PLYO BOX DELIVERED

FIRST DAY OF USE

And here is the small MOAB (12"x18"x24") in the making.

Knots inside of the small box for easy maneuvering.

We cannot thank Joe and the members of Swing This enough for all of your support. We are thrilled to be working on projects that help people get more fit and support their goals and dreams as well as ours.

Also, our final cross, called Stacked Prayers, has been made in the series of Mexican Folk Art Crosses. We've put it up on our etsy page. Go check it out along with our other inventory and see if there's anything you would like.

Jen Crandall, Wife/Manager
Brass Hammer Designs (Follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, Etsy and Twitter!)

Skip a Monday?

I was thinking of skipping today for posting a new blog. I don't have any real new material. I mean, we're doing the same ole, same ole: praying to the money gods that we can stretch our dime til the next pay check like the rest of ya. So why write anything? I have nothing new. Well, there's a little bit that is new, but I'm going to save that until next week. By then, we probably will have delivered the latest purchase to Joe Daniels at Swing This Kettlebell Studio. We've been posting a few pics on the Swing This Facebook page as well, so check that out when you have a chance.

So I was thinking of skipping a post, but then I was recording numbers and we've had 33 more views since last Monday on this blog and 8 or 9 new likes on our Facebook page, plus you are going to check out our Etsy page more too - 18 new views there. Well hell, I don't want to miss out on new likes and views because I have no new material! Like I've been saying for a few weeks now, that could eventually mean sales.

So today, I guess what I want to do is plead to you that share our social media sights. Can you do that for us? Can you share our Facebook page with your friends? Can you share our Etsy link with them too? And feel free to share this blog's link as well. Any new likes gained from this could be the person who buys a new piece from us and that's why we're here!

So thanks in advance for your help and support!

Until Next Time,

Jen Crandall, Wife/Manager
Brass Hammer Designs (Follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, Etsy and Twitter!)