Where has the year gone to?

Sometimes it seems as if the year has simply flown by, and other times it feels like is has been 2005 forever!
2005, was quite busy. The year started off quite well for us, lots of uncertainty, but well none-the less. In late spring Alison had wrist surgery, which took here out of the production rotation, leaving us with just myself to run the casting and mold making operations. Then as summer approached, Alison and Liam left for Wisconsin – to look after our house while some repairs/upgrades were being performed. With Alison in Wisconsin and myself in California, HistoriFigs was back to a solo operation; I was covering casting, mold making, shipping and most of the bookkeeping. Needless to say I was behind schedule almost all of the time. As summer began to draw to a close, a job opportunity sprang up here in Wisconsin, and so the move was on. We had expected to move here at some point, but really did not know when that might be – the job market, isn’t any better here than it is in California – but I found a job with a company that I really like, so it has all worked out well.

Now, we had planned to shutdown HistoiFigs operations for only a few weeks – time to pack, time to move and time to get setup again. Well, packing time took longer than I thought it would. Actual moving time was what we had expected, but setup time is much longer than I had hoped for. We still do not have a winterized workspace for casting or mold making. Sorting and Packing has moved to the basement, so now we won’t get frostbite when sorting and packing out orders. Mold making will also move to the basement, one I find a mover to move the vulcanizer down to the basement. The stairs are too steep for me to move the equipment down. Failing to locate a mover, I will simply disassemble the machine and move it down on piece at a time – I figure that will take me most of a day – but not before Christmas, perhaps over the New Year’s weekend (if I don’t find a moving service by then). That just leaves winterizing the casting shop. I’ve re-drawn the plans, and figure I can have an insulated workspace setup with just a few days worth of work (just one more wall to build, and add stringers for the ceiling – plus insulation…) The storage room can remain lesser, or un-insulated this winter. So, we are on the path to a restart of “normal” operations…

Around the first of 2006, we will roll out our restart plan. For now, I’ll just say that we will be restarting in stages and that not all ranges will be available right away. More details will follow in January – both here and in a mailing to all of our customers.

We want to thank all of you for your continued support and wish all of you a happy and healthy holiday season, and may the new year bring you continued happiness.

Mike, Alison and Liam — HistoriFigs