Gaining Closure Amid COVID
Whether you're seeking to receive your pan, receive a refund or make a purchase--I am here.
Above: The board pictured behind me is the final incarnation of TerraTonz’s production queue. It occupies the space above my childhood couch in my office/bedroom within the 2 bedroom/1 bathroom apartment I currently share with my two children in Rome, Georgia. With exception to the far right column, each post-it represents a person, a pan or a person/pan pair. The far right column represents other TerraTonz-centered situations I need to address. I ask everyone who sees the board to envision it clear.
While many creative people have temporarily contracted with TerraTonz over the 9 years of its existence, the active core of it has always been my (ex)husband Christopher, his childhood friend Clinton, Mannette’s tuner Rob and me.
Upon beginning cancer treatments in early 2019, I attempted to sell my portion of the company to a former contractor who changed his position and is now owed a debt. Later the same year, I finalized my divorce.
To insure a swift process causing minimal psychological, emotional and financial stress—we finalized without using attorneys, and TerraTonz remained an equally shared partnership between us. However, after purchasing steel and building enough pans to see the company through a season, my ex-husband departed for Costa Rica where he plans to remain long-term. He had hoped to keep TerraTonz functional. However, I no longer see a practical way to do so, and he respects my decision to cease new production.
Since I am based in the USA and am the driving force behind the decision to stop, I am bearing primary responsibility for the company now. In order to complete existing orders, I have an obligation to cover nitriding, utility expenses, tuning, some shipments and some requested refunds. There are just enough pans available for reservation now that these expenses can be met by the sale of these pans. Meanwhile, separate corporate debts will be addressed via private arbitration.
It is important to remember that, as I make progress toward meeting my goals for the company, I am also deriving my limited income from a variety of creative and corporate freelance writing projects while caring for my children and navigating an ongoing journey with cancer—hanging somewhere uncertain between Stage 2 and Stage 3. I have neither credit nor assets to provide a cushion nor to help accelerate my process. Like everyone else, I’m also experiencing the ripple effect of COVID 19.
Clinton provides support by remaining dedicated to do his part building, transporting and adhering pans. Rob provides support by remaining dedicated to tune. However, there are both new and existing limits on our resources, technology, abilities and time. Our work is a non-essential service. Under the best circumstances, the inter-state travel and collaboration our production requires are paused until further restrictions lift. While I obviously cannot state with certainty when this will be, I feel that June is an optimistic estimate. In the meantime, please know that I will be reaching out to everyone whose name is on my board. I will also be using Journeys to show evidence of progress as it’s made.
I realize this is a difficult time for everyone and that I’m being very forthright about the challenges I face. I’m doing this only to provide some context for deeper understanding. I am here. My board will be clear. And I’m deeply grateful to all who are part of the process. You are honestly an important part of a legacy. To learn more about that, read on.