Us Little Guys vs. The Big Guys

I was sitting down to write this blog, when I was distracted by our Twitter account (like usual). Cinda Baxter from the 3/50 Project had posted this article about a Minneapolis florist's battle with a big name floral company's misuse of Google adwords that directly and seemingly purposely redirected potential customers to the big name floral company's site.

Crash course in AdWords and advertising; there are a couple ways to do it, but basically the more words you buy and the frequency of purchase equals more hits and higher ranking your company will receive on Google searches. It goes without saying that large, national chains have HUGE advertising budgets that crush the advertising efforts of small businesses.

Prior to opening up Eclectic here, my mom was an independent florist and witnessed this first hand pretty often. Around each holiday, the big name floral companies would gobble up adwords and maybe even your own business name and location, so that when people searched for you, the link would appear that you were clicking on "florist, Valentine's Day, Libertyville" and be redirected to one of the big name floral companies' sites. Totally unethical, and downright sneaky, right? Do you want to support that type of behavior? I don't.

My original intent for this entry today was that independent, brick and mortar stores like us are almost always a better solution for your needs than a nameless, large corporation that really does not care about you and your needs. They care about your money.

When you shop at a local, independent store, you are often working directly with the owner, who strives to give you excellent service and wants to build a lasting relationship with you. Shopping at a local, independent store means you are supporting your community with the tax dollars your purchases generate, you are supporting the family behind that business, and you are fundamentally supporting The American Dream.

We know that its darn well near impossible NOT to shop at a national chain these days, but we are hopeful that people continue to look to their local alternatives and choose to support them as much as possible.

Don't Forget!

Valentine's Day Gift Ideas

This year, why not give a calorie-free indulgence?

1) Build a gift basket. Personally, I love to get a bunch of small little gifts. And if your love is like me, they will appreciate all of the thought you spent picking out each individual item.

We love: Villainess! You can't go wrong with any of her handmade soaps, whipped body butters, sugar scrubs or whatever else she may have concocted on a limited edition basis. We will gladly wrap up your gift basket with cellophane and French ribbon!

2) We love Villainess so much that we had her make us an exclusive line of bath products for the store. You can pick from three different products and three different scents: bath salts, moisturizing bubble bath powder, and bath oil.

3) Gift certificate- usually we would say that gift certificates are a cop out, but we know how much people LOVE to get gift certificates to our store.

4) Design Consultation- does your valentine want to revamp something in your abode? Why not kick-start the project with some no pressure, professional assistance? Even our most DIY clients are sincerely happy they hired us to help! From simple space planning or accessorizing to large scale projects like an entire room redo, we do it all.

5) Custom floral arrangement. There is nothing like fresh, but a high quality silk arrangement can add the vibrancy and life that fresh flowers give when its not always practical. Not only is Margaret an interior designer, but she is also an AIFD florist and makes the most amazing, creative arrangements.

There you have it!

Our best selling Villainess scent- Krakatoa

Smooch sugar scrub: Krakatoa

Dr. Schnabel's Anti-Bubonic Tonic

eclectic

Cabinet de Curiosite

NYC Recap: The City, The Show, The Food

Oh, New York...

What a wonderful trip we had, I could certainly get used to 2 hour lunches mid-afternoon and wandering through neighborhoods gathering inspiration. But, we are back to the grind and have come back with a lot of new lines.

Bread, Nolita

While at the show, we noticed that the overly distressed aesthetic has peaked and will soon be making its decent into the trend graveyard. It has over-saturated the market and nearly every company had something of that look to offer. So, for us that means we're focused on bringing you what's next.

By now, you've probably heard about Pantone's color of 2012: Tangerine Tango, a zippy, bold orange just like the name suggests. What does this mean? It means that you'll find bright pops of color everywhere- lamps, pillows, vases, and other assorted accessories. Most people won't commit to designing a room around such a saturated hue, but bringing in colors in that pallet is a fun way to update a room with minimal commitment.

The steampunk look is gathering more momentum. If you're unfamiliar with steampunk, its a very unusual, imaginative look that combines the romanticism of the Victorian era with a futuristic, Mad-Max edge. I've been fascinated by this genre for some time and think its interesting that its wiggling it way into the mainstream.

Steampunky goodness

Could these be any more fabulous?

Of course we HAD to come back with new candle lines! The first we found is the emerging luxury brand Thompson Ferrier. They're based in NYC and made on US soil, which is something we strive to bring in. If you've ever had a brief conversation with me regarding fragrance, you'd know I am a certifiable scent junkie and go to great lengths to bring in quality lines with non-commercial scents. Thompson Ferrier's scents are to die for, they all smell so clean and natural, never artificial. For example, gardenia is a scent that is notoriously hard to duplicate; its easily overdone and can smell almost, well, toxic. Gardenia, even the real deal, is not a scent I like, but I have to mention how amazing Thompson Ferrier's Elegent Gardenia smells- light, fresh, clean, real. If you love white florals, you have to come in and see!

Thompson Ferrier luxury candles

The other candle company we're delighted to have is Tatine, who are out of Chicago! Their candles are made out of beeswax and every element of the product is entirely made by hand, right down to the letterpress packaging. Their packaging and branding is so wonderful that we know they will make impressive gifts on their own! The fact their scents are so amazing is a huge bonus.

Hometown heros, Tatine

And So It's Settled...

...Well, our reception venue that is. After an exhaustive search of what seemed to be every single possible venue that was not a banquet hall, restaurant, or the like, we found that even the coolest places were maybe a little too restrictive for what we wanted to do. As a DIY gal, its hard to lay something so dear to us in someone's hands. We are back where we started: the back yard. Its prefect, really. Half of it is groomed, half of it is prairie grass. At dusk our guests will get a show when the swallows come swoop in for their supper of skeeters from the tall grass. And since our theme is a dark, Tim Burton-esque Alice in Wonderland, we've just got to be outside! There will be bunnies everywhere (or at least plenty of photos of my Sweetpea, RIP), croquet, photo booths, and plenty of "curiouser and curiouser" to be had. If you like weddings (or just parties in general) and want to follow my inspirations for the day, take a peek at my Pintrest page HERE.

"I Love That Wallpaper"

This is something we hear daily as people pass our cash wrap. "That is such a beautiful print! Where can I get this?".

At Eclectic!

Yes, the wallpaper on our cashwrap is by ROMO, who also has a line of complimentary fabrics (see the swag behind the cash wrap) whose style runs somewhere between transitional and contemporary. We have used it in traditional homes with outstanding, inspiring results.

Their fresh patterns bring a breath of fresh air into any room. I love them so much that when I was designing Jockey's flagship store in Kenosha, I chose paper from the Mirabel collection to go in each fitting room.

Here is some visual eye candy to get you started on a ROMO journey. Let us know what you think!

SALE, SALE, SALE!!

I'm not sure about you, but I think sales should be something really spectacular and special- our culture has kind of conditioned us to wait for things to go on sale during the Biggest Sale of the Year (which, oddly enough, happens every weekend it seems).

Very rarely do we have a proper sale, but rather, offer a rewards card for our customers so they can choose which items they want to receive a discount on. We also like to do secret sales for those on our email list and Facebook/ Twitter followers. Sometimes we may have an unannounced, fly by the seat of your pants type promotion just because!

But, this sale is an event...

Many of the downtown merchants are participating in this sale, bringing some outstanding merchandise at yummy discounts in order to make room for some fresh spring products.

So, bring a friend (and your money!) tomorrow night and come say hello!