So... exactly where do all those bells end up??

Over the years, nice customers have told us countless stories of where they have hung their bells. Some even sent us photos. It occurred to me that it might be nice to occassionally see where some of those bells hang. So, I thought I would begin to add a few of those photos to the blog. I won't add customer's personal information, but if I do have a geographic area I might at least use that as a caption. So.... here goes.

 

Ok, so this first one is hard to see, but it is on a deck of a condo in The Woodlands, TX.

 

I am sorry to say I don't have the details as to the town or state, but thought this was a unique display. Heck, we could use this one for the Windsongs booth.

 

 

 

More later....

Another Holiday Season

Another year closes and hopefully everyone who purchased a bell as a Christmas gift for family or friends was happy with their choice. The hill country weather was cooperative and there weren't too many really cold days out in the bell shop.
Things were really busy for entire month of December.  We had prepared ahead of time and had some things stockpiled, but all of a sudden we ran low on sails, so here is what the supply looked like after about three days of work concentrating on the incoming orders!!

 The UPS truck drove up every day and took boxes away (by the way, we have a very nice UPS driver, but then is there such a thing as one of those guys who isn't nice?).

We had a record shipping day late in the December.

                                              30 boxes went on the UPS truck that day!

We want to thank all of our customers who bought bells and shared their stories of how they found us and who the bells were going to. And we heard from some of the recipients of bells as gifts; sometimes even before Christmas day. Apparently some people opened their presents a little early! Everyone seemed happy and that makes us happy.

                              We hope the new year finds everytone happy and healthy.

More time inside the bell shop

So, here is a little more insight into bell making.

                                                                   Grinding!

                                                               Close up.

                                                    The finished product.

Here are sails after being cut and now ready for the "patina" treatment to start.

 

So, today 10 boxes went out on the UPS truck and Philip met a customer in Boerne to deliver one more. We are rolling for Christmas, taking orders by phone and through the website. We have printed and mailed out the last of the holiday postcards. We are keeping up with your orders and STILL getting to keep up with those all important addictive TV dramas - Homeland, Dexter, Boardwalk Empire and yes, Glee.

 

And, one final note.... while Philip has mastered the creation of your bells, this Thanksgiving holiday he spent one evening putting together a dollhouse for our only granddaughter's Christmas (thanks to Aunt Jenny and Uncle Michael). This was not as easy as one might think!

 

 

 

More inside time inthe shop

An Inside Look

Ok, so in honor of Cyber-Monday, I thought I would give you an inside look at the Windsongs "operation". It might be be interesting to know that all bells since 1976 have been constructed within the walls of this same metal shop. Now, the shop was first located near Marion, Texas, actually on the Zuehl Airport grounds. Then when we moved to Boerne, the shop was moved also. And, it's been there ever since. There's been a succession of shop dogs who have been underfoot and there to great customers. This is the current resident, Toast.

She's in her golden years, like the rest of us. If you come visit and want her to like you, bring her a dog cookie. She doesn't hear all that well any more, but her appetite is good.

Now, this is a long, narrow building and the "heart" of the operation is where the welding occurs, of course. And that is way at the back in an area Philip has reworked many times to provide a survivable climate in either winter or summer.

He can close those wooden doors, turn on the air conditioner, turn up the radio and survive the heat in the summer. In the winter, the doors stay open and the larger heater is cranked up in the middle of the shop so we both can work "comfortably".

                         This is what the piece of steel look like before the welding begins.

Some action shots. "Close your eyes - don't look directly at the weld!"

I'll post more later - gotta go cut sails out in the shop for now!!

Young Entrepeneur Update

Just an update on our purchase from young entrepeneur, Chris. Our bracelets arrived this week. Just thought I would post a picture for you.

                                                    And here is a closeup of one of them.

                                                                               

                                        Notice the cute pink one for our only grandaughter!!!!
                                            They are going to be stocking stuffers, I think.

Now, dear art and craft readers, should you also want to purchase a hand crafted knotted bracelet for the child or grandchild in your family (like for a stocking stuffer), let me know. I could certainly contact young Mr. Chris for you. I do not have his permission or that of his dad, to post his email, so I would certainly be willing to contact him on your behalf. Each bracelet was $5.00.

As for us, we are diligently working in the bell shop these days. Your Christmas notification from us should be in the mail to you all very soon!!

After Huffines

Well the Huffines show has come and gone. It was a good show. A little cold .... okay, it was really cold. In fact, it was in the thirties in the mornings!!  Customers were treated to a sight they almost never see.

   Philip in long pants.

 

 

You gotta give these Richardson and surrounding area folks credit, they came out to shop even in the cold. It warmed up a little in the afternoons each day, but basically we stayed dressed in layers of clothing the entire show.

 

This is a small show, held in the park surrounded by soccer and baseball fields, a fire station and a middle school. But it is very well organized, very pretty and lots of people come to shop.

 

 We met this young entrepeneur. This is Chris who is still in middle school. He makes these really cool bracelets from nylon cord (sorry, I did not take a picture on them). He and his dad came by the booth and each of them were wearing one of Chris' creations. We admired them and eventually ordered some from him for our grandkids and ourselves. We are eagerly awaiting our purchases. it is always cool to see a young person doing something creative. He is currently exploring the best way to market his product.

I will post a picture of the bracelets when we receive them.

 

On the way home on Monday, we visited with the wonderful person who created and monitors our website. We had a great "business" breakfast with he and his wife, Eme. They are two folks involved in lots of things, one of which is a business called E Z Vinyl Expressions. They can create a label, sign, embellishment for anything. He is a link to their website;

http://www.ezvinylexpressions.com.