Welcome to Team Perlman

In an effort to stay more connected to friends and family, Jess and I will write summaries about what is going on in the world of Team Perlman. This might include updates on us, our parents, famlily...or even you! So thanks in advance to checking us out from time to time and we look forward to seeing you in cyberspace!

much love,

Corey and Jess
Team Perlman

Gilda's Club

Jess has done a great job in seeking out opportunities for us to get involved with our community and with great organizations. This one was no exception. Gilda's Club (named after the great Gilda Radner) is a country-wide organization that supports people and their families who are stricken or affected by cancer. They live by the mission that Gilda did which is through love, support, community and laughter, you have control over the cancer, it does not control you. This was such a perfect match for us as I think my mom and Gilda were soul sisters and this is exactly the way my mom dealt with her cancer - by surrounding herself with the friends and family she loved.

Specifically, we were approached to help get the adult-youth program off the ground. Many people under the age of forty are battling cancer and may not even know that there is a community of people in their backyard waiting to help and support them. Even with two battles with cancer in my own family, I had not even heard of Gilda's Club. We are out to change all of that. I'm excited about this opportunity to help create awareness about this phenomenal organization. More to come!

Corey
Co-Founder, Team Perlman

A Place to Worship

Jess and I have been searching high and low for a place where both a Catholic and a Jew could feel completely comfortable and close to God. We think we've finally found that place at Renaissance Unity Church. We went to services last week and it was such a diverse crowd - we loved it! The message centered around working to align our soul, thoughts, feelings, words, actions, etc. and to concentrate more on alignment than on the outcomes we are searching for. That message reminded us to not worry as much about the results of running a pottery business, rehabbing homes, writing books, etc. but instead to do them as who we are and what we value. A good reminder as we continue our journey toward inner peace and a stronger connection with God.

Much love,

Corey and Jess

My Latest Winter Challenge

As many of you know each winter I select an athletic challenge to support a worthy cause. This year I selected the St. Anthony's Triathlon in St. Petersburg Florida on April 27th. I have been training very hard for this event since November and can't wait to cross the finish line! Over the past few months many of you have donated and I wanted to THANK YOU for that. Every donation means so much to me and goes directly to help support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and anyone suffering from blood cancers.

Fundraising can be tough especially when you have to raise over $3,000! So this year I took a different approach and started marketing my fundraisers to my customers and tying a little publicity into my business at the same time. So far, the exposure opportunities have been great! I was published in the local paper (see Pic above) when I held a fundraisier in my storefront window. It was called Spin for a Cause, and I rode on my bike for 4 hours straight while collecting donations and the attention of anyone on the street walking by. The amazing thing about this event was that customers would come up and tell me about a friend or family member that they lost to the disease. I even had a few of my regular customers come up and share this with me, I would have never known they had a family member suffering. I had no problem pushing through the pain after I heard some of those amazing stories. I also had an interview today with another local paper that plans to do a story on my efforts so I will be sure to post that when it runs within the next week!

Interested in donating? There's still time to visit my site and make a donation for this great cause: http://www.active.com/donate/tntmi/teamperlman

Project Hwoods!

Project hWOODS! Ok, we have started work on our second project - hWOODS! This was a foreclosure and was pretty rough when we arrived. As you can see, nasty carpet, interesting paint colors and no toilets in both bathrooms!?!!? Well you know what they say, where there is no toilets, there is opportunity! As always, we busted out the sledgehammer and took care of the demo...take a look!

And here's the after!

Project Bham!

This was our first rehab project. Such a cool house in a swanky neighborhood. The previous homeowner was in love with glass block and had it scattered throughout the house. He even had a glass block wall that went directly through the middle of the house (you'll see in pics below). With the help of my bro-in-law John, we took them down peice by peice and sold them on craig's list for a buck a block! Can you believe we had over 800 glass block pieces when all was said and done? unbelievable. With my partner (Andrew Tocco) we spent many days breaking and tearing down anything we could get our hands on. It was my first time demoing anything and, if you haven't had a chance to smack a sledgehammer through a bathroom wall, I'd highly recommend it. I think i busted every stress bubble in my body. It was awesome.

We let the professionals put it all back together and below you'll see the finished product. Enjoy!





And the after of the front yard!





Here's the glass block wall!



The old master bath and my theraputic demo!






And the NEW Master Bath:





Old Guest Bath (It was vintage and cool, but didn't go with the new flow...it had to go):





And the NEW Guest Bath:


And the old backyard:



And the new (we got rid of the deck and put in new brick pavers, new sod, and built that structure off the house from the ground up!):




And finally, the official flyer! What a ride it has been...



Much love,

Jess and Corey
Team Perlman

Creatopia is 2yrs old today!

I can't believe it! Today Creatopia Pottery officially turns 2 years old and that can only mean one thing...I am an official business owner! I succesfully made it past my second year of business and through new efforts in growth and marketing I have taken my business to a whole new level. Here are just a few stats from our last year and what my goals are as we head into 2008!








2007 Goals Launched
We were a host to…
*Over 100 Birthday Parties
*23 Field Trip/Camp Programs
*15 Scout Programs
*2 Bridal Events per Month
*1 painting class per Month

We enhanced our studio by…
*Offering Creatopia on Wheels – participated in 5 offsite events!
*Introducing Table Colors (see pic above) - More of a self serve system then employee driven
*Using Non-Toxic Cleaners (Shaklee!)
*Updating our Pick-Up System (Thanks Mom!)

We took our business to a new level by…
*Consistently communicating with our customers
*Developing an eRelationship through our blog
*Capturing data for each visiting customer taking our email list from 400 to 900!

On the Launching Pad for 2008!
*Distribute a Monthly Calendar of Events (see pic to the right)
*Develop and Distribute a 6 month Painting Class Schedule
*Develop New and exciting Birthday Party Packages
*Introduce Clay/Wheel Throwing Workshops
-Dirty Valentine’s Day - Click Here to see my other blog posting on this!
*Move to a point of Sale System by June ’08
*Moving to 100% Non-Toxic Glazes
*Host two Charity events