Wine & Design Newport News
Team Newsletter for the Week of January 18, 2016 - Issue 2
HAPPY NEW YEAR to us!!
WOW!!! What an amazing start to the new year!! Although public classes have not been HUGE every time, and a few have been cancelled here and there, we have been doing better than most of the studios in Wine & Design for the month.
Our Private Parties are steadily rolling in and we have had a few very large classes with Girl Beauty being almost at FULL CAPACITY for the ENTIRE studio this month!!
ALSO, we celebrated our 6-MONTH-IVERSARY on January 15th!!! Half a year already!!! WHEW, that has flown by!
You are all doing such a fantastic job! Each of YOU are the living, breathing HEART of this studio and without you we would not be where we are today...or even here for that matter!
So, pat yourselves on the back!!!
*Singing* I've Got The Power...
...bill. And let me tell you, it isn't pretty! Some of this has to do with the Christmas lights on the trees over the holidays. There have been some other things I have noticed that is also causing the bill to be higher than it should and need to address them.
1. The Bathroom Light - Unfortunately, this light isn't connected to the weird "outlet" switch that we have in the back studio room that shuts off all of the lights. Because of this, unless you check the bathroom (which we should all be doing at the end of classes to wipe down the sink and empty the trash) and turn the light off, the light will remain on even when you hit the power to the rest of the outlets. This causes the light AND the fan, which is connected to the switch, to run all night long and sometimes for DAYS if there are no classes which is a HUGE waste of energy. So PLEASE, make sure the light in the bathroom is off after cleaning at the close of class.
2. The Thermostat - I understand that we all personally and biologically operate under varying thermostats however, we need to maintain a temperature in the studio and if changed, does not vary more that 2 degrees in order to save energy. Most recently, I have left the studio when it was 68 degrees and have returned to find the thermostat on 76, which is a VERY high heat temperature, especially when the studio naturally heats itself through our large front windows. In the future, I would like the studio temperature to remain at 68 degrees not to exceed 72 in the winter. I think that is a pretty reasonable temperature that shouldn't overheat or freeze anyone out.
New Paintings For Your Consideration...
Conclusion of Class
Just a refresher course on the tasks that we should all be doing at the close of our classes. I have noticed some of these tasks getting left behind more and more, and at the end of the night, I know that it is easy to forget stuff, so I just wanted to reiterate a few things.
CLEANING
- This should also include straightening (making sure paper towel holders are centered between 4 easels, easels centered in front of stools that are pushed in X's out with an apron folder in half draped over it.)
- Spot Sweeping/Mopping the floor. If you see large pieces of trash or food or if there is an obvious spill, please attend to it.
GROUP PHOTOS
- Please take (at least) one good final group photo of each class and text it to me at the end of the class. If you are able to take 3-4 more during the class, that's great, but I definitely need the group photo to submit for a weekly audit to corporate.
- After you snap the group photo, announce to the class to "LIKE US ON FACEBOOK" because they will be on our page!! People LOVE seeing themselves and if they have a photo to look forward to they will want to be on our page so they don't miss it. This will just help to continue building our audience.
ART BUZZ KIDS CLASSES on Saturday Mornings
SAMPLES
Please make sure that you are painting ALL samples for classes unless you otherwise get confirmation from me that a class is cancelled. If you "bank" on classes getting cancelled you will be (and have been for some of you recently) left scrambling to get a sample done at the last minute. We also need samples to fill the studio with, so even if a class doesn't make, we still need the samples for the studio and to try the class at a later date.
Which brings me to my next request--ALL samples that have been created for classes (those that have made or were cancelled) should be brought to the studio. Please bring any and all samples that you have at home to the studio so that we can get them on the walls and begin advertising for open studios, private parties, and other classes. Thanks, Lovies!
It's Official!!
Classes that, as of this week, have officially made:
I HAVE A DREAM - January 18th - Brandy
TIGRESS - January 19th - Brandy
DOWNTOWN CHARM - January 21st - Cathy
STAR WARS SPECTACULAR - January 29th - Heather
Classes that look promising with 3 registered guests so far:
LOVE YOU MORE - January 28th - Cathy
WINTER BLUEBIRDS - February 2nd - Cathy