There are things that I have done today that concerned ShadowBox Theatre Co.  In fact, everything I did concerned Shadowbox.  Including help move all our wood here, finishing my first static dummy of the year(he needs improvements!) and setting up a meeting time and place for our first crew/staff meeting August 6th.  But, what I spent most of my time on is far more important.

What I'm about to say is quite serious.  I choose to put it here on my blog so that it will not be so much in an area where a certain individual or individuals will not be hurt and effected.  If you are here due to a Private Message invitation, I'm glad you were able to make it.  If you are here because you just wandered over to see what the Empress was up to..well...this will explain it all....

Fellow Haunters,

as most of you know, I'm the Founder/Executive Director of ShadowBox Theatre Company.  We're a nonprofit that funds field trips for students with Autism in the public school system.

Most of you also may know that I've been a haunter for over thirty years, but this will be the first time I'm haunting under my own nonprofit's name.  We are tiny, we are young (at heart) and we are in need....

....Of YOUR help!

About 2 1/2 months ago, a member of the forum decided that he was in the tshirt business and wanted to drum up customers.  ShadowBox, being in the poor house, jumped at the chance to have tshirts made.  This would bring in revenue.  Or so we thought....

When we received the tshirts, they all had small little white imperfections on the logo.  I couldn't believe my eyes!  I contacted the member, showed him the pictures I had taken of the shirts and he said he would accept them back.  We waited approximately ten days after mailing them back and had not heard a word from him.  I wrote him an email asking if he had received them.  He said he had, but due to personal issues, had not looked at them yet.  Several more days pasted.  It was at this point that we decided we wanted our deposit back for the shirts.

To make a long story even longer, he gave us a run around saying that he was doing this tshirt venture for a "friend" and not an organization and if he knew it was for an organization, he would have charged us ALL of his fees.  So, instead of giving us our full deposit back, what he wanted to do was take out all these sudden "fees" and send us back what was left which would have been pennies.  His final word was to accept the fees or he would send the shirts back to us as is and we would have to deal with them the way we saw fit.

After a meeting, the board and I decided that we would not accept his terms and have him to send the shirts back to us.

So...
after approximately 10 weeks from the time I placed the order, we finally have a product that we hope will raise us and the children funds.  But, not without your help.

Please note that each tshirt has a few tiny little white specks on the logo.  It, however, does not affect the wear of the shirt.

You will find our auction on ebay through Mission Fish at:

 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5599870626

We have chalked this whole experience up as a learning one.  We will know better the next time.

THANK YOU!

Empress Nightshade