"Minor" ??? setback

I just wanted to let folks know one the the reasons for the slow rollout on FUSE. Just when you think you've got everything figured out, something way beyond your control happens!

Like many, I became aware that the largest mine and supplier of Talc in the United States was considering closing the doors just a few months ago. Hundreds , if not thousands of products have used this product ( talc mined in New York state) for many decades... but all will have to change due to closure of the mine.

Here's a very informative link:
http://www.highwaterclays.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/feature.display/feature_id/79/index.cfm

And I decided to try and act early and so this weekend I went to get supplies in Nashville and made a substantial purchase of the new product. I buy in bulk in attempts to keep the cost as low possible, but I certainly take the quality of materials as seriously as possible, not selling anything that I wouldn't use myself. Additionally as word gets out, I feared there could be supply issues.


And like the above link explains, I began to explore the possible alternatives even though there is some time ( end of 2008) because it will take some time to deplete the national supply, but I want my new products to be as stable as possible.

And so I choose the new supply as mentioned in the article ( and many others, as there is little alternative) and bought a good supply to replinish my quickly dimished supply.

But there is good news and bad news... Good news is price in basically the same and the working properties same as best as I can tell in limited tests. The bad news... the color is much much darker. Now that alone is not a bad thing... the final product color will suite many better since they've been begging me to make it darker. But the problem is that the new supply has almost microscopic dark flecks. I can't feel them and doubt you could ( especially if blindfolded). At working distance I can't even see them. But up close they are barely perceiveable. But I'm sure they might show up on camera.

I'll continue testing and enlisting the help of experts.

Again, apologies for something I can not control... only work with...

Thanks to all for the orders, the patience, and the continued support.

PS... I'll post photos of the difference between the colors very soon.