Sunday, July 20, 2008

Summer Market


Every July we pack up our bags and head to Atlanta for the International Home and Gift Market. Everyone tells us it must be so much fun to buy for the shop. I will admit that we do have a good time, but it is also a lot of work. Our schedule is to meet our bus every morning at 8:30am and stay at market until 6:00pm everyday for 4 days. We are on our feet shopping for great new products to bring back to the shop for an exciting fall and winter season. We meet many retailers and share our stories with them. We are able to learn from each other and come back to the shop refreshed and ready for a new season. We met a couple of women from Texas who operated a Christmas shop from September through January that do over 1 million in business. Now that is impressive! They shared with us many wonderful ideas. We also met with editors from O Home, Instyle, and Country Living magazines. They shared with us the process they go through to choose items for their magazines. Like us, they do a lot of leg work and research before they feature a product in their magazines. We did a lot of research before market and have added many new vendors we are sure you will love! We are bringing in a lot of seasonal merchandise that will bring a big smile to your face. This year we will be having our first ever HALLOWEEN AND FALL OPEN HOUSE on Saturday, September 6, 9:00-5:00. We hope you will join us for the fun!

Thursday, July 3, 2008

SUMMER FUN




Summer is here! Everyone knows I love summer. I used to love the cold weather, but as I have gotten older, I love the warm summer weather. It's a fun few months that families gather together for a well deserved vacation. My family recently went to the beach and I loved every minute of it! We did the usual "touristy" things, but I really loved the times I did nothing but watch the waves and thought about nothing. Reality soon set in as I returned home refreshed from vacation. I returned fresh and energized for the new season at the shop. I am now working on our first ever Halloween/Fall Open House. We will have so many exciting new Halloween and fall items that I know you will have to have! And, believe it or not, I am also finalizing all our Christmas plans. We are planning our Halloween/Fall Open House September 5 & 6, and our Christmas Open House November 2. We hope to see you at both of these exciting events! In the meantime, enjoy your summer and come see all the fun summer items we now have in stock!