Studio Business

 

A relatively nice day today (clear, but cold) and I was thinking about going up to the Studio to do some work on this year's holiday card.  But I still haven't got a design yet, and that can be done at home under better conditions.  Still, I had things to do, so I decided to take my car, get some gas, and stop by the Studio while I was out.  I knew Nichole is going on vacation soon (if not already), so today might be my last chance to see her before then.  I had gotten a mass email earlier today about a movie tonight at the building, so maybe she would be there.

So I got up there around noon and it's a good thing I did.  Right away I noticed that my tack board was hanging with the top about 8 inches from the wall, completely unattached.  It wasn't that way the last time I was there, and I wasn't sure how long it would remain up.  Now it was just held in place by the two big screws at the bottom corners.  Not good.  And no one was in the office while I was there.  The two tack boards (I got one for Molly as well) were hung on the walls by the building, so I decided it was up to the building to repair it, whether that be now or taking it down completely and putting it back up later.  These were made of homosote, which is a thick board made from recycled cardboard, inexpensive and excellent for holding works with tacks and pushpins.  It was used all over OCC, until a fire inspection told them they had to trim everything because it was a fire hazard.  I bought the two 8' x 4' pieces from a home improvement place, where the guy got a good chuckle when I told him that when I called Home Depot, they didn't know what the stuff was.  (true story)  Short term I took the two prints I had up there down, two old prints that had been dry for years and didn't need to remain up anyway.  (the above photo shows parts of the two tack boards, including the prints I had up, as well as the general mess that Molly makes)

What concerned me (besides the loss of the tack board) was what might happen if it came crashing down before anything was done.  I took down the antenna on my radio, but otherwise left everything that was on the counter up there.  Had to- except for my boom box, it's all Molly's stuff anyway.  When I got home I sent emails to both Nichole and Molly telling them about the situation and making some recommendations, but at this point it's out of my hands.

Unfortunately, I never heard back from either of the people I wrote to.  But as I said, it is out of my hands now.