About fifteen years ago I hit it rich in the Insurance software industry.
An executive of a major Insurance company bought several thousand copies of our IBAS program.
In unrelated news my partner is now going to racing school, has a couple Vipers, a very fast and equally expensive Porsche, and I retired from Insurance software design to become a sculptor.
Being flush with cash at the time I bought a ton of alabaster. Actually a bit more than a ton, but you get the idea.
Well, this spring I put chisel to the last boulder of that initial purchase. This was exciting and more than a bit disconcerting. What if I'm struck by inspiration while I'm without stone?
Let's face it I'm utterly rockless.
Being out of the rock buying biz for a little over a decade, the first thing I did was call my original supplier.
Glory be, they were still in business. As I was about to finalize the purchase a thought struck me like a ton of... well, alabaster: "Maybe I should do a little cyber shopping?"
And that is what I did.
Heading off to my favorite search engine (the one I can remember how to spell) I started a hunt for alabaster suppliers -- and am I glad I did. Unknown to me fifteen years ago there was, and still is, a company selling alabaster at about 25% the normal cost. That's right. The national average for alabaster is anywhere from $1.50 to $1.75 per pound for standard opaque or translucent white. Well, this new guy is selling at 40 cents per pound.
That's a significant savings. If only I'd known about this fifteen years ago I could have purchased several tons and now I'd be living out of my car having been evicted for hoarding boulders under the stairs of my apartment.
Fortunately that did not come to pass, and now I'm left with the less dramatic and much more joyful prospect of purchasing 16 or 17 boulders.
p.s. If you're also in the market for alabaster check out Colorado Alabaster.
