Holiday Greetings!

If you're not the least bit inspired to send holiday greeting cards this year, you may be shopping at the wrong stores for your greeting cards!

According to a new study from Unity Marketing; "Greeting Card Market is on the Up Swing as Card Shoppers turn to Specialty Retailers for More Distinct Product Offerings". According to the report "This revival of specialty retail for greeting cards comes after years of steady drop in the number of specialty retailers in the card and gift segments. The number of gift shops dropped from 75,010 stores in 2002 to 59,032 shops today. Specialty card shops declined even more 33 percent from 8,135 in 2002 to 5,391 currently. The study attributes this decline to mass retailing.

Professionals in the gift industry witnessed the suffering first hand with aggressive growth plans of big box stores tens of thousands of small American business owners have lost their businesses. The shift in market share has taken the market from thousands of small to medium sized businesses, artists and designers and a huge variety of choices, to less than a few dozen people mass producing and working under strict merchandising and streamlined cost structures. The result is a bland and boring mass offering. Consumers in the past years have been choosing convenience over style and quality. That is all starting to change. The report states "In 2006 specialty card and gift stores regained 6 market share points. As a result, the mass merchants are holding on to the market share leader position by a thread."

Specialty retailers on the other hand buy from the thousands of vendors, many artist and designer owned companies that have emerged in the last five years. They sell a huge variety of lines as well as medium sized companies products and offer better quality, design, environmentally friendly options and competitive pricing. Take a look one of my favorite greeting card companies on http://www.kristinnelson.com/ . There are literally thousands of options to choose from in the specialty market.

Another trend we are seeing in the specialty market is individually packaged holiday cards. Now you may send a religious specific card to each of your friends vs. the all encompassing "Happy Holidays" card making it more personal. A growth in variety of religious cards is also happening and during the holidays this includes Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and so on.

So instead of buying your holiday cards off of a hook this year or stressing out to make your own, try shopping at a specialty store for your holiday greeting cards!

Millies Bags

Millies Bags offer quality stylish handbags. The handbags are great for everyday use because they are fun and sophisticated and made of fine fabrics and trims.
Order one today and find one for yourself or a best friend on their website http://www.milliebags.com/

Going Nuts for Local Squirrels

At all of our holiday shows we will be handing out our "Nuts" mini note featuring acorns and hickory nuts found on Missouri's majestic white oaks and hickory trees. Included will be a reminder to check on your backyard friends who rely on the acorns for food during the winter months.

This year a unseasonably hot Spring combined with a late frost damaged the buds of these trees and Missouri squirrels all the way into Arkansas will have a limited supply of acorns for two years. White Oaks only bud every two years. If you love our furry friends who dance from tree to tree we recommend to visit your local Wild Bird Center to purchase wild animal backyard food. Local Grocery stores also carry wild bird and backyard animal mixes.

Having five large 75 foot white oaks in my back yard, I love to watch the squirrels and can't live without them. When the mighty oaks do shed their acorns they are there to pick them up for food, this year we are seeing very few if any acorns.

Unique Boutique

We are preparing for the 2007 Unique Boutique at John Burroughs School. Some of the companies at the show include K Hall Designs http://www.khalldesigns.com/ , Nori Obata, Herberia and more. Reed diffusers can be found at a lot of stores, but why not purchase one of the original reed diffusers with actual botanical essence. Visit John Burroughs School website to download their postcard with a full list of exhibitors at http://www.jburroughs.org/

Paper Petals TM Toasting Cards

Celebrate the spirit of the holidays with Paper Petals TM Toasting Cards. Featured in the Fall/Winter issue of Brides Local, our Toasting Cards are a fabulous gesture for savvy hosts and hostesses to immortalize a celebration or special event. The Toasting Cards, now in their second selling season, on acid free paper feature original bubbly prints and a modern grapevine print in the colors of spirits and wines. Call **Any Occasion** in Chesterfield, Missouri at 636-256-6969 to purchase. They will ship anywhere in the country! Choose from four designs Toast, Cheers, To Us or Celebrate that made their debut at the 2006 National Stationery Show!. All Paper Petals Toasting Card designs copyrighted 2006.

Show Me Natural Wonders

November postings will be filled with great gift ideas and alternatives to mass produced gifts.

Show Me Natural Wonders is a great gift idea for anyone who loves to explore natural land, caves, bluffs and rivers. The book is written by Don Corrigan with his vast knowledge of the Missouri landscape from his travels as a journalist. My father E J Thias illustrated the book.

Show Me Natural Wonders is endorsed by

Peter Raven, President Missouri Botanical Garden

Charles Brennan, KMOX Radio

William H. Danforth, Chancellor Emeritus, Washington University

Charlie Hoessle, Director Emeritus, Saint Louis Zoo

The book is available at the Missouri Botanical Garden and may be also be purchased on http://www.reedypress.com/