New on line store up and Parrot stands being made

So we redesigned our on-line store to get more visability and the new link is http://thepurringparrot.com/resortpages/parrottoyscatsupplies.html
It is intergrated into our website so looks pretty smooth. The shooping cart is ecwid.com and it was very easy to implement. We are almost full for the Memorial weekend which is great.
We have also expanded out bulk toy making section, set up a basic facebook page and Patrick has started making his own stands from manzanita with stainless steel hardware. I will be loading a photo of one of the larger stands on the store soon.
We have also decided that it would be worth it to start cutting and selling our own parrot wood for toys or refills. We do order our wood from bird safe companies but it does take a long time to get it, usually a month or longer. I have been researching different types of saws and found a great wood workers forum http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/ Very helpful and friendly folks there. We need a bandsaw and an electric sander. The coloring for the wood will be vitacritter.

Spring Break!

We have been very busy for the first week of spring break. Lots of kitty bookings and alot of regular bird clients seem to be following suit. We have had a lot of happy new clients and keep the word of mouth going. We have even began getting some Xmas bookings. The Liberty Station farmers market has been going well for us on Sundays. The birdie webcam is also starting to get a following with 1 fan as far away as Poland! We have started stocking some new bird toys from Cage n Queen which seem to be a big hit and we have been expanding our toy making section which can save bird owners a lot on toy refills for their birds.

New Bird Mixes

I have come with 2 types of dry mixes for the birds that can be cooked or served dry. One is a tropical mix called Sunny's Yummy. It has bananas, grains, and other fruits in it as well as almonds. The second one is SodaPop's Pasta which is has big and little organic pasta, grains, pistachos and italian seasonings. Both went through very strict tastings from our bird guests and both were approved with flying colors. We are also trying to get into the Farmer's Market in Little Italy but there is a long waiting list. The Liberty Station market has been good for us regarding cat products so we will continue doing that on Sundays from 9:30-2:30. Patrick has finished his first manzanita bird stand and it looks great! We may also try and get a booth up in Pomona for the bird mart. I started a Facebook page but it is a little bare, I'm still learning

Farmer's Market

We did our first Farmer's Market at Liberty Station this past Sun, Jan 10. We didn't sell that much but we did do a lot of advertising for the resort. It is waaay cheaper then running an ad in a local paper plus people can put a face to the name and it helps us brand our business by having our logo visible.
The birdie breads have been doing very well and we have some regular customers that ask for it as well as the sprout mix.
I am also working on some easier cat grass kits that can come with a blend of grasses or gluten free with Chia seed, which has even better properties then flax. We did slow down just a bit after the holidays but are bookings are up from last year. The slower times has allowed us to get ready for the Farmer's market though and work on more and better toys.
Our birdie webcam is up and running everyday now and our bird clients are very happy that they can watch their fids all day.
I have also updated the website with employee photos and need to get a quick photo of our human employee, Sue, who has done a great job with the guests and clients.