Favorite moments!
The month of May is almost over and it seems like with this beautiful weather the days are going even faster. In the evening when the kids are already deep in dreamland and we (Sytze, Lars and I) have a drink on our terrace after work, those are my favorite moments. Not that we always have very in-depth conversations though, but every once in a while you get caught up in it and it makes you think.
A year ago we were like this, not even officially starting Fabryk yet, but we were already doing some assignments left and right. The etagères in particular were incredibly popular at that time. Evening to evening sanding tree trunk disks, fitted with black scaffold tube and a large eye nut. We still have them in the collection and as of today they are also available in our webshop. Like the tree trunk side tables and Fabryk benches, not to be missed! Even then, we did sit and fantasize about where this adventure would grow.
Special products
Never, ever, would I have dreamed that our range would have grown with so many special products. That I quit my job for it at all I could not have imagined in May, but sometimes circumstances are such that everything seems to fall into place.
In early July 2016, I ended up in the hospital with peritonitis, just out of the blue. Only a week later I was back home, still half stoned from the morphine. In such a week of “vacation,” you have plenty of time to think. 1 thing was certain for me, life is too relative to do Fabryk only “half/half.” If we want to set this up properly it deserves attention, because anything that gets attention grows.
Register with the Chamber of Commerce, get a website and leaflets created, designed and become visible on Facebook. Not long after, we were approached by the WONEN &CO supplement of the Leeuwarder Courant and the Nieuwsblad van het Noorden. Orders followed from Drenthe, Groningen and Friesland and even beyond. So we went on, looking for wood suppliers, suppliers with laser machines, wholesalers and a good accountant.
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“Alone you go faster, but together you get further”
Patience is not my strong point, if I have something in my mind it should have been made yesterday. Only in a creative process do you need patience precisely. Patience to grow and to find the right people! “Bussiness wise” from start I hear you think, well forget it! Big and small teething problems we have encountered and sometimes still run into now. Unforeseen setbacks and the eternal “the work is never finished” feeling.
Last Monday night we sat outside until late, the men having a beer and me sipping wine. That’s how we got into the conversation: Where will we be in 5 years? I always find setting term goals to be such a far cry. Yes, I know it’s good to set goals privately and professionally. Only no one knows where you will be or do in 5 years. An example of a goal I had set for myself:
To have at least 4,000 likers on Facebook by January 2018.
I met that goal in February 2017. Now I also know that many likers says absolutely nothing, but still…. So am I going to adjust that goal now? Is it my goal to send 700 packages in 2017 or …? No, I only have 1 big goal:
Making people happy!
I am convinced that if this is your biggest goal, the rest will come naturally. Nothing makes me prouder than a nice response to our products. For example, this morning I received a touching email from a satisfied customer. She had ordered the hummingbird as a tribute to her late mother. I then sit with a lump in my throat reading such a wonderful post. Tonight I came home and there was a beautiful bunch of flowers waiting for me, in thanks for the prompt service. In between, I received calls asking me to participate in surprise conspiracy, how fun!
The contact with customers, the “extras” we offer, that makes us special! I can make you a promise: Fabryk Design guarantees 100% happy customers! Whether it’s “big” things like giving an interior advice or restyling an entire house or the “small” things like sending a keychain. Everything is done with 100% attention.
Another goal is to free up time for family. Not running past everything, but also enjoying the here and now. Especially the latter often falls by the wayside, as there is so much to do…. While you are reading this, we are “chilling with the kids on Schier” last minute getaway! There is more to life than just work! Enjoy the sun’s rays!
Love Esther
