Tis the Season...
News and views from the DustyNewt Workshop 12/18/2024
Today’s “17 Step Commute” Dashboard…
Temp: Currently 66 degrees. High of 79 today 😎
Humidity: 3 on the “Soup” scale. (1=light broth, 5=thick chowder)
Today’s Playlist: Van Morison shuffle.
Conditions: Florida Autumn! A little sun… a little rain, and cooler temps on their way (again).
Estimated Travel Time: 18 seconds
Food: Leftover kielbasa with peppers and onion. Broiled salmon for supper…?
Coffee Level: 1/8 Tank
On the Workbench…
One week before Christmas. All customer orders have been carved and shipped. They are now in the capable hands of Santa and the USPS. We have temporarily closed our Etsy store to new orders until January 1st, 2025.
In the workshop, clean-up begins and the lists for restocking are created. We try to anticipate our supply needs for the next six months or so and purchase before the end of the year, so we can deduct them on our 2024 taxes.
Lumber - In addition to my most popular woods, Hardwood Lumber and Millwork of Lakeland, Florida always has some spectacular (new to me) morsels that I need to try out. They have a great selection of domestics and sustainably sourced exotics. I can peruse the stacks and select the woods at my own pace. I need to check out their holiday schedule to plan the 35 mile trek that usually ends up taking all day.
Hardware - I take a quick inventory of all the metal bits (i.e., split rings, screw eyes, magnets, etc.) and get dwindling counts back up.
Tools - Some of my “workhorse” tools have been crying out for retirement. While my scroll saw is fairly maintenance free (and I have a backup) it occasionally needs a new bearing or switch. Sanders for shaping my chopsticks and dust collection (shop vac) wear out after the thousands of hours we demand from them every year.
Consumables - Sandpaper, Drill bits, finishing oil and wax, glue, filters, lacquer, red ink for hearts, etc., all need to be renewed.
Office - Printing paper, labels, card stock, printer ink, packing tape, boxes, wax wrapping paper, etc. are replenished.
Dual-use Tools and Materials There are a few known projects for our home coming up in 2025. There are some things I know I will need to complete them and can justify their purchase as business expenses as I use them in my workshop. Did someone say Multi-Tool?
This brief hiatus is also our opportunity to catch up with family, friends and neighbors, and do some holiday shopping. We are still happiest at home, but not afraid of venturing out into the world… for a good reason.
Sneak Peek Slideshow
Here is the last batch of orders in 2024, carved and shipped from my DustyNewt workshop in Florida this week.
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Christmas Past
In the 80s, we toured the country doing mall shows. Julie and I worked 12 to 14 hour days from the end of September up until about 6:00 pm Christmas Eve. We were usually in some small midwest town in Nebraska (ie., Fremont, Hastings, Grand Island)… and it was cold!
We found family in our compatriots of artists and crafters that had caravanned the plains with us. Some had motorhomes, some trailers, some stayed in cheap motels (like us). There is safety in numbers and we would follow and watch out for each other, traversing town to town.
Our promoter (and coin-cutting artist extraordinaire) Randy Fremont Price and his wife Sue were the cohesive leaders that looked after us like mother hens. Randy worked hard for his “cut” and the fees we paid him. He always made sure that we were safe and as successful as we could possibly be. From advice about displays or products to getting our trailer hitch fixed before it was time to move on, he kept us always inspired and improving.
Christmas day was a day to sleep in. We were then allowed into the closed mall to break down and pack up our displays and tools. With inventory depleted and any worn out displays tucked judiciously into the mall’s dumpsters, our trucks and trailers were a lot lighter than when we came.
Afterward, our fellow weary artists would gather for Christmas dinner at the only restaurant that was open in that town. Sometimes it was a Waffle House, sometimes a Hilton (one in Lincoln with a live harp player). We would all enjoy a happy feast, relate favorite stories of our travels and say our good-byes.
The day after Christmas, we would all go our separate ways, promising to “see them down the road” somewhere. Some went home to family, others to a New Year’s show if they had any stock still available to them.
We stayed close to home during the 90s and 00s, setting up our work at local Florida attractions or working “real” jobs. This nesting brought a more traditional slant to our holidays with family that lived nearby, though we always seemed busiest right up to Christmas Eve.
Christmas Present
Now we have the luxury of selling and working from home. All the hard work and expenses that were needed to travel and live on the road can be put back into our home and business… after paying taxes.
We shut down our sales venues when packages can no longer arrive by the 24th and have time to regroup and enjoy the holidays in a more leisurely fashion. Central Florida weather is usually mild at Christmastime. I can see why people retire here.
We are not aloof and reclusive. We have done our travelling and are quite content with ourselves at home. We don’t have kids or grandkids to decorate for but we do manage a bit.
Friends and family who understand our lifestyle and live close by, pop in to visit or make a date to “do lunch”. Most are spread out now, but still available instantly, via Zoom, phone, Email and Facebook.
Our memories, collections and photo albums are ever present. Likewise, those loved ones who have passed will always be with us with a turn of a phrase that they were fond of, a scent they wore or a song that pops up on the radio.
The camaraderie of artists, antique dealers and showpeople that we used to have has moved primarily online. I have 25 to 30 people I consider close friends, but have never even met in person.
Things change. Acceptance and adaptation brings more avenues to explore, not less. The correct definition of “Success” is yours, not anyone else's.
Merry Christmas, Everyone!
DustyNewt World ~ A map of where I have shipped my woodstuffs. See if your town is represented.
If you are enjoying what you see… I like it hot and black. 😉
Great story, once again -- but why would y'all leave tourist-laden areas like Central and South Florida during the busiest time of the year for Nebraska or other midwest areas? Those midwesterners were on their way to Florida for vacation! I never figured that out.