(There's a message down there for you future friends, too!)

Spoiler Alert: Click here if you'd rather just see "the deal part" and not read the message. I don't mind ;)

Monday, October 13

Hi everyone,

That photo on the left is a gag I put together for our first Smocktoberfest, back in 2009. Over these past five years I’ve had the most amazing experience painting with you, your friends, and your families. We’ve had more than 2,000 classes since 2009, and I’ve been proud to have never missed a one.

Last week, however, I shared on Facebook the reason why, for the first time, I had to reschedule some classes over this past week. I’ve tried hard not to make Yes You Canvas! about me, but in the course of events it became impossible to hide the reason: I had recently learned that an old nemesis was back, and he had to be dealt with quickly and definitively. (Finding it out after planning this month’s “Helping Hope” events added a touch of personal irony.)

Well, when I shared the news on Facebook, I was taken aback by the number of comments left by well-wishers, and I was deeply moved by their content. I sort of saw the history of Yes You Canvas! flash before my eyes when I read them all; there were names that reached back to my very first year. It made me realize that while I’ve always tried to project a corporate image, hiding behind plural pronouns and flashy graphics, this has been a very personal endeavor, connecting me to you through the intimacy of self-expression. I’ve had a lot of time over the past few days to reflect on what’s been most important these past five years.

So now that I’ve beaten back that old foe once and for all, I want to say two things:

That starting Tuesday, October 14th, I’m back, and that—more importantly—

I want you back.

Whether it’s been three weeks or three years since you last came to paint with me, I want the chance to do it again. I want you to remember the personal attention that comes with a Yes You Canvas! class, the pride of ownership I want so much to engender in you, and the fun you can have (yes, by all means keep bringing wine!) while you’re learning about yourself and creating a masterpiece in the process.

I want to make it as easy as I can for you to choose Yes You Canvas! So for the next two weeks, I want to give you the chance to sign up for as many $35 adult classes as you want on our Jacksonville calendars from now through December for just $25, or $10 off the regular price. I hope that will be incentive enough to drive those extra miles or convince a few more friends to join you. Here it is in living color:

Take one or more $35 adult classes from now until the end of 2014 for just $25 each if you register in the next two weeks (that's Sunday, October 26th).

They’ll be $10 off.

Over 28% off.

That’s a value in any color. 

Here’s how it works: When you put a $35 class in your shopping cart, you’ll have reached the minimum required to use this coupon code: YYC10. Enter that code and your shopping cart reduces to $25. If you book two seats at once, or two classes at once, your cart will reach $70 and you can use the code YYC20 to reduce the total to $50. (Not bad for date night, huh?)

You can see everything I have to offer from now until the end of December by clicking here.

The coupon codes can be used as many times as you like! Give them to your friends...I want everyone to have them and use them. (I did two codes so you wouldn't have to do separate orders if you want two seats or two classes, but if you want to book more than two seats at one time, just make separate orders. If you want to book lots of seats, call me!) If you want to email anyone the details about the sale, you might prefer including a link to this page.

The last date the coupon codes may be used is Sunday, October 26th. I hope that’s plenty of time to grab your friends and make plans: plans to paint holiday gifts and wall decorations, bring visiting family in for a special evening, or just have a well-deserved girls’ night out.

Having you come back to Yes You Canvas! will not only be a great personal pleasure to me, it also will give me a chance to show you that Jacksonville’s original “Bring Wine and Paint” studio is still the best entertainment deal for your very valuable time and treasure. Click here to help me do it!

And all you "future" friends of Yes You Canvas!—please use the coupon codes to give us a try! I've painted with over 40,000 people here in Jacksonville since I opened in 2009...please join them and see what we've been up to!  

Thanks for reading (whew, that was long)!

David Durrett
(904) 993-9047
mail@yesyoucanvas.com

A message to those who’ve already signed up for $35 classes from October 15 - December 31

I haven’t done an “all classes” sale in many years, as I think it’s unfair to charge one person less than someone else who has already paid full price for the same class. My opinion on that hasn‘t changed; most retailers will tell you that’s the way the market works, but when it comes to customer service I believe in fairness above all else.

To those of you who paid $26.25 for your seats when they were first posted on sale, I want you to take home one of my adult or kids’ instructor paintings when you come in for your class, as your registration during a sale period means more to me than the $1.25 difference; it‘s fuel for the engine that keeps my studio running. (Just mention it to me when you’re here and take one...let’s keep it simple.)

To those of you who have paid $35 for a class that’s scheduled between now and December 31st, the last thing I ever want you to feel after you’ve registered for a class is that you shouldn’t have done so, or that you acted in haste because a better deal might have come along. Such an “all classes” sale is very rare for me for that reason, and I don’t play with discounts or specials that alienate full-paying customers. I’m grateful for your confidence and support, and with some of the time I’ve had on my hands these last few days I’ve gone in to each of your Yes You Canvas! accounts and given you a $15 credit for each of those seats. Please use it with my thanks during this sale or at any time in the future; simply click the “Use Account Credit” button in your shopping cart to apply it to your next total.