In the spring of 2004, my husband Andrew announced that he was going to get a couple of chickens for our young daughters. “To help them learn about the cycle of life,” he said. I was against the idea, already overwhelmed by the cycle of life. Andrew pursued his plan and brought home a hatchery catalog. They ordered a couple of chickens. I ordered geese, ducks, pheasant, partridge, and quail.
I’d hatched a plan to collect various sizes of eggs from this enormous flock of birds and eventually sell blown eggs to the egg art community. With a BA in photographic art and science, I couldn’t resist taking thousands of digital and film photos of the birds in all stages of their lives. These images became cards, framed artwork, and prints and another product line was added to the plan.
“The eggs and feathers are incredibly beautiful,” I say, interviewing myself. “The egg is certainly a symbol of fertility and rebirth, but to me it is also a fascinating little life machine.”
I continue.... “Feathers are an amazing adaptation. They can insulate from both heat and cold, and can repel the rain in everything but the hardest downpour. Each feather is adapted for the part of the body it protects. If it weren’t for the work required to keep the feathers healthy, I’d want them myself instead of hair.”
A blown egg artfully covered with feathers is known in the egg art world as a “Feathered Egg.” This seemed an obvious name for my poultry pursuit, and so I took it on. The products offered by the Feathered Egg have grown since the idea first cracked over my head. Egg arrays with stands joined the blown eggs and the packaged feathers. Hinged eggs rose out of a pyramid of broken eggshells and egg dust. Broken eggs turned into eggshell for mosaics.
I see each sale as an opportunity to exercise my values of honesty, integrity, and communication. Each customer, whether one-time or regular, receives careful attention. Happy buyers are essential to my business. I plan to be around for a long time to come, with new products all the time. We really are Organic (uncertified), Domestic, Humane, and Mother Built!
Update 2010: Dear oh dear, but 2008 hit us like a freight train, looking back from 2010. Andrew's business was custom home building, and the year end came down on us like the comet on the dinosaurs. Chaos in every corner and big changes - I went back out into the non-chicken keeping workforce, where sweatpants as day wear is frowned upon. We are shaking things out, turning things in, and getting ready for the next steps. The cut and hinged egg products had to be put on hold as my manufacturing space became extinct... but the blown eggs and the feathers are holding steady. The Feathered Egg will not close, instead will move in a different direction with some interesting new products. In great change is great opportunity, but still, yipers! We are running around like chickens with our heads cut off...... Check back often, we are evolving!
A blog was born! The full story and lots of helpful financial assistance informational details at www.TheFreeRooster.com.
The last two years provided everything I needed to finish my book, "Just A Couple Of Chickens" by Corinne Tippett, now available on amazon.com. It is a fun, laugh out loud, enjoyable read with a poignant counter-balance of reality. The Feathered Egg is still clucking along, growing bigger and stronger as we finally step out of our squealing retreat and begin to build our new lives. I'm holding on to my day job, but Andrew is breaking eggs and taking names. Who knows where this may go!
