When Your Studio Is Violated Do You Cry Or Do You Pick Up The Pieces?
On Friday July 15, 2022 The Artist Alley Studio Was Burglarized. So Where Do We Go From Here?
Our loss at the studio to the thieves was $8,000+ but it did not end there. The thieves stole papers that contained our home address and a day later they came to our home and stole our car. So where do we go from here? We pick up the pieces. Nothing was ever accomplished by crying over spilt milk.
Unfortunately two things severely affected our recovery from this violation. The first was an event called Country Stampede. This event is a very large event and takes place just down the road from us annually. Last year during the event someone tried to break into our back door at the studio. They were thwarted because it is a heavy steel door that is deadbolted and double barred. This year during the event they threw a no parking sign threw the front window to gain access.
Shortly before the burglary took place the event, due to excessive power demands, caused a “Brown Out”. This is when there is a power surge and your electric blinks and shuts down for just a second. This “Brown Out” caused my security system to shut down. Because the cache was full on the receiver the system could not reboot. The thieves struck while the cameras were down.
The second thing that hampered our recovery was no insurance. Our insurance company had recently dropped our liability policy because “We No Longer Cover Body Art Studios”. We were seeking out new coverage when the burglary occurred. So how have we addressed these flaws?
First and foremost we have obtained a new insurance carrier. We have also increased the security inside the studio and everything of value is now under lock and key when we close at night. But most importantly we have upgraded our security system. We have new cameras with battery backup and all video is saved to the cloud. A “Brown Out” nor a “Black Out” will never have an effect on the studio’s security again.
WE FORGIVE YOU
Though it has been extremely hard to do we have Forgiven the Thieves and have prayed for them. We also pray that they will do the right thing and return those items they stole. We must have faith that God will touch their hearts.
We have picked up the pieces cleaned up the mess and the studio is in full operation. Should you happen to come across items that belong to us or you know who the thieves are please phone Detective Julian at Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office at (785) 251-2551 or (785) 273-2220. If you have information on the theft of our 2001 Lexus please phone Topeka Police Department Detective Division at (785) 368-9400.
Thank you for your help, prayers and positive thoughts. All are appreciated more than we can express. God Bless You.
-The GYPSY and Raychel George-
