TW

Have you noticed that Birds are truly in every store these days?

Last week they were on the cover of both the Pottery Barn and Land of Nod Catalogues, which showed up in my mail box.

We are making great progress on our Bird Spoons and Cups and fully expect to have them ready to ship by the end of the month. Soon afterwards, we will have a matching Spoon Rest and Canister Sets! Here is a sneak preview:

Whenever I am out shopping and I fall in love with something, I turn it over to see where it was made. I’m trying extra hard to focus on buying products that are made in America.

In fact, when my little 18 year old BMW wears out, I’m thinking of buying a Ford! And I am going to get a bumper sticker that says – Buy American!

Speaking of American products, everything we sell is MADE IN AMERICA. That’s right – everything!

We are proud as punch. If you own some of our products, thank you for supporting American workers.

The other day, Derrik (our fabulous packer and shipper) came to me and pointed out that the Saints are going to the Super Bowl this year. He thought we should call up every store in Louisiana and tell them that we have the most beautiful Fleur de Lys products around!

I thought that was pretty cool of Derrik to point that out. I’m not too educated about Pro Football so the news of the Saints had kind of passed me by. But now that I know what a big deal it is…

Hey, all you Saints Fans! How about skipping all those tacky plastic logo products out there? and go for some gorgeous quality-made Fleur de Lys products that will last and last and last. You could be the envy of all who come over on Super Bowl Sunday.

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. Chocolates will barely last through the day (or night) and flowers will most likely fade after a few days – or a week, if you are lucky.

Pewter hearts, however, will last a lifetime. Here is our list of favorite Hearts (all made with love – of course!):

We hope that you are surrounded by love – not just on Valentine’s Day – but every day!

Our fabulous potter, Carl, joined us last year after many, many years as an independent artisan. He and his wife, Eden, had owned Eden’s Pottery Garden and made a living selling their gorgeous pottery line at arts and crafts fairs. After awhile, it gets hard to spend so much time on the road.

Eden realized that she could combine her years of sales and marketing experience with her outgoing personality and make the shift from pottery to houses. Now, I realize, if you don’t live in the Eugene area, you might not need this little tip.

However, if you are anywhere within shouting distance, this is the Real Estate tip that could make your day!

Eden Warne can sell your house! She is awesome! Last year was a terrible year for many, many people in the Real Estate Industry. However, people were still buying and selling houses. A lot of those houses were being sold by Eden! She was so busy that, by December, she had to stop taking new listings.

Ok, that’s my real estate plug for today!

Eden Warne - realtor at John L. Scott, Eugene. Oregon

I travel a lot which also means I eat out a lot. I usually try to connect with my servers – whether I’m in a diner or in a *****star restaurant. Unfortunately, people can get really cranky when it has to do with their food or beverage. I figure if I can make the server’s job that much easier or nicer, it will hopefully offset that day’s cranky customer.

When Carol, our sales mananger, and I ate at Nava, in Atlanta, a couple of weeks ago we had the good fortune to be taken care of by Annette. Looking back on the evening, I’m not sure if it was the fabulous Sonoma Jack Cheese Fritters (with toasted pecans, red chile jelly, and herbed goat cheese) or Annette – or the combination? – that made it so wonderful – but, all in all, it was a special night. Thank you, Annette – and thank you to the chefs at Nava!

Nava Restaurant - where you can experience a "collage of flavors with intense Latin and Native American influences"

Annette and myself at Nava

Nine years ago, a sweet young community college student responded to our job posting for an office assistant.

Flash forward to 2010…this sweet young student is now a graduate of the University of Oregon, a loving wife, a devoted mother – and our new Operations Manager! Many of our regular customers already know her well – from phone conversations, e-mail correspondences and trade shows. We just know that 2010 is going to be our best year ever – with Nancy Willcox-Trent at the helm!

Nancy - our new Operations Manager!

I am SUCH a creature of habit. How many restaurants do you suppose there are in Atlanta? A  lot! But every time I come, I seem to return to the same ones. I don’t rush to the Barbecue spots or the Southern Friend Chicken places…I head right to Murphy’s in the Highlands.  They have great cocktails, wonderful salads and great bread. I hear their desserts are great – but who has room for those after everything else?

Oh, how could I forget? I have also been to Murphy’s for brunch. That was pretty awesome, too.

Here I am back in Atlanta for Americasmart – the center of commerce in America. People may tell you it’s New York – but, I don’t know, I can’t believe it’s not Atlanta. Americasmart is 4 skyscrapers full of product for store owners to buy. It’s unbelievable!

As soon as the show closed yesterday, I hopped in a cab and went right to the Highlands to do a little shopping. I only get here once a year but I don’t forget my favorite places. My middle daughter, Petrel,  has an obsession with Italy so I went right to La Bella Cucina to see what I could bring back for her. The Spanish sales girl there was adorable and super friendly.  Everthing looks so yummy and is packaged so beautifully!

I had a great little visit. If you are anywhere near Atlanta, you must pop in. After all, it’s a lot cheaper and easier than getting to La Bella Italia!

Deliciously Packaged Products

Fabulous Foods

Great looking books

A belated Happy New Year to everyone! We wish everyone a happy and healthy and prosperous 2010.

We are already hard at work on a new collection with a great little BIRD motif! Suddenly I am seeing birds everywhere – not sure why it took me this long. After all, all of our children have bird names.

Of course, we would never play favorites. So, the little bird that will be popping up on our measuring spoons and cups, on our canisters and spoon rests – and who knows where else? – will not be a heron, a raven, a petrel, or a rosella!

Heron

Petrel

Rosella

Raven