Never too late

At 36 minutes after midnight, this morning, I pulled the switch on this site. After a year and a half, it was real. Beyond fanciful dreaming, beyond my own family and friends, this crazy idea was now being shared world wide. Friends jumped on the moment and dozens of orders came in during the early hours of the morning.

Through the day, the orders continued, and I realized that either I have the best friends in the world, or this idea really was something the world would love. I think that, now, as the day has passed, the answer is, "both".

A half dozen printers told me, "no, sorry". The resources were overseas. The serial numbers were a deal breaker. You want a product that is too thick to print. Laminates will not be biodegradeable. The road blocks seemed endless. One printer, who took on the job last year, went out of business in the middle of negotiations. I also needed a website. The whole effort depended on a website. One with an eCommerce back end and connected to a fulfillment resource. I didn't have a budget to hire anyone. I'm technically inclined, and have been surrounded all my life with a high comfort level in imaging technologies, but networking, html, the www - that was all black magic, as far as I was concerned. I had no idea where to start. I made a few half-hearted attempts at begging for a hand, but, ultimately, I knew that I needed to just do this thing.

The artwork was the fun part. I wanted it to be cartoony, light, non-professional looking. I wanted it to be fun. The layout and concept was free flowing and approachable. I didn't want it too polished. After a year and a half of looking at it, it still makes me happy.

So, somehow, some way, it all became reality. During the late fall of my life, I attempted something that I didn't know if I could do. I've attempted plenty of things at a younger age and not followed through. This has been a true milestone for me. I'm avoiding the cliche as long as I can, but honestly, it's never too late to live your dreams. And you can do things you didn't think you could do. That's clearly enough cliches for one blog entry.

Thank you, one and all, for the support.