Monday, April 6, 2009
Spring at Last! 2009 Ski Season is here!
Looking outside my window in the Chicago land area, you would never guess it's time to think water skiing. Mother nature has surprised us again with 2 fluffy inches of snow in April. But no worries. It is time to think sunshine, warm water (this may need a little more imagination) and yes, water skiing. A few guys on my ski team were crazy enough to go water skiing on March 17, the day the ice went out on our lake in Wisconsin. Why did they do it? Because they could. You may think it's crazy. But if you are passionate about the sport of water skiing or wake boarding, you would probably do it, just because... I am really looking forward to this year's show ski season. I have started to get my new 2009 line of show skier apparel in stock and I am working on a new line of shirts and sweatshirts for the guys. This line is called Ski Dude. We have lots of fun clothing coming your way. There will be basic sweatshirts with Water Ski on them, along with some Show Ski shirts and one of my favorites for the guys is a black t-shirt that says: Spandex and Sequins Got a Problem With That. We are having a lot of fun designing the spirit wear and have listened to customers and based our new products on customer requests. Swivel Girl and Ski Dude are always open to ideas and suggestions. So, drop us an e-mail at swivelgirl.com and let us know what you would like to see us carry. Our first show for the 2009 season was the Water Ski Convention and Expo in the Wisconsin Dells in February. There was a great turn out and we got to see a lot of familiar faces that we missed over the winter. Make sure to stop by the Swivel Girl booth at a show this summer. We always have cold water (when the weather's hot), fun music and good conversation. One of the best parts of the business is getting to know the show ski community and being a part of this amazing sport. Well, I hope everyone is thinking warm weather. It's time to blow off the dust on the skis and wake boards. Start working on core strength exercises. And get ready for some fun in the sun. Hope to see you at my next show which should be the Mercury Invitational in Janesville, Wisconsin on the weekend of June 27 - 28. Swivel Girl and Ski Dude will also be at the Wisconsin Sate Tournament in Wisconsin Rapids and D1 Nationals in Rockford, IL. We are hoping to make it to some other tournaments as well. Don't forget to check out the site for our new line. We will be adding new clothing throughout the spring..Fun Fun!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Swivel Girl is Listening
It was an exciting second half of the summer with Swivel Girl. I attended 3 tournaments as a vendor: WI State in Wisconsin Rapids,D II Nationals in Warsaw, IN and D I Nationals back in Wisconsin Rapids. First, I went to Wisconsin State Tournament which was held in Wisconsin Rapids on the third weekend in July. This was a 4 day event that involved individual competition on Thursday for Swivel, Doubles and Jump. During the course of the 4 days, 26 teams competed in Divisions I, II, and III. Talk about some great skiing! It amazes me every year how I watch team after team put on incredible ski shows. WI State includes some of the best teams in the country. Now as for Swivel Girl, the business, it was a real learning experience. One of the interesting patterns we learned is how to follow the shows and which teams are on the water. It took us a couple of shows to realize, the crowds showed up to the vendor tents between shows. It would be very quiet for an hour, then, the horn would sound 2 times and the Swivel Girl tent was busy. It was an exciting experience to have people shop at the tent. And yes, I did get a lot of feedback. A lot of individuals were interested in show skiing and water skiing merchandise. I had a few items, but now the fall items will focus more on water skiing rather than swiveling. And we are listening to the customer. Let us know what you are interested in seeing with Swivel Girl merchandise. We love to have the feedback. The customer is #1 with Swivel Girl. I had requests for t-shirts that would say, "Future Show Skier" for the younger kids. I also had requests for girls' barefoot t-shirts...You go girl! Board shorts were a popular request. And the tie-dye shirts were the most popular item. As a result, I am now carrying "Peace,Love and Barefootn'" in tie-dye.
Also, I did not realize, but there is definitely rivalry between swivelers and the male show skiers. My ski team has so many girls that swivel, that I just assumed all teams had a lot of swivel acts. This is the case for some teams,but not all. One of the best t-shirts I saw this summer was "Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Swivel", ha,ha.
The best part of attending my first tournament as a vendor was looking out into the crowd and seeing those Swivel Girl tie-dye shirts, cover-ups, sunglasses and bags. Very Cool! Thank you to everyone that purchased SG products. It was important to know that the SG line was going to take off with the show ski community. The support was wonderful.
Swivel Girl is listening to the customer and we will continue to change the line of apparel and accessories as we get feedback from you.
Some new products for the 2008 Holiday shopping season include:
Tie-dye "Peace, Love and Barefootn'" shirts in adult and youth sizes
Cute vinyl bags with a Girls' Pyramid on them
Black Terrycloth skirts that say "Luv2ski"
Turquoise Cover-ups that say "Luv2ski"
Lined terry cloth bags that can be used as a cooler or for wet clothing
Swivel Stickers with swiveler images.
Check out swivelgirl.com for all the new fall items. New products will be listed in the next couple of weeks.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
The Start of a Strange Summer
It looks like Swivel Girl is off to a good start, despite the beginning of the summer. The 2008 Summer will not be forgotten in the mid-west. I just experienced Wisconsin conditions, but did not get the worst of it, like Iowa.
June was going to be an exciting month for the new Swivel Girl business. My first 2 tournaments were planned for June. They did not happen. Mother Nature did not cooperate. During the month of June, it rained on South Central Wisconsin like I have never see it rain before. Storms would come into the State and hover over south central Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Dells area for hours. It was a disaster waiting to happen. And disaster is what happened. Lake Delton emptied in a matter of two and a half hours. Teams of volunteers from Tommy Bartlett sandbagged the dam for days. The lake was too much for the shoreline and it broke. Looking at the empty lake two weeks after Lake Delton emptied into the Wisconsin River, really put my issues about canceled tournaments on hold. Boats were stuck in the mud, houses had fallen from the shore into the lake, skiers were out of a job and tourism was definitely going to be affected. Other areas affected by the high waters were central Wisconsin lakes and in particular, The Rock River. At one point, the river was at least 10 feet over flood stage. Visiting Janesville, while the river was rising was incredible. We could not get down to the river front because of barricades, but we could see from a distance that the current was dangerously strong, unlike I have ever seen that river before. Needless to say, the high waters were devastating to many families and businesses. Not only did the water destroy property, but the contamination from bacteria left a serious issue for residents as well.
One other impact was the ski teams in central Wisconsin and Iowa. There were no practice sites for these teams. Being on a show ski team, that is really depressing. Thinking about skiing all winter and getting ready for the upcoming season and not being able to put on your ski show, hits a show skier the hardest. But, after talking to these team members that could not ski at their sites, I realized there is a lot of strength that comes from being on s a show ski team. Skiers did not "throw in the towel" for the season. Instead, these teams found a way to make it work. Janesville, Madison and so many other teams practiced at other team's sites. Many ski teams offered their sites. Impacted teams were able to keep it together and do what they do best, put on an awesome show at State and Nationals. Totally Amazing! Well, I hope this will be the "Strange Summer" to remember; one for the meteorologist record books. And I wish everyone the best that was afflicted with the flooding conditions. My prayers are with you all.
June was going to be an exciting month for the new Swivel Girl business. My first 2 tournaments were planned for June. They did not happen. Mother Nature did not cooperate. During the month of June, it rained on South Central Wisconsin like I have never see it rain before. Storms would come into the State and hover over south central Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Dells area for hours. It was a disaster waiting to happen. And disaster is what happened. Lake Delton emptied in a matter of two and a half hours. Teams of volunteers from Tommy Bartlett sandbagged the dam for days. The lake was too much for the shoreline and it broke. Looking at the empty lake two weeks after Lake Delton emptied into the Wisconsin River, really put my issues about canceled tournaments on hold. Boats were stuck in the mud, houses had fallen from the shore into the lake, skiers were out of a job and tourism was definitely going to be affected. Other areas affected by the high waters were central Wisconsin lakes and in particular, The Rock River. At one point, the river was at least 10 feet over flood stage. Visiting Janesville, while the river was rising was incredible. We could not get down to the river front because of barricades, but we could see from a distance that the current was dangerously strong, unlike I have ever seen that river before. Needless to say, the high waters were devastating to many families and businesses. Not only did the water destroy property, but the contamination from bacteria left a serious issue for residents as well.
One other impact was the ski teams in central Wisconsin and Iowa. There were no practice sites for these teams. Being on a show ski team, that is really depressing. Thinking about skiing all winter and getting ready for the upcoming season and not being able to put on your ski show, hits a show skier the hardest. But, after talking to these team members that could not ski at their sites, I realized there is a lot of strength that comes from being on s a show ski team. Skiers did not "throw in the towel" for the season. Instead, these teams found a way to make it work. Janesville, Madison and so many other teams practiced at other team's sites. Many ski teams offered their sites. Impacted teams were able to keep it together and do what they do best, put on an awesome show at State and Nationals. Totally Amazing! Well, I hope this will be the "Strange Summer" to remember; one for the meteorologist record books. And I wish everyone the best that was afflicted with the flooding conditions. My prayers are with you all.
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