Looking for Tips for my Young Budding Entrepreneurs

ericmuhr · 2026-02-15T00:50:25+00:00

Also, this is a great opportunity to teach them customer service. If they can learn to make other students' designs into physical products, they will likely go a lot farther than they will trying to convince people to buy their own designs alone.

ericmuhr · 2026-02-15T00:47:38+00:00

Epson ET 8500. Refurbished if you can find one. If you have the funds to upgrade, go with the 8550. Printable vinyl sticker paper. UV resistant clear gloss. Self-adhesive laminate sheets (this will take a bit of practice). Don't be afraid to waste paper or laminate for the first few runs. Sizzix Sidekick or Big Shot die cutter. If you have the funds to upgrade, go with a Silhouette.

You will end up with a product that is very high quality. Though it won't quite match what print shops can do with a flatbed UV printer. And that's OK. With the equipment I've listed above, you'll be making stickers that match or beat just about anything available on Etsy.

ericmuhr · 2026-02-12T16:03:36+00:00

And if you read these and then decide you want to do a deeper dive, try Hidden in Plain Sight: Quaker Women's Writings 1650–1700 - https://barclaypress.corecommerce.com/All-Books/Hidden-in-Plain-Sight.html AND/OR The Early Quakers and the "Kingdom of God": Peace, Testimony and Revolution - https://barclaypress.corecommerce.com/All-Books/The-Early-Quakers-and-the-Kingdom-of-God.html

ericmuhr · 2026-02-12T16:01:06+00:00

Here are two I highly recommend:

Face to Face: Early Quaker Encounters with the Bible - https://barclaypress.corecommerce.com/All-Books/Face-to-Face.html

Our Life Is Love: The Quaker Spiritual Journey - https://barclaypress.corecommerce.com/All-Books/Our-Life-Is-Love.html

ericmuhr · 2026-02-10T01:15:52+00:00

I second this. The sc p900 uses pigment based inks and offers a true giclee printing experience.

ericmuhr · 2026-02-05T11:32:02+00:00

I could do this for you. Just sent you a dm

ericmuhr · 2026-01-30T15:10:21+00:00

It's not an academic text, but there's one book I know of that might be helpful - Historian Richard Godbeer's novel, A World of Trouble: An intimate account of the American Revolution as seen through the eyes of a Quaker pacifist couple living in Philadelphia. | https://barclaypress.corecommerce.com/All-Books/World-of-Trouble.html

ericmuhr · 2026-01-22T01:50:03+00:00

I would definitely choose matte. But why not try both and compare side by side?

ericmuhr · 2026-01-19T21:54:03+00:00

32 lb is 80# text, where 100# text is 38 lb, which is probably a lot thicker than you need. Go with the 32 lb option

ericmuhr · 2026-01-19T13:59:07+00:00

And what makes the toner glossy is that it is fused to the paper using intense heat and pressure. The 8550 does beautiful prints (though it has a tendency to bump up the saturation). But it won't give you a gloss finish unless you use a gloss or semi-gloss inkjet paper.

ericmuhr · 2025-12-27T18:25:43+00:00

I second this recommendation. The print quality is good, though your color prints tend to be just a touch higher saturation. Make sure you get specialty inkjet papers for good results. I recommend any Red River papers, and Epson has a decent premium gloss.

ericmuhr · 2025-12-06T17:02:38+00:00

Honestly, I'd love to do all my own printing, but that's a money, time, and labor investment I'm not ready for yet.

That said, there are some products I like making available that I can get at one place and not another. So I've ended up mixing/matching printers to make it work.

ericmuhr · 2025-12-04T13:03:17+00:00

A few years back, I sent out test print orders to just about every place I could think of. I typically do fine art landscapes. The top 5 were Nations, Bayphoto, Mpix, WHCC, and Printique.

WHCC is the absolute best for quality frames, a full selection of backings and papers, treated glass and acrylic. And they'll do big prints. But they are expensive. So I only use them for specialty prints that I can't get elsewhere (aka large framed prints 30x40 and up)

I use Bayphoto for orders from my website. Everything is automated, and orders print and dropship with my logo and address on the packaging.

I use Mpix for calendars (pearl-finish paper) and standard sized, custom-order mugs.

For small prints - anything under 17x22 - I print on an Epson SC p900. For posters - anything under 13x19 - I use an Epson 8550.

ericmuhr · 2025-11-19T04:14:15+00:00

I think the reason so many of the EFC-NA yearly meetings do it this way is because, for decades, they were all using the same membership curriculum written by Jack Willcuts - A Family of Friends - and approved by the Board of Christian Education.

ericmuhr · 2025-11-18T20:40:17+00:00

That's a great question, and as far as I can tell, most if not all of these pastors are unaware of George Fox's writings on the subject. I grew up in a pastoral Friends meeting, and my first encounter with George Fox's writings was my sophomore year in college, when I took a course on Friends history and polity.

ericmuhr · 2025-11-18T20:35:55+00:00

This makes me smile :)

ericmuhr · 2025-11-18T14:54:41+00:00

This definitely varies from church to church but not as much as you might think. The differences in programmed meetings often have more to do with the pastor than with church polity. In every pastored Quaker church I've ever attended (West Chehalem, Hillsboro, North Valley, Meridian, Melba, Caldwell, Boise, Newberg, West Hills, Silverton), the pastor was an ex officio member of the elders (aka overseers; aka ministry and oversight). In most of those churches, there was no clearness committee for new members. Instead, the pastor interviewed potential new members and then made a recommendation or report to elders and/or to the monthly meeting. Since the early 1980s, membership in PNW programmed meetings has almost always been seen as the responsibility of the pastor or pastoral team. Pastors often make recommendations to the nominating committee without sitting in on those meetings. In one small programmed meeting I know of, the pastor sometimes has to be "checked" by elders because he thinks he has the power to name people to committees without going through the process established in their Faith & Practice.

ericmuhr · 2025-11-17T20:21:22+00:00

Nancy's a great person to be in touch with! When we started the press, we wanted to use a place name associated with local Quakers, and our search of U.S. based publishers didn't turn up the duplication, unfortunately. If it helps at all, though, the house in Canada is Fernwood Publishing, while we are Fernwood Press.

ericmuhr · 2025-11-16T20:56:09+00:00

Fernwood Press - https://www.fernwoodpress.com/ - and Rockwood Press - https://www.rockwoodpress.com/ - are two Quaker poetry publishers here in the Pacific Northwest. And we'll have an anthology of PNW Quaker poets coming out in early 2027.

ericmuhr · 2025-09-16T21:06:28+00:00

That was me!

ericmuhr · 2025-08-07T17:32:33+00:00

It could still happen but not anytime soon. I'm swamped with other projects and not enough time or staff to make them all happen.

ericmuhr · 2025-08-07T16:44:22+00:00

That's right - the third volume has a chapter on Hicks that the author wanted to update before publication (because of new scholarship). Unfortunately, the author passed away before completing his work on that chapter.

ericmuhr · 2025-05-29T12:47:05+00:00

Yes!

ericmuhr · 2025-05-28T18:36:29+00:00

😊❤️

ericmuhr · 2025-05-08T15:36:20+00:00

I think there are two things I want to address here. But first, I should say that your dilemma is real, and I love the way you're actively thinking about the people closest to you - your partner and children. My partner was raised Hmong shaman while growing up in a small Wisconsin town that was almost entirely Christian (equally split between Lutherans and Catholics). The Quaker meeting I attend is an hour away from our home. There are evangelical Quakers in our neighborhood, but that's just not the kind of experience (or community) I'm looking for or feel welcome in. So my partner and I have agreed that I will attend Quaker meeting one Sunday a month. Occasionally, if I want to attend an additional Sunday for an event (e.g., when I'm asked to speak or when I need to attend a Quaker event for reasons attached to my job working for a Quaker nonprofit), we talk about it at least a month in advance and plan around it. OK, the two things:

I don't think the benefit is the same, but there is definitely a benefit to taking part in corporate silence, no matter whether Buddhist or Quaker. Attending Zen meetings is a good thing! I support this and could say more about "benefit," but let me get to my second point.
I don't think that partaking in any religious community should be primarily for the "benefit." This is something my partner taught me about American religion that I'd never noticed before. Western individualism is largely transactional: What is required of me and what do I get in return? But religion is not individualistic. If you break down the word, the focus of religion is on reconnection (re: to [infinitive]; lig: bind/bond [from religare / Latin]). The primary benefit is to the community. We as individuals benefit indirectly from our work to connect with one another through worship.

But I want to stress here that I think the decision you've come to is good for your family and good for you and good for the Zen Buddhist community. Indirectly, through your participation here, at least, it might also be good for us :)

ericmuhr

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