Member to Lotte`: “…your apparent emphasis on Bitcoin concerns me a little bit. 

I’m sure you’re aware that one of the main Bitcoin exchanges – Mt Gox in Japan – recently went bankrupt after discovering that something north of $400 million dollars in Bitcoins went missing and about five million in cash was seized by the FBI.

If you haven’t seen the excellent article in The Guardian, everyone should check it out:”…

Lotte` reply: Thanks for the comments – and no worries on the discouragement – I’ve learned to feed on it!

…of course I’m very aware of Mt Gox.

I’d like to point out a couple of lines simply to keep from scaring anyone away from the meetup for this event.

Please keep in mind there is NO “emphasis” on bitcoin – This is simply a meeting that can help introduce Bitcoin to those interested in learning what it is. No different than describing merchant services for Paypal, Visa, Auth.net or anyone else running a small business in exchange for a currency of any sort. It is simply another payment option that is gaining traction QUICKLY.

Also – Please note the date of this article to be more than a month old – so I want to let everyone locally know that we NOW have 4 Bitcoin ATM’s RIGHT here in Austin!

Just to note a few lines for those who don’t actually read the article.

” its name, Mt Gox, stands for Magic the Gathering Online Exchange, where users traded cards for the game, giving bitcoins a place in the fringe-culture Venn diagram between Dungeons & Dragons and Renaissance faires. Fun stuff, but not really the stuff of mainstream legitimacy.”

That said – It seems clear to me how his argument becomes more compelling as it is described.

“This is why Mt Gox’s collapse is a boon for bitcoins. It clears out another attic full of ethical cobwebs from Bitcoin’s past. There are plenty of other bitcoin exchanges – who declined to bail out Mt Gox, according to Tim Fernholz at Quartz.”

Of course for all fellow artist out there – It is required that you do your own research when making any business decision.

 I hope that some of the information I provide will assist you all in either beginning or improving sales!

I personally handle a very small amount of transactions using bitcoin. I simply chose to become educated about it and have also chosen to open my doors to the slew of customers just waiting to spend their bitcoins on my products – any bitcoins in my account are exchanged into USD cash deposited into my bank daily. What’s to loose? 😉

Finally ~ I do hope to gain a group crowd over time – a permanent location for Happy Hollow will assist in that No Doubt! I am on a mission to find a permanent location and hope to host annual – recurring meeting and classes!

For now – I will continue trying to gather fellow Meetup artists and members at current meetings that – as a local small business and studio owner – successfully operating 4 online stores dedicated to glass alone – I find VERY valuable and worthwhile.

Please Join me! EVERYBODY! 😀