Struggling to Make Sense of It
A few weeks ago I postulated that William Morris hedged his bets a bit on the new Arts and Crafts style by also continuing to produce Victorian wallpaper designs. I mentioned it as we were beginning to mail out more than 25,000 paper brochures announcing the schedule for the February 30th National Arts and Crafts Conference and Shows.
Thirty years.
No matter how many times I see it and write it, that number still boggles my mind.
Thirty years.
Who does anything for thirty years anymore?
Nevertheless, my reference to still producing a paper brochure in an era nearly dominated by online media — including websites, Facebook and Twitter — was in contrast to my current websites: www.Arts-CraftsConference.com, www.ArtsAndCraftsCollector.com, www.AskBruceJohnson.com, and my most recent, www.GrantWoodPrints.com.
While the limitations inherent in a paper brochure are obvious, starting with the fact that it now costs nearly fifty cents to mail each one and ending with the recognition that the majority of my old-fashioned brochures may well be tossed into trash cans, I have also discovered that online communication comes with its own limitations.
Last week, for instance, we discovered that we were unable to post a new series of news and feature stories here at www.ArtsAndCraftsCollector.com. I won’t pretend to know the reason why, but my webmaster is dropping some serious hints that my six-year-old website is so outdated that a major overhaul may be necessary to resurrect it.
Six years and already considered outdated.
That’s a hard pill to swallow for someone who still uses woodworking tools I’ve owned for more than forty years. And that are better made than anything I could find in Lowes or Home Depot.
It’s so bad, in fact, that as I write this column I am not even sure if I will be able to post it.
If I can, but if things go from bad to worse, I am going to ask for your patience as we grapple with the various alternatives and the time, effort, and money required to implement each of them. So far, just www.ArtsAndCraftsCollector.com is affected by the issues. You can still go to www.Arts-CraftsConference.com for the most updated information on the 30th National Arts and Crafts Conference and Shows.
Thank you for your understanding and your patience while I try to comprehend what is happening.
Until next Monday,
Think about William Morris, who is somewhere chuckling at me.
Bruce