A busy couple of months.

January and February are known as down times in the retail industry and that is both a blessing and a curse. A curse because we still need to make money to pay for rent , payroll, taxes, insurance etc. A blessing for me because the past two months have been very busy. I have attended two gift shows and done my year end counting and catching up on all the things that have gotten put aside during the busy months of November and December. Today I feel like I can breath a little.

The gift shows are shopping for nine hours a day, for several days, I get tired feet and overwhelmed by the vast amount of products that are out there. Still, I am also excited too be checking in with my suppliers and seeing what is new in food and gifts, gadgets and tea.

It's great when you find a product that you know your customers are going to LOVE and that you love a little bit yourself. I enjoy chatting with my suppliers and attending the seminars. I learn something new every time.

I decided to expand the food lines we carry for a number of reasons. First, the store has gotten a great response to the chutneys, jams and mustard's that we carry. Second, the products are really good. New to the store are Hot Horseradish, Four Pepper relish (which we are almost sold out of), Mango Chutney with Lime and Ginger, Chipolte Mustard, Cranberry and Pomegranate Preserves, Apple and Cinnamon Preserves, Fig Preserves and Pink Grapefruit Marmalade. And not to be forgotten are the Dufflett Morsels. These yummies are the ultimate treat! Milk chocolate and caramel pistachios and hazelnuts are my personal favorite. The dark chocolate covered raspberries, cranberries and blueberries have been a real hit. I'd rather get a box of these for Easter than the typical bunny. No offence to the bunnies.

I, also got the large Royal Albert Bone China mugs back in along with six more contemporary designs. And we will have the ceramic travel mugs back in this week. It was a bit of a trial getting them back. My poor sales rep was struck by illness and didn't return to his job and my order got lost in the chaos and then it got lost again because of a computer error. They are a bit funkier than the last ones with lots of bright colours and fun designs.

We will be getting new Japanese tea sets and some fun gift items that have nothing to do with tea but that I kind of feel in love with and thought that others would like as well. I'll post pictures as the new products come in to the store.