And so the CoronaKerfuffle continues on.
And on.
And on....
Due to this current situation and now the further restrictions that the Government announced this week, it is with much frustration (that in order to keep both you, and me safe) I have to rejiggle my 2020 plans.
I am making these changes purely to ensure the Great Ship Dixie Dot stays afloat in these stormy waters. Times are getting increasingly tougher and I need you now more than I've ever needed you before.
The current restrictions are looking to continue for at least six months and it's possible we will see tighter restrictions or a local lockdown over the coming weeks and months.
Currently I have some plans to help the business with the potential loss of revenue, especially over Christmas which is always the busiest time of year for me, but the time has come for me to make sensible decisions and focus on certain elements so that the business survives.
I have really wrangled with making this decision (as some of you who saw me getting upset on the FB live this week will have seen!) but I do believe it is best to now remain closed to customers - but for painting and workshops IN the studio only. It's been working well for 6 months and I am just as busy with the studio closed as I am with it open. I physically cannot do any more than I am doing so to try and clear the studio so it's not like a warehouse, keep it like that, to put in all the extra required restrictions for people to come and paint will, frankly, give me a breakdown. When I said above about keeping me safe, it wasn't just from Covid!
So here's the news:
Table bookings, workshops and birthday parties are all cancelled with immediate effect until at least January 2021.
Dixie Dot adapted very quickly over the first lockdown and transitioned well to everything being online, doing doorstep deliveries and moved to a 'creating at home' including extending the craft kit range and encouraging a bit of the Dixie Dot experience by painting at home.
So, until I can throw the doors open to welcome you back, properly, we will continue with:
- Take Away Pottery for you to do at home.
- A range of craft kits, from Decopatch to Foam Clay to Soap making. - The Dixie Dot Shop where you can buy all of the above plus gifts and lovely things
- Private 1 to 1 appointments for you to do handprints with your kids/pets including the clay prints
- Bauble Day, private 1 to 1 appointments to create Christmas baubles with your baby prints.
I will also:
- swap all workshops, where possible, to home kits. For example, if you have a fabric wreath workshop booked I will provide a kit with full instructions. - Offer more Zoom workshops - from painting a reindeer plate or a gingerbread house. Look out for these. - Provide kits for any 'groups' - Brownies, corporate teams, residential homes, school and nurseries to do in their setting.
I am also going to reinstate the option of DELIVERY within 10 mile radius for all your orders starting on October 5th.
This will be an optional extra for anyone purchasing anything in the end of year sale on October 2nd (Live on Facebook at 7.30pm) and also anyone ordering online between now and Christmas. Please be generous with this, there are people who are genuinely unable to get out the house to collect orders so I would appreciate using my slots for this rather than for someone who just doesn't want to come out because it's cold!!
To make life easier, I am providing set hours for OCTOBER. They are as follows:
Monday - Closed
Tuesday - Closed
Wednesday - 5.30-7.30pm
Thursday 10-12
Friday - 10-12
Saturday 9-11am
Sunday - Closed
Private 1 to 1 appointments for babies/pets/prints are booked in advance ONLINE only please. Head to www.dixiedotcrafts.com to book.
Everyone MUST wear a mask when at the studio, as I do too.
Covid guidelines are all in place.
Anyone who has a booking with me will be contacted personally, though please be patient as there is only one of me and at last count, there are over 300 of you!
WHAT I NEED FROM YOU:
- Continue to be lovely, supportive and patient.
- Share, talk about and advertise my services to your friends and family.
- Buy stuff - my online Christmas Sale is 2nd October. The website is 24/7.
- Paint your items in VERY GOOD TIME for Christmas. Early deadlines will be announced but my advice is this: if you KNOW you want stuff for Christmas buy it now. Paint it now, Get it fired now. Do not wait until November. I only have two kilns and I can't 'just squeeze Grandma's Christmas plant pot in'!
- Head to www.dixiedotshop.com and buy your stocking fillers and gifts
- Look after yourself. Your mental health, your physical health, your families health. YOU are number one, and don't forget that! It's all too easy to shuffle yourself to the bottom of the pile, I know this because I do it too. But I have made these decisions for the business for me, as well as you.
Finally, I am fully at the helm steering Dixie Dot through this storm. We will make it. I just need you to give me a bit of a shove in the right direction til the wind picks up and we're off and away again!
If you've made it this far, you are a legend who has earned themselves a cuppa. I'm off to put the kettle on. What biscuits do you want with yours?
Trace
xxx