Like many people, when I first heard the concept behind Twitter, my first thoughts were, “Who cares what anyone is doing every moment of every day?” I certainly didn’t want to know what my friends had for breakfast, or which airport they were in or what outfit their cat was wearing. I have a hard enough time keeping up with my tasks at hand, much less sharing with the world what I am doing every moment. But, I joined Twitter because, you know, it’s the hot thing. And us retailers …

Are you a member of your Chamber of Commerce? I’m not. As we try to build a “Shop Local” movement in our town, I miss the CoC, or at least my fantasy version of the CoC.
When I was in Small Business 101 ( I actually did take that class before I started), I was told the CoC membership was essential. The networking, the connections, the opportunities. None of it helped me during my years of membership. It took me a long time to figure out that the CoC …

Green is in.
We thought this was coming last year, but maybe everyone was waiting for the election before they jumped on the bandwagon.
Now our “green toys” seem to be following the career path of Al Gore, from silly hippy stuff to genuine “cool.”

I see 2009 as a year of tremendous change and opportunity for specialty toy stores and manufacturers. Why? The toy safety scare and the CPSIA, as well as the economy.
The trends were already apparent at Toy Fair:
– companies are making and stores are purchasing toys at lower price points
– more stress is being put on toy safety than ever before
– there will be a ‘weeding-out’ process among toy retailers

Klutz books have always been a favorite with my family, so it is natural that I sell a lot of them in my store. I love the way Klutz can shape a child’s life. I carry a large selection of arts and crafts activity kits, but most of them keep a child active for an afternoon.
The Klutz books get children started on activities that can keep them active for a lifetime. This is not an exaggeration. The knitting book, crochet book, origami, friendship bracelets, and hemp bracelets …