Archive for August, 2008

Wordsmiths Books Asks For Money, Hosts Fundraiser This Weekend

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Our friends at Wordsmiths Books are asking for money–and not in exchange for goods or services.  And no, they’re not a nonprofit.

This is, like, blowing people’s minds.

Since Wordsmiths started asking for contributions a few weeks back, they’ve been featured in everything from local blogs like BabyGotBooks and Decatur Metro, to national media outlets like NPR.

It’s been a marketing coup.

Here’s the quickest run-down of the details I can give–

1. Wordsmiths opened last year, chose lackluster location.
2. They moved to the location they originally wanted, saw increases in sales and visibility.
3. Despite success, they’re suffocating under weight of debt from previous location.
4. Owner Zach asks for a hand, makes promises of eventual returns.

You may call this last move tacky.  And maybe it is.  But it also happens to be brilliant.

Wordsmiths could have fizzled out this month and closed its doors with a whimper like so many small, noble businesses.  Which would’ve been a shame.  Who else was going to help us host an event about burning down house museums?

By asking for money, Wordsmiths has prompted many folks not just to take notice, but to form opinions about their bookstore.  Asking didn’t cost them anything, and it has resulted in collecting 60% of their end goal.

Sure, they’ve garnered a lot of criticism along the way.  But really, if you’re Wordsmiths, who cares?

They would close otherwise, and avoiding that fate is certainly their bottom line. Plus, they’ve created allies who are willing to support their business without receiving anything in return.  Local bookstores: the new nonprofits?  Not quite, but these past few weeks have demonstrated just how much they mean to their communities.

The moral: check out Wordsmiths in Decatur this weekend.  They’re hosting a fundraiser.  Jack Pendarvis will be there.  Paste Magazine will be there.  And now’s your chance to see what all the fuss is about before it’s too late.

Our Friends The Asian Cajuns Are Famous!

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Local fashionable bloggers, twins, and friends of the Nest Lauren and Catherine Lee are featured today on AJC.com.

(Historical aside: the gazebo pictured is dedicated to J. Robin Harris, great-grandson of Joel Chandler Harris.  It’s in Decatur.  The connections simply don’t quit!)

Looking good, ladies!  You should probably check out their blog, AsianCajuns, right now.

We originally met the Lee twins thanks to Lauren’s fantastic work (yay Lampe-Farley!) on the Wren’s Nest website.  She did things like, you know, create it.  Thanks Lauren!

Ever since, they’ve been great chums.  Especially since they allow us to put up pictures of them making funny faces.

See?

(Lauren and Catherine serving cake at our last Victorian Christmas.  Nice shirt, Lauren.)

Anyhow, nice work famous friends!

The Concierge Society of Atlanta is Here, and We Like It

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Remember that time you were staying in a hotel in a new city and were like, “Oh hey–I’ll just ask the concierge!”  I remember, and that was very smart of you.

If that scenario took place in Atlanta, chances aren’t shabby that the concierge you spoke with is at the Wren’s Nest right now.

We like this.  We like it a lot.

Naturally, we’re not pleased for some flim-flammy reason like “we enjoy being part of the Atlanta community”.  Oh no.  Instead, it has everything to do with making a good impression on the people who count.  And in our world, that’s the Concierge Society of Atlanta.

We only got our brochures into metro Atlanta hotels this last year, and it’s key that concierges point them out to visitors looking for, say, this nation’s most exciting house museum (patent pending).

In order to up our visibility, we’ve even gone door to (hotel) door to say charming falsehoods like, “Do you have the Wren’s Nest brochure?!  My important and well-traveled chums told me I just had to see it! I hope it’s prominently displayed at your fine hotel!  Cheerio!”

Needless to say, we’re on our best behavior.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go stand guard in front of the historic bathroom and smile pleasantly.

Southern Literary Trail Website is Up

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… and awesome.  Take a gander for yourself.

We’ve told you about the Southern Literary Trail before, so you surely recall that we’re jazzed to be included.  But man alive, I didn’t expect to be so quickly inspired to pack up the ol’ jalopy and hit the road.

But please, someone else drive- I’ve got some reading to do.

Inadequate Signage at the Wren’s Nest

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Saturday August 9th, 2008, 1:47 pm. Phone call:

Guy I’m watching in the parking lot: “Yeah, I’m here in the parking lot. How do I get in?”

Me: “…through the front door.”

You’d think that getting inside the Wren’s Nest would be pretty straight forward. Apparently, it’s not.

Without fail, every day I watch folks pull up in the parking lot, get out of the car, stretch, look confused, and walk to the back door.

(The view from my desk of what may actually be a labyrinth in disguise, judging from reactions.)

How often do you go to a stranger’s house and instinctively head to the back door?

When they get closer, confused visitors see this sign–

–which only sometimes helps. Clearly, this has been a trend for quite some time.

I wonder what kind of sign we’d need to change this behavior. Maybe the design of our parking lot is inherently flawed in that visitors cannot park on the front lawn. Shoot.

Our other signs don’t work very well, either.

Grammatical errors aside, we spend a lot of time responding to visitors’ claims that there’s no sign to show them where we are. Note that there’s another sign just like this on the other side of the road, plus another when you drive east on I-20.

Perhaps reading signs became totally uncool and no one told us.

You’d be surprised how many close calls we’ve had with this one.

Granted, some might interpret that the sign implies this bathroom is for private use, which would sort of make sense that they use it. If they weren’t in a museum, and it wasn’t part of the tour. Sigh.

Suggestions?

Wren’s Nest Restoration Update

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One of the most challenging aspects of this job is figuring out how to fix up a (benignly) neglected house on the National Historic Register.

As far as I can tell, there are two steps:

1. Raise enough money to do what you want (check, almost).
2. Surround yourself with folks who are smarter than you.

And while #2 will guarantee that from time to time those people will look at you like you’re an idiot, it’s worth it.

Yesterday we were lucky enough to have Tom and Gene from Surber, Barber, Choate and Hertlein take a look at our place …again.

Our basement is a labyrinth of different foundations, each with different bricks, mortars, paints, and states of (dis)repair.

The architects reviewed each aspect of our little restoration with a contractor to confirm the estimates outlined in our budget, which was initially performed by a professional cost estimator.

It’s a good thing, too.  Just when you think you’ve got a budget in place, you uncover some new stuff.

On the eastern (and less traversed) side of the Wren’s Nest, the paint isn’t in good shape.  But it’s in better shape on either side of each window. See how it’s a little brighter on either side?

That means that there were once shutters there.

…which we found in an obscure portion of the basement, not having noticed them before.

So, now, my job is to look in our restoration notebooks to figure out (a) if these shutters were original, (b) why they aren’t on the house anymore, and (c) would it be worth it to restore ‘em and put ‘em back on the house.

And it’s always encouraging to discover how the duct work was put in in exactly the wrong spot.

See how, just above the N in Nest, the wood was cut to make way for that duct?  Apparently that’s bad news.

The moral is, we’ve got a lot on our plate.  Little things, big(ger) things, things that I have trouble remembering.   Unfortunately, none of them seem to be fixable by throwing wads of singles in their general direction.

Next up: a meeting with a contractor, a mechanical engineer, and an historic brick expert.  Wahoo!

The Hardest Question to Answer Via Text Message

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Received at 10:13pm last night from our often trivia-playing friend Travis.:

Who is tar baby and what did he stand for?

Our goal here at the Nest is to educate, so naturally we’re jazzed anytime folks show interest in getting the full story.  But oh sweet heavens was that a challenge.

Text message?  Really?

Lain valiantly replied with the following:

Text 1: Tar baby was a trap set on the side of the road by brer fox to trick brer rabbit.  Brer rabbit represents the black slave who must rely on his wits

Text 2: The t baby was dressed to allure b rabbit.  Some interpret it as a woman to attract him, others as a fellow slave who wont follow plantation etiquette

Text 3: When t baby does not say howdy back b rabbit reacts with violence.  The more he hits the t baby the worse his situation gets.  He only escapes via trickery, his wit

Ta da! Travis partially redeemed himself later by writing, and I quote, “Lain, you are nothing short of ‘The Man’”.  Unfortunately, Lain was too busy massaging his thumbs to notice.

Thunderstorm Forces Wedding Inside the Wren’s Nest

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This evening we were all set to host our friend Kay’s wedding.

The tents were up, the faux Corinthian columns were in place, and the cake was in the fridge.  We were ready.  But then this thunderstorm comes barreling out of nowhere.

To be fair, I guess it barreled from the north.

For those of you familiar with our grounds, you probably understand that we have no rain plan.  We’ve got the museum, sure, but it’s not like we can just invite everyone in when it rains.  That would be stupid.

But when there’s bonkers lightning and howling wind knocking down tree branches, we didn’t feel comfortable with everyone sitting under tents held up with metal poles.

So everyone from the wedding took cover in the Wren’s Nest.

Yes, all 2 million of ‘em.

And while our air conditioning system ain’t bad, any time you have 2 million people in one house, it’s gonna get hot.

Luckily, the bride and groom invested in awesome fans with their picture on the front.

It’s clear that they know how to throw a party.

Obviously this wasn’t the best case scenario (and especially not from an historic preservation perspective), but folks remained upbeat, and the rain passed quickly.

So it wasn’t too bad.  And now the air outside feels nice and cool.

That said, below are my field notes:

1. I’ve enjoyed making 2 million new friends.
2. We’re lucky that Kay, our friend the bride, is pretty laid back and didn’t flip out when Mother Nature rained on her parade.
3. This cannot happen again.
4. Sometimes it’s unfortunate that there’s pressure to generate revenue from outside events.
5. Sometimes a minor disaster can be great marketing.
6. I’ve been at work for way too long, and on a Saturday no less.
7. Good thing I brought a few beers.

What Happens When A Car Knocks Over Your Street Light?

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No seriously.

While I was in a big meeting today, there was a wreck outside.

A woman was speeding down our street and side-swiped our port-a-let delivery man, shortly before running into our street light.  Her car stopped up the road by the church.

I have no idea how we didn’t hear anything.

We only heard about it well after the fact, but it was a pretty serious wreck.  The woman was taken to the hospital.  The port-a-let delivery man was shaken up, but he still managed to deliver our port-a-lets.

I hope the woman fares better than the street light.  It got clocked.

So, anyway, what do I do now?  Who do I call?  Has this happened to you before?