WHAT I’M THANKFUL FOR…
November 26, 2019
Hello Friends!
Happiest of Thanksgivings to you and yours. (And if you’re someone for which the holidays bring pain…please know that I am so sorry.)
It’s our turn to travel to Kentucky to be with my family this year and I can’t wait! We alternate holidays between mine and Jeremy’s family (which is in Southwest MO) so we will see his Family at Christmas.
What about you? Are you traveling or hosting? I know some of you are even “Christmas-ing” on Thanksgiving. A few of you have been coming in searching for Christmas gifts because you do your exchanges with the side of the family you’ll be seeing on Thanksgiving. If that describes you…we’re open Tuesday and Wednesday this week. We also have so many fun handmade things that would make nice hostess gifts.
With that being said…a quick reminder about our hours this week.
Besides getting to spend some extended time with my family this week, can I tell you what I’M THANKFUL for today? I Hired a New Baker! Hallelujah! Her name is Renee and she starts December 2nd just in time to help us out with your cupcakes this holiday season. It is a scary and humbling thing to put yourself out there and ask for help and then have people who actually want to come help you!
Speaking of Cupcakes... we’ve officially closed our Thanksgiving Cupcake Pre-Orders. But we are going to be baking a few extra dozen for our case tomorrow and they will be first come first serve tomorrow when we open at 10AM. So if you need a pie alternative, stop by!
Can I tell you what I’m NOT THANKFUL for RIGHT THIS MINUTE? Black Friday Commercials and all the marketing and hoopla and competition from this big box store vs. that big box store. We don’t even have the TV on very much in our house but you can’t even have it on for 5 minutes and not hear the underlying messages…
“Well if you’re going to open on Thanksgiving, I’M going to start my sale on Wednesday!”
Then says another company…“Well then I’m going to start my sale on MONDAY!”
I even heard a commercial (I can’t remember what store it was for…) that started out with this… “Do you have your Black Friday Strategy All Mapped Out?”
I’m sorry. What?
My Black Friday Strategy? Hmm. My Black Friday Strategy is this: TO BE CLOSED. Enjoying an extended time of Thanksgiving with my family. And to allow all of my employees to do the same. There’s no strategy needed for that. I should preface this by saying I’ve never been a Black Friday shopper. It’s just not something that our family is big on. And I do understand that for some of you, spending quality time with your loved ones can certainly involve some serious retail therapy. I’m not “anti-shopping”. I do own my own shop, afterall.
But I am resentful of an industry that never seems to have enough. That has over commercialized some of our most precious days. That uses sales, gimmicks, FOMO, doorbusters and who-knows-what other means to entice people to come shop at all hours of the day (and yes even middle of the night!). Is anything really that important?
Maybe I’m a bit disgruntled because we don’t have “doorbusters” at Plume. We sell locally handmade goods. We set our prices fairly from the get go allowing both our Makers to be paid a fair rate for the goods they create, and Plume to be paid a fair rate for the work we do to bring them to you. It’s simple really. There just isn’t any more margin in it. We believe in the value of what we’re selling. If we could provide the same value and sell it to you 20-30-40-50% off… we would…all the time…no sales needed I appreciate a good bargain as much as the next gal but it’s just not how we roll around here.
Ok, off my soapbox now.
And all that to say…we’re excited about having a couple extra days off and then celebrating Small Business with you this Saturday Nov 30th.
We won’t have any big sales but we will promise to help you kick off your holiday shopping with a delightful experience. We’re opening an hour early and staying open an hour later from 9AM to 5PM. I’ll have my momma’s wassail simmering and our hot cocoa bar back out for the day too. And we did do a big reprint of our “Happiest Season of All” Tote bags that we’ll be giving away with any purchase.
Did you know when you shop at Plume you’re not only supporting MY small business, but the small businesses of now over 90 Makers and Small Businesses who offer their products under our roof. We couldn’t be prouder of our Makers and this time of year is so important to both them, and to Plume. (There is a reason this weekend starts with a day called “BLACK FRIDAY”)
Thank you for your support not only on Small Business Saturday, but for every other day under the sun that you’ve cheered us on, stopped in to buy the perfect handmade gift or grabbed a cupcake and some popcorn.
We appreciate you and we’re here for you this holiday season.
