newsletter header wide
HoofPrints Newsletter
June 3, 2015

Above is a scan of some wallpaper border that we found behind some wood paneling that we tore out in the kitchen of our old house. It was crumbling even as I touched it, but I kept it anyway. I wasn't sure why - this was the era before computers and scanners, so I never could have imagined that nearly 30 years later it would end up a beautiful background in a picture in a thing called a "blog".

Don't Look Back Necklace All over the internet are quotes about NOT looking back.
HoofPrints even carries a necklace that instructs: DON'T LOOK BACK THAT'S NOT WHERE YOU'RE GOING (that's for sale here).

But in the blog post I wrote today that is exactly what I am going to do.

I am going to look back. Again.


Last time I showed you pictures of our house before we bought it, and told the story about how that event came to pass (the purchasing of an abandoned house that was not for sale).

These days, Remodeling, Recycling, Reusing, Repurposing is all the rage. The internet is fairly bursting with websites and blogs full of ideas to facilitate this useful phenomenon. However, back in the late 1980's, keeping old crummy stuff around was not so cool. It was something us poor people did until we could afford new stuff. Or, instead of buying new, we took old, crummy things, and FIXED THEM so they were nice and new again. At least that was the idea. And it was a very messy process that we are still surviving to this very day.


The first step in fixing the old house on the hill was the messiest.
We tore out all the original plaster and lath. The wiring was ruined, the plumbing was ruined, and there was not a crumb of insulation in any of the walls. Laying the studs bare was the best way to gain access to install new wiring and plumbing, and to insulate against the cold. Every single room had a chimney and a (leaking) stovepipe opening. I can't imagine the amount of firewood the previous residents used to stay warm.

Here's our front doorway shortly after remodeling commenced. There's no actual door on it at this point; it's been removed so we could rake the debris out more easily. We started upstairs and worked our way down, so climbing the steps meant navigating this avalanche of plaster, lath and nails.

So... while we were newlyweds, childless career people who could only look forward to the days where our Remodeling, Recycling, Reusing, Repurposing would finally be behind us, little did we know that we'd one day give birth to a son who would willingly start the process. All. Over. Again. SMH <- that's "Shaking My Head".

Wanna read what happened next? Click here
 

The Dollar Sale continues, but this time I've added a stash of ONE OF A KIND ITEMS! I know I just sent a newsletter a few days ago (that's here). Please bear with me as I have a bit of a clutter conniption. I promise I won't make a habit of it...

Last month, at a time when most normal people were gearing up for a fun three day weekend, for some reason I was spazzing over all the clutter in the warehouse. In a fit of relative craziness, I've marked some pretty good stuff down to $1.00 or less. A lot of it sold already, but I replaced with more! There are now about a dozen ONE OF A KIND things on the Half Price Page that are insanely good deals at half price or below. Some are discontinued so not to be had anywhere else at any price! To see them click
here 

While your at it, check out the
FREE BUSINESS ITEM SAMPLES for FARRIERS! 
Try HoofPrints best-selling, most useful Farrier Business helpers for FREE
 
OK kids, last time I tried this it was a disaster - people who didn't even like horses were grabbing stuff up like hoarders. Let's see if it goes better this time on the new website. I've created a page of 8 FREE sample products for farriers.
Place an order for samples to try (shipping is FREE on samples) or add some to your regular order of other items. 
There is a limit of one each of the FREE items. (Yes, you can trick the website into letting you order more, but I will only send one of each.) This is a limited time, experimental offer. It's intended to offer folks a no-cost opportunity to try out our products. It may be discontinued at any time, so act now! 
See all the freebies here  
NEW! Tuff Chix Chore Gloves 
These have their own BIG STORY, too. I hated them when I first got the sample. I had it in my stash for quite a while, and I was disappointed that the fingers were a little too long. They were the correct size for me, and I have average hands, so I was concerned that there would be fit problems with my customers. And the material they were made of is so thin - I didn't see how they could possibly hold up to hard use. This surprised me, as the Tuff Chix fleece winter version by the same manufacturer is perfect in every way - fit, durability, design - nothing could be any better. I figured they just dropped the ball on these and tossed the sample back on the shelf after trying them on.

However, I had a big landscaping project to do the other day, so dug these out and forced myself to wear them - long fingers and all... By the time I finished I was sold. They'd sort of molded to my hands and the finger length problem went away! I was cutting rose bushes and scooping debris out of landscaping rock - these performed perfectly. I love them.

And now that I've worn them to do hot, sweaty work I have a different view of that fabric that I thought seemed flimsy. It's not flimsy, it's breathable. And that is a good thing. The backs are a nice mesh that lets the air through while still protecting your hands, there's a strip of extra padding over the knuckles. Palms are a suede-like synthetic that grips like leather but washes up a lot better. The sides of the fingers are another material - thinner, but still very protective. Very well designed and constructed gloves that beat leather hands down.

My customers tell me these are great for grooming, building fence, baling hay and other farm chores, gardening, and even riding!

To order, click here 

Clean Up CLOSEUP
MORE ITEMS ADDED to HALF PRICE SALE!
Clutter busting continues at HoofPrints

My efforts to clear the warehouse (and my house) of accumulated oddball products continues to gain momentum. I've written about it before. The point continues to be, sometimes the space becomes more valuable than the items that are occupying it. So this is where most places say... "our loss is your gain!" Well, check out this super-cheap stuff and BUY IT. And your gain will be my gain, too. Because I need that space on the shelf.

The Half Price Page is here - check this often as they're one-of-a-kind things that will sell quickly and be replaced with whatever else starts to get on my nerves. I am currently going through a large stash of samples* - so many wonderful things, it's hard to choose just a handful for the website/flyer. And the rest have got to go! Only one of each available so act fast if you see something you like. The image shown here is what was available at the time this newsletter was sent. All prices on this page are at least 50% off retail. The red SALE! tag doesn't show if a product has size or color options. Don't know why. Don't know how to fix it...

*A note about the samples - Someone made a comment on the HoofPrints Facebook page  that the samples are free to me and implied should thus be priced accordingly. Just to set the record straight - I pay for almost every sample I acquire. Occasionally an author or publisher will send me a book unsolicited, but I prefer to buy these anonymously so if I review and don't think it is a good fit for the product line, I don't feel guilty about not including it.

Half Price PRINTS are here - there are a lot of lovely prints languishing in drawers here that really should be hanging on folks' walls making them smile and beautifying their homes. Fall/winter is busy season here and I don't encourage print sales then - I don't have the extra time it takes to wrap these carefully for safe delivery. Now that Christmas is past, I've marked them way down now to sweeten the deal.

Copper HoofPrint Pony Bead Bracelets - colors Half Price JEWELRY is here 
The more I got to digging, the more I found. Jewelry doesn't take up much room - suffice to say there is a LOT of lovely stuff that needs to find a new home. Then there's that whole problem I have with the beads. It's getting worse. Stay tuned for details on that.

Half Price BOOKS & Magazine Back Issues here 
This represents a major turning point for HoofPrints owner Gina Keesling. This treasure trove of magazine back issues has been lovingly collected and hoarded for many, many years. It's getting to be a space problem, keeping them all stored AND due to the sheer volume of them, along with my busy schedule, they rarely get any attention. But even now, as I go through them to write sales descriptions, I am feeling sad at the prospect of letting go of this vast collection of pictures and articles about all the things I love - Horses, Dogs, Farriery and Blacksmithing, The West, Pretty Western Clothes and Jewelry, Awesome Country Homes, Recipes for Hearty Food, Healthy Living, Spirituality and more. I'll do my best to mention the content that stands out to me in the descriptions. Prices on these back issues reflect the fact that I am still very much in love with them, however they are at or below what the publishers are charging. The current sales list is small, but I'll be adding more as I am able; going through these is a slow process, as you can imagine, I get sidetracked frequently by all the fascinating content that lead me to hoard these in the first place. 

The Closeouts Page is here
It features overstocks, items that are being phased out - still lots of good deals to be had there, too
In This Issue
Here's what we talked about last time
What Did I Miss? graphic
Last newsletter is  here   
ALL newsletters are here
GINA'S BLOG
Fun on the Farm

read the latest happenings in the Keesling household, involving construction, destruction, remodeling adventures and general wreckage here
Mule & Donkey items
Donkey Charm
Check out this brass longear charm and more here
COFFEE & DOG HAIR
Dog Hair Travel Mug
I NEVER LEAVE HOME WITHOUT THEM
16 oz Ceramic Travel Mug with leakproof lid only $16.95 here
FARRIER TRAVEL MUG
Woodgrain Travel Mug
For those whose tool kit includes morning coffee, we have the perfect cup to take on the road. BIG 16 oz capacity, slim shape with no handle fits cup holders without problem. Rubber sealed lid - for leak free fit. Insulated and lined with stainless steel. Imprinted with our Tools of the Trade logo. Order here
DON'T do it yourself
FARRIER COASTERS

No farriers were harmed in the making of these coasters. To order click here
Look Professional
On The Job
Farrier Golf Shirt
Sturdy cotton golf shirts look and feel great! See our complete selection here
INSPIRATIONAL
Stretch Bracelets
Stretch Bracelets 4
Four fun styles to choose from here
PRINTED IN USA:
This Hug's For You

Equine Sympathy Cards here
Message
Gina Keesling with Clydesdale
I love hearing from customers. You can contact HoofPrints owner Gina Keesling via email at [email protected]
 
Find us on facebook
facebook logo
Be sure to LIKE our facebook page - it's where we announce special sales, breaking news and everything else we find interesting. To see it go here
 
Rob shoeing Rocky
ABOUT THE COMPANY AND THIS NEWSLETTER
Farriers Greeting Cards was started by Gina Keesling in 1986 (in a very small way) to provide helpful promotional materials for farrier husband Rob. Along the way the company became HoofPrints.com, too, adding a selection of fun horse and dog products geared toward women of a certain age. This newsletter is emailed to subscribers a few times a month, depending on how often I have something to share. Watch for special sales, interesting stories, uplifting quotes and more.
Share our emails
Viral marketing... it sounds bad, doesn't it?
You can ask my husband - a frequent topic around here is that of forwarded emails - and the psychology behind them - just WHAT prompts people to decide; "I am going to send this to everyone I know!".


We receive a lot of them. Some are pretty good, and others are dumb. Dumb in a myriad of ways...  Alarmist email rumors that have been around forever - that folks keep sending "just in case it's true" Pictures of someone's butt (or worse) - don't even get me started about the firecracker butt - but at least that one was timely when it showed up around July 4. Christian messages that are uplifting - until you get to the end and you're threatened "if you're not ashamed that you love Jesus, forward this - if you are, then delete." Pictures of cute puppies and kittens (awww)

I enjoy writing these newsletters - and sharing all this stuff with you all. But the fact is, it's also a way to help us stay connected with customers and sell products during the time between catalog mailings (which is only once a year) So I really, really like it when someone new stumbles upon the newsletter and is excited to "discover" our company and the products we offer.

In all my efforts to make the newsletter interesting and forward-worthy - it never occurred to me to JUST ASK you all to send it! Duh. Sometimes the obvious is elusive, I guess. So here goes - my request to ask you to forward our email newsletter to your horsey friends.  All we ask is that you please be judicious and only send to folks who might be interested. Otherwise we are no better than the "firecracker butt". Click to get started. (please note - using this form does NOT subscribe anyone to our list - it is a one-time only forward)