Gift Post--A Cool Bag Came in on Backorder, A Card Line with Graphic Punch

Anne and I have been receiving various gift items this week. We were very happy to get a tote bag with a typewriter motif (pictured). We also restocked our ever-popular magic wands. You never know when you're going to need one.

On the card side, we had several vendors ship March 1, meaning they arrived this week, but the most notable was British import line called 1973 Ltd. I first spotted at Bookpeople last summer. I bought a card from the collection and tried to order it myself. The problem was that you had to buy the cards in dozens and I just didn't think I could make such an initial commitment to a line that I liked, but I didn't know how others would react.

This is a lesson in working with reps. It turned out that one of my card reps did represent 1973; I spotted it at their showroom in Chicago, featuring the very card I bought for myself, "Lucky Day." It turns out that they had negotiated the ability for us to buy in half dozens, and that was all I needed to seal the deal.

The order arrived yesterday, and several Boswellians have commented on how much they like it. I do tend to focus on artists and my favorites of the bunch are Sean Sims and Pintachan. The former has a bit swinging sixties London vibe while the latter isn't quite as locked into a time and place--it's just a retro modern cartoon look, sort of Jay Ward/Powderpuff Girls mashup.

Now that it's Lent, we'll be setting up the Easter table, though not in the most prominent display spot in the store. It's been a work in progress for the past few days, though one in the kids' section has been up for at least a week.