Blue Pumpkin Seed Co. - Growing Update!

Hello, fellow gardeners!

I've been working hard and I wanted to take a moment to update you on everything that's been growing (besides the amazing seeds you'll be planting soon)!

Balancing Growth with Family: 

As we welcome the vibrant gardening season, I want to sincerely thank you for your continued support. My focus has always been on providing you with timely order fulfillment. However, I wanted to share that you may experience some slight delays in the coming weeks.

My elderly father recently had a fall and is now in hospice care. While he has shown some encouraging signs of improvement, his needs require a significant amount of my time. I'm working alongside my twin sister and mother, who are his primary caregivers, to balance the demands of the shop with my commitment to my father's well-being. I remain optimistic as his condition improves.

I know any delays can be inconvenient, and I appreciate your understanding. If you have any concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out. Your thoughts, prayers, and positive energy during this time are greatly valued.

I am currently fulfilling all the orders for our U.S. and Canadian customers. I do have some intermittent help from my helper Alex who is absolutely amazing and super efficient. Alex is my unsung hero, I couldn't make it through this season with out him.

As for or Canadian customers, I am currently working with my accountant and bookkeeper to see how we can collect and remit taxes to the proper Canadian entities so we can offer the more competitive prices and seed quantities on our website vs our Etsy Shop.

New Seeds on the Block

I've been listening to your requests, and I've got some good news:

• Even more amazing pumpkin varieties! My goal of reaching over 200 pumpkin seed varieties has finally been met. I've set my next goal to offer 250, wish me luck!

• Treated and non-treated options! Per customer requests, I've added more treated versions of our non treated varieties, and more non treated versions of our treated varieties.

• Herbs and veggies galore! Round out your garden with fresh, homegrown goodness.

Plus, I'm adding detailed growing info for all our pumpkin seeds. Get ready for details on vine types, weights, sizes, treatments, and disease resistance!

Visit the "NEW ARRIVALS" section to see the newest additions. More seed varieties are being added!

Behind the Scenes Sneak Peek

Here's what I've been working on to make your experience even better:

• Catalog coming soon! I've had a lot of requests for a physical catalog. It's a big project, but with my graphic design background, a full catalog is being worked on with a tentative Jan. 2025 release.
  

• Speed boost in progress! I have tested the site multiple times and I acknowledge that it can be slow to load and that the mobile version has room for improvement. I am currently looking for options to improve the speed and mobile version.

• Fixing the checkout button! I'm aware of the issue and have Wix tech support on it. In the meantime, if you have trouble, message me directly for a quick workaround.

Where We're Growing

• Gift shop goodies: I'm excited to announce that I'm exploring a potentially new gift shop section on our website. It may feature a curated selection of botanical and garden-themed items from talented local Colorado Springs small businesses. Items may include garden planners, cups, apparel, artisan soaps, our hand blended teas, our fresh roasted coffee beans, artwork prints or a photo book of our seed envelope artwork, gardening tools, micro green kits, mushroom kits, etc. This is a fantastic way to support our community and keep the seed shop thriving during the slower seasons. Do you have items you'd love to see? Specific makers you admire? Let me know! Your suggestions will help shape this exciting addition."
  

• Show your love! I've had some customer requests for Blue Pumpkin Seed Co. apparel. This may also be a possibility, stay tuned!

• Blue Pumpkin Seed Co. tea time! I enjoy making hand blended teas during the colder months. I may be moving our sister company Ash Hollow Tea Co. to this website as I made the difficult decision to close it on Etsy due to the increasing overhead that comes with the Etsy platform. Moving the tea shop to this website will allow me to offer hand blended teas at a more competitive price than previously on Etsy.
  

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Growing Pains (The Real Kind!)

Growth is exciting but it can present unexpected and new challenges. Some things I am working on:

• Hiring help! I'm learning the ins and outs about hiring another employee. There are a lot of additional overhead costs of having staff. I'm hoping to have a part time employee so I will be able to run the shop more efficiently and get more projects completed in a more timely manner.

• Space invaders! As I transition over to envelopes, I have realized that they are more cumbersome than the old 2x2" plastic bags I was using. I work out of a small humidity controlled shed that has limited space. This may create a delay in rolling out the new seed packets until I brainstorm some other options.

• Designing with love! On the weekends I am working on the new envelopes. Each new envelope can take up to a day to complete as the artwork goes through 3-4 programs for editing, watercolor effects, color correction, etc.

Etsy Alternative Alert: Find Us on Michaels Makers!

• We've faced our share of challenges on Etsy, so we're branching out! You will soon find our lovingly grown seeds on Michaels Makers – a fantastic competitor to Etsy (YAY!) Although we have our own direct website, around 88% of our business still comes from Etsy. In addition the majority of our sales on this site are pumpkin seeds while Etsy customers purchase a wider variety of our offerings, so we still need to maintain a presence on Etsy, at least for right now.
  

• With significantly lower overhead costs, we're able to offer more competitive prices than our Etsy shop. Plus, if you're a Michaels member, you might even earn points on your seed purchases to use towards all sorts of goodies at Michaels!

Seasonal Closure Reminder

Like last year, I will have the site closed for the month of November. Since I mainly work alone, I will need to temporarily pause orders for the month as I update the website, audit inventory, and count thousands of bags of seeds in preparation for the busy season. If things aren't ready, it's very easy to fall behind quickly. I always aim to get orders out in a timely manner. I currently quote a 3-5 business day processing time, but I do still work over the weekend processing orders to make sure your seeds reach you quickly.

Rewards Program Update: Important Changes Coming

After careful consideration, I've decided to end our rewards program. While I love offering sales, discounts, promo codes, giveaways, freebies, and rewards points, the combination has unfortunately had a negative impact on the seed shop's bottom line. We've run into challenges when customers combine multiple offers, sometimes leading to unintended losses. Rest assured, I'm working on new incentives to reward our loyal customers! You have until October 31st to redeem existing rewards points, and stay tuned for exciting new ways to benefit from your patronage.

I'm looking forward to potentially having extra help soon. That means more social media activity, more frequent website updates, and super-efficient shop operations.

Thank you again for your patience, and for letting us be part of your garden!

A Heartfelt Thank You!

Your support means the world! Everyday I acknowledge how grateful I am for each and every single one of you. Each order fuels growth for the seed shop, and I'm extremely grateful to be part of your garden.

Happy growing! -The Blue Pumpkin Seed Co. Team