Great words to hear when you have just completed two hours with a team!
All team building exercises are not equal! Some teams just have better cohesion, team spirit and focus. And the team from PricewaterhouseCoopers certainly showed why they were made managers!

The first thing they learned was that time flies when you are having fun! Two hours are over before you know it.
​And that some who did not think that accountants have left brains, indeed were blessed with a left brain!

Pure concentration!

And all three teams were winners - they all had a clear idea of what they wanted to achieve, worked well together as a team by utilizing each individual's strengths, being flexible and by everyone stepping up to participate. 

We ended the session with an I-nfinitepotential assessment session, and I am very happy to say that this is indeed an outstanding team: excellent leadership skills, coherence and best of all, they can have fun together. Well done PricewaterhouseCoopers Pietermaritzburg!

So this time I thought I will do a really helpful post - how to figure out if the stained glass you are planning to invest in is real or fake!
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This lamp was designed and made by us, and this lamp will outlive its owner, and can be passed on to the next generation. In fact it was made about 8 years ago, and earlier this year it was brought in for repairs. It blew over when the curtains caught it during a freak wind storm. Because it is well made, only a few pieces on the edge broke. We quickly fixed it and it was returned to its owner - no charge!

Now this next lamp is a whole different story!
So I am writing this post because nobody likes to be had, right?
It is such a sad moment when someone brings in a stained glass piece to be repaired and we have to tell them it is a fake and cannot be repaired. And we have seen a lot of rubbish being passed off for the real thing, but this... oh this!... takes the grand prize.
​Made out of 2 mm sandblasted glass, painted with non-permanent glass paints and GLUED together.

And this is what it used to look like...

So it is clear to see that the way it looked originally could fool a lot of people!

The aboce pic is of the weight bearing spider glued on too! I would be speechless if I was not so outraged!

So on to the subject of mass produced Chinese imports.
It has been baffling us for years: how can a lamp which will take us at least 3 months to finish, and which we will have to sell for R16 000, be imported from China, transport and the dealer's profit included, and be sold for R3000 or R4000?

And we have looked at them and tried to figure it out: Real glass, looking very much like the glass we import from America at high cost. Thinner than it should be lead lines and very flat lead lines, yes, but how do you get past the labour intensive job that it is, if it is real? Even when you take into account the sweat shop setup, it is still not explained???

Until two customers in a row brought in their broken Chinese stained glass lamps for repairs....
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Glue again!!!
Glue that is stained black is what keeps the lamp together. And if that is the case, we give you the broken lamp back with our best wishes and instructions to go buy a tube of glue! Sad but true.

So the above is an image of a fake Chinese lamps. Pretty impressive, especially at that price. and as a minimum of 60 units have to be brought in, you at least can be consoled by the fact that 60 other people have the exact same lamp and have been fooled too!

So, how do one then know if it is a fake or not?
Clue number one: If it is to cheap to be true, it is likely to be rubbish.

Our best suggestion:
Find a reputable maker, visit their showroom, and if you like their work and can connect with them, ask them to custom make something for you.
It is worth it, and the real thing will give you years of joy!
And our condolences if you possess one of these. Enjoy it while you can.

OK so I have been stewing on that for some time... steam let off successfully, and hopefully it will be helpful to you too

Warmest regards till next time!
​Louise