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!   

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.

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.

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

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/
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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