About Us

XeS Emporium is located in the rolling hills of "tax free" southern New Hampshire.

The Local Artisan (TLA), LLC, (along with it's companion site "The Fair Trader") was started in 2007 as a web outlet for producers of locally made products. The idea was to sell items produced by artisans, craftsmen, and small producers from around the world. The recent economic downturn hit our suppiers hard, leaving us with only one product line that was still viable - adult toys. So, we restructured our company and created a new division - XeS Emporium - to concentrate on that line of products, which also had the most sales and best profit margins. Through our experiences in the world of business we developed our business philosophy.

Business Philosophy

Every business needs a mission

Knowledge may be power, but when information is plentiful and easy to come by, the key to success is a vision that defines a comapny's mission. Without a defined mission, a company's resources will be scattered and underused. With a mission a company can focus it's resources on the one thing it does best.

Business is an Art

When we first heard this, we were skeptical, but from our own personal experience we were well aware that many businesses are structured to stifle creativity. On the other hand, many of the artists we have known feel that a concern for money will inhibit their artistic expression. Yet creative businesses often earn more money than the conservative business people in their blue or gray suits. And in the process, creative businesses can produce more relevant art than the cliched starving artist.

The Pursuit of Profits benefits us all

Each business transaction is an agreement that a trade of money for goods is a net gain for all parties. If you want to feed the poor, instead of begging for donations start a company and use the profits to build a well funded organization to help the poor. Paul NeWman did.

Build a life, not a company

Earning money is an important part of life, but for a complete and happy life, we also need good relationships, good health, and some fun. The Japanese have a word - karoshi - for the situation where a man works so hard over such long hours that he dies at his desk. They have such a word because it happens. We firmly believe that work should not be an all-consuming source of stress. Especially if the guy who dies at his desk from overwork has done so while making the big bucks for someone else.

Creative structure

The employer/employee relationship is a social contract as much as it is a business contract. Perhaps more. A friend whose family owns a famous tourist destination once told me that after the founder passed away his successor ran the business into the ground. The successor's attitude was that he was the boss and all decisions were his and his alone to make. Suggestions were viewed as an assult on his power and position. This person was out of his depth and feared that people would discover his lack of ability if he didn't make every decision himself. So he listened to no one and made a lot of bad decisions. This kind of tradional boss-as-dictator model of how a business should be run still exists, and is still ruining many a business. Rather than hire employees and continue the ways of the past, we prefer to establish partnerships, use productive software, and contract with consultants. We use the business to make money, not provide personal gratification to our egos.