The R&T Extra!   September 2006

A Tile Artist's Tale: Interview with R&T Customer Mimi Ide

Mimi Ide of "Tiles by Mimi" has worked with various art media since she was a small child. We recently contacted her to find out more about her art and her business.

R&T: What's your name?
Mimi: My name is Mimi Ide, which made me feel very smart in kindergarten because I could write my name in cursive. I didn't take into account that other kids had very long names in comparison. My brother had taught me cursive, and I liked nothing better in the world than to draw and color. Growing up in Redlands, CA, my mother used to introduce me to visitors as "our artist" which embarrassed me, because I knew I wasn't one yet. But, I spent every waking minute working at it, and enjoying the visual beauty of nature around me.

R&T: Where do you live?
Mimi: I live in Cedarpines Park, CA, where there is a bounty of natural beauty. It's at around 5,000 feet elevation, in the San Bernardino National Forest.

R&T: What's your business name?
Mimi: Craft shows take a toll on one, and even the antique ivory I used to use [brought up] so many issues, that when a friend asked me if I could paint tiles, I said "Why not?" … "Tiles by Mimi" was born.

R&T: What is your artistic background (past experiences, education, etc)?
Mimi: In high school, a few people asked me if they could buy or order small works in pen and ink and watercolor. That was encouraging! Mom had me block print Christmas cards by the hundreds. I enjoyed mass producing my prints, exhausting but satisfying. Despite my parent's fears (they wanted me to be a teacher or librarian), I was determined to major in drawing and painting at California State University at Long Beach. I loved printmaking (silk screening, block printing and etching), watercolor, pen and ink, life drawing, oil and acrylic painting. I graduated in 1971.

R&T: What is your favorite/preferred craft medium?
Mimi: From the time I was out of college, I taught children's art for local art associations. I worked at a silk screen printing company in Santa Clara, CA, and learned how to put anything I could draw or photograph on a silkscreen. I design T-shirts and cards this way. Often I hand paint them, but have never marketed them into a steady income. Finally, I ran into a scrimshaw company that needed artists that could draw big cats. I looked up the word "scrimshaw" and felt I could probably do that, and immediately had the best job I could ever want. Tiny etchings on ivory cabochons were what I did best. That's when I found out about Rings & Things! I needed a bolo back to put a scrimshaw ram on, and was told by a friend in Jackson Hole, WY to call R&T. You sent me several [bolo backs], and told me to pay for the ones I wanted to keep! I have loved the company ever since!

R&T: Describe your style/work.
Mimi: I hand paint, carve, and silkscreen every kind of tile design my customers or I can think of. I also work as a special education teacher in San Bernardino, to keep the feast and famine of the artist's life at bay. I teach [extra-curricular] art after school to my middle-school students as well.

R&T: What's your favorite part of doing business with R&T?
Mimi: The R&T catalog that comes every year. I can't resist your supplies or your trunk sales [BeadTour shows]! I went to the Pilchuck Glass School, near Seattle, and learned about making glass jewelry, including dichroic glass and experimenting with Art Clay™ Silver and Gold. Using these things, I enjoy making unusual bead strands and one of a kind cabochons. The wonderful people of R&T are friendly and helpful every step of the way. The staff has advice when you need it, and I love meeting them when they are down this way. One of the highlights of my life was meeting Russ at the Disneyland Hotel, years ago. I called his room and when he came down, we both discovered we were dressed the same: ponytails, tie-dyed T-shirts, Levi's and sandals! What great style!

R&T: What does beading/jewelry/crafting mean in your life? Where do you find most of your inspiration and design ideas? Anything else you'd like to say?
Mimi: When I have the chance to get away to a new or extra beautiful location, my favorite thing to do is paint with watercolor. The effort involved absorbs me totally, and is a true escape into my passion - mixing colors and observing the designs of nature and light.

Fulfill Your Fall Fashion Needs

Our upcoming 2006 Fall Supplement is packed with stylish beads and findings! New Swarovski® squaredelle spacers and square crystal links prove how hip it is to be square. Bold new beads and pendants made of wood, horn and nut provide a chic, organic look that's hot. Plus, new sterling silver beading chain, available in two diameters, allows you to string beads directly onto chain.

Find these and more in our Fall Supplement, arriving in mailboxes around September 18th.

Crafters Continue to Recover after Katrina Anniversary

August 29, 2006 marked the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's devastating blow to the US Gulf Coast. Artists and craftpeople from affected areas continue to deal with displacement, relocation, long-term health hazards, housing shortages and property loss. The Crafts Emergency Relief Fund (CERF) continues to help!

CERF was founded in 1985 by Carol Sedestrom Ross (then president of American Craft Enterprises), Marilyn Dintenfass (ceramist) and Josh Simpson (glass blower). Their goal was to build upon the existing grassroots tradition of "passing the hat" at craft events for fellow artisans dealing with emergency situations. Since its inception, CERF has provided over one million dollars worth of funds, equipment, services and supplies to artisans in need.

Every September galleries, artists and online merchants nationwide work to raise funds for CERF through a series of auctions, raffles, parties and other fundraising events. For more information, check out their Web site. Rings & Things is proud to be a CERF donor since 2000.

Since Katrina hit last year, CERF has offered almost $300,000 worth of assistance to over 100 artists affected by the hurricane, including jewelry artists. In addition, they have added two new services to their easy-to-use Web site: the Exchange Marketplace and Gulf Coast Stories. The Exchange Marketplace is a virtual bulletin board that "connects craft artists in crises with the generosity of individuals, organizations and businesses that support the craft arts." The market is divided into three categories. "Beneficiary Needs" provides a space where those in need can post what items and/or services would most help them get back on their feet. "General Offerings" is where donors can list goods and services they're willing to provide. And finally, the "Opportunities" category is a space for listing job, exhibition, residency and other offers.

CERF's second new Web service, Gulf Coast Stories, is a blog space where crafts people affected by the 2005 hurricanes can tell their own stories. "Each artist is given their own blog to journal about their experiences and facilitate a public discourse around the recovery and rebuilding process."

Of course, not just small businesses were affected by Katrina's devastation. Some larger companies are still recuperating as well, including the manufacturers of Soft Flex® stringing cable. Because one of their plants was hard hit by the hurricane, Soft Flex is still having difficulties producing some varieties of their wire. In their own words: "Due to quality issues, we have stopped the production of Soft Flex 24K Gold and Sterling Silver 925 Flex Wire. The integrity of our product is as important to us as it is to you. When given the option, we always choose quality first, and will not provide our designers with inferior merchandise ... We appreciate your loyalty and continue to work towards providing you with the quality of products that you deserve."

Hot New Items: Improved Online Format

Don't want to wait for our quarterly supplements to get the scoop on what's new? We now provide online links to every new item we add to our product line. Visit our Hot New Items page for a great way to preview what's not yet in print. Plus, catch Web-only specials.

Coming soon — home page improvements. Watch for them!

Recent E-mail Slowdowns: R&T Fights a Joe-Job Jam

We dislike spam (electronic junk mail) as much as anyone! Unfortunately, someone is sending spam in our name. We were recently hit by what computer technicians call a Joe job. In Canada, the term "Joe job" has long meant a low-paying, dead-end job. But in the world of the Internet, "Joe job" refers to a specific type of cyber sabotage. Essentially, a Joe job is a form of identity theft in which someone sends volumes of spam using someone else's name and e-mail address as that of the sender.

Joe jobs were first perpetrated in 1997. They can seriously damage both a company's reputation (through slanderous misuse of its name and address) and its operating system. Joe jobs typically result in the victim receiving an overload of e-mail bounce-backs, which overload the victim's computer network, creating a denial-of-service attack. At their worst, Joe jobs can result in victims losing Web-site hosting or network connectivity, as a result of complaints against them.

The recent attack against Rings & Things has caused delays in our ability to send out e-mail and, at times, has slowed our server to a crawl, even forcing us to reboot parts of it. Our IT team and our Web hosting provider are working together and have found ways to prevent most of the bounce-backs and to reject spoofed e-mail. A few additional solutions will be implemented over the next few weeks. In the meantime, we apologize for any delays in our ability to respond to questions or comments you may have sent us via e-mail.

For more information, and to see what you can do if you ever become a Joe-job victim, check out Wikipedia and sitepoint.com's article "Sabotage! Coping With The Joe-Job".

Thanks!

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