The Sadness of the Discontinued Item - continued

Here at Joie de Vivre, we kind of pride ourselves on trying to make people happy.  Ironically, we often wind up making them unhappy years later, when they return for another one of an item they have loved for years and we have to tell them that "you can't get there from here" - i.e. the item has been discontinued.  And we must stress, items are not discontinued because they are not popular - at least not here.  Often these items are among our most popular - but there are lots of different reasons why items cease to be.  Anyway, just yesterday I received a query from someone who sent a picture - "see the frog prince by the smoothie?"  (rather wonderfully question!)  And I looked - and saw a little fuzzy articulated frog prince that I had completely forgotten about - and that we probably haven't been able to get for ten or fifteen years.  It's good to know he's still living the good life, beloved and posing by smoothies.  But I had to break the bad "discontinued" news.  So, for those of you who have shopped here for years - perhaps you'll recognize this little prince and enjoy a small trip down memory lane.  And photo credit to the BuBBs - with our thanks!

One Itty Bitty Rubber Chicken

The title of this post was taken from the "for" line on the bottom of a personal check we received in the mail last week.  It was for $1.10 - sixty cents for one itty bitty rubber chicken and fifty cents for postage.  We mailed the chicken to Springfield, MA.  Anyway.  . ..  some might want to brag about their biggest sales - and a large sale is always kind of thrilling.  But today, we want to brag about our smallest sale.  We probably should have asked the customer to just put a dollar bill in an envelope because the cost of depositing a check probably just about cancels out our small profit on a sixty cent item.  We just might keep that check instead of depositing it.  So we didn't make any money on the deal - we like being the kind of store where one can purchase one itty bitty chicken!

To Another - Thirty Eight Years?

Next year will be Joie de Vivre's 30th anniversary - (get ready to party!) - and ever so often these days, we find ourselves wondering just how long Joie de Vivre will go on.  No immediate plans to close - don't panic anyone, but as some of our friends and aquaintances out there in the real world of regular jobs start talking about retiring, we can't say that the thought never crosses our minds.  But today, the Boston Globe ran an article about a local toyshop owner who is still happily working at - age 99!!  She has been running her business since 1939, and is hoping to celebrate her 100th birthday in her store next year.  Her name is Ethel Weiss and she says running that toystore keeps her young; one look at her picture and we think she definitely looks like she'll make it - she looks happy and full of life. So who knows - maybe Joie de Vivre will still be here in . . .2051!  We have at least one employee who says she'll still work Christmas - she's young, she'll only be 90 then.  And in the meantime . . . we would like to congratulate Ethel on her years of community service.  If there was ever the perfect time to use this expression, we think this is it:  You Go Girl!"

Sometimes It Takes a While to Be Sure . . .

Still at the New York Gift Show.   Sometimes I look at things for several years,  loving them, but not sure if I should order them.  Usually my reason is price - they seem too expensive.  But at this show, I capitulated and ordered these free trade, made in South America, alpaca octopuses (octopi?).  I love them.  I've picked them up many times and had a hard time putting them down.  I hope Joie's customer's will love them as well.  But I figure, if I can really really love something for that long . . .  I should just take the plunge and order.  And I realized that I do that with other things as well - you look for a few years, and suddenly think "why aren't I just ordering this wonderful item?"  I talked to a few vendors about this today and they laughed - all knowing customers who had gone through the same thing.  So - coming this fall to Joie de Vivre - amazingly great alpaca octopuses, crabs and lobsters.  We hope you will love them as much as we do!  Worst case scenario - they all come home and live with me!

The difference between Cambridge and NYC -

Joiedeblog arrived in New York today to attend the New York Gift Show.  (A show which for no apparent reason was recently renamed "New York Now!"  with much accompanying hoopla - though no one we've talked to - other buyers, exhibitors, sales reps etc - think this change makes any sense and the show is the same as it ever was.  We do digress but  I guess the supposedly snappy new name makes someone feel like they're of the moment and exciting .. . .)   Anyway, I ran into some buyers who have several stores in New York who visited me in Cambridge a few months ago.  While they were at Joie de Vivre, I shared with them the sourcing for a few of our popular items  that they were not familiar with.  When they spotted me walking the aisles today, they rushed over.  "You're our hero," they said.  "The No Button you showed us is now our best selling item!  We're selling over a hundred a day!"  Wow!  It was a best selling item for us when we first got it in a few years ago - and to us, a best selling item might sell a couple of dozen a week.  In the big leagues, they're selling ... 700! And therein lies one of the many differences in running a store in Manhattan as opposed to Cambridge. Honestly, I'm not sure I could keep up that pace .. . .. I'm thinking I like our somewhat sleepy town!  They proposed that maybe I should be their buyer and I immediately thought - I'm not sure I could take the pressure.  Who can really tell in advance that any given item will be that popular - or make such predictions on a regular basis?  Over the years, I've found it to be a very tricky art,  so, I think I will stay right where I am!

In My Inbox

When I wrote "In my Inbox" I realized I should say - in my actual physical inbox - we do still get (an increasingly little amount of) mail here at Joie de Vivre and we have an inbox to put it in.  Said inbox often collects a variety of other items during the day and right now it is home to an otter and a sort of alien reindeer.  The otter was a heating pillow.  We sold it recently and the purchaser returned it saying her microwave had burned a hole in its skin - our first complaint of that nature and we suspect a very very powerful microwave.  The little reindeer was spotted in our front zinnia garden a week or so ago.  We brought him in to protect him from the rain, and left him in the front window in case a distraught child was roaming the street looking for him.  However, a week brought no takers, so he made his way to the back room - and made an excellent companion for our burned otter!  I guess I can't keep them in my inbox forever, but I'm enjoying their gentle company for the time being . . .

Better One or Better Two?

We have been selling the lovely solar queen for several years.  A dignified small version of Queen Elizabeth, she stands quietly in her pastel colored (or should we spell that coloured?) dress and does her mini version of the Queen's subtle wave.  Yesterday I went to the back to get a boxed queen for someone and was slightly taken aback by the first one I picked up. . . . it was something about that mouth - it looked not unlike - a vampire.  Just another example of what we learned a long time ago examining our plastic dancing ballerina magnetic toy (click the link and scroll down to May 1st) - some of the people who paint the faces might not be doing their absolute best.   Or in other words, it does not pay to look too closely at small plastic handpainted faces!

Do I Own a Store?

Readers of Joie de Blog may have noticed a lack of posts in the last two weeks.  The blog writer's ladder related injuries have not gotten worse, in fact, the scars are almost gone.  There is a much happier reason for this silence - an actual two week vacation!  At the beautiful New Jersey Shore, specifically, Long Beach Island.  Finding that there is something about swimming, thunderstorms, sunsets, light on the water in the late afternoon, playing cards, cooking, reading and catching up with family that puts thoughts of Boston and Joie de Vivre right out of my head.  So, apologies to anyone who misses our posts - and soon - we promise, we'll be back!!

On Visible Signs of Trauma

Struck by how unlike a typical Joie de Vivre blog post title that is! But during the last days of having a face that shows clear signs of trauma, I am also struck by the varying responses I get. Some people immediately say "what happened to you?" Anyone I know personally clearly falls into this category - as well as some customers and people I see everyday at the coffee shop,etc. And I'm seeing that some people say hello without really seeing you - they give their normal greeting and then a few minutes later, out comes the "what happened??" It's surprised me how many people who I see on a regular basis - customers, people at the bank, did not say a thing. I do understand the reticence of a complete stranger - for all they know I have a crazy boyfriend or a drinking problem - though friends in the know - those who ride bikes and have accidents - have assured me that my face looks scraped, not punched. Anyway, I have my store of funny lines at the ready: You should have seen the last guy; or never talk politics at a fancy dinner - or, wow, that last customer of the day on Saturday was really difficult. I just haven't gotten to use them as much as I imagined! And the other thing that strikes me is how lighthearted I feel about the whole thing. I can imagine how differently I would feel if I had been beaten up or abused; would perhaps want to stay inside and forget the whole thing, so it's making me look at other's faces in a new way as well. All in all, that fall from the ladder has brought up a lot of interesting thoughts. And of course, not least of those thoughts is how lucky I am that it wasn't worse!

Proper Use of Ladders

The Joiedeblog scribe has a confession to make. Said scribe is not the most careful person in the world, and often does things too quickly and somewhat recklessly. Said scribe probably breaks more things at the store than all the customers and other staff combined, simply by "virtue" of her impatience and foolhardiness. So far, she has never broken herself, but her luck almost changed the other morning. There is nothing quite like the sensation of being high up on a ladder - with one foot off the ladder balancing a bit precariously on a shelf, and feeling the ladder start to wobble. Sometimes you are lucky and can get down before it collapses. Research has actually shown that luck is just about the only thing that can help you in a situation like this, and sometimes your luck runs out, and you crash to the ground, scraping your face on the ladder as you go, ending up looking like - well, we won't go there. Then just a little bit of luck kicks in - you stand up and realize that although your face is a mess, you can walk and move all parts of your body. So, as a public service, the Joie scribe would like to alert readers to the fact that, ladders, improperly used, can be dangerous. Please use them correctly, as we will be trying to do from this point forward. And . . . if you're here in the next few days to a week, now you know - "we" haven't been in a bar room brawl or arguing with a difficult customer. But, see magnet above - happy to be of service in some way.

Whoops!

Arrived at work today and found this post it on our front door! Thank you, child of the 70s, for setting us straight - and for preventing further embarrassment. The television is now right-side up!

Well then - what IS it?

We were unpacking a box today and noticed a new sticker on one of our old favorite products - the floating penguins. These two penguins are real surfers - you can tilt their container and make all the waves you want - they will remain resiliently afloat. The new sticker says - as you can see below - NOT A TOY. And we want to know - if it's not a toy, then what is it? It's clearly something one plays with . . . otherwise the penguins will just sit there. And it doesn't "do" anything besides make you smile. And though the definition of this word is rather elastic - we're pretty sure it's not art!