We had our annual DECO staff Christmas dinner, and I have to say, I have GREAT PEOPLE who work with me day in and day out!  I truly appreciate them for supporting me and DECO Clay Craft Academy. 🙂

Margaret has been with DECO since the very beginning.  She is my mentor.  She taught me how to start and run my own business.  I look up to her, respect her and most importantly, THANK HER EVER SO MUCH for her guidance and for being there for me.

Marlo, who works part time at DECO in accounting, is not only a good friend, but she’s also good in keeping me and all my paperwork organized.  THANK YOU for being so patient with me, too.

Aya is our “newbie” and joined our staff this year.  I was so excited when she came aboard!  She is bilingual in both Japanese and English, which helps us tremendously with our Japanese speaking customers and communications with our parent company in Japan.  She has recently completed the DECO curriculum and became a certified instructor!  So, she will also be teaching with me at the studio.

Chenli has been a HUGE help this year.  She assists us with our custom orders and has become a great instructor both in studio and other venues.   It’s so nice to have her when we need an additional person to help with classes.  THANK YOU SO MUCH for all your hard work!

Gary is another great instructor, who helps with classes in studio and does demos at Shirokiya (Ala Moana Center), and at craft fairs that we participate in.  THANK YOU Gary!

Tim has been with DECO for over two years now.  He is such a hard worker and does pretty much EVERYTHING that I throw at him, literally!  He designs our website, brochures, and flyers.  He is also in charge of our in house and online sales, and to top it off, he makes our floral fillers too!    A jack (or should I say, Tim) of all trades!   All this he does with a SMILE.  🙂   I have to say that I would not have come this far without his full support.  THANK YOU for not getting tired of all my demands and the long hours that goes along with it.

I look back on how crazy this year has been and how much we’ve grown with everyone’s help and support.  I just want to say, THANK YOU SO MUCH FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART.

There are also so many other people  who have supported our business throughout the year, and TO ALL OF YOU, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

Our last regularly scheduled class for 2008 is on Monday, December 22nd.  We had so many visitors at the studio this year, not only locally, but from far away as California, Colorado, New York, Virginia, Georgia, Washington, Japan and Moscow!  THANK YOU for visiting us and for being interested in learning our unique craft.  I truly enjoyed spending time with everyone. 🙂

We also completed a last minute Christmas order for Macy’s.  I’m amazed at how fast our items “sell out.”  It makes me happy though that our DECO flowers are finding their way into so many people’s homes…

LAST, BUT NOT LEAST…TO YOU AND YOURS, A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Yukiko