Wetter than water
Wow. It has rained nearly every day for the past two months.
We had a very heavy and wet snowstorm in early May and it has been raining almost every day in June.
But this is farm country and this is the growing season, so nobody is complaining.
Go forth and conquer
Recognizing Our Local Talent: Devin and Hailey
We are very fortunate to have a steady source of dependable and reliable workers from the local vocational college.
Minnesota State College Southeast Technical has a unique guitar and mandolin building program. These students typically have an uncommon attention to detail and are always mechanically inclined.
We came to know Devin and his girlfriend Hailey this past year while Devin attended the guitar program. Devin is holding his final electric guitar project and Hailey is holding his mandolin project.
We hired Devin last year, and he was a terrific employee. He finished his program and immediately landed a job in St. Paul at a guitar shop.
We are delighted to have gotten to know both of them and wish them good luck!
Bear the Wonder Dog, 2000 - 2013
A Tribute to Bear
Bear has been a shop fixture since we opened the shop. His body failed him earlier this year, and it has been a steady decline ever since. He will be genuinely missed.
Bear was an extremely active dog with a terrific sense of humor. If he was in a playful mood, he knew exactly how to agitate to get the attention he wanted. He enjoyed greeting the customers long enough to get their attention and hopefully get a treat.
Rest in peace, Bear.
The Acrylic Print
Introducing Our New Acrylic Prints
For the past six months, we've been quietly and diligently working on a new family of products called the Acrylic Print.
Our goal was to create a premium product line that complements our Panel Prints.
After several iterations, we are thrilled to introduce the Acrylic Print. We are excited about the sharp and vivid details this presentation package offers.
For more details, visit Red Wing Digital.
The Red Wing Innovation Incubator
Red Wing Innovation Incubator: Supporting New Businesses
As mentioned previously, much of the year has been taken up with the generation of the Red Wing Creative Economy report.
Related, and even more of a time sink, has been the initiation of the Red Wing Innovation Incubator.
This is a physical space dedicated to helping grow and mentor new businesses in the Red Wing Community.
This activity is being driven by Red Wing Downtown Main Street, and our involvement is because of a firm belief that the stronger the local economy is, the stronger our business can become.
Visit the website and see what the hubbub is all about: Red Wing Innovation Incubator.
Busy, busy, busy…
Busy Behind the Scenes
It's been busier here than it might seem.
Earlier this year, we embarked on an exciting project to measure the local Creative Economy and compare it to other communities. With this information, our goal is to make well-informed recommendations for the future.
This project is crucial to our business for obvious reasons, but it's also vital for the community, as this sector of the economy is experiencing rapid growth.
We couldn't—and shouldn't—undertake a project of this magnitude alone. We've partnered with the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, Red Wing Downtown Main Street, Inc., Anderson Center at Tower View, Red Wing Arts Association, ArtReach, and the Sheldon Theatre of Performing Arts.
Being in such good company adds credibility to the final report.
We are proud of the final report and encourage you to download your own copy.
Catch-up/ketchup
Reinventing and Expanding Our Horizons
We've been very busy reinventing ourselves here at the shop. To start, we've been focused on unveiling Red Wing Digital. This print-on-demand product offers unique large-format presentation options, including the Panel Print and the Acrylic Print. While the Acrylic Print has taken longer to get ready for production, we're excited about its potential.
Additionally, we have a new business partner, Fine Art Prints on Demand, a UK-based company. We've been quietly working and growing this side of the business (printing and framing fulfillment) for several years. FAPoD is our third customer in this area.
These developments have driven our third initiative: moving our production to a larger facility. We've narrowed down our options and expect to make some final decisions soon.