With the recent economic downturn, we were concerned that our Christmas sales might be impacted…..and THEY WERE!! However….so far, sales are Up, Up, UP! How to account for this..well…we asked for feedback and came up with two or three things that were really interesting that I’d like to share.
Firstly……it appears that when people are watching their spending…out go the electronics…expensive perfume, and shopping at the mall. Small, local…and handmade…gifts you can buy for under $10, $20, $30 or $100…..that still make adorable gifts…..IN this year!
Secondly, recent TV shows about scary ingredients have reached lots of consumers who didn’t really worry a lot about their body care products. One high-powered lady, busy in politics…simply has never had time to think about it! But her daughter with two young twins….called her up. “Help Mom!”
“I know,” she thought….”I’ll talk to Linda.”
“Know anything about this,” she asked. “Of course,” I replied…”it’s what I do for a living!”
So, two more ladies using natural products…on themselves and their families….TV isn’t ALL bad!
And third…..everyone seems to be looking for HANDMADE…LOCAL…….SMALL! No more mass-produced generic gifts…..no more things made in China or Indonesia….no more gifts that have 200,000 look-a-likes.
I really feel it’s a lot of things….first, environmental concerns…secondly, the whole shift in our food patterns where we want small and local….which made people think why not source other things that are hand-crafted, handmade, different, and thus, a lot more special than what most of us have been getting and giving for years.
So, although things keep changing…small is still beautiful….and great handcrafted artisan mittens, cookies, soaps and lotions will be filling stockings this year in ever greater abundance!
Merry Artisan Christmas!
Linda
