A Big Praise and A Pivotal Month

Happy July dear Joy-Creators! Did you have a wonderful 4th of July? I hope you celebrated with your family and friends the freedoms we enjoy. We are running ahead of production schedule, so we got to give our artisans an 'extra' holiday on Friday for them to enjoy with their families. One artisan told me her kids' school is having English week (they are in a bilingual school thanks to her good job at Alegria). So Friday she got to be there at school and hear her daughter sing and be a part of their class celebrations. What a joy this was to hear with an unexpected day off! I thought it might bring you a smile too.

I am praising the Lord as we enter July that for the first time, we did not have to take on debt to survive June. Please don't misunderstand, there is not an abundance, but by the time we reach May, savings from holiday sales is usually completely gone and we are dependent on our big May in the Black push to keep up. Our June was up over 30% over last year and that meant, we did it in the black!  Barely, but in the black.  So for this, let's join together and thank the Lord for His provisions for Alegria! 'J' months grow our faith, for sure.

July is a pivotal month as we start our trade show season. Lots of calling and emailing before each show, as well as seeking out new stores organically.  Please pray:

1. For our existing stores to be thriving and for them to reorder for the fall and holiday season.
2. For the right new stores to see our emails and posts, and answer my calls. And for them to order great pieces their customers will love so that more stores and customers can become involved in our mission.
3. For traveling safety and health for the in person trade shows.

(By the way, if you have stores in your area that carry Alegria, are you shopping there and bringing new friends and family to shop there too? We love your online sharing and shopping, that's awesome. But we also want to help promote these stores that will purchase Alegria and share it with their customers.  You can find a map on our Shop in Person page. And if you don't have a local store that carries us yet, let me know where you think we would fit in the stores in your area. Fair Trade stores, Christian retailers, a Boutique with a mission minded store owner.)