Opportunity Comes with Risk, Failure, and Reward!

I was presented with an amazing opportunity in October. At that time, I was approached by Simon Morgan, the owner of Bread + Butter Creative, a small  agency from Leeds, UK. He had seen my work on Instagram and asked if I would be interested in supplying 24 Blooming Facets of varying sizes for a holiday window display he was creating for  Owen & Robinson, a jewelry store client. I have always believed my work to be uniquely suited for store window displays so I was excited to take on the job. I got to work right away, got it done and out the door faster than I estimated and was happy that everything was going smoothly... until it didn't.  

On Wednesday, November 6^th, I was very relieved to hear that the biggest and most important art project I had ever worked on was delivered successfully to the UK! This confirmation arrived after two weeks of intense work, followed by two weeks of anxious waiting for delivery by USPS Priority International mail. I was looking forward to a stress free vacation that would begin four days later on Sunday. I congratulated myself on a job well done. Starting my day, Thursday morning, I planned to research the places I would be visiting in Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA with my husband but instead I got word from Simon that all was not well and that upon closer inspection, more than half of my pieces were damaged in transit!

My initial response was to dissolve into a puddle of tears and utter pity for myself but I quickly realized that I had to fight that feeling. I was determined to do my best to fix this issue in the three days I had before leaving on vacation. I didn’t have a moment to spare! I knew I could work through the night if necessary to make the pieces in three days and I knew that DHL could deliver my package in a few days. With that plan, I focused on the details.

The first thing I did when I realized I would be making 14 new pieces was to checked my inventory. I needed to order more paper so I splurged on an overnight delivery. I started to work on Thursday morning with the supplies I had but as I worked I was concerned with another looming problem that I had to solve. I could tell from the photos I received from Simon that my pieces were damaged due to the way I packaged them. I needed to devise a new and improved method! When I took breaks from making the pieces I would sketch and think of ideas. Eventually, I tested one of these ideas, and with some tweaking was fairly confident that I had something that would work to protect my artwork in transit. The downside was that the process would be time consuming and I would have to cut out 4 cardboard triangles for each piece. (How good are you at math?) I didn’t want to know the answer but it’s 56. I remember telling myself, “Don’t think about it, just do it!” 

This note is a reminder for myself. It shows how to package the Blooming Facets with the cardboard triangles.

Writing this now it seems impossible to me but by Friday night I had things under control as far as having the pieces done and the packaging process underway. I still needed to figure out shipping, though. It was reassuring to learn from DHL that my package would be delivered on Wednesday whether I dropped it off on Friday, Saturday or Monday. At least I had some time. I wanted to use the online ordering system on the DHL website to save 30% on shipping but I needed help with the customs forms. I didn’t want to make a mistake that would hold up delivery so I called them on Saturday. Customer service was available but their international online ordering support help was not available until Monday morning at 7!! Guess who was sitting in front of a computer and on the phone with DHL on their vacation at 7am in a Charleston hotel? It took an hour to get through my questions!  I had left my box of art with my son and his wife before leaving on vacation so after completing the online forms I let them log into my DHL account to print out all the packaging labels and forms they needed. My son dropped off my box Monday afternoon with DHL and the package was delivered to Leeds, UK Wednesday morning with contents safe!  Whew!

Obviously I learned from this experience. I devised a better method of packaging my art for safe transport and I found out that USPS International Priority Shipping can experience customs delays. The most important thing I learned though was about myself. I faced disappointment and failure with perseverance because I had hope of success in the end. 

I am relieved and happy to finally be able to share photos of the final product!

Have you persevered in the face of near defeat? Post a comment. I  would love to hear your story!  

Wishing you a happy, healthy holiday season!

Christine