by Jesse S. Hanson (Sr.)

The reason is… bluehomeartworks.com is finally up and running. It’s a website—it’s an online store—it’s a blog/newsletter!

And it’s now open; please come and visit. There, you can read “About”, all about us, and you can shop—easily. And Jesse has just posted the first blog, which tells the story of how Jesse and Lilasuka conceived of the shop and how they made their move back to New Vrindaban.

You can read the entire article at this link: http://www.bluehomeartworks.com/bluehome/blog/the-bluehome-blog/3-creativity-gets-a-new-home-called-bluehome-in-west-virginias-.html but here we’ve just included those parts that are quite relevant to the current status of the shop and to its consignors and customers. As many of you know, the BlueHome Artworks consignment gift shop first opened in May 2012, for the weekend of the New Vrindaban Festival of Inspiration.

Some notes about and to our Consignors:

The BlueHome Artworks consignors are wonderful people. They are the people who design and create wonderful things and bring them to us to sell. They are artists, artisans, crafts persons, writers, musicians. Lilasuka and I want to take this opportunity to thank them—to thank you and to tell you how valuable you are to your community—your communities, wherever you are located. As if in affirmation of this, an incident came about that I would like to mention.

Unexpected Blessings

We’d only been open for a short time, when Nityodita ji came into the shop bringing Maharaja Radhanath Swami with him. For anyone who is unfamiliar, Radhanath Swami is one of the very beloved Gurus/Spiritual Teachers in the Krishna Conscious movement. American born, he has received international attention, in part through His selfless service of creating an organization in India that feeds millions.

Though we’d only met before by way of introduction, and scarcely spoken, he treated me like an old friend, even gave me a hug. He remarked that the shop space had a special feeling to it and went on to say that He felt that we would create a renaissance.

We’re Just Getting Started

In this regard also, I would like to continue to address the consignors and potential consignors. I would like to ask for your patience and continued cooperation in this effort. In the very short time that the store has been operating, there have been the typical ups and downs. Some items have sold well, while others have not. Some have sold well for a time and then not so well for another period. These fluctuations are natural, but Lilasuka and I believe that the shop will flourish, given time and a great effort on our parts to put all the pieces of the strategy together—promoting and advertising (both through local and regional venues as well as online), continuing to make improvements in the appearance and efficiency of the physical store, receiving a continuing supply of quality of products, having a great variety of products, etc. This website, itself, is literally an online store that, if we handle and promote it well, can be a great tool for marketing and selling your products on an ongoing basis, whereas the physical location is currently, as we all know, hot and cold with the fluctuations of traffic to New Vrindaban. So hard work and patience is the virtue here, I would say. If we say, “Well the season is over,” that will not help to perpetuate the development of BlueHome Artworks. But, if instead we remain positive and continue to provide the shop with new creations and replacement items for the ones that we sell, I think perhaps the sky is the limit.

To our Dear Friends and Customers

This brings us to the customers who’ve already shown much interest and support for BlueHome Artworks. Of course, we’re rather nothing without you. As already mentioned, this first blog post is, in part, to announce the opening of our website and online store, bluehomeartworks.com. Although you all love traveling here for weekend getaways and festivals, not so many of you actually live in the vicinity. So now we invite you to continue in your support and love of art and craft, as well as in your support of the maintenance and growth of the New Vrindaban community. When you’re thinking of gifts for friends and loved ones, or as you shop for items for your home, we hope you will remember BlueHome Artworks and come to bluehomeartworks.com, even when you can’t come physically to New Vrindaban. With your continued support, the shop can grow and thereby do its part in furthering the development of the New Vrindaban Community. We believe that in this way, by your supporting the arts and crafts, the shop will also help to enhance the experience of your visits to our beautiful area and our beautiful spiritual community.