April 23, 2008
Again we have great news! The newsletter archives are up on www.thepillowlady.com. So now you can look at ones you may have missed and best of all- enlarge the pictures for a better view. Hope you will enjoy browsing.
Warmly-
Chris
The Newest Thing I Can't Live Without
In 2007 I was in a class taught by Jim Shinn and he recommended we all have a Digital Voice Recorder, a DVR. I took Jim's advice and encourage you to get one for yourself.
The key feature you want is to be able to download the files onto your computer. When you have that capability, it is easy to re-name files, keep track of everything and put it to very good use.
I want to share you some of the ways I use my Olympus VN-4100PC. I bought it for $65.00 at Radio shack and it records for 29 hours in high quality before I must download.
Day one - tucked it into my shirt pocket during an install. Realized during re-wind that I sigh a lot! How could I have known?
Day 2 - again in my shirt pocket during a sales call. I wanted to check my delivery when pitching different products and listen for weak points and areas where I sounded confident. Learned that I don't even touch on all the products and need to shorten the "chatting". Time is money.
Day 3 - Designer left a voice mail changing a detail on a project. I recorded the voicemail, put it in writing and e-mailed her that I got the change. The voice mail went into the client's folder on my computer. That file is my get out of jail card if I need it.
Day 4 - Mrs. Wishywashy had changed her mind on fabrics so many times I pulled the DVR out of my pocket and said "Here we go, your final answer is: the crème with the gold stripe, is that right?" We all laughed and finally moved on. I thought that it was a kind way to get the decision made.
Day 5 - Visiting a new client and she wants me to do everything. I said, "Oh just a second, if I record all these items and details, I will be sure to not let anything fall through the cracks." By getting the details on the DVR, it was much easier to present a cohesive proposal and not drop the ball on any line item.
Day 6 - having trouble with Hunter Douglas' Platinum Technology. I called my HD guru and recorded the conversation from speaker phone. When I asked his permission, he was thrilled he would only have to tell me how to fix the shade once.
I think it is a great tool and just purchased one for a friend so she can record her reading to her grandchildren. One file per book so the children or grandchildren can put Granny's voice on a MP3 or I-Pod and have her read to them forever.
How will you use yours?
April's Featured Product
Beyond The Basics
Tucked Roman Shades- A Two Disk Set
Disc A features a Back Tucked Grommet shade made for an inside mount application. Standard drapery lining is used and the Grommet installation is fully discussed.
Disc B features a Front Tuck Duo Shade. This shade is made with the tucks to the front and is for an outside mount application. It has three functions. The sheer top can diffuse light , the black-out lined bottom section will block all the light and when fully raised, the window can be totally uncovered.
$65.95
Question for The Pillow Lady
Dear Chris,
Could you show us a picture of how that duo shade looks when it's up and down? I don't quite understand.
Thank you,
Colleen
Dear Collen,
I have 2 samples of the duo shades that I used in making the DVD so here are the photos. One has the sheer covering the virtual window, one has the blackout covering the virtual window. I removed one of the shades so you can see what one would look like in the fully raised position. Just for your entertainment, I took a photo of the back of the shades too. I spun them around on my shade holder so each is in the same position. Thanks for taking the time to ask.
Chris Watt
Duo Shade down- Left side shows sheer for muted view, right shade shows face fabric for privacy and light control.
Back view of shade
Shades pull all the way up for unobstructed window view.