Been a while... sorry about that.

So it's been a while. It happens, right? It certainly has happened to me before, and I'm sure it will happen again.

So what's been going on for the last couple of years then?

Eh, the short version is.. relationship. The longer version takes some explaining.

Suffice it to say that the relationship of the last couple of years was very intense, very close, and very personal. My partner in that relationship offered many times to help me focus and refocus my energies in regards to ER, helping me streamline the product catalog, make transitions to new product lines, and so on.

That didn't so much happen.

It's not a matter of assigning blame though. I certainly could have taken the reigns and forced progress on my own. But I had really hoped that our working together would be a bonding experience, and would help me do my very best work; and because of those hopes, I prioritized waiting for those opportunities, over getting things made.

I want you all to know, that I have a very long list of ideas, product ideas, ways to streamline the store's offerings, decisions on which items and product lines I should retire, which ones need an overhaul, and so on. I have long lists of notes for products I've always wanted to update too.

What I've been missing and to a degree still am, is my muse: the spark, the divine afflatus that doesn't simply inspire a good idea, but provides the animus that can not only overcome the inertia of starting, but can drive the projects through the hard parts to completion. That special something that makes the difference between the things I put together because customers wanted them, and the truly special 'labor of love' items that I make because I wanted to.

You can probably tell which ones those are, because the items I loved making.. are the ones that sell so well.

The next few weeks/months, I'll be working on trying to get that spark back. I'll be making some changes at ER, and be beginning the process of retiring some of the items that, if I'm honest, really have no place in the store that ER has become. While they do reflect the 'Eclectic Randomness' that gave the store it's name.. I know what ER's good at selling, and what I'm good at making.

And you'll hopefully be seeing more of those things in the future.

Stay Shiny.