Loving the New Lockets

I received my chocolate locket, black locket with crystals and my mini gold lockets and I'm in love.  I am even more so in love with the variety that I have to offer my customers. I am getting back into having parties again after taking a slight break, waiting for the waters to settle from the huge demand Mother's Day had put on the company and I cannot wait to see the response to the new items.  Based on the questions and comments I receive from total strangers regarding my black locket, I think they'll be a huge success!  I love Origami Owl!

Origami Owl Backlash

I posted some time ago and mentioned my fear at the backlash that would result due to Origami Owl's current problems with delivering orders on time.  Aside from the dock worker's strike, which created it's own mess of problems, there was a tremendous influx of orders for the Mother's Day holiday.  I'd go so far as to guess, and with good reason, this is "the season" for Origami Owl.  Who wouldn't want to give their mom a cherished piece of jewelry so uniquely fitting?  This created an ordering demand of almost double what was placed in the entire year of 2012 - in one month alone.  That is staggering.  I can't imagine any company that would be able to predict or compensate for such a large increase in orders and need for production.  I did not expect Origami Owl to come through this unscathed.  Especially when you throw in the constant and unrelenting barrage of emails and phone calls they received from designers and customers asking where their orders are.  It is safe to say Origami Owl was dealt a near crippling albeit temporary blow.  As a designer who still has some items that haven't been delivered, I've tried very hard to wrap my head around the numbers aspect of it and could only come up with the following analogy.  What would you do if you were suddenly handed a years worth of work times two?  And what if you were expected to complete this work in the span of one month, would you be able to do it? Even if you had been permitted to bring in help, you'd still need to train and instruct your new staff, and that takes time.  Plus figure you'll need to have an entire team devoted to answering calls and emails because your servers are being pushed to their limit and your phone lines have blown up.  I wonder though, how would you feel about your job security at this point?

I've heard a lot of people speculate that Origami Owl won't be able to make it.  Some designers have even gone so far as to quit, selling off their stuff and moving on.  I on the other hand feel nothing but excitement over the growth of this new little company that I've been fortunate to stumble upon.  I have SEEN the "I've gotta have it" response when my customers first see an Origami Owl locket. (I had the same reaction!) So I'm not worried that designers are quitting--I'm happy to take their customers--though a long list of Designers in Waiting are chomping at the bit to take their place as soon as the hiring freeze has been lifted.  So I don't think my optimism is unfounded.

It has been almost a month now and shipping seems to be getting back on schedule. More and more items are dropping off of the back order list.  So from an honest, first hand experience from a real Independent Designer with Origami Owl, I can tell you, while there have certainly been some aggravations, it hasn't been the end of the world.  I've been able to keep my customers informed and they have been understanding - for those designers who have had difficult customers, I've said all along, do what you can to make them happy, including giving a refund.  Because ultimately, this is YOUR business and YOUR responsibility.

For those customers who have been afraid to order for fear their jewelry will be sitting in limbo forever, I can tell you that I've had at least 25 orders in the past month, all of those orders have arrived in a timely fashion, there were only four creations where items were on back order. I was able to purchase a large number of these items from my fellow designers and I have completed all but three of my orders (and these only because the customers are holding out for certain charms that they absolutely cannot live without).  Most of the Origami Owl Designers I've had the good fortune of knowing, will bend over backwards to make sure you're going to get what you want within the time frame you need it.  So don't be afraid.  There are no conspiracies.  Just a lot of hard working people trying to keep up with the tremendous demand of some amazing jewelry!

Dock Strikes, Back Orders and Mother's Day Shipping OH MY!

Thank goodness I became an Origami Owl designer before all of this blew up, or I'd probably be very concerned.  For those of you just signing on, all I can say is... Do NOT be afraid.  It WILL get better.

Origami Owl has been making huge strides.  Sales have increased an unprecedented 450% for the last half of April, and we're ranking in the top three (behind Mary Kay and Pampered Chef) in the home party industry.  Couple this with dock strikes, mother's day, a new lower shipping rate and brand new products that had designers all waiting until that magic time to order (and let's not forget a new shopping cart system that, while probably aggressively tested, was not quite ready to be introduced into the wild that is a 450% sales increase) and you've got a recipe for crashed phone systems due to tremendous call volumes and servers close to exploding over the email volume.

The result?  Some back ordered items that shouldn't have back ordered, some seriously long wait times and emails that took forever to be answered.

The good news is, the dock strikes are over and the Nest has done everything from increasing man power to increasing work days and shipping things overnight at their expense to try to make everything right.  It's far from perfect at the moment, but it's getting better.

So why should you be excited if you're a new designer?  Why wouldn't you be? Aside from some snafus, are you getting the bigger picture here?  Do I need to repeat it a third time? Say it with me... 450% sales increase in fifteen days... 

I am VERY excited to be a part of this!  I cannot wait to see what May and June bring for me.