We were overwhelmed (happily)  a bit at the response to Mawulidi’s four carvings. His work sold almost instantly, and there is a growing waiting list for his carvings. There are hundreds of messages praising his work and congratulating him – and us – and wanting to buy his art works.

I’ve gotten hundreds of messages and e-mails so has Maria. Mawulidi is a hit, and a well-deserved one.

So I have the happy task of answering some of the most frequently asked questions and laying forth some boundaries and guidelines to make the process saner and, as always open. And to represent his best interests.

First off, we can’t (and shouldn’t) accept special orders for his work at this point.

Mawulidi does not speak English, text or do e-mail. He is a shy, quiet and formal person, devoted to his wife and children. There may come a time when he wishes to grow, that will be up to him. But now now.

When I communicate with him, it is in pre-arranged meetings with an interpreter present, I can’t just call or message him, nor do I want to. America is still quite strange to him.

Given the volume of traffic and requests, we can’t do a lot of back-and-forth with prospective buyers. If you want a carving, I’d suggest considering it and then deciding.

Maria and I are both very busy, and this is not our primary work, nor do we wish to be paid for the hours of work involved. So if you want a carving, message Maria – [email protected] – and then order it or not.

Lots of people agonize or aren’t sure, and that is understandable, but in this case, I’m afraid we just can’t accommodate that kind of back and forth. The waiting list is long and eager.

Many – many – people are sending me ideas, advice and plans for Mawulidi’s future and marketing. you know how much I love unwanted advice.

Let’s take it slow. Mawulidi cannot do a webpage or blog now, or platform on Etsy or Pinterest or Instagram or Amazon, or open a shop. He has a full-time job in a bakery, and helps raise four children with his wife. What precious minutes he has go to his carving, not his marketing.

He doesn’t have the tools to do it, and it would make him crazy. He is not drawn to technology. At the moment, we are his only outlet, that will change soon I hope.

Nor can Mawulidi take special orders, that’s not fair to the people waiting in line, and is confusing to him, as he can’t communicate with the buyers. It’s just not a good idea now. He does not need more pressure. He will never read these posts about him.

Our advice to him is to make what he wants – not what people ask for – and at his own pace,  not to scramble to sell a lot of things. He should work at his own comfortable and familiar way, be true to his own art.

We are meeting with him next week, and probably every week after for a while.

We hope to find the best way for him to be independent – we are not in the business of selling other people’s art and work. We ail also stay with him until he figures it out. i hope he goes all the way one day, but that is not up to me.

I hate to say this, but I need to: Maria and I are both swamped with work and we are not accepting any payment for this, so we have to manage our time. I don’t wish this to take away from the other refugee work or Mansion work, and I am committed to my blog and my books. This can’t be a full-time job for us.

It is today.

I’ve learned this selling photos and watching Maria, there is a tremendous amount of work involved in taking orders, processing, storing and printing them, making labels, finding safe packaging, wrapping the art, taping boxes,  pricing shipping, and trekking to the Post Office several times a day.

It is not simple. Boundaries are important.

So every week or so, Mawulidi will sell a few carvings and I will put them up on my blog, and Maria will handle the sales end of things – she is eager to do this. We won’t be doing any more than that, nor will Mawulidi, at least not for now.

If you want a carving, let Maria know – and she will let you know when they become available and  how much they cost. You will of course, have the option of saying yes or no. She will then move down the list.

There is an instinct online to always do more, be bigger, move faster. For Mawulidi’s sake, that is not a good instinct now. We’ll take it slow, do it right.

I hope this helps. I believe in boundaries and openness, and I appreciate your enthusiasm for his work. It seems a miracle to me, I am soaring over this wonderful experience.  I will stay with him as long as it takes.