Meet the Staff of Chrysalis Jewelry

Since I run a small jewelry business, a few weeks ago I decided to have a little fun with my "business" and promote my pets into positions in my company.  All they do is sleep, eat, and act as pets, so they might as well contribute to the bottom line.  So for your reading pleasure, I present the staff of Chrysalis Jewelry.

This is Anna Banana the Twitter Cat.  She is the Director of Social Media.  I'm not sure what it is about Twitter, but Anna likes to sit on my lap or shoulder as I tweet or Facebook.  It is actually quite humorous.  I can tell her I'm on Twitter and she'll come running.  Anna is a people cat.  She enjoys hanging out with her humans.  If I am away from her for a certain length of time, I get a tongue lashing when I return.  She will be very vocal and meow at me until she has said her piece. Aaron brought Anna home from his parents' farm when the other half of her litter disappeared overnight (we assume coyotes).

This is Mr. Holstein. He has a tough job. He is the Director of Lounging and the Director of Public Relations. He greets all customers who come for a studio tour.  Mr. Holstein is also very vocal.  He loves when new people come to the house.  He is very friendly and has quite the personality.  I have had a number of visitors threaten to take him home with them.  I always have to check my mother's luggage before she leaves our house to make she hasn't stashed Mr. Holstein in her Samsonite.  If he isn't being gregarious, you can typically find Mr. Holstein napping somewhere which is why he is perfectly suited for the Director of Lounging position. Mr. Holstein is also from Aaron's parents' farm.  I thought we should get a friend for Miss Yoda.  Mr. Holstein had other ideas.  As we were trying to load him in the car, he escaped and it took Aaron and his two brothers to coax him out from under the chicken house.

Meet Gus. He is the Director of Feline and Canine Relations. He's kind of like our HR guy, except we don't employ any humans. Gus is  a very caring cat.  Gus acts like the "mommy" cat for our staff.  He also visits the dogs and the humans to make sure everything is going well. Gus is pictured with our Director of Lounging, Mr. Holstein. Gus is also from the farm and picked Aaron as his human.  Any time Aaron came out the back door, there Gus would be.  He even went fishing with Aaron a few times on the farm.

Meet Nina, the Head of our Shipping Department. In this picture she is showing Gus, our Director of FCR, how to properly ship items. Remember, if it fits, it ships!  Nina is the sister of Anna the Twitter Cat.  Nina loves to inspect all the boxes that come in.  She loves it when Mr. Holstein called for corporate nap time.  Then she can curl up in the current package she is working on and take a nap (we all know boxes make the best napping spots).

Meet Teddy. He is the Head of Quality Assurance. If he can't break it, you're good (Paws up!)!  Teddy is a good boy who started his young life by being dumped on the side of the road.  One of my husband's coworkers found the litter of dumped puppies and brought them to work.  Being the kind soul my husband is, he brought Teddy home with him.  Teddy is a good dog and loves everyone.  He just doesn't understand how big he is.  He once hit my dinning room hutch with his tail and sent a picture (which had been securely positioned near the top of the hutch) crashing to the floor.  "Bull in a China shop" comes to mind when it comes to Teddy.

Meet Abby, of Director of Security. Don't let her smile fool you, she has a mean bite!  If you don't believe me, just ask my mother-in-law!  Years ago when my mother-in-law first met Abby, she turned her back on her and Abby bit her in the butt (true story).  We got Abby from the Wal-Mart parking lot when she was about four months old and she did not have the best start in life.  I can only guess there was something about Claudia's look or smell that reminded Abby of her former owner.  Abby is a good dog, very smart, and does not like conflict.  If the cats are wrestling near her, she quickly puts an end to it.  I don't think she understands that they are playing.

Meet Valkyrie, our Studio Dog. She serves as our Chief Operations Officer. She keeps our Designer, Melissa, in line. Melissa has been known to take off and go antiquing from time to time.  Valkyrie was adopted from the Rockwall Pound when we first moved to Texas.  After we adopted her she went immediately to the vet to be spayed.  I picked her up a couple of days later and spent the day getting to know her.  When Aaron arrived home from work, she didn't want to let him in the door.  Valkyrie has been my buddy ever since.  She would spend all day every day with me if she could.  She does enjoy going out to my studio with me to keep me company.  She is also very good at napping and appreciates it when Mr. Holstein calls for corporate nap-time.

Meet Mr. Muscles, our Loss Prevention Officer. Making sure jewelry is paid for is serious business. Making sure Milkbones aren't embezzled is even more serious!  We got Mr. Muscles shortly after we got Valkyrie so she would have a friend to play with.  He has been known to guard a number of items.  Tennis balls, brand new bags of cat chow, Milkbones, packages of jerky treats.  If it's food and he can guard it, he will!

Meet Miss Yoda, the Head of our Complaint Department. On a good day, complaining customers will only get a look of disdainful indifference from Miss Yoda. On bad days, they will receive an atomic stink bomb. Hope for a good day...trust me. Yoda is a five pound wonder.  We got her from a Dallas area rescue group as a kitten.  Her mother had been killed by a dog when she was two weeks old and Yoda was then bottle fed.  She has always been very petite, but she has a look that could kill.  Even worse are her farts.  I'm not sure how something so tiny can create such a massive stink!  If you see her running from the litter box, hold your breath and walk away!

So there you have my staff.  The dogs are perfectly fine to work for kibble and belly rubs.  On the other hand, the cats have unionized (the United Feline Union) and I get brought to the bargaining table often to renegotiate for kitty treats.  The cats are tough negotiators.  If you would be so kind, please help support my staff by buying some of my jewelry.  You can find my Etsy shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/chrysalisjewelrytx

Until Tomorrow - Melissa