ceramic word stones

Back in October, I wrote a post describing how a ‘Behind the Scenes’ day came to be.  You can read it here.  My talented photographer friend from Three Continents Photography came out to the warehouse and captured a ‘day in the life’ of CourageInStone.com.  I have to admit, it was kinda weird.  When you’re having your photo taken of your everyday actions, it’s terribly difficult to remember to act naturally.  But, all the dusting and cleaning and primping paid off and I think she created a perfect photo story of what life is like here at our offices.  Hopefully you’ll enjoy ‘meeting’ us and getting to know us a little bit better.

I will start by showing off a series of my favorites from the day.  These photos I think capture the essence of our business, personalities and philosophy.

Obviously, packing is a huge piece of our business.  Like the packing station, it took years of trial and error to fine tune our shipping methods.  Finding the right packaging materials and most efficient manner of shipping sounds easy, but it’s an oddly tedious undertaking.  Customers order all kinds of different combinations of items.  And the difference of a few ounces in weight or a day or two quicker in time in transit can mean a huge difference in shipping costs.  So over the years we’ve gotten pretty darn good at using each shipping method to our advantage.  So, while our shipping ‘department’ is only one person, it’s a very, very important and detailed part of the company.   Here’s Beth in action!

One of the super fun parts of the job is bringing in or designing new merchandise.  It’s a tricky thing, though.  Even after years and years of practice, sometimes we just don’t get it right.  But, when we do, it’s super satisfying and exciting.  Once we decide on a new product, photos need to be taken and merchandising begins.  We have to think of descriptions, take measurements, and list them on 5 different websites.  It’s a process, for sure.  Here is Suzi and I working on a new project – these are our new Ceramic Stone Necklaces, which are only found in our Etsy shop.

And what office is complete without a canine staff?  Surely we have the cutest and cuddliest 4-legged workers in all the east?!  Baxter is the worlds friendliest cockapoo and most definitely the favorite of the delivery folks.  He takes his job as dock door greeter very, very seriously.  Louie, on the other hand, is a mutt who is slightly suspicious of those loud trucks…but he serves as a great guard dog!  Of course, he can always be convinced to relax with a cookie or two.  The delivery people take great pride in winning him over!

So, the next time you order, I hope it helps that we’ve ‘introduced’ ourselves.  Are we and this place what you imagined?

~Brenda, Suzi, Beth, Louie and Baxter