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HoofPrints Newsletter
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August 22, 2015
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I survived to make another! Presenting the 2016 Blacksmith Calendar
Thanks to everyone who stuck with me the last few years as I wrung my hands through this one. It's always a little scary to take on a project after someone else who has done it well. I was able to keep moving forward, thanks to all the encouragement and help along the way. The last two pages were the hardest (NOT shown above) - there was an extra spread after December. Here's some of what I came up with:
 "In reviewing hundreds of images from a variety of sources, I was stunned at the similarities of the faces - century old and modern came to look the same. Last year was my first year to attempt to repeat what my friend Gill started over 15 years ago; I am so appreciative of all the kind and encouraging words offered to me by the blacksmithing community. And I am honored at the confidence placed in my abilities by folks I've never met. As I spent hours looking at all these old pictures, it seemed even the men and women in the pictures were cheering me on, too, as I endeavored to share their legacies. Shown on the left is Bill Miller of Rochester, Washington. Bill's a longtime horseshoer, and a Farriers' Greeting Cards customer since our beginning. He started shoeing horses in 1947 and continues doing so to this very day. Bill graciously loaned me his entire collection of vintage photos for consideration on this calendar project. Next to him is an unknown blacksmith, a lookalike for sure, from a hundred+ year old postcard.  Not to be outdone - this year Bill offered to loan me his enormous collection of Vintage Blacksmith Magazines. Each one of these is a treasure in itself - with advertisements, articles, opinions and relevant quotations for the time. As I began the process of scanning the images on the pages, I quickly became enamored with the pithy statements in the "The Old Time Horseshoer Says" section that was featured each month in American Blacksmith and Tractor Shop. I soon discovered this was a gold mine in itself, though there were no images with the text. As I looked for ways to incorporate this timeless wisdom and humor in the calendar - I realized that most of the pictures that I had chosen coincidentally had a blank spot of floor at the bottom - an uninteresting space just begging for something clever. So here it is. Nearly all the months in the 2016 calendar include a clipping of "The Old Time Horseshoer Says" like the one shown here from November. You can see how this fits onto the page on a couple examples shown here.
The 2016 Blacksmith Calendar is at the printer now, and should be printed and shipping very soon. I'm celebrating the completion of this project by putting select calendar back issues on sale for just $1.99! This is a limited time offer, so don't wait to order. Details on all the calendars are here.
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Correcting a silly mistake:
Last time, I explained that the horse's eye is not very well understood - in fact, scientists just did notice that the eyes ROTATE in the horse's head so that the pupil stays oriented vertically to the horizon when he puts his head down to graze. Nobody brought it to my attention, but I cringed in horror when I re-read the newsletter after it had sent. Horse pupils orient HORIZONTALLY to the ground, NOT vertically. Predator pupils (think: cat's eyes) are oriented vertically, though scientists have yet to figure out exactly why the differences are so dramatic. Details here
I am no scientist, but I have always had a fascination with the structures of a horse's eye, so I had these necklaces made up by one of my favorite vendors - Lizabettas. The new Horse Eye Necklace, is available in four different chain colors for a limited time. Once I sort out which color is the favorite then the others will be discontinued, so if you have a particular affinity for brass, copper, gunmetal or silver you may want to order now here.
Lizabettas also makes four other necklaces for HoofPrints:
Found Vintage Necklace, featuring Walter Hunt's image of the print by the same name. You can order that here
Vintage Indian Horsewoman sold here
Pharaoh's Horses sold here
KEEP CALM AND RIDE ON sold here
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One of my all-time favorite sweatshirts - SADLY DISCONTINUED: BARN Girl
I love seeing HoofPrints garments on folks out riding their horses - much better than sitting here on the shelves. This one turned up on Facebook and it's got a special story. Shown above are R.T. (center) and Terry Fitch (right) with an unknown guide - in Outer Mongolia. R.T.'s an author, and Terry's an equine photographer, together they make a formidable team as advocates for wild horses everywhere. This trek took them to the unspoiled wilderness of Outer Mongolia - to document the reintroduction of the world's most primitive specimen of the wild horse. I'm honored that Terry chose our sturdy BARN Girl sweatshirt for the journey. More about their adventure is here.  In case you missed BARN Girl, it's an embroidered logo using this cute graphic of a gal hefting a bale of hay - while eager horses rip mouthfuls out - created by talented horse artist Lesley Bruce. Lesley's BARN girl is also featured as the "FEED" check box on our Horsewoman's Long Tall List Note Pad here. The black sweatshirt that Terry's wearing above utilizes a lovely cotton fabric that's printed all over with what looks like a massive stack of hay bales; that's sewn inside the letters B-A-R-N and intricately embroidered with the struggling girl and her greedy horses. The sweatshirt itself is trimmed in coordinating pale gold piping, and the hood is lined in gold. It's pricey at almost $60., but a lot have sold with nothing but praise coming from our customers. And this is not some wimpy number that needs pampering in the laundry. It's colorfast, washer and dryer safe, and it comes out the same size it was when you put it in. Manufacturer has discontinued this style and there are no more to be had anywhere. I am already sold out of size 2X. If you've been admiring this one, don't wait! To order click here
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Sometimes when I get stuck...
I ask HoofPrints Facebook fans for help
And that was the case last night as I attempted to create a long-overdue update to the website home page. The home page has traditionally been a collage of favorite products, carefully balanced (I hope) to catch the eye of THREE DIFFERENT target demographics: Farriers, Horse Lovers and Dog Lovers.
Picking representative images from the various product categories is both fun and harrowing because I always end up with stuff that doesn't really go together. At that point, it's the job of the background color to make those pictures play nice together.
 The red was my first choice - it gave a rich, holiday feel to everything - and Christmas will be here before we know it. But then I started second-guessing: That barn jacket with the blue denim shirt inside is one of my favorite ensembles for this coming season. I've not raved about the jacket yet because it's still being embroidered and I don't have stock on the shelves now, but it's due in next week and I'll be singing the praises then. I love-love-LOVE everything about this one. Which lead me to a blue background option - that shifted some emphasis onto the barn jacket...
 Back and forth I went... Finally, I made two versions and asked HoofPrints' Facebook fans which they liked best. What a wealth of insight that was - folks shared everything from information regarding color studies, to opinions on the psychological impact of color, even the pointing out of religious connotations. But most folks just weighed in with a simple "Red" or "Blue" vote.
At bedtime, it looked like the Red was the preferred color, by a small margin. So I posted the red image on the home page and went to bed. I don't know if the blue lovers are night owls or what - but by morning blue votes had gained a substantial lead. Right now, the red is still parked on the home page, but I am not sure if it will stay. Thanks to all of you who offered up an opinion - those who didn't can join the fun here.
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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. Please bear with me as I have a bit of a clutter conniption. I promise I won't make a habit of it...
This week, at a time when most normal people were gearing up for a fun holiday 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
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 catalog. And the rest have got to go! Only one of each available so act fast if you see something you like.
*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.
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 are 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 items that are being phased out - still lots of good deals to be had there, too.
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Here's what we talked about last time
Last newsletter is here ALL newsletters are here
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These just in...
Check out new products here
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GINA'S BLOG
Fun on the Farm
read the latest happenings in the Keesling household, involving construction, destruction, remodeling adventures and general wreckage here
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When they're gone - they're gone...
Don't miss one you've been wanting - sadly, some favorites have been discontinued with no replacement - see them here
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NEW! Horsey Gift Wrap Assortments
These awesome gift wrap collections were designed by a lifelong horse owner, whose career happened to be in packaging design - so all the details are just right! More info here
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Horse Lovers Bible
Leather bound Bible is gift boxed - it's the bestselling NIV version with additional 12 pages of horse photos accompanied by inspirational thoughts and scripture verses.
Bible Pocket Partners
31 days of meaningful devotional pages - perfect for cowboys and cowgirls of all ages! HoofPrints Christian products are here
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NEW BOOK! Great Horse Stories for Girls
Fourth in the series of Christian Horse Stories by Montana Horsewoman Rebecca Ondov - available here |
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NEW! Tuff Chix CHORE GLOVES
great for grooming, building fence, baling hay and other farm chores, gardening, and even riding! To order, click here
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HoofPrints
BARN BLADE
Never ride faster than your guardian angel can fly
Order here
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DON'T do it yourself
FARRIER COASTERS
No farriers were harmed in the making of these coasters. To order click here
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It's Back! HOLLYWOOD HOOFBEATS
New updated version includes 10 more years of horse movies - to order click here
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Don't Look Back
That's Not Where You're Going - Inspirational Necklace only $14.95 here
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This Hug's For You
Equine Sympathy Cards here
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SUMMER HORSEY Ts
3 Summery Horsey T-shirts less than $15 each here!
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MADE IN USA
Secret Box
Nifty little wood box has a lid that fits so neatly that it's virtually invisible when closed. A real deal at only $19.95 here
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Message
I love hearing from customers. You can contact HoofPrints owner Gina Keesling via email at gina@hoofprints.com |
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ABOUT THE COMPANY AND THIS NEWSLETTERFarriers 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.
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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)
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