A breakfast networking meeting with folks from the Manitou Springs Chamber of Commerce was the beginning of a delightful day. Upon my return home, my husband Jim invited me to stay home for the day. Perfect!
First on the agenda was clearing my mind. A brisk two-mile walk and then fiber spinning did the trick. Spinning tends to empty my mind of clutter and focus it on a specific task. Today the rhythm of the wheel and the creation of yarn from fluff – llama, wool, and mohair – pushed me to look around at the collections acquired throughout a 40-plus-year-and-counting marriage. Then I started thinking about some of the treasures we ship for our customers – assortments of sentimental photos, stamps, coins, antique dolls, porcelain figurines, and a high-value Star Wars® prop.
This reverie brought to mind packing and shipping collectibles in our Pak Mail store. Books, photos, letters, and other non-fragile items may only need protection with acid-proof paper or simple poly bags. Kachina dolls are packed with lots of packing peanuts and then double boxed. Lladro® or Hummel® figurines and pottery are wrapped in bubble wrap, floated in peanuts, and boxed or double boxed, depending on the value and/or sentimentality. Intricate and very fragile porcelain pieces are floated in mini-peanuts surrounded with bubble wrap and then floated in standard packing peanuts and double boxed. High-value collectibles like Yoda are secured in custom crates.
The shipping method is based on package size and weight, fragility of the item, total number of boxes, value, and destination. Smaller items ship with UPS, FedEx, US Priority Mail, or DHL (international only).
Larger items or larger quantities of boxes ship with various freight carriers. The small move of household goods that included Yoda was shipped to Hawaii via ocean freight.
It was nice to have a day to reflect and create, and see how it all ties together. See you in the store.