A Family Business - Memories and Hopes

Colt's Dad Ron and brother, Kin are artists, who makes beautiful rock sculptures.

I started a little internet business on Ebay and Etsy.  

We would do it together, the kids and I.  The girls and I would go over to Paca's rock shop to pick out the rocks and then River, Silver and Summer would help me wrap them up and take inventory of what we were buying - mark down how many of which kinds we were taking. River learned about invoices and writing checks.

We then took pictures of the rocks and listed them on the internet sites.

We also named each rock - to give them a personality - lots of people commented that they liked the personalized touch of a name for each piece. 

We then would package up the rocks that would sell - all the girls loved helping crinkle the newspaper and pack up the box, then tape it shut and add the address label.  

We would look on the map as to where our packages were going:  Holland, Canada, and all over the United States!

Trivet

Diffuser

Aquarium Rocks

Stone Sculptures

TeaLight Candles

It has been a neat thing for our family to do together.  

We have learned about expenses and profit and savings.  

A true family business!

It's been fun to hear what people say about the rocks once they receive them in the mail.   They are so much more beautiful in person they say!  I've been surprised at how much repeat business we have had - once they see them, they have to go on and buy some more :)  

They buy them for memories of past vacations and as motivation and hopes for future vacations.

Silver having fun making corrals out of the rocks for her stuffed animals

VIDEO:  Silver helping me to unwrap them to take pictures.

She looks on the bottom to see if they have cork :

Cork = Sculpture

No cork = Aquarium Rock

Summer helping me package them up!

Scrunching up the newspaper!

Silver getting the aquarium rocks wet.  I list these with a couple of pictures when dry and a couple pictures wet so customers can have a realistic view of what they are buying.  

Silver gets such a kick out of helping!

VIDEO:  When the rock is put under water, air bubbles stream out.

In the video you can hear Silvers voice asking if they will get smaller - they start out lots of bubbles, and then as it gets saturated, the bubbles slow down and get really tiny.

Oh what fun it is to work together :)