At Sweet Tooth we are entering THE retail season of the year....it's called 4th quarter. Along with all the new merchandise, we are planning lots of events at our store, including what we call TRUNK SHOWS.
My one and only daughter thought folks might be interested in hearing about what sort of planning goes into a Trunk Show....so here goes.
No, a Trunk Show does not involve cars or lockers or big trunks. But once upon a time, trunk shows often did involve salesmen carting around trunks, opening them up for customers to pick through and find what they wanted. And in England I read that people pay a fee to get into an event where they do open their car trunks and sell whatever they have brought. It's like our flea markets, in a way.
At Sweet Tooth, a Trunk Show involves planning to bring in merchandise that we might not ordinarily carry in our store, making it available for a few days so that customers can see a greater range of items in a particular line. In our case, it is usually a Jewelry Trunk Show, but we have shown other merchandise lines.
We invite a representative from the company to be on hand, to talk to customers, answer questions, take special orders and generally represent the merchandise line.
And of course at our Trunk Shows, we MUST have yummy treats, sometimes even a glass of wine, occasionally a special order from our Sweet Shop Truffle company to "fuel" our customers who attend the Trunk Show.
We always have special offers, a gift with purchase, a drawing for an item from the gift line. Sometimes we have a Preview Day so that current customers of that line get a chance to see the Trunk Show first..
How early do we need to start planning? Most of the time we begin 6 months or so out from the date of the Trunk Show. Ordering the merchandise, designing, ordering and mailing the invitations, taking ads in monthly magazines, putting a "crawl" line on our television ad, getting refreshments and so on take lots of extra time.
In addition, retailers are always several seasons ahead of their customers. We began ordering Christmas and Chanukah candy and gifts in January. Very soon we will order Valentine and Easter/Passover. Why so early? Manufacturers need those orders so that they can produce and ship to their distributors and those distributors can ship to us retailers.
So if we greet you with a "Happy Valentine's Day" just know that we are already beginning our planning for spring 2013.
And if you see Sweet Tooth is having a Trunk Show, we hope you will attend. No special invitations are ever needed and we promise there is no arm twisting to purchase. You simply have the opportunity to get up close and personal with the Trunk Show line, our sales representative and our staff. And YOU might just be the one who wins the drawing for a wonderful free gift!!
Mark your calendar: Elly Preston Jewelry Trunk Show on Saturday September 29!!
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Happy Birthday Gene Kelley
I have started walking again after work with Jeff. You'd think that a retailer would get lots of exercise, restocking candy with heavy boxes, checking in new merchandise with heavy boxes and standing up most of the day helping customers.
All that is true, but when you split it up among several people, in a season which isn't really busy, it turns out that vacuuming is the only real exercise you can get.
Now I am not the sort of person who enjoys exercising. I don't dislike it, but I find it hard to get into the habit. Once I get going, walking is an okay form of exercising, particularly when you can watch other people or check out how they are keeping up their yards or their houses.
Sometimes we walk around the second level at Tulsa Promenade, but that can get a little tedious if the window displays in the store aren't changed often enough.
My all time favorite "exercise" was the tap class several friends and I took a few years ago. Our teacher, Robin was the perfect teacher...no pressure, lots of patience, full of stories about her life and no recital!! . You know, Mary Jane tap shoes are feminine and attractive, but the real professional look is the lace up shoes which bend easily when you need to do certain tap steps.
The sound of taps on a wooden floor is thrilling and sparks a real sense of pleasure. Learning tap routines is probably a lot easier if you are younger, but when you "get it" and the tap sounds are working and you are moving across the floor, it is just a great feeling.
I miss tap class. I miss Amy, Jan and Sabrina and some of the other ladies I would see each week. I miss talking to our customer Dee who has been in a tap class for years and has stories about going to New York City and tapping on the streets of Manhattan. I miss the sound of tapping. Sometimes I just get out my tap shoes and give them a good look and imagine that there will be a tap class again in the future.
By the way, Happy 100th Birthday to Gene Kelley, one of the greatest tap dancers in the world!!
All that is true, but when you split it up among several people, in a season which isn't really busy, it turns out that vacuuming is the only real exercise you can get.
Now I am not the sort of person who enjoys exercising. I don't dislike it, but I find it hard to get into the habit. Once I get going, walking is an okay form of exercising, particularly when you can watch other people or check out how they are keeping up their yards or their houses.
Sometimes we walk around the second level at Tulsa Promenade, but that can get a little tedious if the window displays in the store aren't changed often enough.
My all time favorite "exercise" was the tap class several friends and I took a few years ago. Our teacher, Robin was the perfect teacher...no pressure, lots of patience, full of stories about her life and no recital!! . You know, Mary Jane tap shoes are feminine and attractive, but the real professional look is the lace up shoes which bend easily when you need to do certain tap steps.
The sound of taps on a wooden floor is thrilling and sparks a real sense of pleasure. Learning tap routines is probably a lot easier if you are younger, but when you "get it" and the tap sounds are working and you are moving across the floor, it is just a great feeling.
I miss tap class. I miss Amy, Jan and Sabrina and some of the other ladies I would see each week. I miss talking to our customer Dee who has been in a tap class for years and has stories about going to New York City and tapping on the streets of Manhattan. I miss the sound of tapping. Sometimes I just get out my tap shoes and give them a good look and imagine that there will be a tap class again in the future.
By the way, Happy 100th Birthday to Gene Kelley, one of the greatest tap dancers in the world!!
Monday, August 20, 2012
"No matter where you go, there you are."
At Sweet Tooth we've been thinking about Back to School. Normally our store doesn't have much to offer for Back to School, but this year we brought in a line called Locket Lookz---accessories both decorative and functional to put in a school locker. It has been fun for us.
But Back to School used to mean something different. When my daughter started a new school year, we thought a lot about "change": how we deal with it and what it will mean.
Of course we always took the "First Day of School Picture"---you know, the one where our daughter was dressed in her new outfit (this was before uniforms), standing with her hand on the front door knob, purse or lunch bag in hand and maybe a notebook to write down all the stuff we were going to shop for after school!
Change didn't have anything to do with new clothes or school supplies. Change represented the unknown, the possibility of failure or rejection (especially in middle school!).
Couldn't we look on the sunny side of change?--new opportunities, new friends, new things to learn, new challenges which we would conquer?
Change pulled us in both directions and even the promise of success couldn't completely eliminate thoughts of failure.
Thinking about Back to School and "change", I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes which can be found on Mary Engelbreit calendars, notepads and flags:
"No matter where you go, there you are."
I still haven't thoroughly understood the meaning of that quote but I feel that it pretty well describes everyone's journey through life.
But Back to School used to mean something different. When my daughter started a new school year, we thought a lot about "change": how we deal with it and what it will mean.
Of course we always took the "First Day of School Picture"---you know, the one where our daughter was dressed in her new outfit (this was before uniforms), standing with her hand on the front door knob, purse or lunch bag in hand and maybe a notebook to write down all the stuff we were going to shop for after school!
Change didn't have anything to do with new clothes or school supplies. Change represented the unknown, the possibility of failure or rejection (especially in middle school!).
Couldn't we look on the sunny side of change?--new opportunities, new friends, new things to learn, new challenges which we would conquer?
Change pulled us in both directions and even the promise of success couldn't completely eliminate thoughts of failure.
Thinking about Back to School and "change", I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes which can be found on Mary Engelbreit calendars, notepads and flags:
"No matter where you go, there you are."
I still haven't thoroughly understood the meaning of that quote but I feel that it pretty well describes everyone's journey through life.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Truly Trudy
I never set out to be a retailer. Thanks to my sister we have owned Sweet Tooth Candy & Gift Co. for almost 20 years. First we had 2 locations in The Farm Shopping Center and for the last 10 years we have been at 38th and Harvard.
The most important thing about owning Sweet Tooth has been the many people we have met over the years. We have had terrific employees, enthusiastic and loyal customers and some really great sales reps who have partnered with us to make Sweet Tooth a home away from home.
We spend about 50 hours a week at the store. We are the original Mom and Pop. Our role models are the peddlers of yester year, who knew their customers and brought them items to purchase which those peddlers knew their customers would need and want.
Every day brings routine and surprises. This past Wednesday most of the day was dedicated to working with one of our devoted sales reps. This brings me to Truly Trudy.
We have followed Trudy around the Gift Market since we first met her. Wherever she went, we went because Trudy is just the sort of person whom you want to know and work with.
On Wednesday, for example, she nudged us into restaging our Embellish Your Story section of the store. This is Trudy's line of creative magnetic artwork which we have carried for about 3 years.
Trudy spent her entire day, 8 hours of her personal time reworking that space in our store.
What's the deal with Truly Trudy? Well, she wants us to be a successful store. She is a rare breed of sales rep who thinks about what will work for us and then goes about implementing it in our store.
Trudy has become a friend too. Sometimes we just sit and talk about our lives and what we want for ourselves. We have shared good times and difficult times. There is no one better than a person like Trudy who is a true sales person and a true friend.
That's our Truly Trudy!!
The most important thing about owning Sweet Tooth has been the many people we have met over the years. We have had terrific employees, enthusiastic and loyal customers and some really great sales reps who have partnered with us to make Sweet Tooth a home away from home.
We spend about 50 hours a week at the store. We are the original Mom and Pop. Our role models are the peddlers of yester year, who knew their customers and brought them items to purchase which those peddlers knew their customers would need and want.
Every day brings routine and surprises. This past Wednesday most of the day was dedicated to working with one of our devoted sales reps. This brings me to Truly Trudy.
We have followed Trudy around the Gift Market since we first met her. Wherever she went, we went because Trudy is just the sort of person whom you want to know and work with.
On Wednesday, for example, she nudged us into restaging our Embellish Your Story section of the store. This is Trudy's line of creative magnetic artwork which we have carried for about 3 years.
Trudy spent her entire day, 8 hours of her personal time reworking that space in our store.
What's the deal with Truly Trudy? Well, she wants us to be a successful store. She is a rare breed of sales rep who thinks about what will work for us and then goes about implementing it in our store.
Trudy has become a friend too. Sometimes we just sit and talk about our lives and what we want for ourselves. We have shared good times and difficult times. There is no one better than a person like Trudy who is a true sales person and a true friend.
That's our Truly Trudy!!
Saturday, August 11, 2012
It Was Meant To Be
I've got a story for you and it starts with the expression "it was meant to be".
The story starts a week ago Friday when we were asked to deliver some food to an older woman who lives alone. We called her several times on that Friday but she did not answer. So we left a message telling her why we were calling and asking her to return the call.
Exactly a week later the woman called to say that she would be home at 6:00 pm and we could come by for a visit.
About 6:30 p.m. we turned onto her street, looking for her house. A block or so ahead of us we saw a fire truck, lights flashing and excitement gathering. Looking at each other, we thought the same thing: is the fire truck stopped at the home we were about to visit?
You guessed it!! Smoke was coming out of her house and she was standing on the driveway, arms locked with 2 men who had stopped to help her and had called the fire station. Soon there were at least 5 or 6 fire trucks, about 12-15 firemen in and out of her house. The water hose was hooked up to the hydrant in her yard and the firemen were working to save her house. There was a tremendous amount of noise...from the fire hose, from the fan which was drawing smoke out of her house and from the general but very organized hubbub in her yard.
Because we sort of knew the woman we became the go-between, speaking a little bit on her behalf to find her family and people to help her.
It was meant to be....if we had reached her the week before, we would not have been there to help her when she needed it most. There was a lot of damage inside her house, but she was safe and well and determined to go back home.
How do I feel about all this? I guess I do believe that there are moments in life when people are brought together to help each other. It is both a strange but exhilarating experience to be where you are meant to be.
And my reward? A kiss on the cheek from the woman and a brief word of thanks. That kiss meant a lot to me.
The story starts a week ago Friday when we were asked to deliver some food to an older woman who lives alone. We called her several times on that Friday but she did not answer. So we left a message telling her why we were calling and asking her to return the call.
Exactly a week later the woman called to say that she would be home at 6:00 pm and we could come by for a visit.
About 6:30 p.m. we turned onto her street, looking for her house. A block or so ahead of us we saw a fire truck, lights flashing and excitement gathering. Looking at each other, we thought the same thing: is the fire truck stopped at the home we were about to visit?
You guessed it!! Smoke was coming out of her house and she was standing on the driveway, arms locked with 2 men who had stopped to help her and had called the fire station. Soon there were at least 5 or 6 fire trucks, about 12-15 firemen in and out of her house. The water hose was hooked up to the hydrant in her yard and the firemen were working to save her house. There was a tremendous amount of noise...from the fire hose, from the fan which was drawing smoke out of her house and from the general but very organized hubbub in her yard.
Because we sort of knew the woman we became the go-between, speaking a little bit on her behalf to find her family and people to help her.
It was meant to be....if we had reached her the week before, we would not have been there to help her when she needed it most. There was a lot of damage inside her house, but she was safe and well and determined to go back home.
How do I feel about all this? I guess I do believe that there are moments in life when people are brought together to help each other. It is both a strange but exhilarating experience to be where you are meant to be.
And my reward? A kiss on the cheek from the woman and a brief word of thanks. That kiss meant a lot to me.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Becoming the Homecoming Queen
I read fashion magazines.
Well, I can't really say I "read" them. Rather I flip through these magazines and study the pictures.
When I was a teen, nothing was better than the monthly "Seventeen" magazine. Now that was a magazine where reading the articles was even more important than the pictures.
After all, I just had to know the rules for being the coolest girl. I wanted to look like the models and follow all the advice in the magazine.
I wasn't in with the "social circle". I was more on the fringe looking in. I wasn't intimated, I didn't yearn to be with that group. I simply was curious to know what it was like to be the Homecoming Queen or the class secretary.
When I look at the fashion magazines now it's to try to figure out the next hot trend -- the new color -- the next great jewelry line.
After all, knowing that is homework for a retailer. If only we retailers knew the secret formula for retail success, it would be like being the Homecoming Queen!!
Well, I can't really say I "read" them. Rather I flip through these magazines and study the pictures.
When I was a teen, nothing was better than the monthly "Seventeen" magazine. Now that was a magazine where reading the articles was even more important than the pictures.
After all, I just had to know the rules for being the coolest girl. I wanted to look like the models and follow all the advice in the magazine.
I wasn't in with the "social circle". I was more on the fringe looking in. I wasn't intimated, I didn't yearn to be with that group. I simply was curious to know what it was like to be the Homecoming Queen or the class secretary.
When I look at the fashion magazines now it's to try to figure out the next hot trend -- the new color -- the next great jewelry line.
After all, knowing that is homework for a retailer. If only we retailers knew the secret formula for retail success, it would be like being the Homecoming Queen!!
Monday, August 6, 2012
Remembering Alicia and Her Candy Buffet
Sunday Sweet Tooth had a booth at the Tulsa Wedding Show. We've been a part of that show for a number of years, introducing prospective brides to the fun and the purpose of having a Candy Buffet at their wedding reception.
Toward afternoon's end, our booth was visited by Nicolas Stolusky, Event Sales Manager for the Tulsa Zoo. Tulsa Zoo can host all sorts of events at their facility. Meeting Nicolas took me back to one of the first Candy Buffets we did for a wedding reception. It was at the Tulsa Zoo.
I am remembering Alicia and Jeff who wanted their wedding reception to be a joyful experience for their guests. They decided to have a Candy Buffet and they picked all their favorite candies, including Chocolate Gummi Bears which Alicia loved.
I am remembering the absolute joy they expressed the night of their wedding...the dancing, their friends, their family all crowding around the Candy Buffet.
I am also remembering Alicia, a heart transplant survivor who died too young and left me thinking how the Tulsa Zoo and the Candy Buffet and her love for Jeff has left a handprint on my heart.
It was something as simple as Alicia's idea for a Candy Buffet that demonstrated to me what real joy people can bring to each other.
Toward afternoon's end, our booth was visited by Nicolas Stolusky, Event Sales Manager for the Tulsa Zoo. Tulsa Zoo can host all sorts of events at their facility. Meeting Nicolas took me back to one of the first Candy Buffets we did for a wedding reception. It was at the Tulsa Zoo.
I am remembering Alicia and Jeff who wanted their wedding reception to be a joyful experience for their guests. They decided to have a Candy Buffet and they picked all their favorite candies, including Chocolate Gummi Bears which Alicia loved.
I am remembering the absolute joy they expressed the night of their wedding...the dancing, their friends, their family all crowding around the Candy Buffet.
I am also remembering Alicia, a heart transplant survivor who died too young and left me thinking how the Tulsa Zoo and the Candy Buffet and her love for Jeff has left a handprint on my heart.
It was something as simple as Alicia's idea for a Candy Buffet that demonstrated to me what real joy people can bring to each other.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Post Two: Peanut Brittle and Bill
Have you ever associated a certain candy with a person you know?
Recently a very nice man, enthusiastic about his Catholicism, his life, his dog, his birds and the circus died at the age of 95 years. I associate Bill with peanut brittle and not the fancy gourmet type. In fact he preferred the inexpensive box of peanut brittle at the local drugstore.
I associate my teen years with Bit o Honey bars. Somehow I thought chocolate would make me gain weight but Bit o Honey was just healthy candy. Honey, right?
I'm going to miss my peanut brittle friend, but at Christmas time when we have gourmet peanut brittle in the store, I'll recommend it to all peanut brittle lovers because it is the best.
I might even grab a Bit o Honey bar from the shelf for myself. I'll think about my teen years at Edison and I'll be missing Bill too.
Recently a very nice man, enthusiastic about his Catholicism, his life, his dog, his birds and the circus died at the age of 95 years. I associate Bill with peanut brittle and not the fancy gourmet type. In fact he preferred the inexpensive box of peanut brittle at the local drugstore.
I associate my teen years with Bit o Honey bars. Somehow I thought chocolate would make me gain weight but Bit o Honey was just healthy candy. Honey, right?
I'm going to miss my peanut brittle friend, but at Christmas time when we have gourmet peanut brittle in the store, I'll recommend it to all peanut brittle lovers because it is the best.
I might even grab a Bit o Honey bar from the shelf for myself. I'll think about my teen years at Edison and I'll be missing Bill too.
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