Different & Special? California Gift Show Report, Summer 2009

WSL: Women ready to spend on home – if goods are ‘different’
-- Home Textiles Today, 7/23/2009 10:55:00 AM

New York – WSL Strategic Retail’s recent consumer survey found women are itching to spend again, if carefully. The top four items on their list: apparel, vacation, a night out and decorative home items.
But they’re not seeing the kind of merchandise that would stimulate a purchase, according to the consultancy.
WSL’s “How America Shops/Pulse of Shopping Life” found 48% of women surveyed could afford to shop but want to spend on items that are “different and special.” Among girls age 13 to 17, 50% would be willing to cut back on small purchase for something more expensive “if they really wanted it.”
One-in-four women said they were tired of penny-pinching and “ready to splurge,” according to the survey.
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That’s the article I received from a retail-specific publication in my email today. Great news and something that I think Webster’s Fine Stationers can definitely offer our customers! Our fabulous WFS buyers, Lori and Michelle, handpick everything here. We also have the input of our crew, who hears what you’re saying about what you’d like to see in our store. All our merchandise is special and isn’t something you’d find elsewhere. From our hand-made Altadena signs and cards to original oil paintings and picture frames, we’re stocking the decorative items you want at prices that aren’t out of this world. Even our office supplies are different. Many companies we feature are made here in the U.S. and you don't have to buy a pack of 50 file folders, envelopes, Post-It Notes or sheet protectors. Pens, pencils, binder clips and report covers are also available individually.

The Summer 2009 California Gift Show just ended Monday and I thought it was the best show we’ve been to. Granted, attendance was down due to the economy but those who were there were upbeat and looking forward to happier times ahead. The mood was lighthearted and we were happy to spend time in those showrooms that had the best and brightest to offer. It was nice to have time to make critical decisions and not be distracted by hundreds of buyers clamoring for attention.

I was personally very enamored by a newish company called Open Hand, out of Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Although their merchandise is made outside the U.S., they are a fair-trade company and provide all their artisans with safe, clean working conditions, fair wages and medical insurance for their families. Their products – scarves, wraps, jewelry and bags – are made out of post-consumer waste material and are uniquely beautiful. I love their messenger bags made out of recycled billboards and rubber tires! What’s great about this company is that they donate 10% of their profits across the board, before taxes, to organizations committed to helping people who have been subjected to the injustices of human trafficking here in the U.S. They’ve partnered with Wellspring, an Atlanta-based non-profit that helps women and girls who’ve been victimized by the effects of alcohol and drug addiction, depression, and working in the adult entertainment industry. Human trafficking takes many forms and is a complex problem. As long as there is a demand for products and services, and there are people living in poverty who are easily taken advantage of, trafficking will continue. We’re proud to be helping in any small way we can…look for Open Hand to arrive in store shortly.

Just in is inspirational jewelry and décor from Praols, a California company who manufactures their merchandise in Chula Vista. They create unique handcrafted jewelry and believe that everything in life carries a message. Therefore, their bracelets and necklaces aren’t just jewelry, but a fun way to pass the message on. Stay-at-home moms and low-income single mothers that find themselves in dire circumstances make the line. Working for the flexible company, these women are able to earn an income without the burden of day-care expenses. This great company’s merchandise arrived this morning and we couldn’t be happier to introduce it to you!




Check back in soon for another sneak-peek of the new items we’re expecting in.

Report from the California Gift Show

Hello faithful readers from the L.A. Mart on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles! There's not so much foot traffic this season as there has been in the past, but I suppose everyone's waiting until Friday, when the temporary exhibitors open on Floor Two. Even with less traffic, though, things are still humming along, and there's some fabulous new innovations that we're seeing. I'll give a more detailed report after market, but listen to what we've picked up on so far.

Green is the new black and I'm happy to report the amazing amount of recycled and post-consumer waste recycled products being shown! This tells me that eco-consciousness is not "just a fad", as was predicted a couple years ago, but here to stay. We are proud to support this effort by bringing in as much eco-friendly product as we can. Another cool thing is that the merchandise being shown is much better looking than in past seasons, and there's many more fair-trade companies climbing on the bandwagon. Yay for them!

Calling cards are in, in, in! In today's busy world, emails get missed and not everyone sees your status reports on Facebook or catches your Twitter updates. What's a trend-conscious computer-user to do when you can't get your message through? Leave a calling card, of course! Playing on a wonderful Victorian tradition, calling cards today have the punch of style needed to get you noticed when all else fails. As a reminder, WFS can make gorgeous, custom calling cards for you at very reasonable prices. No need to break the bank to be a trendsetter - come see us and we'll tell you all about it. You can save a bit, too, by looking us up on Yelp.com (http://www.yelp.com).

Cowhide and giraffe prints are sizzling this season! We're all over it and we're searching the show high and low for a taste of it.

More updates to follow....stay in touch.

Bloggus Interruptus Affects WFS!

We've caught that dreaded disease, Bloggus Interruptus, and accordingly, posting will be light this week.

Bloggus Interruptus is an incredibly disabling virus, especially in the summer, and is shared amongst retailers across the nation as they attend the July Gift Shows. To date, there is no cure, so the only hope is to go to these shows and buy what you pray your customers are looking for. We will be searching out unique merchandise made by local companies, prefferably sustainable, recycled and multi-purpose.

Rest assured that we'll be back as soon as the virus runs its course and we'll continue with the "Meet The WFS Staff" posts. I'll leave you with a picture of my home garden (when it looked good)....ciao until next week!

Meet The WFS Crew....Installment 3

Now that you know Michelle and Leilana, it's time to introduce you to Betsy, our resident artist and muse.

Betsy's real name is Violetta, but that's a mouthful, so she mainly goes by her nickname. We call her our artist because she's so creative and her lettering is perfect. She's responsible for making the majority of our hand-written signage in the store and outside.

There's a sense of quiet strength to Betsy, and her love of children shows in all she does. Put her anywhere there are children and she's happy. Betsy works part time with us, mainly in the mornings and weekends because her "real" job is working at Mayfield Jr. School in Pasadena. It's too cute to hear the children calling her "Miss Betsy" when they come into the store! Betsy says that she loves to be around children because it's from children that she learns about life. In her own words, "not only do kids brighten up your day when you're feeling blue, they also make you feel so loved".

Betsy and her family are local residents, too and when she's not working, she loves to be with them. She also loves listening to music. Music, she says, is therapy for the soul. She wants to go back to school to get her college degree and work with kids. She's not sure yet if she wants to be a juvenile probation officer, a social worker or a teacher, but she's working on the decision. She also dreams of helping her mom buy her dream home someday. Most young people Betsy's age would think of buying themselves something, like a new car or clothes, but not Betsy. That's what we love about her - always thinking of someone else's needs before her own. That was so evident during her little sister's recent bout with leukemia, which thankfully, she seems to be winning. She was there for her in every way possible and that's difficult when you're working two jobs. Kudos to Betsy for keeping it together for her family during such a terrible time.

When asked what she enjoys most working at WFS, she replied, "it's close to home, so that's a plus! I also like the fact that we get involved with the Altadena community, make donations and want to make improvements. I like that we inform people about how your town benefits when you spend your money in locally-owned businesses. I love how we've shifted our emphasis toward earth-friendly and locally-made products and feel that we've taken that important first step that hopefully other retailers will follow. But the best thing about WFS is that I love my co-workers - we're like family!"

You're like family to us, too, Betsy - thank you for all you do!

Meet The WFS Crew - Installment 2

Now that you've been introduced to our manager, Michelle, it's time to get familiar with our next crew member, Leilana. Leilana hails from the beautiful state of Hawaii but she's been a resident of Altadena for a long time now. If Michelle is my right hand, Leilana is my left, and all our regular customers know that Leilana is knowledgeable, capable and will go out of her way to take care of them.

Friends and family are important to her and she likes to spend what time she can with them. Unfortunately for her, there's very little time for that as she recently went back to school to continue her education (yay, Leilana!). In addition to work and school, she also volunteers time to do service work in the community twice a week. She keeps her equilibrium by remaining positive and making people laugh. She's a great prankster and loves nothing better than a good joke. Her favorite thing to do is talking with her young grandson, who lives in Texas, over the phone and sharing laughs with him.

Leilana plans to finish college and get her degree in social services. She'd love nothing more than to continue helping people by becoming a counselor of some sort. I'm content to have her work for WFS forever because she's the best and I know that I'd be hard pressed to find someone as skilled. She also hopes to marry her long-time boyfriend, buy a home and in her words "live happily ever after".

When asked what she likes most about working for WFS, she replied, "I love that WFS isn't just a dreary office products store anymore. There's different elements in the store now, like the home accessories, children's toys and games and fine social stationery that make my job more challenging and interesting. I also love working for a company that gets involved with our community. We've run fund-raisers for The Quality of Life Center and Five Acres, both worthy Altadena non-profits. WFS has donated so much to St. Elizabeth Church and Pasadena's Union Station. Lori and Scott are members of the Altadena Arts Coalition and are working toward revitalizing the North Lake Business District. All this makes me feel like we're helping give back to our area and I know that we'll continue to try to make a difference. That makes me feel good."

Thanks, Leilana, for all you do, both at work and off....we want you to always feel good about us. We couldn't do what we do without you!

Look for Installment 3 coming soon and meet Violetta (Betsy) Lopez.

Meet The WFS Crew, Installment 1

I've been wanting to introduce you to our crew here at WFS for such a long time and now is the perfect time to do it. We are blessed with a fabulous team and I'm proud to say that they're not just employees, they're friends. I'd like you to know them better, too, so I had them fill out a simple questionnaire and you know what? There's very common threads running amongst them all and those are family, community, children and education, plus they all live locally.

We'll start with Michelle, our manager, without whom WFS wouldn't run nearly as efficiently as it does. She's indispensable to us....if you've heard the adage "good things come in small packages", know that it was written about her. She's a bundle of energy and seemingly endless patience. Read on and discover what makes Michelle so special!

Michelle grew up in the South Bay (like I did) but moved to the San Gabriel Valley years ago. She's currently a student at Pasadena City College, majoring in business. She hopes to transfer soon to a four year college and get her degree. As most of you know, it's very difficult to go to school while you're working full time, as Michelle does, but she has very clear goals she's reaching for. When she's not studying, she enjoys spending time with her family. She's known as "Auntie Chelle" to her three adorable little nieces that she loves to spoil. Michelle would love to have kids of her own one day and she looks forward to meeting Mr. Right. She also loves playing racquetball, bike riding, reading and relaxing at the beach when she has the time.

When asked what she liked most about working for WFS, Michelle said, "I love WFS and have gained a lot of experience and knowledge about the business end of running a store. What I enjoy most is working for a company that I believe in, and working with people I believe in."

Thank you for that, Michelle....we believe in you, too! It's so great to have a crew that gets along well with each other and takes pride in what they're accomplishing.

Watch for our next blogpost for an interview with Leilana, our crew member with Hawaiian roots.

The Altadena Arts Coalition's Project: Altadena! Launches!

> IV>The AAC's Project: Altadena! launched this past Wednesday and it's quickly proving to be very popular. Blogs all over town are talking about it and the Pasadena Star News wrote a piece about it: http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/ci_12758702 We're very excited about all the coverage because this is going to be one heck of an exciting event!

If you haven't heard of Project: Altadena! yet, please check out Tim Rutt's Altadenablog article http://www.altadenablog.com/2009/07/project-altadena-still-snappin-away.html or simply scroll down this blog for my posts about it.

Last I heard, there were still a few cameras available. See Molly Tierney at Photography by Walt for them and once you have your camera, simply point and shoot! Be a part of the largest one subject photography exhibit in Altadena ever!

The Ink Cartridge Conundrum and Our Take On Economic Stimulii

Let's face it....replacement ink cartridges for your printer aren't very glamorous or exciting, are they? That is, until you need one, then they become a driving force in your life. Ever run out of ink in mid-print? Aaaargh! Whether at the office or at home, running out is a real pain in the keester.

Printer ink cartridges are a hot topic here at WFS lately. We used to be able to buy them a lot more inexpensively than we're able to now, because our former vendor of office products went out of business last year. Could be because the ink cartridge prices were so low. We had to find a replacement vendor but their prices aren't as attractive as the other company's, but such is life in office products and supplies. If you're not Staples, Office Depot or Target, forget it....unfortunately, our prices will never be as good because we'll never have the volume of shoppers these stores have. They buy in huge amounts so therefore can offer the cartridges at a low price, even though the margins are slim. That's the short explanation of why our prices are higher than the chain stores, depressing though it may be. I'm sure you've noticed the hike in cartridge prices and, God love you all, you've been buying them anyway. We appreciate the support very much.

However, yesterday a gentleman came in that needed two HP printer ink cartridges, one color and one black. Combined, the total for both was over $100.00! He was stunned and I was ashamed. Ashamed? Yes, indeed I was....during the midst of a bad recession how can we be selling these things at such a high price? Trying to explain it, like I did above, to customers in the store doesn't work well. Not too many people understand, or care, that we buy these things at a higher cost. Traditionally, the margins (what we buy them for vs. what we sell them for) are slim, like I mentioned above. I'm going to break a retailer's rule here (Retail Rule #28 - never tell the public what your margins are) by letting you know that in the past, Webster's was making anywhere from $5.00 to $15.00 per cartridge sold. That's not very much, considering the amount they sold. And since the split of the stores 2 years ago, we're selling even less than that. It's a definite conundrum, you see....lower the prices to try to compete with the chain stores and make very little on the sale or raise the prices and feel like a highway robber? Neither option is very attractive to us.

Therefore, for the month of July, we're offering printer ink cartridges at 20% off! That's our little offering of an economic stimulus for our customers. We'll take the hit on our margins to ease the hit on your pocketbook. There is a catch, though - we'd like to start an ink cartridge buyer's club and we need your email address. That's all....your email address for 20% off our ink cartridges. Pretty fair trade, don't you think?

I'd like to thank that gentleman who came in yesterday. We weren't able to make him happy, but because of him we're trying to do something to make you happy. We all love being happy, right? Come in today and let us make you happy!

The 3/50 Project Makes National News!

After my last post, here's some great news to report: The 3/50 Project has gotten national coverage from no less than The Wall Street Journal! See the article at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124631541083270621.html

If you're not familiar with The 3/50 Project, it's a grassroots organization founded by retail speaker/motivator Cinda Baxter, of Minneapolis, MN. Its premise is pick three brick and mortar businesses you'd hate to see go out of business and spend an affordable $50.00 a month at them.

Webster's Fine Stationers has been supporting Cinda and The 3/50 Project since its inception. We continue to hand out fliers about it and have them affixed to our doors. We want to congratulate Cinda and The 3/50 Project for this coup, and we will stay on course educating people about how important it is to shop locally. It would be wonderful if newpapers in Southern California would write about this, too....we need all the exposure we can get!

I highly recommend your reading The Wall Street Journal article. In it, it shows how the Project is helping retailers all across the country weather this recession. It actually helps you, too, as it helps to strengthen your local economy when you support local businesses. The more support a local retail store has, the more resources they're able to draw from to offer better merchandise and prices. They can keep the local people who work there employed and productive and if enough support is given, perhaps even give them a raise (a miracle in this economy!).

What this article does is give us hope, so thank you, Cinda, and thank you to all our supporters! We love you and want to assure you that we will fight hard to be here for you. We also want to take this opportunity to assure you that Webster's Fine Stationers will scour the markets to bring you the finest, most unique, ecologically responsible and prefferably locally made merchandise we can find at reasonable prices. A tall order, I know, but we're committed to this ideal. We've just gotten in new decorative paper (for invitations, craft projects, announcements, etc.) from The Green Paper Company. All the paper is recycled, but they contain from 30% to 100% post-consumer waste, depending on the design, and that's fabulous! Plus, the paper is made right here in the United States.

Again, congratulations to The 3/50 Project! Now it's on to the Today Show!

Is It Too Late To Save Webster's?

If you've been reading our blog, you know there's a huge grassroots movement all across the country urging people to shop locally. From Maine to California, people are becoming more educated about how shopping at independently owned businesses positively affects your community's economy. There's The 3/50 Project and The 10% Solution, there's BuyLocal groups in almost every city and town in the U.S., but is it enough to save Webster's?

Webster's has been suffering a decline of business for years now and the family has been fighting hard to make ends meet here. The big box stores and chains have affected our business severely, and the decision by the family to separate the stores didn't help matters much. I can't answer for the family's reluctance to communicate with our customers and friends about the separation, but I can share our feelings about it (which I've done in prior posts, if you read back).

Bill Webster has been running the pharmacy since his father died when he was 19 years old. His desire to retire spurred the separation, because he just couldn't figure out a cost-effective way to keep all the merchandise separate if we didn't erect walls between the stores. Note that I said "cost-effective". Possibly, we could have found some point-of-sale system out there that would've allowed us to keep the stores open to each other. That system, along with all the accoutrements necessary for it to function correctly, would've been terribly expensive. Contrary to popular belief, none of us has a lot of extra cash laying around. Remember, I wasn't always a Webster, and I've been overhearing all sorts of conjecture and innuendo about how much money the family has for years. After sinking just about everything into the store to keep it running, how could they have any? If an expensive system for the control of merchandise was out of the question, the only thing left to do was to build the walls or sell. Since then, our store has lost over 50% of its former business....I can only imagine the effect on the other stores.

So that's the gist of what happened. Those walls went up in June of 2007 and it's now June 2009. It amazes me that people still come in, every single day, and ask about the changes, and that's just in my store. Seriously, people, at least 5 time a day people ask when we made the changes. Is it really true that so many of our customers are only our customers once every two years or so? This is why I've tried to call your attention to the community benefits of shopping locally and to educate you on the dangers of shopping at chains and big box stores.

I would love it if Webster's Fine Stationers could succeed as a separately owned store. This store is our baby, our passion, and we've been nurturing it carefully these past two years. I think we're headed in the right direction and even though Altadena doesn't seem to like the changes, we've got some staunch supporters of our store. We've got so many plans ahead for fund-raising for local non-profits such as The Quality of Life Center and Five Acres, for having fun events here at the store and with the Altadena Arts Coalition, I'd like to see them come to fruition. We'd also like to keep all our local employees working, and not adding to the unemployment statistics. It's scary to think about, but if the separate stores can't pay their rent, then Webster's Pharmacy will be gone. My father-in-law is again talking of selling it all. He's got a point, you know. There comes a time when you have to ask yourself if this is actually a business or just an expensive hobby. Truly, my friends, we can't keep the stores open with no revenue - no one has that much money.

How many times have I heard people say, "What would we do without Webster's?" Well, Altadena.....what would you do? You'd be driving by a large condo or apartment complex where we are now, or perhaps a storage place or an ugly office building. You'd be driving down to Pasadena every time you needed to pick something up. Kid's got a project due at school? Whoops, now you've got to drive down to Michael's or a stationery shop on Colorado Blvd. for project or poster board. Need an ink cartridge refill for your printer? Schlep on down to Staples, on Arroyo for those, because you'd sure be lucky if RiteAid has them. I'm sure you don't need more examples, you know it would be a shame if Webster's as a whole had to go out of business.
Time something was said, and I guess it falls to me. So I ask you, Altadena.....show us some love and help us save Webster's!

WFS American Heritage Celebration, Now Through July 3rd

What better time to have a celebration of the basic tenets of American society than Independence Day? In the days leading up to our nation's 233rd birthday, we ask that you stop and think about what makes the U.S. special, unique and a nation that stands alone in the world as an ideal. Now stop and think about what makes your community special and unique. Is it the McDonald's down the street? The Rite-Aid or the Starbucks? Maybe the HomeGoods store or Marshalls or The Home Depot? I'm thinking it's not. Every community, more or less, has these big-box and chain stores. More likely, it's that great little liquor store down the street, or the cleaners that also does wonderful alterations that gives your community its character. It's that fabulous little gift shop or stationery boutique where you can find the choicest offerings that you can't find everywhere else. These brick and mortar stores are the foundation of your community and in reality, are the foundation of business in the United States today. Used to be, all stores were mom & pop operations....we are the businesses that America was built on and I'm proud to be an independent retailer! In that light, Webster's Fine Stationers is celebrating its great American heritage with a heartfelt thank you to our supporters. We urge everyone to rethink their shopping habits and patronize their local businesses. Read about The 3/50 Project.....go to their website, http://www.the350project.net/ and register as a supporter. If you're a retailer, register also, and use their promotional material and make a change in this retail environment. Say no! to the big boxes and chains and yes! to independent businesses!

For our celebration of American Heritage, we've printed up notecards you can address to our troops for the 4th of July. Make a serviceman or woman's day brighter by telling them just how much you appreciate their courageous contribution to keeping America free. Webster's Fine Stationers will take all your cards and forward them on to our military servicepeople. Just ask a crewmember for one of the cards at the counter.

Remember, my friends....shop local, keep your money in the community where it belongs and have a fabulous 4th of July!

Get Your Summer On, Part 3 - New Product Alert!

Ahhh, summertime....it's almost here and what a perfect time to keep in touch with your family and friends. Backyard parties, graduation celebrations, birthdays, wedding and baby showers, pool parties, sleepovers - there are endless options to get together this season. Invitations for these events can be found all over but I know you're looking for something special....something different and fresh and WFS has found them! PJ Invites, a new company who makes their imprintable (or fill-in) invitations right here in the US, has unique and colorful designs with fashion-forward colors....we've just gotten our first shipment in and we couldn't be happier! Another plus is they come with coordinating thank you notes.

PJ Invites also makes personalized stamps for all your correspondence. I know, personalized stamps have been around for a long time and they're cool, but they're pricey and you have to keep buying replacement inkpads for them. Enter PJ Cardona, who has designed a self-inking stamp that'll last for 30,000 impressions, which is probably more than you'll stamp in a lifetime! She also told me that if for any reason her stamps dry up, they'll replace the stamp with a new one....that's a guarantee I like. PJ's stamp designs are the coolest around, too, and they offer licensed sorority logos. Tri-Delts, you know you've always wanted a personalized stamp with your sorority affliliation on it, right? Even if you're not a sorority gal, these stamps are so special and can personalize your correspondence notes, letter papers, books, homemade gifts....anything you can think of. So handy, compact and cute, cute, cute! We even have notecards designed especially for the stamps, which you can personalize with your new, custom stamp....these are wonderful gifts for anyone for any occasion and they're ready in less than a week!