Body care from Savannah Bee Company has just been added to the Tuesdays And Thursdays Amazon store4 years ago

After all the fun I have been having with Magnetic Poetry I thought I would give Greggo Magnets a try.

Greggo is a Minneapolis based company that makes sheets of artsy and intellectual magnets, plus some very whimsical ones as well.

The Dress Up Witch has become a favorite of mine, its something like a magnetic version of paper dolls, but with a interesting Halloween Witch along with a collection of her disguises.

Other sets include a Magnetic Nutcracker Ballet and a series of Yoga square magents featuring Yoga poses.

Greggo Magnets joins the fun at Tuesdays And Thursdays4 years ago

Based on the Lauren Child’s books and made famous by the CeBeebies Television programme Lola and Charlie are just now being discovered in the United States on Playhouse Disney.

Charlie and Lola are 8 inches tall and giggle just like the real Charlie and Lola when you press their tummies! Lauren Childs created the characters after an encounter with two similarly aged children on a train in Denmark. The antics of seven year old Charlie and his sister Lola “who is quite small and very funny” embody the fun and discovery of young children and the bond between a brother and sister.

Charlie and Lola just joined all the fun at Tuesdays And Thursdays4 years ago

SAT Game For Dummies is a fun, trivia-style board game that includes 500 questions covering all five SAT categories, plus reading-passage booklets for the critical reading and writing skills sections. Questions are timed so you can experience the test pace. Risks and rewards encourage you to answer opponents’ questions, while wild cards and hidden exam-room locations add to the excitement. SAT Game For Dummies is great for teen study groups, SAT preparation classes, and families looking to get involved in the SAT experience. For 2 to 8 players, ages 12 to adult.

The game was launched at the Toy Fair in New York about 10 days ago and after finding myself playing for a while I HAD to bring in the game. 5 years ago

After years of wanting a set of Magnetic Poetry of my very own I decided to start carrying it. There are some new products that will be released in a few weeks and my initial order will ship at that time. 5 years ago

Jeero tagged along for my visit to the International Gift Fair in New York City and found his soulmate in Solmate socks!

Solmates are colorful mismatched socks for adults, children, and babies from Vermont’s socklady and soon will be featured at Tuesdays And Thursdays!

Spunk, color and a conscience! There are so many reasons to love these mismatched socks. For one, they are an American-made product: the yarns are dyed, spun and knit at small, family-owned businesses here in the US.

Here’s the part I love – from the very start, Solmate cotton socks have always been knit using recycled cotton yarns. These yarns are recovered from the production of other cotton products (mainly t-shirts), and re-blended with other fibers and spun into yarns for Solmate Socks. Reduce reuse recycle – woo hoo!

While Jeero loves them for the colors, the story behind the company is what knocked my socks off (okay, not literally since I am so often in flip flops) – making new and wonderful things from discards, how awesome and inspiring is that. It’s a lesson we can take with us everywhere we go! 5 years ago

Fish Lips Paper Designs’ gift wrap papers are designed and printed in the USA on 100% Post-Consumer recycled paper with soy-based inks.

Why we love them :

made in the USA

100% Post Consumer Recycled Paper

Based in California

Fishlips is outside our normal product range in terms of product, but in terms of embracing progressive values, Fish Lips is right there. Should the line not perform well at retail, the back up plan is to introduce gift wrapping.

Our guess : it will take some time for the line to grow. Time to plant these seeds and see how long they take to germinate. 5 years ago

Coulda Shoulda Woulda – my test of Wine Journals has been fruitful! We’ll see if the logistics of holiday shipping will allow me to obtain more in time for Christmas, but even if that cannot work out, my test was successful and I found another small niche for which I can establishing myself as a go-to source. 5 years ago

...just dipping my toes into the Museum category just a little with some Museum Puzzles. They’re small, easy to ship, and follow along with some of the other items I have.

I’ve been in conversation with some of the major museums, (Metropolitan, Atlanta High Museum, Art Institute of Chicago about carrying some of their items that may translate well into the Tuesdays and Thursdays concept. I’ve also been in touch with Mystic Seaport about their vast array of items. That’s a whole new niche for me to work, and I am up to the task for 2008, but for now I am just brining in variations of my current themes. 5 years ago

Advent is one of my favourite seasons of the year – the marking of days until the arrival of Christmas. In the Christian cycle of Holidays advent is marked by the celebration of Jesus Christ. The secular interpretation of Advent involves the arrival of Father Christmas.

As a child there were always Advent caledars at my Grandmothers house. Each day we’d peer into a window and see a new scene celebrating the season. There are myriad of interpretions of the Advent calendar including one in which truffles (the chocolate, not the mushroom) are found behind each window. Yum-O

I just stumbled upon a company that manufactures Advent Calendars that that use repositionable stickers. Repositional stickers are what the rest of the world calls colorforms. What a concept.

Each day in advent a different “sticker” is chosen to decorate the scene. It’s a bit late in the season so I only have a handful to start (but may reorder if things sell quickly) but it is something new from a new supplier. Its a niche product, really a micro-niche, but who cares! They’re fun and being unique is one of the best ways for a small company to stand out! 5 years ago

I modified this goal to adapt to more people.

By pushing my self to expand by adding new suppliers monthly I am forcing myself to grow. Once you find something that works, its really easy to just keep doing the same thing, we all do it. Doing the same things that work, works. Well at least for a while. Reaching out beyond what is working now is one of the many keys to success. Even though things are good now, I need to push myself to do better, much better.

Attorneys, graphic artists, writers, call all benefit greatly by taking on another client and look to build your business. You never know, that next client may be the one that gets you to the point of hiring a paralegal, or perhaps that small retail store for whom you design a logo may grow huge, that piece you submit to a new publication may just get you noticed by someone at Tribune Media Servies – you never know !

Grow, monthly. 5 years ago

I just started working with the licensors of Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit. The affirmation that came from our conversations of ‘becoming a source’ of items rather than someone trying to ride the latest wave was incredible. The best part, the company is located not far from Bath (and you know how I love the Hazelnut Yoghurt from the Waitrose in Bath) – ya think I can expense a supermarket run, er, I mean business trip ? 5 years ago

After some testing I quickly discovered that some low dollar value / good margin items are adding much more value to everything I am doing because of the repeat business that has come from these customers.

After a small test I made the commitment to roll out with something else.

Sometimes trying something out isn’t profitable because of the cost associated with such a small volume, but after a test one must consider the larger picture.

Do you really think Home Depot makes that much money on those tiny cans of paint they sell? Doubtful, but how many people later commit to painting their entire house because of they liked how the paint from that little sample can looked?

Think small to think big! 5 years ago

another amazing day – it’s actually past dark, well past dark, and I am still working,

okay, working and popping back and forth on 43T,

but things are rocking, I may be ready for another leap very very soon 5 years ago

A small new supplier here, another one there, it’s puzzling how quickly things can start to grow …. 5 years ago

things are starting to happen with the Uglies ! 5 years ago

The summer of suck is over. (Yes, business sucked for the first part of the summer, but that period seems to be over) Growth growth growth – that’s the theme for the rest of the year…

...I guess some catching up needs to be done too. 5 years ago

It’s August 2nd and ALL of my Grinch Christmas cards have sold out – AUGUST 2nd! I’ll have more by the end of next week, but dang! People do like their Christmas stuff early… 5 years ago

So THAT transfer I was waiting for is still stuck somewhere – either Chase or Wells Fargo are using the float to their advantage (ALLEGEDLY), anyway …

Anyway I committed and paid for another of the orders that I placed at the Stationery Show. The order may ship today, possibly tomorrow, in either case I will have that merchandise by the middle of next week.

Growth is happening. And I am living up to my favourite business quote – when times get tough – expand! 5 years ago

For the February supplier, yes, I know it’s almost June, whatever….

For the February supplier I placed a really small order with a start up that I met at the Stationery Show. It’s a small company, two people actually, and it’s run from their kitchen after they work a full time job. The spirit of entrepeneurship impressed me immensely, and its one of those things that if it doesn’t sell I can find all sorts of uses for the items.

For the March and April suppliers, I committed to two new suppliers, but didn’t pay yet as I am waiting for money to transfer. With this being a holiday weekend in the US I have a feeling that I will note pay for my order until Tuesday – but that will be two more out of the way. WOO HOO. 6 years ago

Typical 10pm behavior, I was watching the Big Idea with Donny Deutsch on CNBC, one of his guests this evening was a company with whom I recently met.

How’s that for affirmation ?

(details will follow once things are more concrete) 6 years ago

My first order with Ugly Dolls was placed today – I am looking forward to receiving them! 6 years ago

Instead of a new supplier I threw my testing budget at a line extension from one of my current suppliers. It’s a low cost item but the volume has been great – plus, the product is related to other things that have a much greater value to me. There is a very good chance that this ‘new’ area will feed some really good customers into the database. 6 years ago

I really need to kick myself in the ass with this goal.

Forget the goal. I need to kick myself in the ass for myself. 6 years ago

I am close to working with a ‘better’ supplier that has quite a historic reputation. 6 years ago

My “January” order is done. That shipment should be in my hands at the end of next week.

Given my love of “Where The Wild Things Are” I am going to start stocking the WTWTA plush. They come in a range of sizes, over time I plan to stock all sizes. As they start generating some revenue, I will be funnelling those funds into increasing the variety of items from this supplier.

I’m looking forward to this wild rumpus! 6 years ago

I’m ready to get the “first” new monthly supplier order out the door. This would be the January one. Still making decisions on who will be my “February” new supplier, and need to figure out the supplier for March as well. 6 years ago

Since we are coming into the home stretch of February I have some serious catching up to do. Gotta add someone for January AND February, and then March is right around the corner. Once I get through the initial catch up phase things should fall right in line to set myself from sustainable growth.

If I give a mouse a cookie … 6 years ago