China Clarifications

OK, I just read your comments on Monday’s blog, and I want to clarify a couple of things. 

First, we are not thinking about opening up a market in China for selling at this point in time. The regulations in place for direct selling are so different there than most other countries, it’s just not possible for us right now. Maybe someday, but not anytime soon.

Second, I will always choose US-made products whenever feasible. Just last year I opened our new rubber stamp manufacturing facility to produce our core product--not overseas--but in Kanab, Utah. For years, I bucked the notion of going into China for product, but there came a point a few years ago when it became very evident that if we wanted to stay in business, we would have to make that move. That is the reality of doing business in today’s world.

Even today, when we choose manufacturers, we look at more than price. We look at quality, shipping time, order quantities, and other issues. We don’t always go with the lowest bid prices. In addition, there are some products that we can’t even get anywhere but China. And other products made in the United States whose quality is so inferior that we couldn’t in good conscious offer them to our demonstrators and customers. 

Our decision to hire staff members in China was based on two main desires. First and foremost, we wanted to ensure that the products we are getting from China met our standards of quality and safety. Steve and Fayer will do onsite inspections—inspecting both the facilities and the products that are manufactured in those facilities. We have not had that ability before. We’ve always inspected products once we’ve received them here, but we have had no control over the environment where the products are being produced before.

Second, currently we are working through third-party vendors who are brokering the manufacture of these products, and we are paying premium prices (which are still much lower than the prices we can find anywhere in the United States, by the way). If we can work directly with the manufacturers, we can negotiate lower prices when possible and better control the quality. 

We have hired people we know and trust, and people who have years of experience. We brought them over here so they could understand more completely our culture and our commitment to quality and safety. Steve and Fayer are not consultants; they will not be working for any other companies. They are working exclusively for Stampin’ Up!, and they are completely dedicated to us—and our demonstrators and customers.

I hope that clarifies some issues. I understand the concerns you’re expressing and thank you for your honest feedback and concerns. I am proud and honored to be associated with people who genuinely care about the world around them. 

Welcoming New Employees

Meet Fayer Lee and Steve Chan, our new Stampin’ Up! employees—in China! Is that cool, or what? (Steve’s new wife is also in the picture.)

We’ve been working on this for several months, ever since four of us from the home office spent more than a week in China, visiting a huge manufacturing exhibit, contacting vendors, and exploring the possibilities. We met some fantastic people (including Steve and Fayer), made some great contacts, and came back very excited about the possibilities.

Steve and Fayer visited us at the home office, receiving training and getting to know everyone better. I had lunch with them, which is when we snapped this picture. Their main job at this point is to help us find the best pricing--and quality--for the products we offer that are made in China. So, I guess I need to start learning to speak Chinese now. . . . 

An Update on Dad

It’s been raining here all day, and I’m not sure if I’m mellow because of the dreary skies (I do love the sunshine) or if I’m heavy-hearted because of my dad’s condition; he came down with pneumonia earlier this week, so he's not progressing as quickly as we'd hoped. Either way, if I sound a little negative, I’m really not. It’s just that watching my dad with tubes going in and out of his body and unable to effectively communicate makes me feel so helpless. And you all know how I like to solve the world’s problems and “make it all better.”

The doctor says that Dad’s chest x-rays still don’t look good. He assumes the smoke damage is what caused the pneumonia and is hopeful that Dad will start to improve so the skin grafting on his hands can take place on Monday or Tuesday. That means I will be blessed to spend time with him every morning (I take the morning shift and his wife, Justine, takes the afternoon shift) for a couple more weeks.

Dad’s hands look good (or as good as they can look after being badly burned) with no signs of infection, and his faceimproves amazingly every day. Because he’s on a ventilator and has more tubes attached to him than I can count (filling him with all kinds of medication, nutrition, and sedatives) most of his time is spent sleeping.

We (I) visit about simple things, and I massage his head and rub his feet with lotion in between periods of rest. Other than playing “twenty questions” and Dad nodding yes or no, it’s pretty quiet when someone isn’t torturing (that’s what the nurses call it) him when they re-dress or perform therapy on his hands, give him a cold bed bath, and a dozen or so other minor procedures.   

Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers on my father’s behalf. My family and I are grateful for your love and support.  

A Utah Fall

I hope you like the new web design; I thought it was fitting for this time of year. I love fall; it’s one of my favorite times of year! It would probably be my favorite season, but it never lasts long enough and I know what’s coming as soon as fall is over—winter. And winter is NOT my favorite season, so that kind of puts a damper on my feelings for fall. (smile)

One of the reasons I love fall is the changing of the colors, and Utah is known for its fabulous fall colors. Almost every year we head up the canyon (only a 10-minute drive from our house) to enjoy all the colorful leaves, and this year was no different. Sterling and I actually went up the canyon on Sunday, and it was so breathtaking, we knew we had to invite the kids to go with us. So yesterday we took everyone in the family who is close enough to come, and we had a family Dutch Oven dinner, surrounded by Mother Nature’s own creative decorating.

It was a wonderful evening, and the colors were incredible. It was a little colder than we thought it would be—it probably dropped 15 or 20 degrees in the short drive from the house to the secluded little campground we selected. While Sterling cooked up his normal delicious Dutch Oven treat, the boys hiked the trails, I snuggled with Phoebe, Grandpa tried to keep warm, and we made a fun family memory.

A few highlights (although every minute was great!)—three-year-old Ashton dragged the kids’ chairs over to the picnic table bench, saying that could be “their table” (I thought that was adorable); Sterling, Jon, Jason, and Shalae tried to break up a large log into firewood by parking the truck on it and jumping up and down on the bumper, while Ashton looked on, as if wondering how many Gardners it takes to cut firewood with a truck (I thought that was hilarious); and the chance to take several family photos that will help us remember Fall 2008. 

A Family Moment

My church teaches that families can be together forever, and today I got up early and flew to St George, Utah, to be with my brother and sister-in-law when they were sealed to each other, and to their twin babies, Jace and Jenna.

Cody is the youngest of seven; I’m the oldest, and I loved this photo of us with the twins (four months old).  

We used to think we were a big family—until we met Shelley. Shelley is one of 16 children, all from the same mother and father! You can see it’s a pretty large group.

Although not all of my family was there (Dad was in the hospital and my brother Kurt and my sister Vonna couldn’t make it), it was one of the many occasions when I’m reminded how much I love my family.