I have a confession to make...

by michele 18. March 2014 08:48

I am a terrible procrastinator!

It is over four months since our 40th anniversary and I still haven't written about it. Oh I have tweeted & facebook about it  but they seem like a something quick and without thought.

Oh what a party!! The sun was shining that day both inside and out. The shop was filled with balloons, streamers, bunting up outside, three large cakes and our window filled with 42 raffle prizes. We have wonderful long term realtionships with our suppliers and they were all extremely generous with gifts. We were literally giving away presents all day long. Our foriegn magazine supplier, LPMI, gave us over 100 large boxes of truffles and our main magazine suppliergave us BOXES of magazines to give away. We had chips, candy bars, T-shirts, pins, noise makers for kids, playing cards, umrellas, books, travel mugs, lunch bags, dvd's, stickers and on and on.

Live music always brings a fully charged energy to a gathering and thanks to Mixtape Magazine there were two different acoustic musicians and then a band, Liars on Fire that closed out the party although we didn't want them to stop playing. They obliged us as they were having such fun too!

The party was even outside where The Food Wolf food truck was serving up delicious fare. It was such a success that the Food Wolf will be back in our parking lot each week once the season is up and cooking!

The customers... oh our wonderful customers. We were packed in here, there was laughter, smiles, joy and to sound rather cliche there was a lot of love flyng around in the shop. It was so wonderful to give back to all the really loyal people who choose to come here.

I am also very apprectiative of the media that decided this was a story worth mentioning. CKDU took care of us, CBC has us on the radio, Halifax magazine had us featured in their shopping blog and CTV spent over an hour filming for their evening news.

We were certainly on a high for weeks afterwards from both a job well done and such fantastic energyon the day. My favourite comment summed it all up....."I always feel so welcome, when I left I was walking on air."

Be the first to rate this post

  • Currently 0/5 Stars.
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Tags: , , , , ,

Atlantic News | Magazines | Our Community

A cultural shift...

by michele 10. April 2013 10:39

Where will we end up?

About 8 months ago there was a distinct shift in my business. I feared it was the effect of the internet on the magazine business. In years pervious I had seen other shifts such as “I saw it on the web, do you have a copy?”The next shift was when they stopped asking that question. Another, has been niche titles using a different business model to get their magazine on the newsstand. Then there was the media blowing things out of proportion with “the death of print” stories. We have also seen the rise and and slow descent in certain categories depending on what's happening in the world. For example, after 911 our house and decorating section took off as people cocooned.

Back in September I felt isolated and I have to admit fear crept in. I began to emerge from my shell when I started asking people in other businesses how things were going. What I heard was they too saw a shift. I have been comforted in learning that it was not magazines alone that have been affected. Just last week I read in Road and Track that the greatest impact of 16 year olds having their drivers license (46% in 1978, 31% in 2008) was the internet. The rites of passage to independence use to include getting a car now it's owning a phone that connects you to everything 24hours a day. Today in New York magazine there was an article stating that fewer people are viewing art “in its natural habitat.”

It doesn't matter what the business or service is we are all being affected by the internet. We are in the middle of a cultural shift and it is taking on momentum. For me it is a lament for the loss of adventure, anticipation, and at times, quality. Everything is so immediate, that time is not taken to work toward, look forward to , wait longingly for something one might desire. Now, it is I want it, I have it , what's next. Will we savour things, treasure a stolen moment, or enjoy the adventure of the journey?

I have joked that the digital natives will one day not have their eyes peeled to their phones, will discover they are in front of the store and decide to step in. There they will find something totally new. They will tell their friends “Check this new thing out, you can flip the pages, it feels really good, hey, it even smells neat, it doesn't blink or flash, I can come back to it over and over again. I like magazines. ”

I am hopeful. After my 15 year old plays x-box with his buddy in a different town, he still enjoys his book later in the evening.

Be the first to rate this post

  • Currently 0/5 Stars.
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Tags: , , ,

Atlantic News | Magazines | Family | Our Community

Open City

by michele 10. May 2012 04:59

Come join the fun

One of the wonderful things about this city of ours is the incredible amount and range of independent retailers & restaurants. We have an entrepreneurial spirit that is creative, conscious, collabrative and determined to do its best to thrive.

As the owners, managers and staff we are proud to bring our best to our customers. Whether it is deliciously prepared food, letterpress cards, fresh fish, enviromentally friendly products, magazines, great wine, garden supplies, craft beer, kitchen supplies or bike rentals, we are hands on searching for unique products, forming great relationships with our customers, suppliers and our fellow business owners, finding ways to make your experience in our places a better one.

This Sat & Sun I Love Local Hfx is celebrating with OPEN CITY sharing what we do best.  This weekend is for you, our customers; businesses have give aways, live music, demonstrations and our restaurants are offering a fun "SIDE DOOR" takeout so you can sample great food that is prepared with care. And the parking is FREE at the Waterfront.

Please check out the website and have FUN!   

 

  

Currently rated 1.5 by 16 people

  • Currently 1.5/5 Stars.
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Tags: , ,

Atlantic News | Our Community

It's that time of year

by michele 31. May 2011 06:50

For another Top Ten List!

It has been 4 years running that People and New Yorker have remained in the top two spots. I love what the selection of top ten domestic titles says about the variety of customers that come through our doors. We always maintain that we have something for everyone. Halifax Magazine has moved up the ranks to knock Dwell off the list. Go Halifax!

For the imports, there is no doubt that Country Living UK is #1. It is the one title that our regular customers wait with bated breath for and can't help but ask "When will it arrive?" It also far ahead of the number 2 spot by almost double the copies sold.

Import Supplier
Domestic Suppler
Country Living UK
New Yorker
Gramaphone
People Weekly
Shambala Sun
Economist
New Scientist
Vanity Fair
Uncut
Hello
Voque UK
MacLeans
London Review of Books
Time
BBC Top Gear
Halifax Magazine
BBC Music
National Enquirer
Mojo
US Weekly

 

Further to my last post on how kind our customers are, we've been touched yet again by more thoughtfulness. One customer made sure he came in before he moved away to say " I officially wanted to say thank-you for being so gracious." Another dropped off a sweet card plus some yummy chocolates because she appreciated the phone calls letting her know her publication arrived. How lucky we are to have so many great customers.

Currently rated 2.0 by 7 people

  • Currently 2/5 Stars.
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Tags:

Atlantic News | Magazines | Our Community

Musings

by michele 15. April 2011 09:30

Recently there have been several occurances that have lodged themselves in my mind:

Twice now this week our customers have warmed our hearts by coming back to the store to let us know we haven't charged them properly! After an engaging conversation at the cash, a lady got home and realized that one of her magazines wasn't rung in. Down her husband came to pay. Today a customer ate a chocolate bar in the store and then came to the counter with a second one. He paid for it, left and actually made it across the bridge when he realized that he hadn't paid for the one he consumed . Immediately back he came, all for $ 1.48

How fortunate we are in our customers, our gratitude for your kindness....

Just the other day a customer came to the counter carrying a Lapham's Quarterly. I thought I heard his companion ask what the magazine was about. It appeared to me that the customer was struggling to reply. It was great to be able to let him know how Lapham himself describes it.  At a conference I attended, his quip was " The council of the Dead." The magazine is like no other and is beautifully executed, from its single themed issues, unique simple covers, paper quality to the contributors of course. Abraham Lincoln, Charlotte Bronte, Virgil, Pliny the Elder, Karl Marx, Zhuangzi, Emile Zola are just a few.

 

Scotia Bank currently has online, the " Small Business Big Impact" challenge. I LOVE Local Halifax has signed up believing we are doing the right thing for our community, customers and businesses by collaborating on marketing initiatives and community projects.

Please take a minute to support I love Local HFX and add your vote.  

http://challenge.getgrowingforbusiness.scotiabank.com/entry/4188459

 

 

 

 

Be the first to rate this post

  • Currently 0/5 Stars.
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Tags: , , , ,

Atlantic News | Our Community

Print World 2010

by michele 24. November 2010 08:06

and my world...

 I was just at a large trade show in Toronto over the weekend called Print World 2010. I really do enjoy trying to learn about various aspects of the magazine and newspaper industry. Needless to say printers are a big part of it, on the flip side periodicals (5%) and papers (2%) are a small portion of their overall industry. That being said, one of the printers to speak at one seminar was Transcontinental. They are the fourth largest printer in North America and is Canada's leading publisher of consumer magazines and when they said that they believe in print and that they have invested a billion dollars on improved technology that makes my day! Bring on those magazines...

 Also part of my world is my manager Angela Carlsen, photographer. I just want to pass on something from her 

Images on first page are on 16x20 paper, hand-printed by yours truly in a darkroom. That's right,  these prints are old school. They are all on sale for the low price of $50, which is 1/3 of the original $150 price. The first 20 sold come packaged with a mat. All are signed.

Plus, I have just added some digital prints to the mix. These images are of buildings that no longer exist. They are digital prints on 13x19 paper and are also selling for $50 a piece. Mats are available while supplies last.

http://angelacarlsenearlyworkssale.weebly.com/
--

Currently rated 1.5 by 15 people

  • Currently 1.466667/5 Stars.
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Tags: , ,

Atlantic News | International Papers | Magazines | News Papers | Our Community

Back to School

by michele 8. September 2009 05:35

And back to work...

I felt like I was in and out of the store for the month of August grabbing days off here and there. Several of the staff took well deserved holidays and thankfully the weather held for them.

There is something about the day after Labour Day weekend, psychologically it seems to be the herald of fall, when it is time to pull up the boot straps and get back to work. Mind you maybe that is just me needing to get back to work! The university students are out in force all around our area, doing their frosh week fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis. As the shop door opens you can hear them hooting and hollering and having fun all for a good cause. In this neighbourhood you definitely know it is back to school when that happens.

Just last week the magazine shipments seem to get back on track for fall as well.  We have been receiving smaller shipments and I would say it wasn't just because it was summer as one of my suppliers told me that over 300 magazines have stopped publishing. Over the summer our main supplier has been bringing us around 2200 magazines each Tuesday and then boom, right back up to 3000 magazines. We have already had the big fall fashion issues and tomorrow the October issue of Vanity Fair arrives.

Welcome to the next season and the next routine

  

Be the first to rate this post

  • Currently 0/5 Stars.
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Tags: , ,

Magazines | Our Community

Powered by BlogEngine.NET 1.4.5.0
Theme by Mads Kristensen

About the author

I was born in Yarmouth and grew up in Chester. I have lived on a sailboat, travelled to Zimbabwe, and lived in England where I worked in a fabulous country house hotel. While in England I met Stephen and then brought him home to Nova Scotia. Now I am a wife, mother of two great kids, and a businesswoman. Life is good.