Just Mugs and Just a Barber? Not!

This is my barber, Bill Carpenter, here in Bend, Oregon. His shop is called "Just a Barber". It's just a little misleading, the name of his barber shop. He's a lot more than just a barber, though he doesn't want you to think that–he's pretty modest. You see, not only is Bill the kind of barber who knows everyone and can talk about almost any topic with some authority, but he and I have a little secret that I'm about to share with you.

He gets mugs from me.

And every 6 weeks or so when I go in, both for a good conversation and a trim, I see these mugs and I think about how dang cool that is.

We typically have far ranging discussions as he is doing his work to make me look less shaggy. For instance, today we talked about the following things over 25 minutes: bicycle racing, baseball, local fall elections, Christianity, Buddhism, the dynamics of person-to-person versus group-to-group relations, psilocybin, Hawaii, oversized hail, riding bikes on the old McKenzie Highway, swimming versus walking the butte, personal responsibility, and a bunch of other stuff I can't remember. During that time he had two phone calls and one walk-in for appointments. All the while he's working on the old mop-top.

Each fall he usually asks me to make him some personalized logo mugs to give to his clients at Christmas. Last year he wanted shave mugs made. They were a big hit, he tells me.

Can't put it into words, how great Bill is, really. You know, your hair grows, you need it cut, that's universal. I think Bill's artistry is the fact that even though our town is big, it feels like a small town when you enter his shop, and it feels like a small town long after you've left it.

Spring Update

We've made it to April. In Central Oregon this means that the most unpredictable weather month of the year has arrived. You never know what it is going to be doing outside, and after six months of winter you can't help but feel that you are owed some nice weather. You get a really nice day or two, which gets your hopes up. Bad mental error, that. Because normally you can't count on good weather until June.

Meanwhile, things are chugging along in the studio. I had a late rush order that came in last Friday, the last possible day for orders to be added to this batch of mugs. These mugs are for a running race in Olympia, Washington. A very cool logo, I must say.

The Captiol Peak mug, greenware.

I should finish up the last of the logos and handles today, and will start glazing tomorrow. Actually I will start the first of two days of applying wax and wax resist to the mugs tomorrow, then I will start glazing. Hoping to get the kiln up and running late in the day on Friday.

Of course, since we are in April, I couldn't resist (no pun intended) a little April Fool's Twitter fun. Read from the bottom up to get the chronology correct.

That's all for now–wishing you all the best until next post!

4-14-2010 update: I thought I'd post a photo of the finished Capitol Peak mug, seen below.

Throwing mugs globally - to Ireland!

One of the best things about being a web based business is the fact that I get orders not only from all over the United States and Canada, but from around the world. It's pretty cool to get an order for mugs from Goose Creek, South Carolina. And it's really cool to get an order from a company in Carlow, Ireland. One such order came through the studio last summer, and a subsequent repeat order in early 2010 gave me an idea to find out more about this customer. I had a great experience working with CEO Michele Neylon of Blacknight Solutions, which is an ICANN accredited registrar and web hosting company in Ireland. Michele is a super nice guy, and is always ending his e-mails with such gems as "PS, on the video side of things, blip.tv is a good option, it lets you post to itunes as well." How cool is that? I really can't thank him enough for all the help he has given me in getting more adept with web issues and social media over the past 8 months or so with his little gems of knowledge.

I emailed Michele -- the correct pronunciation is mēke'lā (if you can read phonetics - if not, let me just say it is not at all like it is spelled) a few questions to find out more about his decision to place orders for the mugs that I very happily made. Without further ado, here they are:

Mug Revolution: How did you find out about Mug Revolution's custom logo mugs?
Michele: I was looking for custom mugs and found your site on google.
MugRev: What was your purpose in placing an order for the mugs? (ie, a gift to employees, gift for clients,  re-sale in your retail area/store etc.)
M: Exploring marketing ideas. I bought the first batch for staff and others were bought for key clients and contacts.
MugRev: Describe your experience working with Mug Revolution in working out the details of your order.
M: Excellent - Other things that impressed me when dealing with you was the speedy and accurate / helpful replies to my initial queries.
MugRev: How would you describe your custom logo mug? Did the logo come out as well as you expected?
M: We are delighted!

MugRev: You added personalization to the logo mugs. Do you think that that made a bigger impact on the recipient's response to the mug? 
M: Personalisation had a very positive impact on recipients. They love them!
MugRev: What kind of response did you get from the recipients of the mugs? Any particular comments that stand out?
M: Everyone loves them - one guy emailed me to say that he planned on using it for watching football :)
MugRev: Based on gifts your company may have given in the past, how do you think the mugs compared?
M: They're unique. Most of the corporate gifts are mass produced. Getting personalised gifts of high quality made a big difference to the recipients.
MugRev: Did the cost of the mugs plus shipping fit into your budget easily?
M: Shipping overseas was expensive, but I think the feedback we've got has been worth it. Bear in mind that a full page print ad can cost thousands of euros, while giving a unique gift to a client or key contact can pay off much more over time.
MugRev: How do you think the mugs impacted your business? Any cool stories to share?
The mugs have helped add to the buzz around the company, which is excellent. I've a few people who have told some nice stories about their mugs. At least one member of our staff dropped his and put it back together with glue and still uses it!
MugRev: Any other thoughts you'd like to share?
M: We love the mugs and plan to get more of them in the future. By the way, we've done a full blog post on them, as well as posting photos to Twitter and facebook. And, I've just added another blog post!

Many thanks to Michele Neylon of Blacknight Solutions. You can stay in touch with him on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter again! I loved making his company's mugs and always love hearing how they worked out for the folks that get the mugs. Should anyone reading this want to order their own Blacknight Mug, here's the link!   And Michele, I think that I will make arrangements to personally deliver your next order - I can't wait to visit Ireland!