#SmallBusinessRelief - RJ Crafts

#SmallBusinessRelief

Thanks so much for your interest in my GoFundMe business relief fundraiser for our small family business, RJ Crafts.

I'm Rhonda Jones, owner of RJ Crafts. For the past 3 years, I have been designing and producing high-quality silkscreens and shape cutters (for clay, cookies, etc.) with unusual designs and shapes, many of them in response to customer requests. We have produced exclusive silkscreens, cutters, and sets designed by my extremely talented artist friends Alison Merritt and Jen Sewell. Our small family business also provided other innovative products, such as RJ Crafts’ exclusive EZ-Dome doming UV resin, which creates a crystal clear resin dome on polymer clay, paper, and other flat items without causing the edges of the piece to curl (a common problem with most other UV doming resins).

The demand for our products grew much faster than we had anticipated. Suddenly, we no longer had enough space to produce and store the required inventory and package all the orders for shipment. To meet the demand, we needed to upgrade our 3D printing and website capabilities significantly, and to rent a new space large enough to serve multiple functions: office/administration, production facility, warehouse, and order assembly/packing/shipping area. So, we scraped together the money and invested it in the business so we could give our customers the great products and service they deserved.

At the same time, we had a family emergency. I also had developed health problems and was hospitalized several times. This meant that, despite those investments, we were falling farther behind on production to fill the large volume of orders, which continued to flow in.

This was terribly upsetting to me. I always have put my customers first and hated letting them down! Even after a hurricane caused prolonged power outages and flooding in 2017, we never gave up, we kept forging ahead, determined to get those orders filled for our customers.

But now, I found myself in a position where I didn’t know how or when we would be able to fulfill the growing backlog of orders. Closing the business we had worked so hard on, and invested so much into, seemed like the only option.

However, my wonderful friends and amazing customers had other ideas. They were incredibly supportive, encouraging and patient. So, instead, we closed our online store temporarily and worked around the clock, 7 days a week, to get caught up on making the products for all the existing orders before accepting any new ones.

Finally, we could see light at the end of the tunnel! We were nearly caught up on production for the outstanding orders, and would soon be able to shift into pulling, packing and shipping mode.

Then, the COVID-19 crisis hit. We were not allowed to enter our business premises, so we couldn’t even ship the many products we had been working so long and hard to produce to the customers who were still waiting for them.

It felt like the last straw. We had put our hearts and souls into this business and done everything in our power to make things right for our wonderful customers, but it still wasn’t enough. So, we made the extremely difficult and painful decision to announce that RJ Crafts would be closing. We also had to explain that it would take time for us to find the money we would need to issue refunds for all those unshipped orders. It broke our hearts – especially because the products are really good and the demand for them remains high.

But, once again, our amazing customers and friends have urged me not to give up yet. They encouraged me to set up this GoFundMe page, so that they and others can help defray some of the daunting financial burden we’re facing, and with the hope that RJ Crafts might not be forced to close permanently after all.

All money raised will go back into the business 100% - rent on our business space, shipping orders, buying supplies, etc. If we receive enough contributions to reach our fundraising goal, we will be able to reopen the RJ Crafts online store to new orders and continue to serve all the wonderful polymer clay and metal clay artists and creators who have cheered us on ever since we launched our small family business. If our fundraising goal isn’t met, we will use these funds to issue customer refunds sooner and help defray the significant costs of closing the business.

My family and I are extremely grateful for any help or support you can offer. Everyone has been affected financially by the COVID-19 crisis, and times are hard for all of us. We would deeply appreciate a donation in any amount. If even a small donation isn’t an option for you right now but you would still like to help RJ Crafts survive this crisis, sharing this fundraiser on Facebook and other social media would help us spread the word at no cost to you.

If we reach our fundraising goal, for each and every donor we want to extend a special thank you gift. A free digital STL file of your choice if you prefer printing your own cutters at home, or a coupon for a 5% discount once RJ Crafts is able to reopen.

We couldn't have made it through the last 3 years without the love and encouragement you've already shown. Our family will always be grateful for your kindness, patience, loyalty, and support through this difficult time.

Sincerely,

Rhonda