The Night of My First Open House

When the time finally came for my first open house back in March, I was a little overwhelmed. I of course had to thoroughly clean the house, prepare some appetizers, and set up the table to display my products. Being new, I didn't have a whole lot of samples, but luckily my sponsor had agreed to come this time and bring hers. I had spread my Longaberger products around the dining room table, but it looked pretty sparse. My sponsor graciously rearranged everything and set up her samples showing me how to give height to my display by using a box from a Collector's Club item and setting the basket on top.

The first guest to arrive was a neighbor from the block behind me. I was pleasantly surprised to see her as we had only really met a few times at neighborhood block parties. Our husbands spoke regularly as my husband rode his bike by their house on his way to work. She was delighted that she had been invited and said that her husband was quite jealous that she had something to do this Friday evening while he sat at home. I introduced her to my sponsor and then we all chatted a bit while I waited for my next guest. (Mary and I have recently started going to the gym together and are planning a garage sale soon. She is one of my regular customers now.)

Slowly people started to arrive and in the end there were about eight of us out of probably twenty women that I had originally invited. All of the women who showed up were very excited to be out of the house for the evening with something to do; especially with other women. We sat around chatting for a long time. What struck me most about this gathering was how much each one of us missed getting together with other women. We talked about needing to do this more often and I felt like my efforts were very much appreciated.

Two guests found out that they had both been teachers before retiring and had much to share. Two others talked about the book, "Three Cups of Tea", and one of them went to her house down the block to retrieve a copy for the other guest who didn't even live in our neighborhood. I talked with one neighbor about our common dream of writing someday and shared my limited knowledge of blogging on the internet. (A few days later Linda excitedly flagged me down to tell me that after our conversation she had gone online to check into blogging and discovered a website that accepted stories like the ones she wanted to write--several weeks later she got 3 of her stories accepted for publication online! She credits our conversation for getting her started.)

After about an hour, my first guest showed an interest in looking at the products. I didn't muster the courage to give a "real" presentation to my friends and neighbors, so we just looked things over on the table and my sponsor shared some information with everyone. One of my neighbors decided to leave when the "shopping" started as she had come only for the company. I felt sad that she didn't feel comfortable enough to stay despite not wanting to buy anything.

One special memory from the evening was when my neighbor from two doors down saw the Medium Market basket. Her face just lit up and emotion washed over her. "That is just like the basket my Mother had when I was growing up!" She decided to order one with a liner for her knitting. She also got very excited about the Longaberger To Go^TM Shoulder Tote Basket that my sponsor had brought along. She apparently loves bags! I really enjoyed getting to know a bit more about her through sharing the Longaberger products. (I am not sure that I would have learned either of those things about Anne in one of our regular front-yard encounters and she would not have had the opportunity to bring home something that would remind her of her Mother and her childhood home).

The evening lasted longer than I had expected, but my sponsor stayed the whole time. I really appreciated her time as well as her toting all those products to my house so that I could use them for my show. What was really amazing was how excited my husband was to have all of this going on in the house. He loved having people over and despite staying away for most of it, finally joined the conversation in the end. My sponsor told me later that she thought he would soon be joining my team! I don't think so, but he definitely was supportive and continues to be so.

My First Longaberger Open House: Inviting My First Guest

After my experience with the red mug, I was eager to share my discovery of Longaberger with my friends and neighbors. I was a little apprehensive, however, knowing how I sometimes react to people who are trying to sell me something. I decided to include my "Shiny Red Mug" story in the invitations I created and delivered the first one in person to a friend I had not seen in a few weeks.

Sue and her husband, Mike, were both at home when I stopped by and they invited me in to visit. After catching up a bit, I told them I had recently started my own home-based business and that I had come over to deliver an invitation to my first Longaberger Open House. Much to my surprise they both exclaimed, "Longaberger! We love Longaberger!" Sue told me that many years ago she had purchased several Longaberger baskets from a quilting friend who was no longer in business. I had been to their home many times and had never seen the baskets, so I asked if she would show them to me. Sue took me to her office, which had recently been relocated to a downstairs bedroom. There she had a Longaberger waste basket and a storage basket for her papers which the cat had absconded for a bed. We then went to the kitchen where she showed me a basket they used for mail and bills that was hanging on the wall.

Needless to say I was thrilled. Not only did they love the Longaberger baskets, Sue was interested in seeing the Woven Traditions pottery which had not been available when she purchased her baskets. Like me, she was tired of her odd collection of mugs and was wanting to find some new ones that would go with her other dishes. Suddenly, I didn't feel like I was trying to sell something anymore, I felt like I was offering a service to someone who loved this product, and that felt good. I just had to find other people like Sue and Mike, who already loved Longaberger, or people like me, who were looking for Longaberger and didn't even know it.

Crash! The Shiny Red Mug Revisited

When I received the Longaberger Travel Mugs, they were immediately taken over by my two children (of course); one for my daughter and one for my son.  They apparently liked them too!  One day my son was making a cup of hot tea in his red mug.  I was sitting in the adjacent room working at the computer.  Suddenly I heard this loud crash.  I knew perfectly well what had happened and couldn't believe that he had broken my new mug already.  Turning around I expected to see pieces of red pottery all over the kitchen floor.  What I saw took me a minute to digest.  Shards of pottery were in fact scattered over the floor, but they were not red.  I finally realized that the mug had landed on the cat's ceramic food dish and shattered it.  I went over to pick up the mug, expecting that the underside was broken, but the mug was completely intact.  There was a slight scratch (only discernible to a perfectionist like me!) where the sharp edge of one of the broken shards had nicked the glaze.

I couldn't believe what had just happened.  For years I have been frustrated because the dishes I have owned are constantly chipped or broken by my husband or the kids.  I hate feeling like I have to guard the dishes and remind people to be careful when they load the dishwasher.  In particular, we have some dishes that we got when we were married.  I really like them, except that the top of the bowls flare out in a thin lip at the top.  Well guess what kept happening to the edges of those bowls!  It really bothers me to set the table with what are supposed to be our good dishes only to have chips all over them.

The less expensive dinnerware that I had purchased in the meantime was even worse.  Every encounter with another dish in the dishwasher chipped off the glaze and exposed the porous clay beneath.  These dishes I had purchased for the design on them, which was now being chipped away.  Ditto for the gorgeous hand-painted Italian butter dish I had carefully brought back from a trip to Italy--that was so depressing.  That piece of pottery was NOT so inexpensive.

What was it that made the Longaberger pottery so strong and durable compared to my other dishes?  I had to find out what exactly "vitrified pottery" was.

Guess What Honey! .... My Longaberger Kit Arrives

I decided to become an Independent Longaberger Home Consultant without discussing the idea with anyone--including my husband. This was partly because I was so excited to get started and mostly because I know how he is about spending money and adapting to anything new. Nevertheless, I wanted to tell him about my decision before my Business Kit showed up on the doorstep.

A couple of days before the shipment was due to arrive, I casually mentioned my plans to him while we were fixing dinner. As expected, he was taken aback. "Why did you do that? How much did it cost?!" I explained to him that it was a product that I really liked and that I would be saving money on it by being a home consultant. In addition I would earn a 25% commission on any sales that I made.

Unconvinced, he remained unsettled. He couldn't see me selling anything. Of course, he never has seen me sell anything. I told him that I wanted to do this so that I could meet other women and do something besides sit behind a computer all day. My plans were to earn back all the money I had spent on the business kit.

When the kit finally arrived I was so excited. I unpacked everything and it looked like Christmas in the living room. When my husband arrived home from work, I immediately showed him the Medium Market basket. Much to my surprise he carefully looked it over; inside and out, and upside-down. I could tell he was impressed. "This is really well-made," he commented. He has always enjoyed working with wood and really appreciated the quality workmanship evident in the Longaberger baskets.

The next evening I used the new products to serve dinner. I could tell that my husband appreciated their appearance and usefulness. He no longer had any doubts about my purchase. Now to show him that I was actually serious about being a home consultant as well.

How I Became a Longaberger Home Consultant

It is not very often in life that you find something and know that it is the thing you have been looking for. Being a perfectionist, I hem and haw around, looking for all the flaws and potential drawbacks until I convince myself that there must be something better out there if only I could find it. In recent years, my mother has started to tell me, "If you find something you like, buy it!" (I am not exactly sure whether she is sharing words of wisdom from her years of experience or expressing her frustration with my inability to make a decision!)

Even so, I still find it hard to do, and was having the same problem when I went to buy the red travel mugs and see the other Longaberger pottery at my Home Consultant's next show. I wanted to know how durable the pottery was; did it chip; how easy was it to break; did it scratch? She graciously answered all my questions and assured me that it was of the highest quality and very durable. She had the travels mugs in various colors, all of them beautiful, and showed me other products including this adorable kitchen shelf I had seen in the catalog.

My next concern was the price. Being someone who feels compelled to buy things when they are on clearance, I was finding it very difficult to convince myself that it was OK to buy the Longaberger products. Despite my concerns, my infatuation with the Travel Mugs won me over and I decided to order Grandma Bonnie's Pie Plate as well.

By the time I got home I was ready to buy more Longaberger pottery and started to look through the catalog again. I came across a page describing the oppotunity to become a Longaberger Home Consultant and how you could save 25% on your own purchases plus make another 25% on any sales of Longaberger baskets and pottery. In addition, you could get a business kit with selected items at half the retail price. Ahhhh.....a Clearance! If I bought the medium business kit, I could get several baskets and pieces of pottery plus a wrought iron trivet and pay only $30 a month for 6 months. I could do that! I wouldn't have to sell anything if I didn't want to and I could buy more product samples at half price for the first month after I signed up. That could work! (Can you hear my little brain just cranking away?)

I went to my Home Consultant's website and found the 'Join My Team' button on her home page. Without too much work, I was signed up and my kit was ordered. Shortly thereafter, my Home Consultant gave me a call to congratulate me on my decision. She had apparently received an automated email from the company informing her that I had decided to become a consultant. She told me that she was going to let me order the mugs and pie plate myself so that I could get the sales credit and receive the 25% discount. How nice was that?! She then talked me through placing an order on my Longaberger consultant's website which had been instantly created when I signed up. Everything went smoothly and easily--now I just had to wait to receive my business kit and my Longaberger pottery in the mail.

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The Shiny Red Mug: My Introduction to Longaberger

Back in January I was feeling the usual organizational twinges that follow the holiday season and its over-abundance. In particular, I had started resenting the odd collection of mugs that we had accumulated over the years, with their faded designs and chipped edges. One particular morning, as I was preparing to make my traditional cup of tea, I opened the cupboard to find this tall, shiny, and wonderfully-red mug staring back at me.

You are going to think this is silly, but I remember feeling like a child who had just found the one thing they really wanted under the Christmas tree. Without hesitation I took the mug out of the cupboard, made my cup of tea, and sat down on the couch to contemplate the upcoming day. The mug was tall enough that I could cradle it in both hands to keep them warm. I can still remember feeling so pampered just because of that mug.

This went on for several days until I was spotted with the mug by my daughter's boyfriend. He had accidentally left the mug at our house. It was actually a travel mug that came with a lid. That made me love it even more. Unfortunately, so did his mother. I was saddened by this turn of events and decided I would have to get another one just like it. I called his mother to ask her where she had bought the mug and she told me that it was from Longaberger. "Longa-Who?" I had never heard of them before. She told me that Longaberger was a basket-making company and she had gotten the mug from a friend who sold their products from home.

I contacted the Longaberger Home Consultant to find out when she would be having another home show. In the meantime, she sent me a product catalog. Everything was beautiful and made to coordinate with each other. When I finally went to her house to buy the travel mugs, I was smitten.