A busy gig

January Surprises and Exciting Projects

January is usually a quiet month in the art and framing industry. There might be a small bump in business due to some Christmas follow-up framing, but that trickles away pretty quickly.

This January was an exception. Several projects came in the door because of fiscal calendar years that started on January 1st. Another major Catholic Charities project was delivered, this time for a Centennial Leadership Summit in San Jose, CA. This was the largest venue so far (the 4th), and it will move across the United States every month until September, where hopefully it will exhibit at the White House. I love working on this project because it leverages the power of photography, and it is an absolute adrenaline rush to meet the tight deadlines. In this business, this is known as a 'good gig'.

We also had our first order from Turkmenistan, specifically Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. This is a former Soviet Union republic that declared independence in 1991. It was a nice-sized order of 10 large-format mounted images and one extremely large canvas print. There is a sense of satisfaction in knowing your handiwork is on the job in some remote part of the world.

On an unrelated note, Downtown Mainstreet agreed to co-sponsor a photography competition with Red Wing Framing & Fine Art Printing. It's always fun to have too much to do.

And finally, if nothing else, I learned a long time ago to surround myself with very smart people. Or at least stand close to them.

I am uber-excited about a new project that some very smart people I have come to know are advising me on. This is on a six-month timetable, so the details will roll out over time.