On swag - new Boswell totes and toddler tees

Several years ago we created a special toddler tee featuring one of the illustrations of renowned local artist and bookseller Aaron Boyd, author of Luigi and the Barefoot Races and Calling the Water Drum. Ever since then, we've had on our checklist to make our basic tee available for little kids too.*

Now we've done a special printing of tees in four sizes - T2, T3, T4, and T5/6 in an assortment of colors - apple green, Caribbean blue, cobalt blue, gold, purple, vintage red, and vintage blue (no T5/6 in the last two color options). Note that selection is very limited in each color. Each is $16.95. You can even order online, but you'll have to request size and color (list your top 3 color choices) in the notes field. Or come see them at Boswell.

We wound up using Brew City Promotions for our printing and went with a tee shirt company called Rabbit Ears, because a lot of the other companies had a very limited palette to choose from - neutrals and pastels - and we wanted brights. This is a bit of an experiment so supply is really limited. There is literally one tee shirt in each color in each size available.

Speaking of Boswell gear, here's another installment of toting the Boswell totes. Our new bright red tote will brighten up any day and as it gets closer to the holidays, it will be perfect for carrying holiday gifts, even if you don't have a red coat like Amie does. The totes are $15 and available in classic black, royal blue, eye-popping purple, and Harry W. Schwartz green. Please note color choice in notes field. Order here.

If you've missed us writing about the totes, my goal is to feature each of our colors used by someone dressed in that color. This was conceptual until our friend Catherine walked into the store dressed head to toe in purple. Purple wasn't everyone's first choice for color number five. We were also looking at orange, and there was a strong teal contingent, and being that teal is our current most popular shirt color, there was a strong argument. When we saw the samples, we learned that teal didn't come in the stiffer 15 oz fabric, only the more loosey goosey 10 oz, and we wanted all the bags to have the same feel.

I went out on a limb this time as we needed to buy the colors in 50-bag lots, which led to an increased buy over previous tote purchases to get the assortment we wanted. I am tired of having a tote in one color. Note that we similarly moved to multi-color tees, and event our mugs come in four colors, with four more on order. Yes, we're out of both blue and teal. Can you see a trend here?
I was able to pose with any of the colored bags - of course I have several purple shirts and two tones of purple pants. But it turns out that Harry W. Schwartz green was the shade that most needed a model. Booksellers have already agreed to wear blue and black for future photos. But dark green has always been a favorite of mine and has a lot of meaningful connotations.

a. It's the official color of my alma mater.
b. It was the official color of Marshall Field's, and I do love a good old-fashioned department store.
c. And most importantly, it was the official color of Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops, at least until Barnes and Noble started opening stores using the exact same shade. Then we switched to black.

While we're discussing tees and totes, we recently got a shipment in of adult tees as well. For some reason, the vendor has been having trouble restocking our fitted tees, but if you're looking for unisex small, medium, large, xl, we've got a nice selection of colors!

An abridged version of this post appeared in Friday's email newsletter. You can read it here.

*Aaron's got more books coming out in 2019 and has also created a Boswell-toad image for us for our 10th anniversary. Tenth anniversary????? That's crazy.