People must be back in blogging mode — LOTS of good stuff this week. Yippee!!

First, two posts having nothing specifically to do with lampworking, but which contain some very good advice:

• Lynn Truong’s guest post at Zen Habits discusses 5 things to consider when setting this year’s goals.
• J Wynia shares the power of the sandbox as a place to experiment.

Now, the best of the lampworking blogs this week!

• Elaine Ray shares her personal goals for 2008 at Art Bead Scene.
• Ottersflame continues her ruminations on fear and texture for Watch Me Create.
• Lauren Bailey talks about winter and inspiration, and dancing around the kitchen while baking cookies.
• Need a challenge to get you going again?  Check out Creative Every Day 2008.
• Lydia Muell shares her struggle with the concept of a “fresh new year” for Watch Me Create.
• The Etsy Storque’s latest Shop Makeover Series article is about photographing for success.
• Mike Aurelius continues his campaign for safe lampworking with basic safety guidelines.
• Do you choose your style or does it choose you?  Deanna Chase asks at Collective Creatives.
• We get another Glass Class 101 lesson from ShebaMakeda this week on annealing our beads.
• Finally, Gwacie and Frostfire collaborate on a story of two glassworkers and some glass.

Until next week!

From Flaming Hot!

How do you track the progress of your glass business? Do you set goals and benchmarks to be reached? Do you have detailed directives? Do you just plod along and let it happen? Tell us what you do to keep your business thriving. Blog it!

Up until now I haven’t really had goals and benchmarks for my glass business. The “business” part of it just sort of happened. A year or so after I started lampworking, I started selling the occasional bead or set, and that made me realize that it was becoming an endeavor that had best be made a legal and proper business. So in summer 2006 I got the tax ID numbers and business license and such, and started filing the necessary paperwork for sales tax and such.

For 2007 I didn’t formally set out any goals for the year. I thought I’d try out a show or two, maybe a couple of auctions, and see what happened. So I did, and a few things happened — enough for me to decide that this is worth continuing.

It’s almost 2008, and maybe it is time to think about some more concrete goals — get more specific about shows, about online sales, about a better plan to keep it organized. But I will make the main goal to enjoy what I am doing, and not let it get out of the hand so that it stresses me out!

Definitely in holiday mode, but there were some good posts this week even so!

• New Watch Me Create contributor Otter introduces herself and her working philosophy.
• Gwacie brilliantly babbles about her goal-setting thought process.
• Cosmo gives us a hint of something to look forward to a year from now.
• Lori Greenberg presents the latest installment in her Setting Goals series.
• Annette Piper muses about motivation for Collective Creatives.
• Finally, one of Lori’s customers points out that not everyone gets to work in a rainbow every day!

Enjoy!!