WHOOPS

I must explain about my last blog post. If you didn't know...and really, why would you...I write 2 blogs. As you can guess, the other blog is a FOOD blog. I have had a bit of a day, both in the kitchen, AND at the computer.( the plunger is kind of self explanatory, and my garburator is 25 years old!) So please excuse the mix-up, and feel free to check out my OTHER blog at cathyeats.blogspot.com.

A different kind of chicken noodle soup

It has been cold lately. I suppose the fact that it is the beginning of December has something to do with that! I cooked and ate, along with the P-Man of course, a very expensive and tasty organic chicken. I froze the carcass for a rainy day, but a really COLD day made me un-thaw it, and make some chicken soup. I had seen Chef Michael Smyth make a chicken soup flavoured with fresh ginger, soy sauce, and green onions on the Food Network. I also remember reading about Nigel Slater being obsessed with a Southeast Asian restorative broth that he added a whole assortment of vegetables/noodles/and protein to. I decided that the idea of a nice cleansing soup, as opposed to the kind of soup I normally make, would be a nice change of pace. I was pleased that the expensive chicken made a lovely clear flavourful broth. I boiled it with low sodium soy sauce, a handful of 2 inch long pieces of green onion, and a 2 inch piece of ginger, sliced but not peeled. I threw in a few peppercorns, and let it simmer.

After about an hour I strained it, and added a whole head of fennel sliced thinly, and a handful of shitake mushroom, also sliced thinly. In a separate pot, I boiled up some soba noodles. After about 30 minutes, the fennel was tender, and the soup smelled great. I placed some of the noodles in the bottom and topped them off with some of the broth, and a sprinkling of fresh cilantro and sliced green onion. It was fragrant, and a bit spicy...a truly subtle flavour.

That first bowl was not what I expected. I am used to soups with lots of ingredients, with lots of different seasonings. This soup was soft and silky, and quietly flavoured. I have had several bowls since then, and I must say, I am really starting to appreciate the clear flavourful broth...and have taken to eating it with a large spoon AND a fork...to make sure I can slurp up the noodles!

Mama's got a brand-new BAG

This photo, unfortunately, is NOT of my laundry room. This is the beautiful, functional laundry room in the new Millionaire's Lottery Prize home on Marine Drive in White Rock. I very seldom long to live in a nicer place than I do now...but this place was pretty spectacular! Hopefully, I'll be moving in at the end of January...HA!

This photo, or more specifically, the whole house got me thinking about the resources, and the waste generated by a house of that size. I came across a really interesting article in USA Today(Monday Nov 29th) that spoke about how quickly things change in this globalized world. As Retailers, it's more important than ever to try to look as far forward as possible, in order to not be blindsided by issues that can affect your business.

The article was titled: Mama's Got a brand-new bag, and the tag line was: Her dad patented the plastic grocery bag; she designed a way to do without it.It was written by Wendy Koch. Basically the article explains how Kristen Brown's father patented this fabulous new thing...the plastic shopping bag in 1967...and how a mere 40 years later, that same bag has gone from revolutionary, to being completely banned in many counties and states all over America. To add insult to injury, Kristen Brown has invented a re-usible 4 bag system that allows grocery shoppers to never have to touch a plastic shopping bag again!

Think about that for a minute. What could something like this, such as your town banning plastic bags, do to your business? If you are a large grocery store or a Retailer who has 50,000 plastic shopping bags in stock in their back room, because they use 50 per day, every day...it could be devestating. I think that small Retailers are prone to living in their stores, not paying a lot of attention to world events. This story is a great example of seeing a future trend, or something coming that may or may not affect your business in a negative way...BEFORE it happens. Keeping up on events in your community, or in the large city next to your community, or even in the large COUNTRY near your Community is a good first step in identifying threats AND opportunities. Kristen Brown is taking the success of her father, and making it her own.

Do you know what threats OR opportunities are out there for your business?

The paperdoll, in Bellingham

My evening spent shopping in Bellingham last week, took me into the paperdoll. This little jewelery-box of a shop was a truly unique experience. The store motto is 'Doll It Up!'... and I immediately knew that I was in a feminine space. The paper items, the artwork, the aprons, the jewelery, the clothing...I was instantly put in touch with my feminine-feline side. The merchandise had been put together in a fun and witty way. I could see the owner smiling as she arranged each piece...created each vignette. I came away with a packet of extremely sly post it notes, with a message that any lady could not repeat in mixed company!

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the paperdoll, and felt that this original, witty space would be at home anywhere, but thought that it fit downtown Bellingham like a beautiful, long, silky, glove.

Later Doll...

www.thepaperdoll.net312 West Champion Street
Bellingham WA 98225
360-738-DOLL

Crate and Barrel-University Village/Seattle

These are some outside lights in the trees at University Village in Seattle. The day was quite grey, but the deep red lights against the bare branches of the trees were simply magical. I think if you can decorate your store with only one product, inside or out, it should be with light. I think twinkling lights in a colour, or just clear white, puts everyone in a more relaxed frame of mind. Especially with our grey climate, lights work as a sort of pick me up...adding sparkle and shine to every space. When I had my store on Marine Drive in White Rock. I used to take 3 or 4 different strings of clear lights, different sizes and shapes, and hang them from a dowel behind my till. I instantly noticed how clear the colours of the clothing items appeared. When you have a store with fluorescent fixtures in the ceiling, that one type of light can be very 'flattening' to items and colours. Adding another type of light shows how under-lit most stores really are. It's always good to experiment with moving lights around...any time of the year!

When I was at University Village, I especially wanted to visit Crate and Barrel. I had been into their location in NYC in the Spring, and really liked it. This location was HUGE...but somehow was brought more into scale with a clever combination of lighting and merchandising. As the store was relatively new it was absolutely spotless. It reminded me of a new car that no one had ever sat in. It was decorated for Christmas in a variety of colours depending on the area. The colours were all jewel tones. Given the light oak floors and the sparkling white walls...these colours really 'POPPED'.

The store looked beautiful and festive,colourful and upbeat! Everything was touchable and appealing, and the colour blocks were strong and graphic. I would imagine that making this huge space look cozy and human-scaled must have been a real challenge but they did a great job. The Room-Sized Vignettes were outstanding...with special attention paid to colour and negative space(proportion). The store was full to the brim, with moms and dads,grandmas and grandpas. To round out the Holiday feel, there were lots of adorable children who looked as rosy-cheeked and well-fed as any little person of privilege should look on US Thanksgiving Sunday Afternoon. Had Norman Rockwell still been alive, he would have painted the scene I saw that day at Crate and Barrel.

www.crateandbarrel.com

Anthropologie...How I love Thee!

I picked up these little beauties at Anthropologie in Downtown Seattle, last week. I was at 2 Anthropologie locations on my last visit. The first one we visited was at University Village. This location is brand-spanking new! The whole Retail development was absolutely beautiful. It reminded me of the Village at Park Royal, but like everything in the States, it was about 3 times the size.

I LOVE Anthropologie. I simply can't understand how they do what they do. They make mass-produced look handmade. They merchandise in such a way that makes you want to LIVE in their store. They somehow take a totally soulless new commercial space with high ceilings and an ordinary concrete floor, and turn it into a space that looks worn in, funky, and totally cool!

They manage to transform the 'false-ness' of the standard 'LIFESTYLE' store, into a space that has you longing to live that life. That aspirational aspect is every retailers dream. How do you create a world out of merchandise that has people wanting to own everything you sell...including the 'idea' of the lifestyle that you present. This is where as an owner, you absolutely can't fake it. The image that your store presents has to reflect your personality. The image also has to give customers a peek into the life you lead...and to some degree, your values. It's a little scary to reveal that much to strangers...but from your website, to your facebook page, to your blog or monthly newsletter, to your physical bricks and mortar location...you have to be honest and real. I personally know nothing about the person/corporation that owns the Anthropologie brand...but I feel as if they invite me into their home, every time I am in the area. What does your space say to customers?
www.anthropologie.com

DIGS Showroom- Bellingham, Wa.

I took a little road trip with a good friend last week. We headed to Seattle to check out the 'hype' that is BLACK FRIDAY...and took a little detour through Bellingham. It has got to be 10 or more years since I had been to Bellingham, so it was nice to see their downtown area looking so funky and fun. There was such a comfortable vibe...not easy to achieve in this economy. We decided to check out a store that my friend said I'd like. It was called DIGS. I didn't just like this place...I LOVED this place. It was easily, one of the most thoughtfully edited, organized and unique stores that I have been in in a LONG time. The space was beautiful. It was an older building on a corner. It was well lit, inside and out, with an open concept, high ceilinged 2 story layout. The merchandise was primarily home decor, but with a good selection of books for cooks,children, and would be designers/decorators. I have to admit that the upstairs captured my imagination the most, with it's small art installation filled with vintage things for the home. In this 100 or so square feet I discovered more than a few things from my youth! The standout was a Betty Crocker recipe card file from the 70's. The one in the installation was harvest gold...but if you can believe it...I had one that was avocado green...and I swear, I cooked EVERY RECIPE in that crazy little box of recipe treasures.

This store was remarkable for it's sophistication, variety of merchandise, and overall flow. The sections were incredibly well integrated, creating vignettes that had you imagining yourself actually living in the spaces. Too often, retailers are pushed and pulled off their buying course by shifts in the economy, vendors demanding larger orders for free shipping, or customers asking for bizarre items, and the store owner believing that special ordering 2 or 3 or 10 of these treasures will translate into a loyal, satisfied customer. I admire stores like DIGS...who know who they are, and stay true to that vision by creating a store environment that is specific, but not rigid. DIGS speaks for itself. The store was laid out in such a way that even if there had been no one to serve me, I could have wandered around, on my own, picking up interesting things, and enjoying the specific spaces, not at all worried about something falling on my head, or knocking something over, or being afraid to touch something for fear of ruining a display. The store was full...but not in a crazy, messy, unorganized way. I can't emphasize enough, how HARD that is to achieve in any retail store. That balance between too much stock, and not enough stock is mostly ART...partly SCIENCE. (MATH SCIENCE!!)

DIGS is a downtown Bellingham treasure, and an early Christmas present for anyone who loves unique and beautiful retail stores...

www.digsshowroom.com

DIGS200 West Holly Street
Bellingham Wa. 98255