1 February 2009

Happy Imbolc everyone!

As of today, Fred has 61 friends on FaceBook. I always knew he was the most popular of any of us at the Store.

He's also managed to start up a FaceBook page for Where Faeries Live. It's going to be interesting keeping it up as well as this blog and that but we'll see how it goes.

Not much to report - we're just trying to put everything back in order after that exciting and event-filled holiday season. Yesterday I (finally!) got the back part of the new side organized and production has started again with herbs, oils, etc.

Sorting out the essential oils was quite a task. There were three oils we sell that had no testers out at the storefront. I still don't know why we sold so much Peppermint oil seeing as there was absolutely no indication that we even carry it. The problem has been solved now. And to the person(s) who walked off with the Palmarosa tester...well...good luck using that for ritual. I'm not sure how well stolen components work but maybe your version of the Divine is more forgiving of things like that than is mine.

Anyway, there were some price changes for some of the oils, most notably Patchouli. I have no idea why, but in the last eighteen months or so the wholesale price of the stuff has quadrupled. I was either getting a *very* good price for it before or else something happened to drive the price up. Was there a civil unrest or drought in the place Patchouli comes from?

I am faced with a dilemma. Until now, the Patchouli oil we were selling was 100% pure essential oil. If we continue to sell it pure, we're going to have to charge $25 for a 10 ml bottle. I can dilute it to 10 or 10% like we do for some of the more expensive oils like Sandalwood or Rose and that would bring the cost down. I just don't know...

On a related note, our in-house blends such as Healing, Prosperity, Protection, Psychic, Aprhodite and Banishing used to be 10% in Jojoba oil. This has changed and after we sell the last five bottles of Healing (which are 10% oil in Jojoba), our in-house blends with the exception of Altar will be pure essential oils.

This means that if you've been using them bare on your skin before, please stop. Some of the essential oils we sell will actually burn you (Cinnamon is one I have first-hand blister experience with). We've started carrying pure Jojoba oil in a 50 ml bottle complete with eyedropper so that you can mix it with the essential oils and dilute them to a skin-safe level.

And on a completely unrelated note...I believe I have impressed our neighbours at the CUPE buildig that I am not someone to be trifled with. We've been having issues with their members using our lot as overflow parking during their meetings...which is annoying when we go to park and some ignoramous has parked diagonally across three spaces and we have to park on the street.

Today I showed up at the Store and it was obvious CUPE was having some union meeting. Their parking lot was completely full and two of their members was parked behind the Store, waiting in their vehicle. I drove into our parking lot, attempted to back in (if I go in front first, I get stuck because the parking lot, like much of Edmonton, is a single sheet of glare ice). I got stuck anyway, gunned the engine and went shooting into the alley which is, if anything, even more slippery than our parking lot, couldn't stop and crashed into fence of the people whose back yard faces the back of the Store.

Luckily I hit the corner post which was very competently and solidly installed and nothing much happened other than my car bounced off with a gunshot loud crack. No damage to the fence and the car...well...I think all I did was knock some dirt off the bumper.

And of course, whenever I do stupid stuff there's always an audience. Murphy's Law. So I backed up, took another run at the parking lot. Ended up parking sideways. Got out of the car, went over to where the CUPE people were still idling in our lot and, without blinking an eye or in any way acknowledging the indignity I had just perpetrated on the fence, very politely asked them to move their vehicle. Which they did, immediately. I think they were a little scared at what I might do next.