Saturday Gift Post--Spring Insect Magnets, a Hedgehog Magnet and Photo

What gave me the idea for doing gift posts on Saturdays? For one thing, I actually do a lot of gift buying on Saturday. I think it's because a lot of event programming is set up during the week when I'm getting lots of emails, but with the email rather quiet on the weekends, I can concentrate on card restocking and the like, as long as we have enough folks on the selling floor. I also figured that one component of our blog constituency, publishers, also didn't read the blog on the weekends.

I spent the morning trying to figure out how to reorder our newspaper-and-wire flowers that sold so well at Valentine's Day. They were originally just meant for a spring-transitioning-to-Mothers-Day table, so the fact that they came in early enough to be a good substitute for a be-mine bouquet was a bonus. But now I've been stymied in reordering. I have three ways to access the vendor--through the vendor's printed catalog, through their website, and through a sales rep website, and none of the options allowed me to order with identifiable jpgs and allow us to complete the order with the correct minimum. Don't worry, I'll figure out next week.**

Meanwhile, we moved the spring table to the front desk, and had a number of fun items to add to our mix. They also had a line of insect magnets, using the same dyed newspaper over wire technique. There's an assortment of butterflies, dragonflies, and a ladybug, and Anne made a nice magnet nest by inverting a wire display bowl.  The items are made in an urban Bangkok neighborhood. I can ask Mark, my old friend who has lived in Bangkok for a number of years, to check out their operations.

I don't think of hedgehogs as a spring animal, but they match the insects and since we love hedgehogs*, I couldn't help but bring a few in. Not only are these folks magnets, but they also can be put on a flat surface and display anything from photos to invitations to a memorable greeting card.

In March, we'll pull out the kites and jump ropes and garden stakes, but honestly, it still feels a little early. I did, however, bring in another spring tradition, some kind of crazy ball for the front desk, that will drive us a bit nuts. This orbit ball has light-up action and somehow seems like the perfect tie-in for our event with Michio Kaku on this Wednesday, February 26, for The Future of the Mind, at 7 pm. It's free and we're going to fill up, so come early, come early!

*These have gone over very well with much of the staff, but Sharon in particular has a general fondness for the hedgehog.

**I'm also trying to avoid going to Boswell today because our next two weeks are packed with events. Jason noted that I did what I promised I wouldn't do and booked seven days straight, if you include the slightly-moved in-store book club discussion on March 4. Our topic is Rachel Kushner's The Flamethrowers, by the way.