Ring Out The Old

It has been awhile since my last musings here...the holiday season was good to us at Crescent Moon. But here I am at 5:55pm on 12/31/08 thinking about the year 2008 and as the saying goes… to Ring Out The Old and Ring In The New!

I won’t belabor you with recapping the year on a national level, since all the media channels, websites and newspaper headlines cover that very nicely. And what fodder there was from record breaking Olympics to historic politic happenings. I will however take a line or two to ring out 2008 for Crescent Moon and Mike and I.

• We end our second year as owners of Crescent Moon
• We start on our fourth year living on our boat
• We weathered the start of the recession and learned much about retail markets
• Mike finished his first year apprenticing in glass blowing and wants to do more
• Joan learned to write a blog and entered into the cyberspace marketing era

We couldn’t have marked any of these milestones without our loyal customers and friends. We will strike a deal with all of you. We will continue to be here if you continue to be here. We will continue to strive to provide you with great service, beautiful glass and metal art, and a friendly atmosphere to do your shopping.

We wish all a wonderful New Year, 2009 upon us already. Wow it slides by so quickly. We are thankful for so much. We are thankful for our customers. Have fun and be safe!

Namaste….Joan and Mike

Tis' the Season

Tis’ the season to be jolly! And optimistic if you are in retail. Mike and I are fortunate in that regard, we are positive people. He has always helped me see that the glass can be half full even in the most trying of times. The media coverage and belabored analysis of the gloom and doom economy are enough to rattle the most optimistic personalities though. Until your customers make it a point to come back to see you again this year like ours from Howell, NJ did this Thanksgiving weekend. Then our faith is renewed. We have done our job in encouraging happy repeat customers who love to come see us and even ask for a hug before they leave. The group shot to the left tells it all. They are the holiday season. The boys love to select their piece of art glass and this year it was Curtis Cecil’s “eyeball” marble. They still wear our T-Shirts that we gave them last year and they make their parents proud with their maturity and politeness.

Our goal this season is to continue our friendly service, and customer building tradition. Without them, obviously, Crescent Moon would be nothing. We give thanks this holiday weekend for our customers and their appreciation for the art that we offer. We will continue to add artists that delight and encourage the collector.

Mike Went to Jail

Mike got locked up today. Thankfully for a good cause. The jailbirds have to ask for bail money from friends and family for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, a wonderful non-profit helping thousands stricken with this disease. He successfully returned to the shop after spending a few hours at Bonefish Grille and treated to lunch. His bail ended up at $375.00. Not bad for a 1st timer.

History and such

History set the beginning of glass production nearly four thousand years ago is Mesopotamia where potters fused sand and minerals while firing their clay. One clever Mesopotamian managed to form a glass tube and blow a bubble at the end, creating the first blowpipe...and hence the art of glass blowing.

Glass after all is a blend of sand and metallic oxides and...extraordinary, blinding heat. The result is a substance that flows and drips like honey. When it's hot, glass is alive.
Uplift by Rick Nicholson