January 12, 2013 Guild Minutes

Members attending: Jean Whitmore, Jan Jaecks, Fred Beeson, Lori Beck, Catherine Easton, Mary Howell, Joan Johnson, Sharon Vandenack, Henda Pretorius, Jan Tooker, Linda Carlson, Patricia Miller, Peggy Junker, Mandy Binder, Cheryl Rennick, John Geppert, Gayle Mason, Jane Mailand and Sue Ranta.

 

The meeting was called to order by Co-President, Linda Carlson who thanked Catherine and Mary for their service of the past year. She also thanked Mary Howell for continuing as co-president and working with her.

 

Sue Ranta read the Minutes of December 2012 meeting. There were two changes to the minutes.

 

1)  Cheryl Rennick is also a signatory on the financial accounts.

 

2)  Jan Tooker will continue as Corresponding Secretary.

 

Cheryl Rennick presented the Treasurer's report.

The annual Sales Tax report is due January 21, 2013, which Cheryl will complete.  Cheryl has also obtained the debit card for our checking account.   Jan said she will use this to set up the PayPal account and ETSY account.

 

In case anyone has seen it, Cheryl is still looking for the DVD and case, “Warping Your Loom.”

 

Winter classes begin today. There is a basic weaving class and an Advanced Basic Weaving class.  We need to be aware at the end of our meetings that the Basic class is beginning and to quietly and quickly exit the classroom.

 

Our upcoming rug show is October 1-31 with an open house October 4. The theme is Nature. The group will display wall hangings and other things as well as rugs.

 

Sheep to Shawl Practice was held at Catherine’s house on Saturday, January 5^th. It was a fun and educational day as the carders carded clean wool, the spinners spun the roving into yarn and Catherine and Jan Tooker wove the wool into a shawl using the overshot pattern Wagon Wheels, which dates back to 1800.Thanks to Catherine, we shared champagne as we discussed better ways for next time. We completed our shawl within the rules of the actual Sheep to Shawl contest, which will be held in Colorado this coming summer.

 

Floor repair – Cheryl Rennick reported that her husband, Will, estimated $500 - $600 to clean and remove the glue off the floor.

 

Jan Tooker reported that she talked to a painting contractor who would bring in a three-man crew to clean and prepare the floor for $1,000. They would charge an additional $1200 to $1800 to resurface the floor. No decision was made about what to do about the floor. Cheryl and Joan Johnson have purchased a runner that goes from the Education room to the North weaving room so we don’t have to walk on the glue.

 

Next meeting we need to select someone who is willing to put together a photo album from Sue’s photos and contact sheets. Sue suggested that the photos be filed with the paper copies of the minutes of the meeting where the show and tell items were photographed. Others who take photos should send them to Sue so she can incorporate them into the contact sheets, which will be a visual history of our organization.

 

Photo project – Sue Ranta has volunteered to photograph your work for the upcoming rug show as well as past projects you have completed. The photos will be used for our advertising purposes in brochures and booklets as well as a CD copy of your images for your own uses. The photos will be taken in a professional studio with controlled lighting and will not show clamps or other hanging methods used. Mandy Binder has offered to prepare the pieces for hanging. Once there are 15 or more pieces ready, Sue will take them to a friend’s photo studio along with a couple of helpers, to photograph your works. You may bring in works finished years ago as well as recent projects. There is a form to fill out so we have information about your piece should you wish to hang it for display or sale. Deadline is April 1 to get your pieces in so they can be quickly photographed and returned to you. Sue will be unavailable in part of May and June and needs the time to prepare the photos for the rug show brochure and show.

 

Possible move to new studio -John Geppert then presented our financial situation to the group to see if we could afford to move into new space. Photos of a potential new space at 40th and O were passed around for everyone to see. The owner expects to charge us $800 per month if we were to rent it. With 40 Guild members each paying $30 per year, and 20 Studio members each paying an additional $150 per year, we currently bring in $4200.

 

Our classes, sales, and other sources bring in about $1000 revenue per year.

 

Tax deductible donations are asked for and always welcome, but not something we can count on.

 

John noted that were we to move and take on the additional rent expense, we would go broke in three years. As it is, we need to find some alternative revenue or we will go broke in eleven years.

 

John has played with the numbers and come to the conclusion that we would need to raise the annual Studio fees to $300 - $500 per person (40 members) per year which would total $12,000 to $20,000 annual income so we could afford a space charging $800 per month ($9600 per year) and still be able to pay our utilities and other expenses. The $800 per month works out to $2.50 a square foot, much lower than the going rate of $14   - $18 per square foot currently charged for retail space. Donations on an annual basis could help keep the per person increases lower.

 

Much discussion followed. Some people stated they simply could not afford such a raise in dues and would leave the organization if necessary. Others expressed that they liked our current location much more than raising our Studio fees.

 

In short, it was decided through discussion that we could not at this time afford to move into other quarters even though the space we liked was discounted for us by $400 per month by the owner. No vote was taken. Discussion centered on the idea that we would rather keep our membership intact than lose members by raising our rates.

 

Survey- John will send out a survey to determine how much each member would be willing and able to afford to raise our dues and/or studio fees to help keep us in business. Also the question will be asked as to the amounts of potential donations or gifts one might donate to help the studio. Any responses will be kept confidential and only overall information will be shared.

 

Jan Tooker will send the survey through email and regular mail for those without email. You should complete and mail back to John Geppert, 7440 N Hampton Rd, Lincoln 68506 via regular mail (not email).

 

We did not have time for Sharon Valencia’s presentation that is to help us make decisions about our future.  Sharon will discuss our mission, what and who we are not, and what and who we want to be as a guild, so we can set goals for the future.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Sue Ranta

Recording Secretary