A mother and daughter walked into my store this afternoon. The daughter
was using a white / red tipped cane. As we were talking, I talked about
the Low Vision Workshop I have plans on offering. As we were chatting,
something came up that caused me to mention Jaws and Dragon Naturally
Speaking. This teenage girl told me, an old fart of of 43, "You are the
coolest person on the face of the planet." That is because I could talk
her language, I can hear the high pitched noise florescent lights and
Catho Ray Tubes (CRTs: computer monitors and tube TVs) make, I can SEE
the flicker the florescent lights make and I could do things like
needlework.
I showed her my Big Eyez lamp with the double magnifier and fabric
stretched with a Q-Snap frame and I think I have my first Low Vision
Workshop coming up REAL soon. She has only one eye and she lost the
majority of the vision in that eye due to a retinal detachment. She can
still see enough that I think if we get the right devices,
magnification, stretching and lighting, she will more than likely be
able to do what her mother has so enjoyed for so long, the stress
relieving and relaxing obsession of Counted Cross Stitch.
Oh, and I talked about my "vision" for this Low Vision Workshop at The
Nashville Needlework Market. (After I picked the people up off the
ground when I revealed I am Legally Blind) I started to gather some
real traction for the idea. TWO floor / lap stand manufacturers are
going to alter one of each of their products so I can "kick the tires"
and one of them (The owner of Handi Clamp.) GAVE me a scroll frame to
have and to use in my workshop. The person representing Needlework
Retailer, a free trade magazine, started talking to some of the shop
owners and they started thinking and realized if they could offer
something like this they might not lose as many elderly customers as
soon as they do. So, when I have figured out what to do, Needlework
Retailer wants me to write an article to help the other shop owners
started down the right path.
Now, all I have to do is figure out what to do and come up with some
"guidelines" to help them get started. It all sort of comes naturally
to me because I am Visually Impaired. But it will be MUCH harder for
the other shop owners to figure it all out. I may have to take this one
"on the road" to get other shop owners a small part of that "knowledge
base" I have spent the last 43 years accumulating.
--
Mary P. Blanton - The Coolest Person on the Face of the Planet, Owner
The Needlework House
3360 Satellite Blvd
Suite 5
Duluth, GA 30096
(770) 622-4249
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http://www.needleworkhouse.com
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