Customer Appreciation Week...or Month..or LIFETIME!

Holy JUNK, this is hard. I mean, I'm already emotional all the time, considering I just teared up and sobbed over the LEGO MOVIE preview before Monsters University.  To say that I cried, fretted, freaked out, and broke down when I found out what my awesome customers did for me would be the basic understatement of the year. Just a quick run-down of what I'm talking about.

*In April, we rolled our SUV and trailer 1 and a half times, landing upside down and demolishing both vehicles. We're idiots, and didn't have full-coverage auto insurance, and though we didn't lose much inventory, I definitely had tons of damaged stuff and all manner of...adventure. Our lives were spared, thank the heavens, and really, the only lasting thing is that my leg looks like me and a bunch of vicious cats played a game of Twister. I was also pregnant, but the baby is fine, considering it's kicking me every time my husband is around (and actually, every time we watch an episode of the old Star Trek....I guess we all  love Shatner, eh?)

*Somehow, over the years, I've managed to build up the most amazing following of customers (is there a better name for you girls? "customers" sounds so business-y, and I feel like it's more of a "corset-sister" relationship.......however, if I call you corset sisters, people will think I'm managing a very large brothel.), and I truly can't say that I deserve any of your kindness. I have received astonishing gifts at festivals, ranging in everything from jewelry to dinosaur shaped muffins, as well as corset shaped cookies, dipped strawberries, and even a freaking SEWING machine (although, to be fair, that was for my daughter, Brynn.).  Once again, I can't even find words to thank you all properly. I'm sort of wretched at making friends, so when I have so many gracious, selfless people offering such friendship and kindness, I don't even know what to do with it.

*A group of my corset sistahs went behind my back and did the most marvelous, stunning, kind thing for me that anyone has EVER done (and this includes having a boyfriend build me an electric guitar when I was 17.). When they found out about my wreck, they rallied together LOTS of help and raised a stupendous amount of money for me!   Since I'm not 100% clear on the details, I encourage any of the ladies to jump in with comments on the page, as you're more knowledgeable than I! (Rachelle, Megan, Ashley...all of you seductresses? Feel free to chime in!) I know that one of the fundraisers involved artisans donating pieces and people bidding on them, which  is basically AWESOME! Heck, it's a good thing I didn't know about it, because after seeing some of the pieces, I, MYSELF wanted them...and I guess it would have been odd to donate money to myself.  But, SERIOUSLY, ladies, how could I ever  properly thank you? Nothing feels adequate. And when I combine your generous donation with all of the prayers, thoughts, tears, smiles, encouragement, and pure love that I've gotten in  HEAPS?  No words could ever do any of this justice. Heck, if I were somehow able to make free corsets  for the whole population, that would be a pittance of gratitude (although, I'm sure some of you are thinking, "No, Michelle! That's a GREAT way of saying "thank you!!").

This is a piece of artwork one of my customers did for me! Holy NIGHT! Um...P.S. If you want me to give a website for you here, let me know. You deserve some serious credit! This is one of my favorite things I've ever gotten!

*To be completely honest, I had lost my way a bit this year, feeling like perhaps I had essentially "had my day in the sun" and I should maybe go on to something else for a profession. It's not because I don't love what I do, but I felt like perhaps all of these prodigious roadblocks were a sign from the heavens, trying to tell me to do something else.  I have done such serious and deep thinking, even staying awake at nights and just agonizing.  I felt like maybe my creative spark had gone out, and that I just didn't have anything to offer to the world.  And besides, how can someone POSSIBLY have such an amazing job? It's sort of insane. People can't just "live" with such blessings all the time. It's not sustainable.... ;)

 However, the outpourings of love that support that I have received in the last few months have totally changed my mind. I have been recharged, and the spark is burning again. 

I've been racking my brain, trying to figure out some sensational way to honor and thank my customers, and I think I have the beginnings of it! This is an unofficial announcement,  so don't jump to anything yet, but for our next magazine, I want it to be absolutely filled with gorgeous pictures of my customers, in all shapes, sizes, and personalities!  This will be the "look book" that I hand out at festivals, and I think it would be just perfect if the book were filled with REAL women wearing my corsets and pieces in real life! There is some serious details to figure out, but I can see this being a truly positive thing, as far as the image that I want my company to convey.  I know we'll get a lot of submissions, and I can't afford to print out and give out 200 page booklets, so we'll have to do some serious figuring on the contest, but I'm hoping it will be one of our biggest promotions ever! 

Right now, I front the bill out of my own pocket to give out our look books, and it's very rewarding to be able to give people a "piece" of our company, even if they can't afford a corset. They light up when they find that they can take away something solid and inspiring. In fact, lots of people come to the festival one day, take a book, see that we're real human beings, making these costumes with our own hands, and then COME BACK in the next day to purchase something. 

With the generous donations I've been given, I plan on giving right back, and spending the time and money to run the contest, pick a marvelous portfolio of ladies, check and double-check  legal stuff (boring documents, release forms....all that fun stuff....speaking of which, if any of you already knows about the legalities of using pictures of other people and permission....let me know!) and getting THOUSANDS of these books  printed up so we can include one in every order, as well as giving out tons at our events. 

Obviously, I couldn't have done any of this without you, which sounds cheesy...but I can't imagine anything better than something smothered in cheese.