A Show Update

Atlanta was a great show for us! We had a lot of fun, meet some great new vendors and saw some of our old favourites. The best part of the show to me was the general atmosphere and vibe that I was picking up on. In January the vibe was slow, people seemed that they were only at the show because they felt they had to be and they were defiantly not in a buying mood.
What a 180 degree change! People were excited to be at the show, looking forward to the upcoming 4th quarter and just in general … optimistic! It was great, and we had great feedback on our new products!

Looking back through the orders, Sarah and I were so excited to see that Mini Angels were almost on EVERYONE! They were by far the hit of the show. Other hits included the new tree of enchantment balls; Christmas and Blessings. (I can’t wait to put up the mini tree of Christmas balls on my tree!) and continuing from last year, the pumpkins ( another item I can’t wait to decorate with this fall, can you tell that what seasons are my favourite!)

Later this week or next I will be posting our upcoming pumpkin special… stay tuned!

Our next show is the Toronto CGTA show and we are busy getting ready for it. It runs August 9-12 with a 4 day format, our booth number is 8107. After that we are headed to New York, there we have a new booth # which is 5402. The dates for this show are August 15-19th. During the New York show I will be flying to Chicago to participate in the IGC show ( Independent Garden Center) We have never participated in this show before and are really excited to try it out, we have been having a great response to our garden line, this show runs August 18- 20.
Whooo! August is sounding busy…

I hope that I get to see many of you at some of these shows and if not be sure to post some comments below!

Sophie

Off to Atlanta

In a few hours we will be off to the Atlanta to participate in the Atlanta Home and Furnishings market at the America’s Mart in downtown Atlanta. I look forward to this show every year. While I am sure that some manufactures and vendors dread this shows because it is generally the biggest show and it is usually the first show of the trade show season, I find it inspiring. You get to see familiar faces, see what other vendors are doing, look at the trends, but most of all I love getting the chance to meet and see many of our customers. I like getting the chance to hear how now until January has been. I also like getting to introduce new products to them that I know they will love.

Many out there are talking about whether shows are still a viable and profitable way to sell in the giftware industry, and while I do see their point, I have to offer this in disagreement. In an age where e-news, facebook , twitter and other social networking dominate our lives and encourage us to shop in certain ways, it is still very satisfying to have face to face communication. It is still a much more enjoyable experience to walk in and out of booths, touch and feel the merchandise and then really talk to the sales people. For many smaller companies you are probably meeting the owner or artist. If you are meeting a sales rep, they can offer you endless advice for what is happening in your area. The most important thing is that you get to experience what your customers will experience when they walk in the store. They will touch the things that you touched and be wowed by the things that wowed you… Okay... Okay I can hear you all groaning… enough with the romance of the show! Sorry, I am just excited and looking forward to seeing familiar and new faces in a few days!

In Atlanta we are in 2 different places:
Galway Showroom: Building 2 Showroom: 1709
Temp Booth: Building 3 Floor 2 Booth 800


Whether you go to shows or not I hope that I get to talk to you in person or via technology!

Sophie

A Great Project

I first stumbled upon the 3/50 project in an unlikely place … facebook, okay I guess it is not that unlikely…everyone and their mom is on facebook. But, being involved with giftware and so many of our customers being exactly like the shops the project is aimed at helping, I immediately took interest.
The basic idea that the 3/50 project has is that shopping locally is the way to go, and with this we will see a rejuvenation in our local economies. The formula works like this and is very easy to follow.
Pick 3 Stores in your local area that you would be sad or disappointed if they went out of business or disappeared. Then at these 3 stores try and spend $50/ month, not necessarily in each store but total. On their website they suggest that if just HALF the employed population spends $50/month at a local store it would generate almost 46 billion in revenue!! (this is based on US Government stats) They also send the message home by explaining that $68 for every $100 spent in local stores comes back into the community, through taxes, payroll and other expenditures. When you spend at a National Chain only $43 comes back and when you buy online nothing.
Many times I have walked through the downtown of the city that I live in (Guelph, On) and I look in the shops and think to myself “I need to shop down here more often” but then it seems that the minute I need to get a gift or clothing I am heading to the mall. Since reading about this program I have become more aware of the impact that supporting our local stores has after all if they all keep disappearing I will soon have no job! This month I have to buy a new dress to wear to a wedding and a new set of sheets. I am committed to buying these items in my downtown shops.
Please take the time and go to the 3/50 Project website. They have many interesting ideas for store owners to promote the program in the towns and cities that you live. They have window clings, canvas bags and even flyers you can hand out to your customers.
http://www.the350project.net/

enjoy!

Sophie