Holiday Gifts & Accessories/ Sept-Oct 2018 by Retailing Insight Magazine

RetailingInsight Connecting the Best in Body-Mind-Spirit

MAGAZINE

Vol 32 | Issue 5 | 2018

HANDCRAFTED AND MADE IN THE USA Products

Holiday Magic or Holiday Manic FIVE WAYS to Stay on Track During the Holidays

2018 COVR Awards Finalists

HOLIDAY DÉCOR Winter Holiday Traditions Around the World

HOLIDAY BUYERS GUIDE Special

Angel, Peace on Earth Lights by Your Heart’s Delight by Audrey’s

Holiday Shopping How to Budget and Purchase for the Holidays

Holiday

Gifts & Accessories

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Holiday Gifts & Accessories

SEPTEMBER/OC TOBER 2018

Features

6 | HOLIDAY SHOPPING How to budget and purchase for the holidays

COVER IMAGE:

14 | MEET OUR VENDORS Esprit Creations – family jewelry business

(See details on page 72)

Angel, Peace on Earth Lights by Your Heart’s Delight by Audrey’s

celebrates 25 years

18 | WINTER HOLIDAY TRADITIONS AROUND THE WORLD Increase your sales with the right inter-cultural products

28 | HOW TECHNOLOGY CAN HELP YOUR BUSINESS What independent retailers are doing to adapt their business

36 | ESSENTIAL AROMATHERAPY BASICS Educate your customers about aromatic products

44 | HOLIDAY MAGIC OR HOLIDAY MANIC Keep your winter holiday season under control

50 | 2018 COVR AWARDS FINALISTS

64 6

Products 42 | HOLIDAY BUYERS GUIDE SPECIAL 58 | HANDCRAFTED AND MADE IN THE USA Product reviews

68 2 September/October 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

72 | EDITORS PICKS Holiday décor

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editor'snote It’s time to switch gears and get ready for the busiest, but most bright and joyful time of the year. Let the winter holiday season begins! In this issue, you will find ways to stay on track during the holidays, and how to budget and purchase for the season. Don’t miss the Holiday Magic or Holiday Manic piece on how to keep your season under control as well as the article with advice on how to market your shop in 11 minutes or less. Looking to educate your customers about aromatic products and their benefits during this season? Read the special featured written by Margaret Ann Lembo. This month’s business spotlight will give you some more insight into the jewelry business, as we had the opportunity to interview the owner and GIA gemologist of Esprit Creations, Elaine Stuth. Exploring further, you’ll discover how different cultures celebrate their holiday traditions, and what independent retailers are doing to adapt their business by using different technologies. Make sure you don’t miss the 2018 COVR Awards coverage including a list with all finalists. We know that this time of the year can be very stressful to many retailers, so don’t let the season stress you out – breath in and breath out, so last, but not least, be sure to read the article Overcome the Holiday Stress Using Chakras. Our next issue Winter Edition will be in-stores in November. Until then… Have an insightful reading,

PUBLISHER EDITOR COPY-EDITOR GRAPHIC DESIGN CONTRIBUTORS CIRCULATION SALES

Joe Mount Roberta Gazzarolle Sean Ruck Laura Cunningham Jacqueline Adamany Bill Binkelman Dean Evenson Dudley Evenson Anna Jedrziewski Megy Karydes Margaret Ann Lembo Royce A. Morales Uma Silbey Jacki Smith Katie Slocombe Karen Johnson

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retailing insight magazine is published exclusively for independent retailers of unique and meaningful products for the body, mind, and spirit. Our purpose is to nurture retail store success by providing excellent business advice, honest product reviews, advertisements from leading wholesale companies, and outstanding coverage of the dynamic body, mind, and spirit market.

Roberta Gazzarolle, Editor, Retailing Insight Magazine

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HOLIDAY SHOPPING How to Budget and Purchase for the Holidays

ith all the economists, retail experts and futurists talking about the 2018 holiday season being driven by AI (Artificial Intelligence), apps, digital integration and an omni-presence of stores (your e-commerce and physical store being linked), there is one outstanding prediction that bodes well for the brick and mortar retailer: “Shoppers will return to Main Street in 2018. This trend is fueled by the desire of the highest-potential and highest-spending customers’ passion for a new shopping experience that they can’t find online, at the mall, in the

national chains or in big box stores. Owners of small retail shops often feel overwhelmed by the rapidly changing retail environment, with competition on all sides and most especially from Amazon. But small business retailers have a competitive advantage that none of these bigger, better capitalized and techno-powered retailers have: their personal touch. It is realized not just through the personal service that specialty retailers offer, but by being vital members of the local community. This trend will reshape the retail landscape over the next decade.” – Pamela Danziger, president, Unity Marketing.

6 September/October 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

The generation coming to the age and lifecycle that has the most disposable income are the millennials. They are having babies later, buying houses later and they are focused on their quality of life and investing in the local market. Independent retailers are uniquely positioned to take full advantage of that continuing trend, to offer the personal touch and the “experience” in shopping that today’s buyer is looking for. This is the perfect time – if not a little late in the game – to plot and plan your holiday purchasing to fill your stores with those unique items that your customers will be looking for. Yet, how

by Jacki Smith do plan accurately, pick your product and get the money needed for this stock up? There are many options to get this going, some old school and some new ideas that are changing the way small retailers can leverage larger cash sources.

HOW MUCH DO YOU NEED ON HAND? There is a sweet spot in your inventory level that increases or crashes your sales. Customers don’t spend in an understocked store and you run the risk of having too much unsold inventory at the end of the season when overstocked. When you get your sales goal for the

season, the first thing you need to do is plan to purchase in the perfect stock level to make those sales happen again and maximize your profit. You can take a big fat guess, or you can calculate your sell through percentage. This is a percentage of inventory on-hand that is sold in a specific sales cycle. Most often, retailers look at their sales in 30-day and 90-day increments. The length of time for you to look at is dictated by your planning and smaller retailers tend to look at monthly sales. Your sales-to-inventory ratio is simply your product sales (excluding discounts and returns) divided by the beginning retail value

of your inventory. This tells you how much of your inventory you sell through in 30 days. When you compare what your sell-through percentage is in an average month, a great sales month and a low-inventory, slow sales month, you will find that perfect percentage for your store and then plan your holiday purchases accordingly. We are going to do some math here. Don’t be afraid, it won’t hurt. To get your current sell-through percentage, you take your net sales for a month (sales only, do not include returns or discounts) and divide that by the beginning retail value of inventory on hand for that month plus any inventory added through the month. For instance, let’s say you had a $20,000 month in sales and you have a total $80,000 of inventory. $20,000 / $80,000 = .25 or 25%. Do this again for a time when your sales were really great! Let’s say you had a $30,000 month and you estimate or run a report on what your inventory level was at that time and get a total of $92,000 (This is why a good POS system can help you grow your business). $30,000/ $87,000 = .34 or 34%. Do this again at a few times when you inventory was really low. For example, $15,000/ 73,000 = .20 or 20%. Do you see a pattern here? When your inventory level was too low, your sell-through percentage went down. When you were stocked up, your sell-through percentage almost doubled. When you look for a pattern, you can start by making a few assumptions and guestimates. Start by getting a rough estimate then start tracking that month to month. Start somewhere, then you can look how much you need to increase your inventory to make the holiday sales you are anticipating. If you want to sell $100,000 between November 1 through December 31 and your ideal sell-through percentage is 40 percent, you will need to get your inventory level to $250,000 in that 60 days. Here is the formula: anticipated sales/ sell-through ratio (40% = .40) = ideal inventory level. It’s the start of your purchasing plan! You can quickly see how much you have in stock and how much you have to add. This is a solid and provable number you can measure through the season and adjust your ordering if the results start to change as the season progresses.

WHAT ARE YOU GONNA BUY? Before you execute that buying plan, know what you want to purchase. It’s kind of like making a list and having a snack before you

Holiday Gifts & Accessories | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 7

Gift, Garden & Home

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go grocery shopping to avoid overfilling your cart with items that don’t make a meal. There is no one way to plan your holiday product plan, but anything you plot out is better than no planning at all. From creating a want list based on how much product you will need, to a complex spreadsheet with SKUs, turnover and cost of shelf space, any plan is a great place to start. As one of my business mentors always said, make it good, them make it better. After talking with a few retail store owners, here are some of their best practices:

1 Know what you are selling on the regular.

Your best sellers can sneak up on you; they are not only the items you sell the most of, but the items that generate the most income. These staples increase in sales just as fast as the gift items you think people are going to be looking for in “National Present Season” There are always surprise sellers when you dig in to your numbers and you would kick yourself if you ran out of them.

2 National and local trends. A little Googling goes a long way on looking for the season’s trends. Business Pinterest1 has the top 100 buying trends for 2018. Healthy, crafted, unique and conscious are all continuing trends in 2018 (PS – every trend list for 2018 will mention socks and enamel pins).

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Wishes and Wants. Have a list of the products on your wish list for your store and start planning their acquisition. Plot them out by theme and display and cluster your buying so their presentation makes sense. Plot them out by what you think you will need week to week through the season. Keep a list of what your customers have been asking for and feed those items onto your sales floor for the holiday season. Set your priority for your purchases on what your “must haves” are and what is new and unique to the shopping season. Get online and fill the carts and save your selections so when you are ready, you can just click the checkout button. Do whatever you need to keep it easy and simple to execute on the fly. Order the holiday items first as they tend to sell out before Nov 1st and keep the inventory coming. Some retailers stock up entirely before Nov 15th and some plan for

8 September/October 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

new items to arrive every week to keep their store fresh. It’s all a matter of preference and of course, how much money you have to spend.

BUDGETS NEED MONEY A few retailers start their holiday purchasing budget at the beginning of the year by squirreling away bits of cash all year long or buying and storing for the holiday season. That is wonderful! That type of discipline is at the superhero level and it will take them far. This is an amazing business practice and often the average independent retailer is hard pressed to do that. Emergencies, improvements, and slow sales eat up that savings or straight-up stop you from saving in the first place. I asked around again on how other small and successful stores make their purchasing budgets happen. I am so impressed by the resourcefulness of my colleagues and I am excited to share with you new ideas I hadn’t heard of before. Small Affordable Orders. My store is often running into the busy season right after my slowest season. It feels like I dropped off a financial cliff in the summer and then I have three weeks of good sales before the busiest season kicks in and I must climb up the financial cliff on the other side to get the products customers want to buy. When we don’t have the savings back up, we have to target small frequent orders as the sales come in. We fill virtual shopping carts with minimum orders and pull that trigger as soon as we have the cash and then fill that shopping cart with our next order. We place small net 30 orders with vendors who allow that, this way we know we can quickly pay them off and order again. We increase the value of those orders week by week as the sales grow. This incremental plan has saved our bacon for many holiday seasons as our store was launching or if we experienced an unexpected downturn in sales. Credit cards, vendor credit, bank funded lines of credit are all traditional ways to get your seasonal inventory. In order of cost, vendor credit is cheapest and smaller in their credit limits. This is also a good way to get in a bit of cash-strapped trouble if you don’t plan for their timely payments. Fewer vendors are offering net terms and they are quick to cancel your credit if you are a chronic late payer. https://business.pinterest.com/en/blog/100-trendpredictions-for-2018_ 1

Bank funded lines of credit usually have the best interest rate of any traditional credit. There can be a long application process, business plans and a Q&A session with the loan officer. If you are going this route, stop at your local SBA office for their assistance in prepping your business plan and getting the right bank contacts. An SBA guaranteed loan can have a lower interest rate and less documentation required. Credit cards are the highest costs of all the traditional funding. Even the no interest cards will jump up to 18% or more if you are late one time. If you go this route, watch your balances, cost of interest and payment dates carefully. Easy credit – low terms are never cheap, yet very convenient. One of my favorite techniques to keep my interest rate low and payments on time is to make the minimum payment weekly and boost the payment as my incoming cash increases. Weekly payments mess with their formulas and you win in the long run.

advance on future credit card or PayPal transactions. You get a lump sum of capital that’s based on your ability to repay through taking a percentage of your daily credit card receivables. They base this solely on your annual transactions and don’t do a credit check and some of them will fund the next day. A merchant cash advance is very expensive with APRs over 80 percent, so do your research before you buy. Intuit, Square and PayPal offer more affordable merchant cash advances for their merchants with upfront fees and no compound interest. If you have exhausted more affordable options and have no other source of capital, then a merchant cash advance may be the way to go. If you need cash now while you are acquiring other funding, this may be a way to bridge that money gap, just make sure there is no early pay off penalty.

Set your priority for your purchases on what your “must haves” are and what is new and unique to the shopping season.

Leverage Your Merchant Accounts. Merchant Cash Advance is a new, easy, yet expensive funding source. PayPal, Intuit, Square and some merchant accounts offer this funding alternative. This is an

Non-Traditional Funding Sources. There is a new focus on small business funding that I have never experienced. From Microfinance Organizations, to Peer2Peer lending, this puts more options in the business owner’s lap. There are a few to check out and Google on

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your own to dig up more details than I can include in this article. This short-term working capital loan could be just the thing to stock your shelves and create an amazing, high-profit holiday season. Microfinance Organizations. According to Investopedia, “Microfinance, also called ‘microcredit,’ is a type of banking service that is provided to unemployed or low-income individuals or groups who otherwise would have no other access to financial services.” MICROLENDING. is a crowdfunded loan that you help generate the funds for. Unlike Indigogo, and Kickstarter where you are asking for people to pre-buy or just straight up donate, microlending is a loan that is managed by a nonprofit that will repay your lenders for you. The lender then has the option to pull the money back out or loan it again. The great thing about a microloan is that your network of lenders can lend you what they can afford; as little as $25 or as much as the entire loan. You may be familiar with Kiva or Accion as microlenders. There is an application and underwriting process to get your loan approved before it is open for lending on the website. Once it is up, you will need to promote your loan requests through your social networks. It’s amazing how fast $5, $10 or $20 dollars add up to your entire loan amount. Microfinance organizations are usually non-profits with the mission to get financing to businesses that are underserved by the banking institutions and that

have an impact upon the local economy. PEER2PEER LENDING. This is like crowdsourced microlending as this is a new methods of debt financing that allows people to borrow and lend money without a financial institution. This too is unlike microlending, as the Peer2Peer lenders have investors that make up the pool of money to lend rather than choosing a specific loan to finance and they are for-profit corporations. According to Marc Prosser from the Huffington post, “Peer2Peer lenders such as Lending Club connect borrowers and lenders in an online marketplace. Borrowers like it because they can bypass the bank and ‘talk’ directly to individual investors.” The application process is similar to applying for a traditional loan, yet are not solely rated on your credit score. The business loans can range from $5,000 to $300,000 on a one- to five-year term. Again, before you take the money, check the interest rate because they can go as high as 30% APR. Lending Club is the largest Peer2Peer lender. Kabbage is really amping up their marketing and you may have already gotten a letter from them. They have a rapid approval system they claim is only 10 minutes. Business News Daily shows their top five picks to Peer2Peer lending as Nobel Funding, Kabbage, SBG Funding, Rapid Advance, and On Deck. Development Money in Your Community. Community-development financial institutions (CDFIs) are mission-based lenders. They focus on underserves commu-

10 September/October 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

nities and offer financial and strategic support, particularly to women, minorities, and veterans. A CDFI can be a bank, credit union, loan fund, or venture capital fund. Some CDFIs provide workforce training and assistance as entrepreneurs work to launch their enterprises as part of the lending package. In Detroit, we have the Detroit Development Fund and Invest Detroit. These CDFIs are funded by national banks and foundations to promote business growth in the city and surrounding suburbs. Many communities have such funds and resources and many of them can be found in your local SBA office. Get your Google going and look up CDFIs in your area. Put it All Together and Create an Amazing Sales Season. With the expected brick and mortar retail growth of 5 percent, the growth of independent retailer sales and the need everyone will have for some relief and comfort from the growing stress in society, you can be perfectly positioned to make this the best-selling season ever. Start with your goal, make a budget, figure out your product mix, and finance your idea! You’ve got this! You bet on yourself and you will beat all the odds!  Jacki Smith is the co-owner of Coventry Creations (www.coventrycreations.com) and they are celebrating their 25th year in business. Her passion of personal empowerment and small business has been the driving force in her success and her journey of lifelong learning. Jacki is a regular contributor to Retailing Insight and loves sharing her experience, successes and cautionary tales.

business&marketing 11 Ways to Market Your Shop by Megy Karydes As we enter the busy holiday season, our focus shifts from planning mode to execution. If you’ve been diligent about managing your marketing plan, you have a clear idea of what needs to happen during these last few months. If you haven’t yet managed to draft a marketing plan or have gotten behind, you can still employ effective marketing tactics to make this your best year. Since time is a premium, here are 11 marketing ideas you can work on to help your business to flourish.

Draft copy for your email newsletter. Most people don’t send out regular email newsletters because sitting down and writing one takes time. Draft or outline it today and finish it up tomorrow.

Build your email list. In the January issue, I shared how to start building your email list because unlike building up your social media accounts that can disappear overnight, your email list is something you own. Make it a point to ask every single customer if she wouldn’t mind being added to your list. On quieter days, go back to your records and see if you can call or email customers and ask them (remember, people need to opt in to receive your emails).

Create an editorial calendar. A former supervisor’s mantra was “Plan your work, work your plan.” True enough, what gets planned, gets done, so take a few minutes each day to review your editorial calendar and begin filling out your next newsletter and blog themes. Clear deadlines of newsletter or blog posts due dates will increase the likelihood that you’ll stay on track.

Find a place to submit a guest blog post. Locate a complementary business that will allow you to submit a guest blog post and offer to let the other business write a blog post for your business. This will allow you each to cross-market and attract new customers.

Make friends with reporters. Do your customers watch the local news or read the local daily newspaper? Find out how your customers learn about businesses like yours and reach out to the reporter to see if she’d like to learn about the hot gifts this holiday season.

Submit an OpEd. Have something you want to say? Admittedly, writing an Opinion piece can take a bit longer than the other suggestions, but if you put a few minutes in each day, you can have a great piece written within the week. Opinion pieces are widely read. Take some time to craft a strong piece on why

12 September/October 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

something matters to you or share how much it means for people to support local businesses like yours this season.

Ask customers for testimonials. Ask just one customer today if she’d be able to write a testimonial you can share on your website, email newsletter, and social media. Aim to share a testimonial once or twice a week. Try to get a nice range of testimonials. Ask customers who buy corporate gifts from you to share a testimonial on your corporate gift selection. Current customers might not have considered your shop for corporate gifts so letting them know it’s an option gives them more reasons to support your business.

Ask a customer to refer new customers. Our best customers are often our best fans and ambassadors. A simple reminder at checkout to spread the word to their friends is a low-risk ask and gives them an opportunity to support your business beyond that transaction.

Follow-up with past customers. People move, jobs change, and customers come and go for various reasons but it’s worth checking in with past customers, especially if you now offer online shopping. Alternatively, if they happen to be coming through town again, let them know how much of a treat it would be if they’d stop by your shop to say hello.

Create video. Many social media platforms make it easy to create quick 15- or 30-second videos. Shoot daily “unpacking” videos so customers know you’re receiving new shipments regularly and what’s available. Make it fun and let people in on the action!

Start a journal. Some of these ideas take seconds to complete, while others might take a few minutes a day over the course of a few days. Keep at it! You may not be able to get every marketing idea you want done, or the list might inspire some new ideas, so keep a marketing journal near your desk or cash wrap and when you have a good idea, but don’t have the time to work on it, write it down so you can consider it for 2019.

 Megy Karydes is a marketing and communications consultant. She’s also an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University and working on a book about how businesses can better market themselves. Sign up to get her marketing tips every month at MegyKarydes.com.

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MEET OUR VENDORS: Esprit Creations by Roberta Gazzarolle

Family Jewelry Business Celebrates 25 Years Owned by GIA gemologist and jewelry designer Elaine Sheth, Esprit Creations is a family-run wholesale jewelry business that has been manufacturing fine sterling silver jewelry since 1993. If you know Elaine, you know that she keeps her small business customers excited by continuously creating new designs using remarkable combinations of quality gemstones from around the world. By working closely with artisans in India, she makes sure her unique designs are meticulously handcrafted. In an industry where creativity, quality, and a competitive price are the winners, we chose to interview Elaine to know more about her business and story.

Retailing Insight – Hi Elaine, can you tell us how Esprit Creations started? Elaine Sheth – My husband’s family is from India and some of his relatives are in the jewelry business. With this reliable and trustworthy source, we established Esprit Creations 25 years ago. Because of this, we can steadily offer high quality handcrafted workmanship at reasonable prices. To become more knowledgeable about the different quality, color and cut of gemstones, I became a graduate gemologist at the Gemological Institute of America. As our children grew, I had more 14 September/October 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

time to personally travel on the road to meet our customers. Having come from an artistic and creative family, I could easily get a natural feel for what stones and designs were most popular. We have been able to continuously supply our customers’ stores with fresh jewelry designs that promote a high turnover. RI – The jewelry business can be very competitive, how have you managed to stay in business for so many years? ES – We are constantly evolving and keeping up with the ever-changing times and demands of the market. As technology advances, styles and price-point demands change constantly. I look for the most exacting quality of popular gemstones and set them in designs I know my clients will be able to sell quickly. By consistently supplying what sells best for our retail store owners, we are able to keep them interested and excited to see our newest arrivals each season. We always work on upgrading our website so that it accurately reflects the quality of our jewelry making sure it is easy user friendly. Keeping a high level of integrity with our products and our personally caring service has gone a long way in the increasing success of our business. When the American economy was shaken, and the price of silver went up, many large jewelry manufacturers raised their prices and some even began mixing their silver with lower grade

metals. I kept selling our jewelry at the same price points as always. I also created some designs with lighter weight sterling silver while keeping the same high-quality gemstones so that our retail store owners could continue to offer quality jewelry at reasonable prices. Together with our customers, we were able to keep our heads financially above the water. Our resilience paid off. We are happy to see how many of our customers continue to flourish with us. We still serve many of the same customers that we met 25 years ago when we first began. RI – How would you describe the industry these days? Any challenges? ES – There are always challenges in business. We welcome these challenges as opportunities to improve our products and our business ethics. Companies respond differently to the challenges. Some small business owners have become discouraged with the fluctuating economy and began carrying mostly lowerend items in their stores. I encourage them to display some medium to high-end items because this will attract the kind of customers who have money to spend in their store. Some wholesale companies began retailing their products to the public in order to make more profit. Competing with your own small business customers is not ethical or profitable in the long run. Esprit Creations chooses to remain strictly wholesalers to the trade. Our customers’ success is our success. As wholesale vendors, we don’t saturate an area. We offer reasonable area exclusivity

Glowing Moonstone Garden Pendant

to our customers. There have been times when I had to let a store owner know that because I am selling to a store nearby, it would not be in any of our interests for them to carry the same merchandise. Evolving in business and life is always an exciting challenge. We believe in sharing our good fortune. We ensure that our products are fairly traded and ethically made. We remain dedicated to sustaining educational and care projects for the underprivileged women and children in the Indian villages where we regularly visit. Our whole family is involved in spreading awareness and support for these and other philanthropic projects where we give back to the artisans and their families. RI – What is your creative process? Do you usually create the design concept for your next collection before you buy the gems, or does your inspiration come from the places you travel? ES – Gemstones have their own unique spirit that influence us in different ways. Often it is the brilliance, color and cut of the gemstone that inspires the design.

Sometimes a design is influenced by the flavor of the places I visit. The idea for our Garden Pendant came to me in India while strolling through a villager’s garden. He sold wildflowers and jasmine to the local temples. The splendor within the simplicity of the surroundings struck me with the inspiration for the Garden Pendant. I combined eye-catching and metaphysically compatible stones to create this eclectic, yet practical design that can be easily interchangeable. It can be worn either as a feel-good everyday casual favorite, a subtle statement of graceful power in the workplace, a charming conversation piece at a party, or a romantic touch for those special times. I also take my customers’ suggestions and advice to heart. Whenever they suggest an idea for a design, I incorporate it. RI – Maybe people don’t know, but because your work is unique, how long does it take you to design and produce a collection? ES – The time and process vary according to the design. My artisans and I work in synchronicity. I present them with a rough

Holiday Gifts & Accessories | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 15

drawing for my more complicated designs. They make an unpolished sample and we tweek it until it is perfect. We also offer custom-made designs in quantity because some store owners like to create their own jewelry designs. Once the sample is approved it takes about 6 to 8 weeks for them to receive their shipment. Whatever designs I create with a customer always remains exclusively their own. I work very closely with several different artisans, each one specializing in different methods and styles of jewelry design. A few of these artisans began by selling their wares on the street. It has been our pleasure to see that as we have evolved over the years, their business grows and prospers as well. Now they are well established and their children are receiving higher education. RI – What should customers expect when buying from EC? What services do you offer? ES – The proof of a great product is in the experience of our jewelry flying out of your store. We stand behind our sterling silver

creations, guaranteeing the authenticity of the gemstones and the quality of the workmanship. I honor and accommodate each store owner’s unique needs with efficient and friendly service. We can produce any quantity for many of our designs within a reasonable amount of time. On our website, we offer free shipping to first-time online customers. Every month we offer a different special deal on our website. RI – Many of our retailers sell jewelry in their stores. What advice or suggestion would you give to readers when selecting the right jewelry or gemstone for their shops? What should they pay attention to in order to make the right purchase? ES – Always keep a balance of price-points in your jewelry selections according to the location of your store and your clientele. If you are in a lower- to medium-end location, you may want to carry more of a percentage of this range of jewelry. Even so, if you display a few higher-end items in a prominent, nicely lit place, you will be surprised to see how you will begin

attracting customers that have more buying power. Too many stores make the mistake of purchasing products that are already available everywhere else. Today’s consumers really want unique products that empower them with confidence. Choose jewelry that is both exclusively attractive and meaningful. Keep in mind that most people have busy lifestyles that often require them to quickly dress up or down. They will purchase jewelry that is easily interchangeable. Every season, display some new conversation pieces to interest your buyers and bring them back to your store for more. Thank you for the opportunity to share about our business with your readers.

 We believe that every company has its own unique story to tell about their brand. A story worthy of sharing that can inspire us to grow. Connections are all around! Stay tuned for another great Meet Our Vendors. To know more about Esprit Creations, visit www.espritcreations.com

™

16 September/October 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

Winter Holiday Traditions Around the World

merica is the land of diversity, a melting pot of many cultures with varied traditions reflected in food, language, dress, beliefs, ideas, relationships and life experiences. One area in which this is most apparent is our many multi-cultural holiday practices. Now that we are approaching winter, as storeowners it is good to understand some of the traditional winter practices so that you can increase your holiday sales by providing for these many ways of celebrating. Winter celebrations generally center around the winter solstice that marks the day with the shortest period of daylight and the longest night of the year. In the northern hemisphere, this is around or on December 21 and the southern hemisphere around or on June 21. People across the world have historically found meaning in the solstice as the planet turns from darkness to light, as the sun’s ebbing presence begins to reverse. Accordingly, the year was seen as reborn and the event was celebrated with references to life-death-rebirth deities and themes, as well as of new beginnings. Also important, the winter solstice preceded the time of deep winter until the beginning of spring, when people had to rely on stored foods in order to survive. As such, it was also a time for feasting before the last meats and other foods were stockpiled and the majority of beer, wine and other fermented drinks were finally ready to drink. Not only was it a time for feasting, but also for singing, dancing, and visiting loved ones before hunkering down inside for winter’s cold. Whether celebrating Christmas, the Jewish Hanukkah, Indian Diwali, the Pagan Yuletide, the Iranian Yalda, the Chinese Dongzhi, the African Kwanzaa, the Humanist HumanLight, or the many other traditional holidays, midwinter time is a time to be merry, to come together for feasts of food, to give gifts, to dance and sing, to meditate on winter’s darkness and the coming of light. It’s a time to celebrate the interconnectedness and cosmic patterns of all life, to cherish our ancestors and families, and to enjoy the special magic of the earth’s turning once again toward the light and the corresponding illumination of our consciousness.

WINTER HOLIDAYS AROUND THE GLOBE Though Christmas tends to be the largest celebration in the U.S., but depending where you live, your customers may come from many other traditions, especially because those who are drawn to your store often have alternative ways of believing and experiencing the world. In order to properly stock your store with product that reflects these various traditions, it is important to know something about them. Here are some of the most prevalent traditions (which will vary depending on the communities that you serve):

by Uma Silbey

Christmas – Though Christmas is the predominant western winter celebration of today, and most of us know its Holiday Gifts & Accessories | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 19

story, it was actually birthed from many ancient midwinter customs, especially the earlier Pagan traditions. As Christianity spread throughout the world, in order for it to be more easily accepted, rather than doing away with the old customs, it often meshed with the local rituals and festivals so that converts could continue their celebrations, though infused with new beliefs and meaning. Instead of the worship of solar deities or celebrating the sun’s gradual awakening to banish the darkness of the lengthy night, the birth of Jesus could now be experienced as the dawning of God’s light that banishes the darkness of evil. Jesus’s promise of rebirth and everlasting life replicates ancient ceremonies representing the promise of green life in the midst of winter, and the continuance of life with the dawning of the sun’s light. It was even more so after the fourth century when the Christian holiday of Christmas was “officially” begun by the Catholic church, setting December 25 as the Feast of the Nativity, replacing a plethora of other Roman festivities, such as the honoring of Saturn with its midwinter feasts and gift exchanges. In Northern Europe as well, many familiar Christmas symbols and customs replaced those that came from earlier Pagan Yuletide winter solstice festivals, both cherishing the promise of enduring life. Other customs also became part of today’s Christmas tradition, one being the Celtic, Pagan and Scandinavian custom of using mistletoe. The notion of Santa Claus, too, springs from ancient tradition, being based on the Greek bishop, Saint Nicholas, who was known by his generous gift giving to children. Hanukkah – Though not obviously based on the winter solstice, nonetheless is a festival of light that also usually takes place in December (or late November). Like the miracle of the lengthening of the light that will eventually dispel the darkness of winter, Hanukkah, celebrates the miracle of the light’s return as well. According to the story of Hanukkah, in the second century BC, the Jewish people had built their temple in which to celebrate their faith. In there, a candle20 September/October 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

lit menorah was always kept lighted, welcoming the worshippers into the light of God. When the king outlawed their religion and defiled their temple, Judah Maccabee raised an army and successfully defeated the king. When they returned to the temple, however, not only was it in ruins, but when they went to light the menorah again, only one small jar of pure oil in a sealed bottle remained that was barely enough for one night. New oil would take eight days to make, so it seemed that the light of the sacred menorah would be extinguished. However, a miracle occurred. Instead of going out, the menorah burned for eight days, enough time to make the new oil so it could remain lit. Today, not only do Jews remember Hanukkah as their triumph from oppression, but also as a promise and continuance of God’s light and blessings. On Hanukkah, for eight days Jewish people light a candle in the menorah, exchanging gifts wrapped in blue and white paper. A dreidel, (a Jewish variant on an earlier European gambling toy,) is spun, accompanied with joyful singing and laughter. Not only is this fun, but the symbols on it remind the one spinning of the continuance of the Jewish culture. On the eighth day, families continue to celebrate with more singing and praying, exchanging gifts, and eating foods that contain oil and cheese. Though not obviously springing from the solstice tradition, the motifs of the renewal of light and the recovery from the darkness (of oppression) suggest similarities. Yule or Yuletide – is a very important winter solstice holiday not only celebrated by contemporary Wiccans but also by a variety of Pagan cultures throughout the ages. Within the New Age or alternative consciousness community, this holiday is important to be well represented in your store since a large number of your customers celebrate this holiday instead of traditional Christmas. Like other winter solstice celebrations, Yule or Yuletide is when the dark half of the year begins its transition to the light half. During the longest night of the year, known as Solstice night, the rebirth of the Oak

King, the Sun King, or the Giver of Life that warms the cold earth is celebrated. In the past, bonfires were lit in the fields and crops and trees were “wassailed” with toasts of spicy cider. Children traveled to every house while caroling and carrying gifts. The gifts usually included clove spiced apples and oranges representing the sun, which were placed in evergreen boughs representing immortality, and wheat stalks portraying the harvest, dusted with flour representing the triumph of light and life over darkness. Holly and ivy decorated the inside of homes, attracting the Nature Spirits to join in the celebration Mistletoe, representing the seed of the Divine, was kept near the door all year long to attract constant good fortune. The blazing of the ceremonial Yule log was the highlight of the Solstice festival. Harvested from the householder’s land or given as a gift, (never purchased,) the log was decorated with greenery, lightly covered with flour and doused with cider or ale. Then it was set on fire with last year’s Yule log to burn brightly in the fireplace throughout the night and the following 12 days. Then it was extinguished and saved for the next year. Ash was the traditional wood used for the Yule log since it was known

as the sacred world tree, or the herb of the Sun that brings light into the hearth and the world. As light, it symbolized the newborn sun or Divine Son. Kris Kringle, the God of the Yule was honored during Germanic ceremonies.

people bringing light, illumination and rebirth. Each tribe had their own traditions centered around this astronomical event, but usually all involved prayers or prayer offering ceremonies, songs, complicated chants and various forms of art. As with other world cultures, this was a time to wish others good health and prosperity for the New Year, often accompanied with gift giving. Some tribes also used dreaming on this special night, opening themselves for Mother Night to “walk though their dreams” to bring them messages and visions. These auspicious dream messages were then shared with tribal members.

As with other civilizations, the winter solstice marked and celebrated the return of the sun to the sky. Native American – Though their specific practices differed according to tribe, for all Native American tribes, the winter solstice was, and still is, a time for thanksgiving. As with other world cultures, the winter solstice was a deeply important celebration signifying life and marking a time of change and renewal. Like the world’s Pagan cultures, cattle and other animals were killed to stock food for the winter, (since they would likely not survive the winter anyway,) so it was also a time of feasting with fresh meat and other ceremonial foods. As with other civilizations, the winter solstice marked and celebrated the return of the sun to the sky. Often this was memorialized as the Sun God returning to the

Kwanzaa – Is a new African based celebration that is rapidly gaining in popularity in the U.S., especially in African American communities. Beginning December 26 and culminating on January 1, Kwanzaa is derived from the phrase “matunda ya kwanza” which means “first fruits” in Swahili. Based on the agricultural celebrations and harvest festivals of Africa, Kwanzaa notes the midwinter or winter solstice as a time to feast and be thankful as the darkness of winter first begins to transition to the increasing light of the sun. Kwanzaa basically honors five themes: the gathering of clan, family and friends, the reverence

Holiday Gifts & Accessories | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 21

for the creator and creation, the honoring of ancestors, a renewal of commitment to higher ideals and consciousness, and the honoring of the good life. Kwanzaa is also a time for African Americans to gather in celebration of their heritage and their achievements and to focus on the fundamental collective values and best practices that are rooted in African culture. This is a cultural festival rather than religious, so all people can celebrate Kwanzaa no matter what their religious beliefs. It, too, is a time for gift giving and to wish others well.

OTHER MIDWINTER CELEBRATIONS Though there are probably as many ancient winter solstice celebrations as there are ancient peoples, here’s an additional list of others important to note as your customers may be searching for these representations of the midwinter or winter solstice celebrations. Bodhi Day in early December celebrates Siddhartha’s awakening and his role as the Supreme Buddha. Though characterized with a personalized representation, Buddhahood is actually a state of enlightened consciousness illuminating an awareness of ultimate reality that directly experiences the illusory nature of physical existence while at the same time acknowledging its relative reality. Like the coming of the sun, the dawning of the realization of Buddhahood can be seen as the dawning of the light of awareness. Buddhists meditate and stay in prayer on Bodhi Day. Images of Buddha under a fig or bodhi tree are placed in homes and candles and lights are lit every night for 30 days as a symbol of enlightenment. A small ficus tree is decorated with colored lights and beads, representing the understanding that all things are connected in the oneness of ultimate reality. Dongzhi a winter solstice festival celebrated by the Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, and Vietnamese, also marks the

winter solstice. It takes place every year on December 21 or 22. The Dongzhi Festival celebrates the winter solstice as an understanding of nature’s harmonious balance of yin and yang energy. During the longest night of the year, the extreme of winter (dongzhi), passes and the negative yin qualities of darkness and cold give way to the positive yang qualities of light and warmth. The Dongzhi Festival was a day to gather with family, to get together before embarking on the last leg of winter. Traditionally, sweet, glutinous rice balls are served, signifying family togetherness

and reunion. Lamb or pork dumplings are also served.Today, as then, celebrating the Dongzhi festival is a time for the family to gather at a table set with hearty, warming foods, raising the hopes for spring’s arrival. Yalda or Shab-e-chelleh is a festival celebrated on the longest and darkest night of the year by the ancient Persian or Iranian peoples. It, too, is a time for family to gather to eat, drink, and read poetry. As midnight passes, fruits and nuts are eaten along with watermelon and pomegranates, the red symbolizing the crimson dawn and the glow of life. Diwali celebrated all over India and in Hindu communities worldwide, takes

22 September/October 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

place in November as a five-day ceremony. It, too, is a festival of light, awash with strings of multi-colored lights, firecrackers, rockets and brightly lit oil lamps. Replicating the winter solstice cycle, it is a time of throwing out the old and welcoming in the new. After bathing in fragrant, oil-scented water, and dressed in new clothes, celebrants visit each other offering gifts. Offerings are made to Ganesh, the elephant god of new beginnings and to Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity. Fruit, a gold or silver decorative object soaked in milk, money, sweets and flowers are placed on their altars. People light earthen oil lamps in their homes, believing that if the lights stay lit all night, the goddess Lakshmi will come to the home and bring prosperity, abundance and blessings for the upcoming year. It, too, is a time for joy, renewal and hope. HumanLight celebrated on December 23, is a rather new secular holiday created for those who want to connect with the December holiday season as secular Humanists. Rather than being a religious holiday, HumanLight celebrates the positive values of compassion, hope, humanity and secular reasoning. It is non-supernatural, but uses light to symbolize human reason. While there is no one way to commemorate the holiday, HumanLight typically involves a communal meal among family or friends. The use of three or four candles to symbolize reason, hope, compassion, and humanity, however, is more often than not employed in the ceremonies. Often, those who celebrate HumanLight observe this holiday by doing charity work, exchanging gifts and employing other ideas often associated with the more traditional holidays that are celebrated at this time. HumanLight ceremonies vary widely, but central to them all are promoting the positive values of humanism while avoiding any negative messages related to other religions. They are always family

and child friendly. The December 23 date allows those who celebrate HumanLight to also celebrate the other traditional holidays as well.

STOCKING YOUR STORE Ultimately, there are probably as many ways to celebrate this season as there are people and traditions to celebrate them, yet whatever the particular type of winter celebration, they all seem to have some motifs in common that you can have in your store. Central to most all of these ceremonies is the use of light to represent the solstice transition, the coming of the sun and the dawn of awareness and rebirth. When you fill your stores with light, you are appealing to most of the traditional ceremonies of this solstice time. It works well, then, to fill your stores with candles, strings of gold lights and anything that sparkles. Be sure to also feature a menorah with menorah candles. There are many ways to appropriately feature stones in conjunction with these holidays. Place stones associated with light like clear quartz, gold rutilated quartz, yellow calcite, yellow jade, gold tiger-eye, yellow citrine or amber around your store. Golden stones can also represent the harvest time â&#x20AC;&#x201C; so important to many of these holidays, especially when it is combined with other harvest motifs. Use quartz spheres to represent the interconnectedness of all life, the illumination of awareness, Siddharthaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s enlightenment, and the oneness of all manifest and unmanifest phenomena. You might place an Om symbol next to the sphere. Have a display of green stones like green malachite, green tourmaline, green jade, or green serpentine to signify holly and other evergreens, representing endless life or the continuing presence of life force in the midst of winter. Place red stones like garnet, red quartz, red jasper, red tigereye, red rubellite, and red coral or red tourmaline in a display to represent the rising crimson light of dawn. Since the red pomegranates and other fruits eaten in many of the traditional ceremonies are round, a grouping of red quartz or other red stone spheres works well. For those celebrating Hanukkah, display royal or

sky blue stones like sodalite, lapis, celestite, or blue calcite, combined with white stones like marble, milky quartz or white howlite, centered around a Menorah and an assortment of dreidels. Surround your store and displays with the herbs and greenery that are central to many of these traditions. Good selections are holly, mistletoe, bayberry, laurel, pine, sage, cedar and oak leaves. Weave these around the stones and candles. Be sure to include traditional incense, again pine, bayberry, cedar work well and cinnamon might be considered too. Light this in your stores for their scent and have it available for purchase. Have pictures of some of the most popular deities, not only for display and purchase, but also to bring their particular energy and blessings into your store. You can include pieces of jewelry as well as pictures, as your customers often buy more jewelry than anything else. Goddesses may include Isis, Demeter, Gaea, Diana, the Great Mother, Brighid, and Mother Mary. Include any Gods that are associated with the sun like Apollo, Ra or Ram. Other Gods to include are Odin, Lugh, The Oak King, The Horned One, The Green Man, Mabon and The Divine Child. Of course include images of Jesus, including those that are more realistic than those depicting Jesus as looking somewhat like a California surfer. Set up a display of traditional harvest images and items, perhaps small sheaves of wheat or straw, nuts and berries. (Be careful, however, not to make them appear to be celebrating Thanksgiving.) Perhaps find and include some representations of feasting along with a few goblets. Important to all of the ceremonies are family, clan, ancestors and friends, for this is a time of gathering. Perhaps find small sculptures representing families, including the family of Jesus since many of your customers will be oriented towards Christmas. Include crystals that are twins (two growing together), or clusters of many connected crystals. Include anything that represents interconnectedness. Of course, be sure to have a selection of cards that represent as many of these traditions as possible. Your selection Holiday Gifts & Accessories | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 23

doesn’t have to be large, but it should include many of the holidays. Cards that contain blessings and positive prayers are great to include because they appeal to the secular as well as the religious and spiritual. As most of these holidays include gift giving – sometimes many gifts during the course of the celebration – have a good assortment of small, inexpensive, yet meaningful gifts. (This doesn’t mean that you can’t have expensive gifts as well.) This way, your customers can afford to buy the many presents for their loved ones that are required in some ceremonies. Along with this, it is wonderful to include other opportunities for giving, especially since all cultural solstice and holiday traditions stress the giving to the less fortunate. For example, have a container for collecting food for donations. Perhaps collect toys for needy children or for those in hospitals. You can have signups for food kitchens that serve during the holidays or collect clothes for thrift stores and other organizations. You can also think internationally by providing people an opportunity to donate to helpful organizations like Doctors Without Borders, the Red Cross and others. After all, not only is this the time for giving, but practically speaking, your customers will feel good when they give. All of this will reflect positively on your store. Round out your displays with appropriate books and inspirational music from many traditions. Informative signage is especially important, both to convey information as well as to be inspirational. To improve your displays of stones, lights, plants,

incense, herbs and greenery, then, add small explanatory signs among or beside them. Let your customers know why you have green stones surrounded by holly, for example, or why you have clear stones among your candles. Finally, since there is such religious/ political conflict in the world, you might consider having signs around that remind people to seek peace, which is the heart of this season. The co-exist sign or bumper sticker is great, the occasional heart, or the peace symbol, are wonderful to include in your displays. Any sign that reminds your customers to leave the limitations of the divisive mind behind and instead, seek the oneness and community of the season is helpful. A “Be Here Now” sign is great, because in the present moment there is only love and communion with all life. Finally, besides helping your customers to find gifts to express themselves in this holiday season among a variety of multicultural expressions and meanings, help them become informed. Above all, in this season, as well during the rest of the year, if your customers feel informed, included, welcomed and peaceful when they are in your store, not only will you sell more, but you will have contributed to their lives and, by extension, the lives of their families and communities. As a store creatively opening consciousness, this ultimately fulfills what you are all about.  Since the ‘70s Uma Silbey has been known for her pioneering work with crystals, stones and tools for consciousness. Her music, books, videos and podcasts can be found at www.umasilbey.com

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24 September/October 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

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Overcome Holiday Stress Using Chakras by Dudley Evenson & Dean Evenson

With the holidays often come a bundle of stress triggers that can take away from the festivity of the season. Being with family and friends is great, but sometimes extra tasks and pressures create situations that are less than fun and definitely not festive. Longterm family patterns may show up replete with buttons often pushed at the dinner table after too many glasses of bubbly. If you operate a business which provides holiday products, stress can reach even more elevated levels. Whatever form it takes, the strain and tension of being overloaded may rise up and ruin the holiday. How can we deal with stress and put the joy back into the season? Try these seven steps based on the chakra system beginning with the crown or seventh chakra and going down to the root or first chakra. They can uplift our spirits and help us avoid emotional reactions when we could be having fun. We hope they resonate with you! Set Intention (Crown). Decide in advance how you want your holiday experience to be. Use ideas like – peaceful, meaningful, relaxing, fun. Whatever words you come up with, form a simple mantra or affirmation to keep in your awareness. Remember the three aspects of affirmations: positive, present tense, repetition. An example is ‘I am peaceful and relaxed’ or say whatever you want to remind yourself of when a situation becomes tense. Repeat often. Visualize (Third Eye, Mind). Use mental images to picture how you would like to see the holidays unfold. You can imagine your home beautifully decorated with family members happily enjoying home-cooked meals and conversing in pleasant tones. Don’t forget to picture yourself attending to tasks with relaxed ease. You may focus on the deeper meaning of the holiday and especially the fellowship of gathering together with family and friends. Communicate (Throat). Talk to family members and friends and make plans so everyone is on the same page. Get input and add your own ideas. Share the tasks and planning so it isn’t all on one person’s shoulders. If past holidays were overwhelming, try simplifying. Consider a potluck instead of one person doing all the cooking. You might want to add the element of giving back to those less fortunate which will make your holidays more meaningful. 26 September/October 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

Collaborate (Heart). Invite family and friends to participate in your festivities. Work and play together and enjoy each other’s company. Remember the love that brought you together in the first place and be careful not to let stress or emotions trigger unnecessary reactions. Express gratitude in random ways and you will find it returned to you. Minimize gossip and politics. It’s often best to avoid conversations that cause conflict. Remember unconditional love. Take Action (Solar Plexus). If you are hosting a gathering, let yourself enjoy the activities and tasks involved. Enlist close friends or family members to help with preparation and logistics. If you are attending other people’s events, help in the kitchen and contribute to the workload. Play holiday music to lift your spirit. Take time for yoga or stretching to release pent-up energy so you have the vitality needed to carry out your tasks. Enjoy and Play (Sacral). Remember the reason for the season and even in the midst of all you are doing, be sure to let yourself feel passion and joy for the blessings in your life. Many people have much less in life and still manage to keep smiling. In fact, a good laugh is always in order, even when mishaps occur. Especially turn your enthusiasm toward your elders or those suffering or in need. It’s a perfect time to reach out to others who can use a physical or spiritual boost. Grounding (Root). This level is where you take care of the basics, the details, and all that is necessary to manifest what you want. It’s also where you can connect with the Earth and honor all it provides for your physical needs. Be specific and check off the tasks on your list so you feel you have accomplished what needs to be done. You may want to ground out by walking in nature or sitting quietly. Remember inner peace is always available even in the midst of chaos.

 Dudley and her husband Dean Evenson are award-winning, sound healing pioneers. They have written their first book Quieting the Monkey Mind: How to Meditate with Music. Learn more about their work at www.soundings.com

How Technology Can Help Your Business by Jackie Adamany

unning a small business means you need to be efficient and innovative. You need to look for ways to streamline your daily tasks, so you can have more time selling. Whether you are a maker or a retailer, technology can help you be that powerful, lean, and mean business machine. Technology is often associated with life-changing innovations that revolutionize the way we live. But technology can also be powerful on a smaller scale and can alter the way a small business manages its daily processes. Small business owners need to respect the impact technology has and can have on their business. Take a moment and think about how Amazon, Facebook, Google, Snapchat, and Yelp have made a difference in your life. Each one of these technologies has made a significant impact in how businesses market themselves as well. Think about how quickly technology changes and how quickly large multibillion-dollar companies adjust rapidly in a fast-changing market. Small business owners must adapt as well and do so just as fast, if not faster. You cannot sit and wait for technology to adapt to your business, you must adapt to technology and find the ways it can help your business. Technology also drives marketing and creates more marketing streams for small shop owners. Today, you are presented with a multitude of options to drive sales, leads and traffic to your business. How do you decide which options are the right choice? Think about your customers demographics, where do your customers hang out? If you are a business to consumer-type company think about using Facebook and Instagram to reach your market. Are you instead, a business to business company? In that case, consider LinkedIn and trade publications. Look at what your competition is doing and how successful they are. Use this to your advantage when determining which type of technology will work for you customer base and for the goals you have made.

Technology Can Help Your Business Be More Successful According to The Balance Small Business, “Technology can help small business owners leverage limited capital in smarter and more effective ways. In some cases, using technology is a natural progression for processes you may already have in place in your business. In others, you may need to make some

adjustments to reap the benefits of these techfriendly alternatives. The good news is that the benefits will often outweigh the shortlived challenges of the transitional process, once your new systems are in place.” Technology can help in many ways – productivity, communication, time tracking, money management, marketing, collaboration, learning, customer service and so much more. Simona Dedek owner of Wingstitution by Petal Connection in Santa Clarita, Calif. knows the importance of technology in her business, “In this day and age, I don’t believe it’s possible to stay in business without technology. I have two customers who do not have an email address, and stubbornly refuse to get one. I always wonder, why do they refuse? I then need to create a free email address for them, so I can process their credit card payment (which requires a valid email address). Why would one not take advantage of what’s available, only to be left behind?”

How Technology Can Help with Productivity There are many ways technology can help you be not only more innovative and efficient, but also more productive. Simona Dedek uses software to increase her productivity, “I try to utilize any features available that I know can help me be more productive, even if it means spending a few minutes at the beginning to learn and set things up, which I admit, can be very frustrating. Things like calendar reminders, or voice memos are great features. I will remember something, dictate a quick memo into my phone and hit the “email to self ” button (which I set up previously) and then when I get back to my office, it’s waiting for me in my inbox.” Advances in technology can improve your efficiency which ultimately boosts productivity. Kathleen Krucoff, owner and designer of Adornments in Colorado Springs, Colo. took advantage of recent advances in technology. “Last year, I invested in a CNC (computer numeric control) machine to help me cut out the common shapes I use in my fabrication process. The machine is controlled by a computer program that utilizes my designs, translated into machine code. This allows me to focus on the real art portion of my jewelry and has eliminated hours of hand sawing to cut out the shapes manually.” For small business owners, technology has shown to improve their overall ability to execute and scale their growth

plans allowing them to be more efficient and more innovative. It also helps with staff time tracking and organization of daily tasks. The following is a list of programs and apps that may help you in your business.

Favorites for Storing Your Thoughts, Checklists, and Sketches EVERNOTE – great for note taking, with a ton of features you can customize to fit your workflow. ZOHO NOTBOOK – lets you create different types of notes (called “cards”) depending on what you’re doing, from text to checklists, sketches, videos, and more. It also syncs across the cloud and all your devices and comes with a friendly user interface.

Declutter That Inbox SANEBOX – analyzes your email history and re-sorts your inbox into important messages and items that can wait until later. It can also set reminders, so you don’t forget to reply to important messages. BOOMERANG – a free plug-in for Firefox and Chrome with Gmail that allows you to do things like schedule an email to send in the future, bring an email back to your inbox at a certain time (like your flight itinerary the day before your trip) or return an email back to your inbox if you have not received a reply to it after a set number of days. Rather than leaving an email in your inbox in order to remind yourself to follow up on it or to make it easily accessible for later, use Boomerang to clear it out for now and have it come back when you actually need it.

Stay Focused and Avoid Distraction MOMENTUM – a barebones app designed to help you build and strengthen good habits by forming “chains” or streaks of good deeds. For every day you do what you’re supposed to your chain will increase. That’s pretty much it. As simple as it sounds, though, there’s something strangely satisfying about keeping a chain going. ONE BIG THING – a super simple app. Each day just type in the one big thing you want to accomplish and make that your focus. You can also add several secondary tasks to keep you focused if you happen to get your big task accomplished early. This is like a digital version of the sticky note, and the UX is so clean and simple that you’ll want to use it

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daily. You can also upgrade for extra themes and stickers to make the app uniquely yours. PROUD – takes everything people love most about other productivity apps and merges them into one. You can use the app to store all your ideas and to-dos, remember important moments, set up triggers to stick with your habit changes, and even remind you to take breaks throughout the day. This app will also help you get organized for the days and weeks ahead with personalized goals.

Manage Work Flows When You Work with a Team TRELLO – a deceptively simple, yet powerful way for individuals and teams to keep track of what’s going on. It’s easy and satisfying to move cards from “in progress” to “done” but that same interface also makes it a great way to keep track of personal tasks and goals. IFTTT – short for “IF This, Then That” is a nifty tool that lets you string together tasks involving different services into easy but powerful applets. Simona Dedek uses this app daily. Some of her automations include send a copy of incoming IndieMe orders to her Evernote archive; when a new order comes in, send a text message so she knows to check her email to confirm ASAP; Send Instagram post to Pinterest board.

Manage Your Customers and Your Orders CAPSULE – a simple, flexible, and effective web-based CRM (customer relationship management) tool you can use for your small business. Capsule is a good tool to keep track of your contacts and companies you

do business with, communications with them, sales opportunities, and what activities and tasks need be done. Simona uses Capsule to manage her business. “I love my Capsule CRM. It allows me to track all my customers and prospects and it links with my email account, so I have all the customer information in one spot, and I use it to set up follow-up reminders. For example, when a customer emails, “I’ll be buying in March in anticipation of our May opening,” I will immediately set up a follow-up for end of February to check in. I also set up order follow-up workflows to remind customers how long it’s been since their last order, etc. which result in re-orders without my having to reach out individually.” FRESHSALES – a cloud-based CRM solution that helps businesses across different industries manage their interactions with existing and potential customers. Key features include one-click phone, sales lead tracking, sales management and more. Users can also send personalized bulk emails from the solution, and then monitor activities on these emails.

Technology Can Help You Communicate More Efficiently and More Effectively In today’s world, people are busy and trying to communicate with customers can be daunting. Technology bridges this gap and allows you to be more communicative in ways that make the customer more likely to engage. Simona shares how she communicates, “I rarely speak to my customers on the phone. Emails are much less intrusive than phone calls.

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Store owners are busy people, and I don’t want to take away from their time with customers by interrupting. Email gets things accomplished the same way, but they can deal with it when they have time. I prefer sending out invoices from my back-office platform rather than calling, because it allows the customer to manage their own payment, and I never have access to their credit card information that way.” Today’s technology allows small business owners many ways to communicate. From email platforms like Mailchimp and Constant Contact to social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Find where your customers gravitate and marketing to them becomes much easier. Kathleen Krucoff says, “I have also found that Instagram has been a great avenue to show current and potential customers my process and finished work. I think Instagram’s photo-driven platform is a great way to communicate with the public.” Customer service stands at the forefront of managing any business. Great customer service results in brand loyalty and increased sales. You can leverage the use of technology by utilizing the most of up-to-date solutions and look at what is currently trending. The business that is most responsive to customer questions, complaints, or other needs can gain a clear competitive advantage. It is important for the small business owner to understand how new technologies can help anticipate customer needs, how it can tailor business processes to best serve customers, and ultimately improve the efficiency of the business. There are multiple ways technology can communicate for you. WEBSITES – today all companies, large and small, must have a website. Be sure to include a clear path for questions and contact information.

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EMAIL – create newsletters that not only inform, but educate as well. There are many platforms that can help you reach the masses quickly and efficiently. Our favorites include Mailchimp and Constant Contact. Accenture, a leading technology consulting firm, suggests that businesses that want to use technology to raise the quality of their customer service focus on the following: • Data management and analytics. Use data collected from customer to analyze their preferences. • Insight-driven marketing. Gain insight

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into your business from customer data so you can more effectively direct your marketing efforts.

• Marketing automation. Streamlining and automating business processes to improve efficiency and keep costs low. • Self-service optimization. Discover ways for customers to interact with your business how and when they want to. • Workforce effectiveness. Encouraging your staff to embrace new ways to improve customer treatment by providing tools and training to deliver better service. Communicate with Your Customer Base with Instagram Instagram’s popularity has skyrocketed lately. According to the company’s website, there are 500 million+ Instagram accounts worldwide which are active every day. Of those, 80 percent of accounts follow a business on Instagram and 400 million+ accounts use Instagram stories every day. This social media powerhouse allows you to tap into people’s passions to create deeper relationships with your business online and off. It can spark exploration allowing you to connect to new customers and strengthen relations with current ones. One of the best features of Instagram is that it’s free. This photo sharing social media platform allows users to post photos, stories and create ads. Instagram Stories are photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours, which are quickly becoming a valuable marketing tool. You can find the stories of the users you follow at the top of the homepage. Leveraging the power of stories can help retailers move product and get in front of their users in an innovative manner. In addition to Instagram Stories, users can take and stream live video that disappears – sort of like a combination between Facebook Live and Snapchat. According to Business News Daily, you can give customers a live look behind the scenes of interesting aspects of your business, show products or answer live questions through the comments. Once the video ends, it lives in your Instagram Stories for 24 hours. If you want video that remains on your Instagram feed, you can upload video you’ve taken or shoot video directly through the app to post. There are many ways to interact with other users on Instagram. For instance, you can tag other users in your photos or privately message people. You can like, comment, mention, tag and direct message on Instagram. Hashtags are a great way to help other users find your content on Instagram. Hashtags can include letters and numbers, but they can’t contain any non-numerical characters. Some hashtag examples include: #bodymindspirit #fall #onlinemagazine #magazine #smallbusiness #shopsmall #smallbiz #retail. Like other social channels, businesses have the option to advertise on Instagram. There are three formats for advertising including photo ads, video ads and carousel ads. All three ad formats appear in users’ home feeds. These ads support four objectives: video views, click-throughs to your website, mobile app installations and mass awareness. Staying Up-to-Date with the Newest Technology (when it seems to change daily) With new software, techniques and innovations released on an almost daily basis, it is hard to keep up to date. For those who are not programmers, developers, and techie people there are many resources to keep you on top of advances. 32 September/October 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

SOCIAL MEDIA – Find and follow influencers on social media. What are web designers and other tech type people talking about? What is getting them excited? Who are these influencers following? Our favorites include Unbox Therapy, Marques Brownlee, and Linus Sebastian. READ, READ & READ SOME MORE – stay aware by reading every day about something and anything tech focused. Find and follow blogs, read articles, and scan Twitter feeds of those tech influencers. Start with smartbiztrends.com, ted.com and techguidebook. com. PODCASTS – listen to podcasts frequently. It’s an easy way to stay current while driving or making dinner, podcasts offer information on a multitude of subjects. Check out sticher.com, garyvaynerchuk. com and ducttapemarketing.com. Cheryl Lloyd Thompson explains how she stays on top of technology, “I’m constantly crawling around the Internet looking for new ways to make my business efficient and visible to potential buyers. I use Animoto to create videos and PicMonkey for eye catching ways to create photos for ads or social media. Joining Facebook groups has helped a lot to gather more information from others in the same business.” Kathleen Krucoff stays on top of trends as well, “I subscribe to CNet and follow some others like John Paul Aguilar who sends out alerts about what’s happening in the technology space.” Cheryl sums it up for us, “In short, technology is an important part of any business. I learn a lot about a company by researching online first. More and more people are shopping and researching online. It is essential that any business use some sort of technology to stay competitive and successful.”

 Jacqueline Adamany is a seasoned artist and the author of Going Wholesale, a step-by-step approach for artists & craftspeople. Jacqueline has mentored many artists preparing them for the world of wholesale while readying them for trade shows. She has been a columnist for Smart Retailer and Handmade Business magazines. She is Vice President of IndieMe, Inc. an online marketplace and virtual trade show for wholesale artists and buyers to connect.

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The Story of Red Feather Mind, Body, Spirit by Christopher R. McClure It’s been a full year since Red Feather Mind, Body, Spirit took flight as an imprint of Schiffer Publishing, but many don’t know the story how did Schiffer Publishing, a company that started over forty years ago with books on antiques and collectibles came to publish titles such as these. The story is a fascinating example to how new opportunities continually manifest themselves. The founding of Schiffer Publishing was a gradual process started when the research for the book Chester County, Pennsylvania, Inventories 1684-1850, by Margaret Schiffer, was discovered in a box in a basement in 1973. It seemed to the author’s son Peter, who was an antiques dealer with his father Herbert, and to Peter’s wife Nancy, who was a historical museum curator, that the information the research contained would be of interest to their clients for historical interpretation of antique furniture and accessories used in Chester County. Schiffer Publishing was started in 1974 to mimeograph, ring bind, and distribute that book, and to bring out-of-print historical books about antiques back into circulation. Family members worked together in the antiques business while growing the publishing efforts. In 1984, Peter became the first employee of Schiffer Publishing and in 1985, Nancy became the second. Publishing projects grew, and more employees were hired for distinct responsibilities; typesetters, editors, and shipping room workers joined the team. By 1992, Schiffer Publishing continued to grow, and a new facility was built in Atglen, Pennsylvania, known as the Schiffer Book Farm, where it resides today. With growth came a transition of leadership to the next generation, as Pete Schiffer heads the company today. The focus of the team became books in niche areas of interest with detailed information and high-quality images. After the move

to Atglen, the catalogs of Schiffer books grew in size and diversity. This included the addition many highly-regarded metaphysical titles through both distribution partnerships and acquisition in the late 90s. These moves brought in to the Schiffer fold classics such as Numerology and the Divine Triangle, The Planets series of astrology titles, as well as the RA series of channeled material among many others. These set the stage for the eventual move to Tarot and Oracle decks beginning with Major Tom’s Tarot of Marseilles and Sol Invictus: The God Tarot. In addition to the quality of the projects, the superior packaging of these and subsequent releases helped Schiffer gain a foothold in this growing market. Fast forward to 2010 with the release of the innovative Transparent Tarot which took the divination community by storm followed by more success with the Mary-El Tarot and not long after The Beautiful Creature’s Tarot both of which were well received. Many other Schiffer decks have now become favorites among collectors. Along the way there have been a range of other metaphysical titles that have connected with the public from Develop Your Psychic skills to our Rupert Series of Pagan Children’s books plus many others. Now with Red Feather Mind, Body, Spirit entering its second year, we continue our commitment to the Schiffer tradition of creating high-quality, unique books and decks on a wide range of categories related to personal transformation, understanding, and empowerment while continuing to expand into an increasingly diverse range of topics related to metaphysics, religion, and spirituality. Where sacred traditions are honored, and new realms of spiritual discourse are fostered with greater awareness, insight, and understanding. Thank you for being on this journey with us as we create titles to let your spirit take flight!

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Essential Aromatherapy Basics by Margaret Ann Lembo

ssential oils and the corresponding aromatherapy products can make up approximately one-third of the gross revenue at your store. If you choose to feature this very hot and trending product line, be sure to dedicate time and attention to educating your customers and provide testers for your aromatic products. After all, customers want to experience the aroma before they buy it. They also want to know how to use it as well as the properties for body, mind, and spirit. The scents of aromatherapy, medical grade oils, that naturally exude into your retail space provide good feelings and comfort for your customers. Customers will exclaim, “It smells so good in here!” The wonderful scents can encourage longer shopping visits, which equate to increased overall sales.

36 September/October 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

True Medical-grade Oils Provide Real Therapeutic Results

Aromatherapy products have entered the commercial marketplace by force. There are many commercial-grade products marketed as “aromatherapy,” but they are either not made with quality essential oils or contain synthetic fragrances. If you plan to sell therapeutic-quality essential oils, it is important to know and understand the differences between the various grades of essential oils. True medical-grade oils provide real therapeutic results. They bring about a physiological, mental, emotional, or spiritual response immediately. The following is an overview of the various grades of oils you will encounter on the market: • Pure Medical Grade essential oils are 100% pure and completely natural. This means they do not contain any synthetic or unnatu-

ral adulterations. They are determined to be pure through quality control from the point of growth, processing, and laboratory analysis. • Pure Grade Organic essential oils are from organic flowers, plants, and trees that are certified by U.S. standards and inspections. They are considered pure medical grade oils. • Aromatherapy Grade essential oils are adulterated with natural and unnatural components and additives. • Commercial Grade essential oils have been distilled again, creating a lower grade oil or have components added or removed to improve odor or safety.

Recommendation for Beginner’s Use Inhalation and diffusion are the preferred method of use until you get to know your essential oils. Essential oils have true chemical constituents with real effects on your body. Medical grade essential oils are much more potent than a roll-on fragranced oil. Use the real essential oils sparingly. A drop or two goes a long way. Application of essential oils are best used in carrier oil or lotion, preferably applied to the soles of your feet. It’s very easy. Place a dollop of unscented lotion in the palm of your hand and a few drops of your chosen essential oil, rub your hands together to emulsify it, then massage it into the soles of your feet. Refrain from applying the oils directly on your body and do not take them internally. Enjoy the exploration of the many uses of nature’s aromatic gifts and turn Holiday Gifts & Accessories | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 37

to the myriad of vibrational support available to you as you begin creating aroma-energetic blends with far-reaching beneficial effects. Medical grade oils are recommended for therapeutic reasons for inhalation, for replacement products for home and beauty, and for application. The skin is the largest organ of the body and is the key location for the absorption of the essential oils directly into the bloodstream. To use therapeutically, add the chosen oil or synergy to carrier oil, as described earlier, and apply it to the soles of your feet to maximize the integration of the oil’s physiological benefits. Application to the feet also avoids sensitivity challenges in those with sensitive skin; irritation is less likely to affect the soles of the feet, which are generally thicker-skinned than the rest of the body.

Common Carrier Oils for Topical Use Many of your customers will plan on using an essential oil topically. It is highly recommended that you maintain a stock of carrier oils. Just as the name implies, carrier oil carries, or dilutes, the highly concentrated essential oil for the purposes of application on the body. Carrier oils are oils extracted from nuts, seeds, or vegetables. When you add an essential oil to a carrier oil, the shelf life is significantly and immediately altered, as the oils extracted from nuts, seeds, and vegetables have a shorter shelf life than essential oils do. Incidentally, citrus oils maintain their shelf life best when refrigerated, and all other essential oils should be stored in a cool, dark place. There are many factors that affect the shelf life of oils. When choosing a carrier oil for your topical application of an essential oil or essential oil blend, choose from among the following:

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carrier oil aids in healing acne and tones the skin. Due to its astringent nature, it helps clear congestion in the skin. Grapefruit seed carrier oil is virtually colorless and has little or no scent. Jojoba carrier oil – is extracted from the seed of the jojoba bush. This oil is rich in vitamin E and encourages a glowing complexion. It quickly penetrates the skin. Its skin-smoothing and softening effect makes it a great makeup base. It has even been shown to reduce the appearance of pore size with use over time. Jojoba carrier oil has a slight odor and is pale golden yellow to orange in color. Olive oil – has been used for centuries as a skin moisturizer. This benefit results from its high content of linoleic acid (a polyunsaturated fatty acid) as well as its high mineral and vitamin count. The oil is soothing and healing for the skin. Olive oil ranges from yellow to brown to green in color. It does have a distinct odor. Any type of olive oil will serve the intended purpose.

Sweet almond oil – is derived from the almond nut, which is rich in antioxidants and high in vitamin E. Sweet almond oil is most popular for use as a carrier for essential oils. It is well received by most skin types. It improves the complexion, soothes irritations, and moisturizes and nourishes the skin, leaving it smooth and soft. Sweet almond oil has a clear pale yellow color and a slightly sweet, nutty scent. Coconut oil – extracted from the meat of the coconut, is an excellent moisturizer. Coconut oil easily penetrates the skin and is a favorite among massage therapists and medical professionals as a carrier of essential oils. Fractionated coconut oil is claimed not to go rancid. Other advantages of fractionated coconut oil include that it is odorless, colorless, and washes out of fabrics and so does not leave a stain. Fractionated coconut oil remains liquid and clear, while the non-fractionated type solidifies at room temperature. Grapefruit seed carrier oil – is pressed from the seeds of the grapefruit. This is not the same as grapefruit essential oil or grapefruit seed extract. The consistency of grapefruit seed carrier oil is similar to canola oil. It has no scent. With its high vitamin C content, this 38 September/October 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

}

Unscented organic lotion – which is usually made with organic oil and a natural thickening agent, in a pump dispenser bottle is my personal favorite for applying essential oils topically. A good-quality organic lotion will contain at least 80% organic ingredients and is ready-to-use for all skin types. It may contain a variety of oils like coconut oil, sunflower seed oil, shea butter, and apricot kernel oil.

The skin is the largest organ of the body and is the key location of the essential oils directly into the bloodstream.

To use a carrier oil or unscented lotion, the essential oil can be added to the bottle itself or a separate glass container for blending, or a portion of the oil can be poured into the palm of your hand along with a few drops of the desired essential oil(s). Each of the carrier oils listed above are great for use by massage therapists, but for home personal use, I prefer to use unscented lotion. Simply pump a few dollops of lotion into the palm of your hand, add a few drops of the essential oil(s), then emulsify the mixture in the palms of your hands, and apply. Essential oil in a carrier, whether oil or lotion, can also be applied to an affected area. However, be sure you are aware of any contraindications. For instance, citrus oils are phototoxic, so when using this particular oil on an exposed part of your body, be mindful to stay out of direct sunlight for a number of hours after application.

Cautions: Specific Safety Rules for Common Uses I do not recommend or endorse the internal use of essential oils. The uses described within these pages include inhalation and topical use only. Most oils should not be used during pregnancy or nursing, and all are generally contraindicated for the first trimester or nursing and many should not be used on children under the age of 6. For ages 6 and under, the safest dilution ration is 0.25% dilution, and for over age 6, the typical dilution is 1%. For example, if you were to use 6 drops of essential oil in 20 ml of a carrier oil for an adult, then for a child over age 6, you would use 1 drop to 100 ml of carrier oil.

Always practice essential oil safety and remember to use the essential oil in a carrier when applying it to your skin. Any oils that have gone rancid should be discarded. Check on the contraindications in the “For your safety” section under each essential oil to ensure you have a pleasant experience. For instance, some oils lower your blood pressure, like clary sage, sweet marjoram, and ylang ylang, which may be beneficial for those with high blood pressure but may be harmful for those with low blood pressure.

Top 10 Best Selling Oils and Their Qualities

Lavender is a good tool for meditation as it calms the mind and brings about mental clarity. This comforting oil soothes hysteria and worry. Its benefits would fill this magazine so if you could have only one essential oil, this is the one. It is the number one best seller of all the single note oils. Lavender’s physical benefits include relief of aching muscles, improvement of acne, clearing infections, repelling insects, treating bacterial infections, healing burns and other minor wounds, soothing earaches, treating eczema, relieving fatigue, reducing fevers, relieving headaches, alleviating insomnia, easing menstrual cramps, balancing hormones in menopause, treating shingles, and relieving sinusitis. It sells all year long!

Eucalyptus allows for clear respiratory passages as well as a clear mind. Eucalyptus increases alertness. Use it to reduce or relieve the symptoms of cold, flu, and allergies. It opens up all breathing passages to relieve congestion of nose, sinus, and bronchial airways. Eucalyptus is beneficial to relieve painful aching muscles. Did you

know that eucalyptus is one of the best natural insect repellents? Eucalyptus oil sells very well during the cold and flu season and year-round in tropical climates. It’s a favorite of body workers and massage therapists as a tool to help their clients breathe easily when lying face down on a massage table. Add a drop to the face cradle cover to open up the breathing passageways.

Tea Tree has strong antiseptic qualities and is recognized for its anti-infectious and antifungal qualities. Tea tree is a favorite to relieve or rid nails of fungus. It is especially beneficial for the relief of a sore throat, toothache, earache, and sinus conditions. Tea tree can be used to reduce the effects of the sting of an insect bite.

Patchouli reduces and inhibits the growth of multiple strains of bacteria and fungi. Did you know that patchouli with cinnamon is also known to attract prosperity and abundance? Drop one drop of cinnamon and patchouli onto a cotton ball and place it in your cash drawer or near your register. Form the intention that every time you smell the prosperity combo you will focus on more sales and, therefore, attract more sales. Patchouli attracts both love and money! Patchouli is useful for repelling fleas, lice, and mosquitoes, especially in combination with eucalyptus radiata.

Peppermint helps to wake you up. It’s a great oil to have handy for long drives to maintain alertness or when you need to maintain mental clarity and focus. Peppermint relieves headaches and congestion. I’ve had more than one customer tell me that they put

Holiday Gifts & Accessories | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 39

a drop of peppermint oil on the back of their neck when they feel a migraine coming on and doing so keeps the migraine away. Peppermint is often found in foot lotion because it refreshes and relieves aching feet. Have a tummy ache? Put a drop of peppermint into a little bit of lotion as a carrier and massage it onto your belly. Just one drop though and be sure to wash your hands well after you are in contact with peppermint oil because it will sting your eyes or any mucus membrane. Peppermint is especially helpful for digestion to relieve stomachaches and to activate digestive enzymes to detox the body.

Frankincense is the ultimate oil for meditation practice. Frankincense brings a sense of calm and inner peace, thereby quieting ruffled emotions and out-of-balance feelings. Did you know that frankincense is a very powerful oil used to relieve the symptoms associated with any respiratory challenge? Use frankincense for all respiratory concerns. It’s perfect for the healing process during recovery of pneumonia, pleurisy, bronchitis, sinus congestion, and similar ailments. This oil sells especially well during the winter holidays as well as cold and flu season.

Lemongrass is helpful to boost your self-confidence through inhalation of this essential oil while matching it with an affirmation. Use lemongrass to relieve achy joints, lower high blood pressure, and to kill germs. In a carrier oil, lemongrass massaged into the muscles improves their suppleness, increases circulation, and reduces muscle pain. It makes a good insect repellent, reduces pet

odors, and generally deodorizes the air. It can be used for headache relief and even reduces the symptoms of jet lag.

Rosemary brings mental clarity and sharpness. Use it during times of study for retention of information. Smell rosemary oil to help you recall information during tests. Rosemary kills germs and is a good disinfectant that protects against contagious diseases. Use this oil to open your airways and improve the depth of your breathing. Rosemary is well known for its skin and healthcare benefits. It stimulates the scalp and can be used as an aid to prevent baldness. Here is an interesting tidbit: Rosemary has become a symbol of loyalty and fidelity and is used historically to lace wedding bouquets.

Sage is a stimulant, increases cerebral blood flow, and potentially raises low blood pressure. Do you have customers who are looking for a smoke-free way to smudge their space? Smudging is the traditional spiritual practice of clearing away negative thoughtforms (the manifestation of mental energy) and other negative vibrations with the smoke of burning herbs, typically dried sage. Sage and cedarwood essential oils together are a great duo to diffuse in a space that needs clearing. Sage oil can be used to reduce excessive perspiration. Sage also reduces anxiety and helps to relieve symptoms of depression. Sage is the ultimate go-to oil for clearing out negative energy from your space and your personal energy field.

Lemon helps raise your spirits. It assists you in garnering self-confidence when you are on a quest to improve your

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self-esteem. Lemon essential oil is excellent for increasing mental clarity. It’s a great oil to inhale when working with numbers or any project that requires attention to details. The purifying nature of lemon cleanses and detoxifies. This oil is a great aid for weight loss and improved digestive function. Use lemon to restore vitality after a prolonged illness There are more all-time favorites like bergamot, grapefruit, orange, lilac, hyacinth, and palo santo oil. Aromatherapy sprays are very popular and sell well. To keep your stock clean and unopened, place the testers where the customer can smell them or spray them and maintain your unopened stock on shelves behind the counter where they can be accessed by your team when an oil or spray is sold.

Cross-selling Aromatherapy Sidelines There is a considerable amount of scientific research supporting the ability of essential oils to deter a wide range of bacterial, fungal, viral, and/or other disease-causing microorganisms through the diffusion of oils into the atmosphere and onto the skin with the use of a carrier oil. When diffused, the scent particles of the oils also help to remove odor from the air as well as purify the surrounding atmosphere in the case of environmental contaminants. The top selling diffusion products are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Tea light diffusers Oil Rings Aromatherapy pendants Electric Diffusers Spray bottles

Testers and Informational Aromatherapy Sheets Sell Essential Oils Customers want to smell the essential oil before they buy. There is a difference in quality and scent from one aromatherapy vendor to the next. Be sure to purchase essential oils from a company that provides testers. Some aromatherapy vendors will provide a free tester with a minimum order per scent. It’s good to have an easy reference aromatherapy sheet with the qualities of every essential oil that you carry in your store. It serves as an educational tool for your customers and your staff and doubles as a shopping list. I provide this sheet to my wholesale customers/retail partners who purchase my line – The Crystal Garden Brand – and I am happy to share it with you for use in your store as well.

 Margaret Ann Lembo is the award-winning author of The Essential Guide to

Aromatherapy and Vibrational Healing (Llewellyn Worldwide); Chakra Awakening; The Essential Guide to Crystals, Minerals and Stones (Llewellyn Worldwide); Animal Totems and the Gemstone Kingdom (Inner Traditions) and more. For more than 30 years, she has led workshops and classes and is the creator of a line of over 35 Aroma-Energetic Sprays including Smudge in Spray. She is a spiritual entrepreneur, aromatherapist, and the owner of The Crystal Garden — the Conscious Living Store and Center of the Palm Beaches www.thecrystalgarden.com. Visit her online at www.margaretannlembo.com.

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Holiday Magic or Holiday Manic by Royce Amy Morales

ack in my pre-gift shop owning days, I was a devoted holiday shopper. Indulging passionately in the magical energy of the season, I’d scamper from shop to shop seeking perfect gifts for family and friends. Time constraints from my busy life assured I’d start gathering weeks in advance, glad to sidestep those frantic last-minute crowds. My recently acquired husband, however, was not as systematic. Still very much in newly-wedded bliss, I accompanied him on his desperate search for gifts on, yes, December 24th. Standing in ridiculous queues, watching as he checked people off his extensive list, I tried not being overtly snarky. However, by the following year, the honeymoon was very much over. On Thanksgiving Day, I proclaimed an ultimatum: We’d either start shopping early or he’d be doing it solo. My tongue hurt from biting it as December 25th inched closer, fully committed to no wifely humbugging. Two days before Christmas, I wished him luck as he drove off to the mall by himself, filled with pride to be shopping a day earlier than last year. Several hours later, frazzled, he returned home, numerous bags in hand. Examining his purchases, they were in need of serious help. Choosing to not be his shopping enabler, I trusted that his family could do whatever they wanted with these gifts. He’d been their son a lot longer than he was my husband, so they must be used to his pitiful gift choices. I continued biting my ever-suffering tongue. Arriving at his family’s home on Christmas day for their traditional meal and gift exchange, I casually let them know I had nothing to do with his purchases. As they opened gifts, they shot me a guarded eye-roll, but turned to politely thank him. Undoubtedly, they would be part of the masses overrunning the mall to return things the following day. Needless to say, I was not as polite about the gift he bought me. Ahem. Guess who purchased next year’s round of presents sans husband? In early December? Several years later, I opened my gift shop. I knew it was going to be a busy time for this less than eight-month-old business. However, being new to the neighborhood, I had no idea it was going to be nightmarishly insane. And, when I say insane, I really mean insane! Panicky customers lined up, anxiously wanting armsfull of purchases gift wrapped (free, of course), demanding everything NOW as they rushed off to a holiday party or the next shop. My goal of providing a serene shop, a healing respite in this uptight world, was turned upside down crazy overnight. Tis the season. During rare moments of not helping customers, I was on the phone frantically ordering and re-ordering. I begged local artists and vendors to bring me things – anything – because we were ridiculously low

on inventory. Since this was two weeks before Christmas, the pickings were slim at best. Not much arrived. Also, silly me didn’t realize I needed extra help. My shop was located in a secluded, always quiet, seaside village community. It was easy to run a one person business since I rarely had more than a single customer in at a time. I loved being able to spend quality time with each browser, explaining our earth-friendly philosophy with each purchase. So, when people started pouring in, my shop filled elbow to elbow, I literally didn’t know what to do! It was exciting, but also terrifying.

for their special someone, they ended up walking out with but a card. Happily, these cards were pricey, but the missed sales opportunity was a tragic loss. Needless to say, the following year I was better prepared for this second busiest day of the year. Nevertheless, being so caught up in December planning, February was always an afterthought. I had to train myself to remember (Post-its everywhere!) to order V-Day items at the summer gift shows, even though it was the farthest thing from my mind. While a last-minute approach may work for customers (especially when your shop can be counted on to always provide perfect holiday gifts), it’s unlikely the same thorny method will work for your holiday planning. Especially if your business depends on holiday sales to end your year on a good (read: profitable) note. Thus, it’s imperative to have a plan, to not only bring people into your store, but to keep them coming back throughout the end of the year and beyond. That’s an ever-growing challenge as online shopping keeps more people indoors pointing and clicking. No matter how many years you’ve been in business, here are some statistics to seriously ponder as fourth quarter approaches: Twenty to 40 percent of yearly sales for small and mid-sized retailers take place within the last two months of the year; 55 percent of consumers plan to visit stores on shopping days such as Black Friday or Small Business Saturday; and 40 percent of consumers begin holiday shopping before Halloween. Plus, a smart 49 percent of marketers launch holiday campaigns before Halloween. Most of the wisdom I’ve gathered in 21 years as a shop owner was from many a bonkon-the-head moments. Hopefully, what I share can help avoid some of the pitfalls I’ve landed in. Repeatedly. These ideas are not strictly about profit-making, but instead also emphasize the magic and rituals of the season, what’s truly important and hopefully, at least one reason you’re in business. Take note of the thread connecting all these suggestions: YOU ARE NOT A BIG STORE SO DON’T ACT LIKE ONE!

Admittedly, it took about five holiday seasons to get it down to a fairly well-oiled machine. Eventually, I had enough inventory, as well as the correct inventory, to get the right ratio of orders and sales. Ended up that, even with scant inventory, December 24th was the biggest day of our first year in business. Thrilled, yet exhausted, I knew I needed to do things a lot differently the following year. Luckily, I was fairly a fast learner from that harrowing experience. During the summer, I spent an extensive amount of time planning for fourth quarter. I discovered the New York Now International Gift Show in August and did most of my fourth quarter ordering there. Still, not quite understanding the concept of budgeting and “open-to-buy,” I winged it with each order, buying bare minimums from fear of overspending. Again, I ended up low once December hit. Admittedly, it took about five holiday seasons to get it down to a fairly well-oiled machine. Eventually, I had enough inventory, as well as the correct inventory, to get the right ratio of orders and sales. Quite an art with nowhere to get advice from! Adding to that challenge was my ever-expanding business. As word spread about this unique, eco-focused, artsy shop, more people came in ready to buy. Plus, my already established loyal customer base returned devotedly, counting on me for all their holiday shopping. The burden was heavy. I loved it! Finally, with the winter holiday season under control, I faced one more hurdle: Valentine’s Day. Somehow, it didn’t register that I needed to plan that far ahead. Almost two months seemed like plenty of time to order, receive and display new merch. Again, I learned fast since our first February 14th was a total bomb, not in the positive use of that word. I’d only ordered six dozen beautiful handmade cards at the urging of a very good rep, but that was it. Literally. When hordes of people (mostly of the male persuasion) started arriving on February 13th, waving credit cards and looking for “something”

Make a plan, Stan. Creating a marketing plan is not as intimidating as it sounds. It’s imperative to not rely on it being “that time of year” to bring customers in the door, especially with the competition of online shopping. Think about why they should come into your store. What can your indie shop offer that no other shop can? What benefits will someone get for shopping with you? What problem will you be able to solve for your customers, especially one that a big box store can’t? Keep in mind the demographic of your targeted customer as well as the area your shop is in.

Take a risk. If you’ve been in business for a while (or even you newbies), it’s a good idea

Holiday Gifts & Accessories | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 45

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Make new friends but keep the old. While most businesses focus on reaching new customers throughout the holiday season, it’s important to also pay attention to the people who know you best — your existing customers. The people who will visit your store throughout the holiday months are also the people who will recommend you to their friends and family. Keep in mind that it doesn’t take much to lose a customer’s loyalty – one off-buying season, one time not having enough merchandise, one experience of bad customer service – they will be gone, never to return. How often do you go back to a restaurant that served you bad food?

Shopping is therapy. If you’ve been in business for a while, you undoubtedly know that people frequently shop for reasons other than needing to make a purchase. Shopping in the real world (as opposed to online) can bring peace, a bit of adrenaline on a downer day, as well as inspiration that comes from looking at beautiful objects. During the hectic holidays, shoppers may need these things more than ever. Do your part by offering some therapeutic soul nourishment such as relaxing music (who says you are required to play holiday tunes for 25 days?), snacks or hot cider, a place to sit, caring staff, helpful suggestions, compassionate listening, etc.

Don’t display too soon. You’ve seen big stores putting out holiday merchandise and decorations way before Halloween, right? Well, don’t do it. You are a small, intimate, specialty store, so brag proudly that you will put out your holiday merchandise when it’s the right time – right after Thanksgiving! Perhaps display a few “teaser” items, or put out something you bought tons of to free your backroom space for other inventory arriving. But be selective!

Don’t discount prices early in the season. Unfortunately, since the Great Recession, many consumers now expect discounts. Department stores and internet shopping has trained them to never pay full price with 20 percent off now the “new full price.” But remember, it’s charming to be a small shop, not a department store. If a customer truly wants small shops to

46 September/October 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

survive, they’ll understand needing to pay full price. If there’s push back, remind them that they’re not purchasing mass-produced, cookie cutter items available everywhere. Plus, discounting changes the feel of your shop, and if it’s done early, it will drastically reduce your profit margin. After-holiday clearance sales are the way to go. . . if you have anything left!

Black Friday is not Small Shop Friday. Again, your shop is not a department store or a big box store so emulating them will only lead to disappointment. Customers will be standing in line for those door busters and will barely remember you exist, so accept it! Instead, celebrate Small Business Saturday that’s specifically designed for indie shops. By the way, consumers spent an estimated $12.9 billion at locally-owned stores and restaurants on Small Business Saturday in 2017. Nothing to sneeze at!

Be authentic. It’s impossible to compete with big stores, so wave your independent retailer flag proudly. Emphasize the importance of and the feel-good factor of shopping local. Explain how it helps keep the community economically strong by tax money going back to the people who live there. Join forces with neighboring business owners and do cross promotions or a mutual event of some kind. Ask local restaurants to feature you in their social media postings or on a table talker card offering discounts with proof of a meal purchase. It may be a lifelong challenge, but continue to emphasize your uniqueness and value over price.

Offer unique. When customers were polled as to what type of holiday content would most likely get them inside a shop, many said digital coupons and just as many said a link to a holiday contest or giveaway. Make the most of the season by coming up with creative and stress-reducing ways to get people into your store. Offer an exclusive customer loyalty discount; a prize for the 100th customer on a Monday (choose your slowest day); a complimentary foot massage (find a local massage therapist willing to work for tips); a window decorating contest; a live reading by a local author. Sky’s truly the limit.

Spare the staff, spoil the holiday. In order to shine, small businesses need to go above and beyond when it comes to customer service. Hire additional experienced help to handle the onslaught, and train them well. It’s up to each shop owner to demolish the notion that small shops are inefficient and staffed by pushy, salespeople or by a teenage son who couldn’t care less. The fastest way to lose a customer for life is to have a disorganized, uncaring, overbearing staff. Remember: First impressions are the most important in retail.

Support employee needs. Even though you probably won’t take a day off until December 25th, your employees shouldn’t be expected to have no life. Post a schedule early, making sure they get the time they need to fulfill their personal needs. Happy, well-rested employees make for happier, less stressed customers. And, chances are if someone wants to work at your shop, they probably love your merchandise, so reward them with a juicy gift certificate (or with what they have been eyeing all season) as a holiday bonus!

Be “searchable” on the web. Okay, let’s admit it. Now-a-days, people are shopping more virtually than in brick and mortar. If online sales are part of your business, make sure everything is working and running smoothly before the holiday rush. Take steps to optimize your website for the season, or create a special “gift page” with suggested (or new) items. Even if you don’t provide a shopping cart, at least don’t add to stress by struggling to find your shop online. Make sure you can get found on Google by having a good selection of keywords. Statistics show that at least 25 percent of consumers purchase gifts from a retailer they had never shopped with before. A professional, easy-to-navigate website is the best investment you can make to help your business. Memorable sites are what bring people in; mediocre or amateurish ones will keep them away.

Be mobile. Mobile devices have a big influence informing consumers about their purchase choices. In fact, get a load of this stat: mobile devices are expected to have an impact on almost 90 percent of all holiday purchases. So, if a potential customer can’t easily find the information they’re looking for from their mobile device, or your website doesn’t look good on a smartphone or tablet, it could cost you business. Most do-it-yourself website design aps will help you become mobile compatible with just a few clicks. If not, they have techs that can talk you through it if you call them directly.

Be sociable. More and more consumers plan to browse and research online and then go into an actual store to make their purchase. In fact, almost 70 percent of Black Friday purchases were the result of a social media interaction. Make it easy for customers to find what they’re looking for by sending targeted promotions to their inbox as well as promoting products and services on social media. Facebook and Instagram are terrific venues for small shops, so start building or adding to your list of followers. Forty percent of consumers say Facebook has influenced them to buy a gift and 65 percent of shoppers use social media to find the perfect gift. Forty-five percent of shoppers discover gift ideas through peer recom-

mendations. Post frequently to keep your shop in the top of peoples’ minds and feeds. Feel free to get involved in social media conversations since it’s all about promote, promote, promote! If you like more in-person networking, get involved with local businesses in your neighborhood or your Chamber of Commerce. Participate in their events; go to their lunches; reach out to their memberships. They are an invaluable resource.

Tweet it out. The holidays are a great time to step up your Twitter activity and make new connections. Make sure to monitor your “@ mentions” carefully. If someone sends you a question, be sure to answer it in a timely manner. If someone shows you some holiday love, share it and say thanks for the mention. Here are more statistics to encourage Twitter use: In a survey of Twitter users, 45 percent of respondents said they would rather take Twitter shopping with them than their husband or wife! Sixty-five percent said they’ve bought a product because of something they saw on Twitter. Almost 60 percent use Twitter to determine which stores to visit. Thirty percent of Twitter users begin thinking — and tweeting — about holiday shopping before October. Fifty-five percent discuss gift ideas on Twitter. Sixty-two percent of shoppers tweet about purchases they’ve made.

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Pin it up. Almost 50 percent of shoppers say that Pinterest content has inspired holiday gift purchases. Get your products in front of shoppers using Pinterest since almost 70 percent of consumers have purchased a gift they saw on social media. Also, Pinterest is launching a “click-to-buy” button to make things even easier for consumers and more profitable for you.

Old school works. If technology still makes you tremble, do whatever works for you. Send out handwritten holiday cards to your customers; take out an ad in your local paper; drop off flyers in the neighborhood; send out a personal holiday letter. Make holiday magic in your own unique way.

Easy returns make for return customers. Of course you don’t want your merchandise to be returned, but face it: Returns happen. Small shops have bad reputations for being difficult, if not impossible, to return things to. But, would you rather lose a customer for life or take back a purchase with a (authentic) smile? It’s about relationship building, and, if you do it with grace, they’ll stay connected and ultimately return. They’ll probably post to their friends, in glowing terms, how wonderful it was

to not get hassled trying to return something at your shop. Or the opposite if it was a hassle. Remember what it feels like on the customer’s end, so be compassionate.

Be prophetic about profits. If you depend on November and December sales to carry you several months into the year financially, don’t. It’s far too easy to rely on fourth quarter laurels, but it’s important to market your business throughout the year. Make sure to have a cash reserve in case holiday sales fall flat for some reason. You just never know.

Remember January. Post holiday madness is the perfect time to follow up with those new customers who found you in December to build a strong, future relationship with them. Contact them in some way – a handwritten thank you note; an email (make sure to have an email sign-up system that is updated daily); an invitation to check out your newly arrived inventory; and, of course, your January clearance sale.

Valentine’s Day too. It may seem like 50 days is a long time to get ready for February 14th, but it’s really just around the corner. By the time you’re done putting away

holiday decorations and selling leftover ornaments half-off, customers want to see shelves filled with red hearts and sentimental cards. Make sure you’ve placed those V-Day orders well in advance, so you’ll start receiving merchandise at the end of December (or sooner). But, even though big stores start putting theirs out in December, don’t.

Give forward. Undoubtedly, you’re inundated with requests for charitable donations all year, but ‘tis the season to make sure there’s equanimity in your give/receive energy cycle. As a person in the consciousness business, you know that giving from a pure place ultimately results in receiving. That’s what the concept of tithing is about. So, find an organization or a cause doing something you feel strongly about and pledge a donation while you’re in the black. Your heart will soar doing something good with all those profits you raked in. Plus, it’s a tax deduction!

 Royce Amy Morales is the director of Perfect

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THE 21st ANNUAL COVR VISIONARY AWARDS OFFER A WIDE DIVERSITY OF NEW PRODUCTS FOR THE MIND BODY SPIRIT INDUSTRY by Karen Stuth For the past 21 years Denver-based trade organization Coalition of Visionary Resources (COVR) has given Visionary Awards to entrants selected from among the best products in the Mind Body Spirit industry. The COVR Visionary Awards are given to those books, jewelry, music, electronic media, and products in the Mind Body Spirit industry who represent the best from the previous three years. The COVR Visionary Awards are the longest-standing awards of their kind in the industry. Both COVR members and non-members are eligible to enter the competition. Major categories include books, music, jewelry, products, and electronic media. This year’s Visionary Awards program resulted in an awards ceremony and banquet held at The International New Age Trade Show (INATS) on June 16, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. Co-emcees and COVR Board of Directors members Melinda Carver and Debbie Krovitz announced the winners in each category. Event music was provided before and after the ceremony by Grammy winner Darlene Koldenhoven, who also won a COVR Visionary Award Silver Medal in the category of Visionary Music for her album, Color Me Home. The 21st Annual COVR Visionary Awards were judged by both the members of COVR and the general public. Votes from COVR’s members accounted for 60 percent of the total score. Votes from the general public made up the remaining 40 percent. The final scores result from the application of a proprietary algorithm developed by COVR administration. The change, made by COVR’s Board of Directors in 2015, has provided more entrants the opportunity to leverage the marketing potential of their entry by 50 September/October 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

conducting a social media campaign or email campaign that draws their audience to vote for their book. However, industry votes from COVR members comprise the greater weight of votes, assuring that the competition is not merely a matter of general popularity. More than 3,000 votes were cast this year in the COVR Visionary Awards, the largest number of votes in COVR’s history, resulting in 75 winners. This year’s top category winners include: music of the year, book of the year, jewelry of the year, product of the year, and electronic media of the year. “We’re quite pleased with the breadth and quality of entries in each of our five major categories,” noted COVR Awards Chair and COVR Board of Directors member Sue Wilhite. “This year’s awards program also included new opportunities for entries in a number of emerging categories – for a total of 52 categories – to reflect changes in the overall mind body spirit market place. The entries considered this year well represent the growth and maturing of the mind body spirit industry.” Wilhite also observed that distributors and retailers both inside of and outside of this niche industry should take note of the wonderful selection of entries and winners with an eye toward including these books and products in their own store inventories or catalogues. COVR is the trade association for the Mind Body Spirit industry. It supports the success of members by providing education, mentoring, discounts, industry news and trends, and targeted networking.  Karen Stuth is the president of COVR and co-owner of Satiama Publishing and Satiama Writers Resource. To learn more about COVR or to become a member, please visit www.covr.org

2018 COVR AWARDS ‘OF THE YEAR’ WINNERS IN ALL

Categories

Music | Books | Jewelry | Products | Electronic Media 2018 Music of the Year

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Bright Minds: Memory Rescue Music Daniel Amen, M.D. and Barry Goldstein www.barrygoldsteinmusic.com

Rock and Water: The Power of Thought − The Peace of Letting Go Scott Cooper DeVorss and Company www.devorss.com

Forever Pendant Micki Baumann Deva Designs www.devadesignsjoy.com

2018 Product of the Year (TIED)

2018 Electronic Media of the Year

Your Sacred Wealth Code Oracle Cards - A Daily Practice To Unlock Your Soul Blueprint For Purpose & Prosperity Prema Lee Gurreri Soulutionary, LLC www.soulutionary.com

Divine Dog Wisdom Cards Randy Crutcher and Barb Horn EnlightenUp, LLC www.enlightenup.biz

Heal Kelly Noonan Gores and Adam Schomer Beyond Words Publishing www.beyondword.com

Holiday Gifts & Accessories | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 51

2018 COVR AWARDS

GOLD WINNERS IN ALL Categories Books | Music | Products | Jewelry | Electronic Media

BOOKS Alternative Science Books

Audio Books/E-books

Book Series

Ancient Electric Egyptians: Manipulating Atomic Structure with Human Electricity James Earnest Brown Ancient Energy Research Center www.ancientenergyresearch.com

Winged Messenger: A Contactee Memoir Ted Denmark AEons Multimedia www.teddenmark.com

Conscious Bedtime Stories Andrew Newan Conscious Stories, LLC www.consciousstories.com

Children’s and Teen’s Books

Coloring Books

Contemporary Spirituality

School of Awake: A Girl’s Guide to the Universe Kidada Jones New World Library www.newworldlibrary.com

Color and Conjure: Rituals and Magic Spells to Color Natalie Zaman and Wendy Martin Natalie Zaman www.llewellyn.com

YOUR SACRED WEALTH CODE - Unlock Your Soul Blueprint for Purpose & Prosperity Prema Lee Gurreri Soulutionary, LLC www.soulutionary.com

Silver Finalists: Willowmena’s Quest, Sandra Rea, Blissful Light Press, LLC (Children’s and Teen’s Books) Kabbalah and the 22 Paths of Healing, Marco Marini, Red Feather Mind, Body, Spirit (Contemporary Spirituality) Your Sacred Wealth Code - Unlock Your Soul Blueprint for Purpose & Prosperity, Preema Lee Gurreri, Soulutionary, LLC (Divination Books) Crystals for Karmic Healing, Nicholas Pearson, Inner Traditions (Health & Healing) How to Read Akashic Records: Accessing the Archive of the Soul and Its Journey, Dr. Linda Howe, Linda Howe Center for Akashic Studies (Iconic Books) Intuition on Demand - A step-by-step guide to powerful intuition you can trust, Lisa K (Personal Growth/Self-Help) Get Positive Life Positive: Clearing the Negativity from Your Life, Melinda Carver, Red Feather Mind, Body, Spirit (Personal Growth/Self-Help) Beyond Beauty: Proven Secrets to Age Well, Look 10 Years Younger & Live a Truly Happy, Healthy, Long Life, Dr. Debbie Palmer, Dr. Palmer’s LLC (Uplifting or Inspirational) Magical Destinations of the Northeast: Sacred Sites, Occult Oddities and Magical Monuments, Natalie Zaman (Visionary Books) Bronze Finalists: Gold Lotus Oracle Book, Michelle Mann, Gold Lotus (Divination Books) Your Sacred Wealth Code - Unlock Your Soul Blueprint for Purpose & Prosperity, Preema Lee Gurreri, Soulutionary, LLC (Health & Healing, Visionary Books) Walking Up in the 3D, Maureen J. St. Germain, Inner Traditions (Personal Growth/Self-Help)

52 September/October 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

Divination Books

Health & Healing

Iconic Books

The Beginner’s Guide to Astrology: Class Is in Session Dusty Bunker Red Feather Mind, Body, Spirit www.redfeathermbs.com

The Humming Effect: Sound Healing for Health and Happiness Jonathan Goldman and Andi Goldman Jonathan Goldman’s Healing Sounds www.healingsounds.com

Tuning the Human Biofield: Healing with Vibrational Sound Therapy Eileen McKusick BioSona www.biofieldtuning.com

Personal Growth/Self-Help

Self-Published Books

Uplifting or Inspirational

Rock and Water: The Power of Thought ~ The Peace of Letting Go Scott Cooper DeVorss and Company www.devorss.com

Beyond Beauty: Proven Secrets to Age Well, Look 10 Years Younger & Live a Truly Happy, Healthy, Long Life Dr. Debbie Palmer Dr. Palmer’s LLC www.getbeyondbeauty.com

Rock and Water: The Power of Thought ~ The Peace of Letting Go Scott Cooper DeVorss and Company www.devorss.com

Visionary Books

Visionary Fiction

2018 People’s Choice and 2018 Industry Choice for Books

Color and Conjure: Rituals and Magic Spells to Color

Natalie Zaman and Wendy Martin www.llewellyn.com

Nikola Tesla Presents: Afterlife Lessons from Famous Personalities Francesca Thoman Empowered Whole Being Press www.empoweredwholebeingpress.com

Spirit of Chocolate: A Woman’s Journey to the Rainforest in Search of Her Dreams JoAnne Dodgson www.joannedodgson.com

Holiday Gifts & Accessories | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 53

MUSIC Frequency & Transformational

Guided Meditations

Iconic Music

Crystal Realm: Enchanting Music with Frequencies of Healing Crystals and Flower Essences, Jill Mattson Wings of Light www.jillswingsoflight.com

Conversations with God − An Invitation Neale Donald Walsch and Barry Goldstein www.barrygoldsteinmusic.com

The Heart Codes Barry Goldstein www.barrygoldsteinmusic.com

Visionary Music

World Fusion

2018 People’s Choice & 2018 Industry Choice for Music Crystal Realm: Enchanting Music with Frequencies of Healing Crystals and Flower Essences

Jill Mattson, Wings of Light www.jillswingsoflight.com

Bright Minds: Memory Rescue Music Daniel Amen, M.D. and Barry Goldstein www.barrygoldsteinmusic.com

The Voice of Nature Yudrung Gyal & Wangmo Wind Music www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ_13XoPp9U

Silver Finalists: Color Me Home, Darlene Koldenhoven, TimeArt Recordings (Visionary Music) Between Sky and Prairie, The Grasslands Ensemble & Daniel Ho, Wind Music (World Fusion) Bronze Finalists: Add Colors to My Sunset Sky, Trine Opshal, Heart to Heart Records (Visionary Music)

PRODUCTS Aroma Products

Charms and Talismans

Divination Products

PRIDE! Pheromone Perfume Oil Alex Fernandez Polaris Rising www.lightofpolaris.com

Sisterhood of Women Charms Micki Baumann Deva Designs www.devadesignsjoy.com

YOUR SACRED WEALTH CODE ORACLE CARDS - A Daily Practice To Unlock Your Soul Blueprint For Purpose & Prosperity Prema Lee Gurreri Soulutionary, LLC www.soulutionary.com

54 September/October 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

Iconic Products

Inspirational/Transformational

Manifestation Products

Celtic Pendulums Micki Baumann Deva Designs www.devadesignsjoy.com

Divine Dog Wisdom Cards Randy Crutcher and Barb Horn EnlightenUp, LLC www.enlightenup.biz

YOUR SACRED WEALTH CODE ORACLE CARDS - A Daily Practice To Unlock Your Soul Blueprint For Purpose & Prosperity Prema Lee Gurreri Soulutionary, LLC www.soulutionary.com

Personal Products

Tarot

Visionary Products

SpiritSong Tarot Paulina Cassidy U.S. Games Systems www.usgamesinc.com

Mudras for Awakening the Five Elements Alison DeNicola U.S. Games Systems www.usgamesinc.com

2018 Peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Choice and 2018 Industry Choice for Products

Sisterhood of Women Charms

Micki Baumann Deva Designs www.devadesignsjoy.com

Silver Finalists: Secrets of the Mystic Grove Deck and Book Set, Arwen Lynch, U.S. Games Systems (Divination Products) Smith-Waite Centennial Tarot, Arthur Edward Waite, U.S. Games Systems (Iconic Products) Masters, Mystics, Saints & Gemstone Guardians Cards, Margaret Ann Lembo, Inner Traditions (Inspirational/Transformational) Spell Charm Matchbook Cover, Christopher Penczac (Manifestation Products) Sonic Slider Tuning Fork, Eileen McKusick, BioSona (Personal Products) Beautiful Creatures Tarot, Second Edition, J.R. Garcia, Red Feather Mind Body Spirit (Tarot) Your Sacred Wealth Code Oracle Cards - A Daily Practice to Unlock Your Soul Blueprint for Purpose & Prosperity, Prema Lee Gurreri, Soulutionary LLC (Visionary Products) Bronze Finalists: Gold Lotus Oracle Deck, Michelle Mann, Gold Lotus (Divination Products) Your Sacred Wealth Code Oracle Cards - A Daily Practice to Unlock Your Soul Blueprint for Purpose & Prosperity, Prema Lee Gurreri, Soulutionary LLC (Inspirational/Transformational)

Holiday Gifts & Accessories | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 55

JEWELRY Iconic Jewelry

Jewelry with Stones

Metal Jewelry

Eve’s Heart Pendant: One Pendant Three Symbols Eve Hogan and Micki Baumann Deva Designs www.devadesignsjoy.com

Forever Pendant Micki Baumann Deva Designs www.devadesignsjoy.com

Sun, Moon and Stars ‘Nighttime’ Pendant Suzie Brucker Heiney Deva Designs www.devadesignsjoy.com

2018 People’s Choice Award for Jewelry

2018 Industry Choice for Jewelry

Sun, Moon and Stars ‘Nighttime’ Pendant Suzie Brucker Heiney Deva Designs www.devadesignsjoy.com

Forever Pendant Micki Baumann Deva Designs www.devadesignsjoy.com

ELECTRONIC MEDIA Radio Show

Films

Blogs

New World Now Podcast Kim Corbin New World Library www.newworldlibrary.com

HEAL Kelly Noonan Gores and Adam Schomer Beyond Words Publishing www.beyondword.com

Julie Loar’s Blog Julie Loar Queen Of Cups, LLC www.julieloar.wordpress.com

2018 People’s Choice and 2018 Industry Choice for Electronic Media

HEAL Kelly Noonan Gores and Adam Schomer Beyond Words Publishing www.beyondword.com 56 September/October 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

Silver Finalists: Antonina’s Shaman Shop, Jack Pennington and Antonina Whaples, Kindred Spirits (Films) Moments with Marianne Radio Show, Marianne Pestana (Radio Show)

Are you selling the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Best-Selling book in Americaâ&#x20AC;??

If so, thank you! If not, what are you waiting for? ORDER IT NOW! Published by Inner Traditions and available through them or your favorite wholesaler. *Voted best-selling book in America by independent retailers as reported in Retailing Insight March/April 2018.

www.MaureenStGermain.com

Handcrafted

and Made in the USA

{

Product Reviews by Royce A. Morales

}

We love to dig for clever and unique items, discover new artists, and find great design selections when it comes to talking about unique pieces and styles. This selection is all about handcrafted and sustainable products mostly made in the USA by local artisans. Your customers will appreciate the style and the quality of the pieces we’ve picked. The colors and lines are delicate and well-designed with a hit of retro, modern or vintage style.

Black Porcelain Circle Necklace 24K Gold Chain Jenna Vanden Brink I www.jennavandenbrink.com

This simple, yet bold handmade porcelain necklace is the true definition of wearable art. It’s crafted using a hand-formed technique, then carefully glazed and kiln fired. A versatile wow piece for your customers! Wholesale Price $47.50

Deep Pink Tourmaline Post Earrings 314 Studio I www.314studio.com

These one-of-a-kind, 22K gold, and oxidized and highlighted sterling silver post earrings are hand-shaped by artist Chihiro Makio. Styles shown are inspired by vintage Art Nouveau era design aesthetics. Her ever-transforming jewelry line is appreciated for its artistic design and functionality rather than valued simply for its material worth. Wholesale Price $280

Mardi Gras Cluster Gemstone Dangle Earrings Anne Vaughan I www.annevaughandesigns.com

Whimsical, limited edition earrings are made by hand in the artist’s studio with quality components boasting a lifetime guarantee. Each purchase supports various not-for-profit organizations that the artist feels strongly about. She introduces new designs frequently to keep your inventory fresh and up-to-the-minute. Wholesale price $15

58 September/October 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

Pegmatite Chandelier Artisan Made Gemstones, AMG Jeremy Sinkus www.artisanmadegemstones.com

Although these look precisely like found-in-nature quartz, they are actually replicas made in the artist’s studio out of borosilicate glass. This miner/ mineral-collector researched several years to be able to intentionally create pieces that replicate high-polished, fractured gems. Other work includes vases, shot glasses, wine glasses and more with many emulating tourmaline. Wholesale price range from $400-$2000

Friendship Garden Bell Kitras Art Glass I www.kitras.com

This family-run, hot glass studio has a strong belief in celebrating and hand-creating “everyday beauty.” Their signature gift collection includes sun catchers, gazing balls, ornaments, tabletop, hummingbird feeders, hanging hearts, solar lights and “Trees of Enchantment” containing meaningful messages. Each piece is slightly different due to the glass making technique. Contact the company for wholesale pricing.

Cool Breeze Filigree Tiffany Green Copper Bracelet Jodi Bombardier Jewelry www.jodibombardier.com

Jodi Bombardier is a self-taught jewelry artist utilizing mixed metals and vintage findings with each creation communicating the caring and precise handwork of the artist. She’s also a freelance writer for various jewelry magazines and books and teaches jewelry making internationally. Her unique bracelets, cuffs and earrings are designed for both men and women. Wholesale price $20

Holiday Gifts & Accessories | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 59

Ceramic Tile Coaster – Set of 4 Art by Alyssa I www.alyssawatters.com

This master fine artist turns what’s seen every day in nature into original oil paintings, then reproduces them on coasters that will beautify any table. Perfect hostess gifts! Other items include trivets, notecards, calendars, posters and canvas. Wholesale price $20

Fingerless Gloves Baabaazuzu I www.baabaazuzu.com

This small company is a trailblazer of upcycling, using vintage, reclaimed sweaters to make one-of-a-kind wearable art for women and men. Each piece is inspired by the materials they find and they’ll even create custom pieces from what is sent to them! Also available are hats, scarves, headbands and (fingered) mittens. Wholesale Price $25

Sacred Ground Series, Patience – 10x10 inches Peace Waters I www.peacewaters.com

This artist has modernized an ancient technique called “encaustic,” which utilizes melted beeswax and resin to produce etheric, illuminated creations. She mounts these meaningful pieces on 100-year-old barn wood. Customers will treasure the unique imperfections found in each creation. Wholesale price $44

Cats in the Wind Candlesticks Sekoya Originals I www.sekoyaoriginals.com

This fascinating candelabra is hand-created out of iron, a strong, non-toxic metal with unlimited possibilities. The artist sees his work as line drawings turned three-dimensional. He also creates furniture, lighting and custom gates. Contact the company for wholesale pricing.

60 September/October 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

Willow Bangle Tree Trunk Arts www.treetrunkarts.com

The artist is inspired by the potential to create wearable art from nature surrounding us. She captures textures by casting directly from the twigs she finds on nature walks, freezing those treasured, fleeting moments for customers to cherish forever. Also available are necklaces, earrings and rings with some styles including gemstones. Wholesale price $30-$48.

Pendulum Earrings Krista Bermeo Studio I www.kristabermeostudio.com

These minimalistic hoop earrings are handmade using oxidized silver and pulled art glass. They’re also available in translucent emerald, crimson, aqua, teal, gray, clear, and hot pink. The artist’s philosophy is “You want less stuff but crave more experience,” and her work clearly embodies keeping things simple. Contact the company for wholesale pricing.

Pretty Pink DIY Dream Catcher Craft Kit The House Phoenix www.thehousephoenix.com

Who wouldn’t want to create their own personal dream catcher? Filled with color-coordinated, handmade ingredients such as yarns, feathers, rickrack, and other miscellaneous paraphernalia, these gift boxes are creative fun for any age. Also available in red, blue, cream, colorful and Boho. Wholesale Price $17

Holiday Gifts & Accessories | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 61

Vegan Bag – Floral Clutch Wristlet John Met Betty I www.johnmetbetty.com

Each handcrafted, made-in-the-USA purse is constructed of eco-friendly, PVC-free, vegan “leather” with all materials produced in eco-friendly facilities. They’re made one-at-atime using the highest quality hardware and precision construction techniques, so customers will love them for years to come. Many other styles available. Wholesale price $48. Minimum opening order of $500.

Watercolor Flower Printing Greeting Card Honeyberry Studios I www.honeyberrystudios.com

These artful cards are created from Yuko Miki’s original watercolor paintings. They are inspired by nature, animals and the simple joys of everyday life, all designed to bring happiness to whoever receives them. Other designs available. Made in Seattle, Washington. Wholesale price $2.50

Vegan Handmade Crystal Soaps – Sets of 3 or 6 The House of Phoenix www.thehousephoenix.com

These individually handcrafted, all-natural soaps come with a surprise – a real crystal gemstone embedded in each. Customers will feel the magical energy of crystals cleansing body and soul with each lather. Only non-toxic, animal-friendly, vegan ingredients from organic, sustainable plants are used. Crystals (amethyst, citrine, rose quartz, labradorite and turquoise) are pre-cleansed so all vibes are positive! Wholesale Price $21

62 September/October 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

Kinetic Sculpture – Arch Amerinda Alpern Designs www.amerindaalperndesigns.com

This delicate, sculptural mobile moves gracefully indoors or out, casting shadows and bringing movement to any space. This modernistic piece is made from hand-cut, acid-etched brass hung from solid brass rods using soldered-closed hoops which take on a natural patina as they age. Measures 17x27 inches. Contact the company for wholesale pricing.

WineBlock Stain Preventing Lip & Teeth Balm WineBlock I www.wineblock.com

This pocket-sized balm was developed to prevent those embarrassing red wine stains that arrive during happy hour on lips and teeth. This all-natural block is petroleum free, allergen free, contains no artificial dyes, and is never tested on animals. A subtle orange blossom flavor won’t interfere with the taste of wine. CoffeeBlock is coming soon. Wholesale Price $7

Everyday Shampoo, Fresh Mint Nobl St I www.noblst.com

Nobl St is a line of luxurious, all natural, personal care products infused with essential oils, along with organic aloe, jojoba, peppermint and spearmint extracts native to the American West. All are free from parabens, sulfates, mineral oil, petroleum, artificial fragrances, colors or glycols. Color safe, cruelty-free and fine for all hair types. Also available: Hair conditioner, body wash, and body lotion. Wholesale Price $5-$10

 Royce Amy Morales is the director of Perfect Life Awakening coaching, and the author of Know: A Spiritual Wake-up Call. Morales is the former owner of Harmony Works, a soul-nurturing shop in Redondo Beach, CA.

Holiday Gifts & Accessories | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 63

fineprint Back-to-school season triggers a major renewal of spirit. Customers will be determined to invest energy consciously with a clear end in sight. Most of them will discover that manifesting their most treasured visions is easier said than done. Fortunately, mind-body-spirit publishers are turning out lots of books to help them through the rough spots. The Miracle Club: How Thoughts Become Reality Mitch Horowitz $16.99 P, ISBN 978-1-62-055766-2 Inner Traditions I www.innertraditions.com

Any one who’s active on social media has probably been exposed to the idea that the energy of our thoughts makes us “co-creators” with “God.” But how many have traced that idea back to its late-nineteenth-century New Thought roots? Horowitz not only takes us on that historical journey, but he pushes the limits of modern-day neuroscience as he shows readers that the philosophy has been proven to work. Relying on customer-friendly techniques like prayer, affirmation, and visualization, he adds detailed explanations and practical, real-world examples to demonstrate that we can “make miracles.” He argues that while the philosophy of causative thought has been sidetracked by followers engaged in immature wishful thinking, it has not been debunked. This book will show readers how to make it work for them. Fantastic Failures: True Stories of People Who Changed the World by Falling Down First Luke Reynolds $12.99 P, ISBN 978-1-58-270665-8 Beyond Words Publishing/Aladdin www.beyondword.com

Failure is the new success. (Translation: Success is a long, mistake-riddled path through trial and error.) Failure is trending now and Luke Reynolds is ready to ride the wave. Writing with an eye toward including younger readers (he begins with J.K. Rowlings’ story), he tells customers of all ages that failure is a learning experience and not a sign of defeat. Recounting 35 notable examples (including Nelson Mandela, Vincent van Gogh, Christopher Reeves, Temple Grandin, Steven Spielberg, Rosa Parks, and Seabiscuit), he adds a multitude of shorter “flop files” 64 September/October 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

New and notable books for body, mind, and spirit by Anna Jedrziewski (which include Steve Jobs, Ellen DeGeneres, Julia Child, Vera Wang, and Conan O’Brien) to let your customers know that not getting it right the first time is a valuable prerequisite for ultimately achieving their goals. Those first mistakes are often crucial to uncovering the ultimate path to success. Exercises for recognizing the gems-in-the-darkness and maximizing redo efforts are woven throughout this inspiring tome. The Witch’s Altar: The Craft Lore & Magick of Sacred Space Jason Mankey & Laura Tempest Zakroff $15.99 P, ISBN 978-0-73-875796-4 Llewellyn I www.llewellyn.com

Creating sacred space is well on its way to becoming a major mass-marketing phenomenon. What began as simple groupings of crystals, candles, photos, and odd personal treasures on a small table in a corner is now big business. New, often expensive items for purchase are being created as I write. For me — and for the Gardnerian Witch and Modern Traditional Witch who came together to create this book — the upside of all that interest is that more and more people will be seeking the deeper roots of altering spatial energy for spiritual purposes. Toward that end, this book is full of facts and figures, spells, correspondences, input from guest writers, creativity, and permission to “do your own thing.” In keeping with the modern perspective of these seasoned, traditional practitioners, the last chapter is entitled Trouble Shooting an Altar. Don’t let your customers miss this valuable new resource. The Divorce Hacker’s Guide to Untying the Knot: What Every Woman Needs to Know about Finances, Child Custody, Lawyers, and Planning Ahead Ann E. Grant, JD $16.95 P, ISBN 978-1-60-868560-8 New World Library www.newworldlibrary.com

In the wake of the #metoo movement, women are realizing that claiming their power is easier than they once believed. Kudos to New World Library for being at the forefront of getting practical information into the female hands that need it. Ann Grant writes with a pure, strong voice, making it clear that women must claim their rights for themselves if they want

to receive a fair shake from the legal system. From making sure that they are money wise before they find themselves alone in the world, to recognizing when the marriage is over, to finding a good lawyer if they need one, to telling the children, to handling narcissists and bullies, to moving through the grieving process, to effective coparenting, Grant has put it all into very well organized terms, with Insider Tip sidebars. She wants to make sure that your customers know what to expect if it comes to divorce and what resources they will need to get themselves through it. This is a book that every woman needs to read BEFORE she falls in love. Blackthorn’s Botanical Magic: The Green Witch’s Guide to Essential Oils for Spellcraft, Ritual & Healing Amy Blackthorn $22.95 P, ISBN 978-1-57-863630-3 Weiser Books I www.redwheelweiser.com

Books on herbs, essential oils, and aromatherapy abound. What makes this one standout, your customers might well ask. The answer: the no-nonsense, no pretense, no mystery approach this author takes to sharing her years of experience in the world of plantbased magic practice. Evidence of humans using plants for ritual and healing predates written language. Blackthorn seeks to take us back to those roots. Just smell, she tells readers, and experience what you smell. Use botanicals to tap into the heartbeat of the earth, she instructs further. No years of practice, no secret handshakes or PhDs. Just get in there and do it. Not that this book is short on information. It’s not. It begins with basic techniques, moves on to color magic, then moon magic, followed by the import of the days of the week. 135 essential oil recipes in total follow that. The appendixes cover phototoxicity, pregnancy cautions, quality testing, and extensive resources. Walking Each Other Home: Conversations on Loving and Dying Ram Dass & Mirabai Bush $24.95 H, ISBN 978-1-68-364200-8 Sounds True I www.soundstrue.com

The man who, 40 years ago, asked us to show up for our lives is now asking us to show up for our deaths. Sound gruesome? Ram Dass tells us that it’s not and co-author Mirabai Bush fills in the details. Ram Dass is now 86 and still limited by the effects of a major stroke he suffered 20 years ago. As he moves closer to his own death, he continues to filter all of life’s experiences through the lens of love. He and Mirabai Bush apply that lens to being with the dying, grieving, facing death, and recognizing death as spiritual practice. There is a very personal quality to this book. It is a comforting conversation which highlights another landmark in Ram Dass’ life.

Invisible Martyrs: Inside the Secret World of Female Islamic Radicals Farhana Qazi $19.95 P, ISBN 978-1-62-656790-0 Berrett-Koehler Publishers www.bkconnection.com

This is an extraordinary book, written by an extraordinary woman. Qazi is a master storyteller, capturing the emotion as well as the subtleties of what she wants to communicate. And as the first Islamic member of the U.S. Counterterrorism Center, there is a lot that she wants to tell readers about. She knew Islam to be a religion of peace and compassion. The personal horror of terrorism for her was coming face to face with female psychopaths who shared that faith. She’s devoted her career to trying to understand that phenomenon and finding a way to explain it to non-Muslims in a way that is productive. The dreary cover of this book captures the dark world that Qazi immersed herself in, but it belies the light that she brings into the world by trying to put a human face on extreme female violence. She has become her mother’s prayer: Be constantly occupied with listening to God. Believe that He has a purpose for you.

QUICK GIFT PICKS FOR FALL! Tone It Up: 5-Day Reset for Your Body, Mind & Spirit Katrina Scott & Karena Dawn $27.99 H, ISBN 978-0-06-2843487 Harper One www.harperone.com

For customers who meant to stay in shape but somehow got sidetracked, this beautifully designed book is an introduction to the worldwide community of Tone It Up. Tone It Up is an online network of girlfriends, led by Katrina and Karena, who inspire each other to make fitness a priority in their lives. Each of the five featured days has its own topic. The day is described in detail beginning with a pep talk. A spiritual guide follows, then a workout guide, a recipe guide, a girlfriend guide, beauty tips, and an action guide. Each section ends with a page to record personal reflections. The point is to keep readers inspired and it delivers that big time. Most importantly, it’s fun! Holiday Gifts & Accessories | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 65

fineprint

Anna Jedrziewski

The Art of Lenormand Reading: Decoding Powerful Messages Alexandre Musruck $19.99 P, ISBN 978-0-76-435468-7 REDFeather www.schifferbooks.com

The Korean Kimchi Cookbook: 78 Fiery Recipes for Korea’s Legendary Pickled and Fermented Vegetables Kim Man-Jo, Lee O-Young, Lee Kyou-Tae $17.99 P, ISBN 978-0-80-484860-2 Tuttle Publishing www.tuttlepublishing.com

A quick look at cooking shows on TV tells us that a growing number of people are interested in learning to cook Asian food. Korean food, in particular, has generated lots of interest. For this book, a food industry consultant and two journalists have joined forces to zero in on Korea’s star dish, kimchi. Stunning photography brings these 78 recipes to mouth-watering life. The history and cultural context of kimchi is discussed, as well as the secrets and science of making kimchi. But the stars are of course the fabulous recipes. They range from traditional to inventive and are amazingly simple to prepare. Stuffed Carrot Kimchi, Salted Cod Kimchi, Rice Bran Pickled Radishes, Autumn Pumpkin Kimchi, Pickled Garlic Cloves, and Fresh Ginger Pickles are just a few of the dishes that will bring out the food adventurer in your customers. The health benefits are, of course, a bonus.

Interest in Lenormand continues to increase with the general rise in popularity of oracle decks. This new book, distilled from Musruck’s 23 years of working with Lenormand cards, is dense with information about reading the cards. It begins with one-page summaries for each of the 36 cards (a very well designed, quick reference tool for beginners). Musruck then adds layer after layer of more advanced tips and techniques that will more than satisfy experienced card readers. He includes an in-depth discussion of reading with the Grand Tableau spread which uses all 36 cards. The book can be used with any traditional Lenormand deck but it is illustrated with cards from the beautiful, gilt-edged deck (sold separately) that Musruck designed.

 Anna Jedrziewski is a new consciousness author and consultant, as well as founder and director of Spirit Connection New York, Inc. www.spiritconnectionnewyork.org

CHECK OUT OUR FULL CD CATALOG IDEAL FOR SPA, YOGA, MEDITATION AND THE HEALING ARTS.

Available through MVD Entertainment MVDEntertainment.com | NewEarthRecords.com

66 September/October 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

Gifts for Mindful Living

TAD934

54 gems of inspiration to discover, illuminate, and nurture your true self

An intimate dialogue between two friends and luminaries on loving and dying

A handbook to cultivate awareness, compassion, and joy in every moment

978-1-68364-266-4

978-1-68364-200-8

978-1-68364-175-9

playlist

Reviews of great music to sell and enjoy by Bill Binkelman

Eirlandia

To the Heart

Jeff Johnson & Brian Dunning ArkMusic www.arkmusic.com

Matthew Schoening & Nirinjan Kaur Spirit Voyage Records www.spiritvoyagerecords.com

Flutist Dunning and keyboardist/percussionist Johnson have been crafting sublime Celtic fusion music for a long time (since before 2000, I believe). Eirlandia (inspired by Stephen R. Lawhead’s Celtic fantasy book series of the same name) is one of their most sumptuous musical feasts yet, combining their considerable new age music talents with their rich tradition of Celtic influences. Most of the tracks are gentle as a morning breeze but there are moments of liveliness sprinkled here and there. Eirlandia represents a perfect fusion of electronic and acoustic elements coming together in a seamless joining of their respective strengths.

Electric cellist Schoening (who here also plays acoustic guitar, bass and percussion) teams with the wonderful vocalist Nirinjan Kaur on the sublime To The Heart, an album of Kaur’s delicate singing set against a backdrop of evocative melodies and engaging rhythms. Schoening, who live loops his electric cello, is a flat-out magician and Kaur’s vocals bring to mind the intimacy and warmth of Suzanne Vega (at least to me). Lyrics are sometimes English, sometimes mantras, and sometimes a blend. I was consistently impressed every time I played this recording with the spot-on integration of instruments with vocals.

Auriga to Orion

I’ll Be with You

Majestica Heart Dance Records www.heartdancerecords.com

Eamonn Karran Real Music www.realmusic.com

Sherry Finzer (flutes) and Cass Anawaty (guitars, bass, synths, and drum programming) are Auriga and this is their second release. While the cover art and title may lead you to believe this is spacemusic, it’s more dramatic/rhythmic than that genre. The marriage of flutes with synths and beats can be difficult to pull off, but the duo accomplish it with ease, grace, and creativity. The beats (such as on the bouncy “Kesil’s Light”) punch up the album with just the right amount of energy. Anawaty’s synths and guitars and Finzer’s flutes intertwine, complementing each other perfectly. Sure to please your customers, give this one a lot of in-store play. 68 September/October 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

Eamonn Karran takes us deep into a personal musical voyage, as he states in the liner notes “[This album] represents the journey I and my family have taken over the last six years.” Utilizing piano, keyboards, electronics and computer software, Karran blends Celtic influences with a more contemporary mixture of instrumental music styles. At times, I was reminded of Karran’s Real Music label mate Bernward Koch, as both artists share an affinity for warm, rich, romantic melodies, frequently anchored by lead piano. While there are moments of drama, the overall mood is more that of peace (“The Beginning”) than power (“The New Dawn”).

A Trick of the Wind Erik Scott Self-released www.erikscottbass.com

Former rock bassist Scott continues to dazzle me with his new instrumental music’s versatility and beauty. Weaving influences from new age, ambient, chill, world, blues, spiritual, jazz, and maybe even more, Scott and his guest stars (too numerous to list) paint a musical landscape that has a dreamlike quality to it, but is also engaging and, ultimately, quite human. Scott plays assorted basses, piano, organ, keyboards et al., and handles each instrument with artistry and abundant technique. Even though each track features a distinctly different compositional approach, the album represents a unified vision. Few artists deserve the label “unique” more than Erik Scott.

Eve Áine Minogue Little Miller Records www.aineminogue.com

Renowned Irish harpist Áine Minogue (who here also plays keyboards) has enchanted her fans and fans of the instrument since 1994. On her latest offering, she adds her exquisite gentle vocals to share center stage with her haunting harp melodies. Minogue composed all twelve songs and she enlisted some great guest artists to join her assorted guitars, whistles, cello, bass, clarinet, percussion, and more. The mood throughout the album is subdued, restrained, yet so suffused with subtle beauty that it may take your breath away. Eve will be best appreciated through direct listening with as little distraction or background noise as possible.

Colors of the Ambient Sky David Arkenstone QDV Productions www.davidarkenstone.com

The latest album from trail-blazing new age musician David Arkenstone clearly demonstrates two things about this pioneering artist. One, he can pretty much tackle any sub-genre under the headings of new age or ambient with ease. Two, he isn’t done showing newcomers how it’s done. Colors of the Ambient Sky features Arkenstone going wholly electronic, and in a way that I don’t recall him ever doing before. An homage to the earlier days of electronic music, the album is chock-full of chunky fat bass beats, soaring synthesizers, spacy textures, and lush underpinnings of fluid electronic melodies. This has to be one of the best “cruising around town at night” CDs of recent years!

Seasons Pt. 1 Jan Hammer Red Gate Records www.janhammer.com

It has been way too long (ten years or more, I think) since keyboard virtuoso Hammer (of Miami Vice fame) released an album of new material. I was positively giddy when Seasons Pt. 1 arrived in my mailbox. A few minutes into the frenetic opening track, “Miami – Night,” a smile erupted on my face. Yeah, Jan is back, baby! Hewing closely to the formula he set forth on 1994’s Drive (less so than 1992’s Beyond the Mind’s Eye) Hammer wends his way through a topography of high energy tunes and more laid back selections, but each track offers up aural delights. He even takes a stab at neoclassical on the wonderful “Suite European.”

Holiday Gifts & Accessories | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 69

playlist

Bill Binkelman

Fellowship of Solitude

Evensong: Canticles for the Earth

Lynn Tredeau Heart Dance Records www.lynntredeau.com

Meg Bowles Kumatone Records www.megbowlesmusic.com

Pianist Lynn Tredeau’s fifth CD is, for me, her most personal and her most accomplished. Tredeau has always had a way with simple, unadorned melodies, keeping the drama reined in and relying more on the core of her composition instead. Here, the focus is that of a more contemplative musical vision, which is reflected in both the album title and some of the tracks’ titles as well (“Traces of Daylight,” “What Hides in the Dark,” “Peace in the Midst”). However, these twelve songs are not despairing or melancholy as much as they are introspective and invite contemplation and remembrance of past memories.



We last heard from spacemusic artist Meg Bowles in 2013 with her critically acclaimed The Shimmering Land. Evensong-Canticles for the Earth continues her return to the forefront in the genre (which began with 2011’s A Quiet Light, after a more than 10-year absence from recording). Few artists “get” spacemusic the way Bowles does. The CD’s seven selections exemplify the best qualities of this type of electronic music. Whether layering lush, warm synthesizers over gently percolating rhythms, or blending electronic tonalities with waves of textural music, Bowles takes the listener deep into the onset of twilight, embracing the beauty of our planet and, as she puts it, “being present to witness all of her ever-changing beauty.”

Bill Binkelman has been reviewing New Age, ambient, and world music since 1997. Email him at bill@retailinginsight.com.

70 September/October 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

West Coast Gem & Mineral Show November 9 - 11, 2018 NEW LOCATION! Hilton Orange County 3050 Bristol St., Costa Mesa, CA 92626

70 select Retail and Wholesale dealers selling earth-related natural treasures from around the world. Gems, Minerals, Crystals, Meteorites, Fossils, Polished & Rough Stones, Beads, Jewelry Home Decor and so much more!

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NEW WORLD LIBRARY 40 Years of Publishing Books That Change Lives

MYSTERIOUS REALITIES A Dream Traveler’s Tales from the Imaginal Realm ROBERT MOSS Paperback | $15.95 ISBN: 978-1-60868-538-7

THE LIFE YOU WERE BORN TO LIVE A Guide to Finding Your Life Purpose DAN MILLMAN Paperback | $19.95 ISBN: 978-1-932073-75-1

THE JEWEL OF ABUNDANCE Finding Prosperity through the Ancient Wisdom of Yoga

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Also available as ebooks | www.newworldlibrary.com Available from your favorite distributor, or call (800) 972-6657 Ext. 20

EDITORSPICKS

Holiday Décor

The holidays are coming and it’s time for some fun holiday décor to brighten up your store.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Décor Santa Legs I Burton + Burton www.burtonandburton.com Naturally Noel Pine Cone Tray I Burton + Burton www.burtonandburton.com Angel, Peace on Earth IYour Heart’s Delight by Audrey’s www.yourheartsdelight.com Lantern Gold I Arty www.artyimports.com Resin Christmas Tree Candleholder I Burton + Burton www.burtonandburton.com Winter Blessings Mug with Cardinals I Burton + Burton www.burtonandburton.com Metallica Fig Leave Spray Burg, Gold I Arty www.artyimports.com

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8. Recycled Sputnik DĂŠcor I Dekorasyon Gifts & DĂŠcor www.dekorasyongifts.com 9. Ceramic Angel Ornament I Burton + Burton www.burtonandburton.com 10. Votive and Wreath Set I Mixture www.madebymixture.com 11. Round Dragonfly Raku Ornament I J Davis Studio www.jdavisstudio.myshopify.com 12. Angel of Peace I Kitras Art Glass www.kitras.com 13. Resin Deer with Antlers Holding Candle I Burton + burton www.burtonandburton.com 14. Small Pedestal Vase Metallic Silver/Gold I Burton + Burton www.burtonandburton.com

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15. Incense Cones I GiftCraft www.giftcraft.com 16. Buddha Ornament I Abbott www.abbottcollection.com 17. Pine Bough & Snow Tealight Holder I Abbott www.abbottcollection.com 18. Angel Design DÃ©cor I GiftCraft www.giftcraft.com 19. Mercury Glass Cone Shaped Tree Set I Burton + Burton www.burtonandburton.com 20. Garland Distressed Bells with Rope I Burton + Burton www.burtonandburton.com 21. Assorted Sizes of Bobble Gnomes I Burton + Burton www.burtonandburton.com 74 September/October 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

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22. Gingerbread Lighted Water Lantern I Raz Imports www.razimports.com 23. Gingerbread House with LED I Abbott www.abbottcollection.com 24. Peppermint Filled Ornament I Raz Imports www.razimports.com 25. Large Candle Lamp I Abbott www.abbottcollection.com 26. Feather Napkin Ring I Abbott www.abbottcollection.com 27. North Pole Party Stemless Wine Glass I Burton + Burton www.burtonandburton.com 28. Church Pillow I Raz Imports www.razimports.com 29. Pomegranate Spray I Raz Imports www.razimports.com Holiday Gifts & Accessories | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 75

takefive

Five Tips to Stay on Track During the Holidays by Royce A. Morales

Yes, ‘tis the season once again to strategize, place orders and brace (AKA hope, pray, affirm, visualize) for the upcoming holidays. As a body-mind-spirit themed indie shop owner, you know it’s more than simply buying the right merchandise, sticking to a budget, hiring good help, and creating attractive displays. It’s equally important to “walk your shop’s talk,” and to have the intention of truly serving in some way. That means making sure you feel good about what you’re doing with and in your shop. Besides adjusting your attitude to reflect the true spirit of the holidays – love, family, giving, caring, peace, joy, – your unique shop has other significant messages to deliver. Being a living example reflecting what these ‘holy-days’ are truly about is just as important as selling products. People support your store because of vibes, philosophy, ambiance, authentic caring and a unique collection of items they can’t find other places. Remember, you’re not in competition with department stores, nor should you strive to be like them. However, adopting and adapting some of their tried-and-true ideas isn’t a bad idea. Here are five suggestions to make sure you’re on your right path that can help both you and customers during the oft-times frazzling holiday season:

Heart Stock As an independent shop owner, you have the luxury of selling the type of items you want to sell, choices that express your values and philosophy. So, fill your shelves with things that reflect what’s important, gifts espousing positive, uplifting messages. While it may be tempting to bow to the pressure of carrying something simply for its triple markup or guaranteed quick turnover, customers feel it when you’re not being true to the ideals your espousing. Instead, choose inventory from local vendors whenever possible; find soul-nurturing merchandise; select earth friendly items that helps heal Gaia. Energetically, feeling good about what you sell always works. Suggestion: Have in-store product demonstrations or give out free samples that allow customers a hands-on experience. Some vendors may even support this by coming in and doing it for you, or providing samples at discount. Ask!

Avoid OCC (Over Consumption Consumerism) As an earth-conscious steward, resist pushy sales tactics and discourage over-purchasing simply because it’s the holidays. This will help conserve precious planetary resources, and diminish shopping addiction mentality. It’s all too easy to get caught up in the “more is better” mindset, especially since your yearly budget might depend on December sales carry through. However, your heart will feel better knowing you sold meaningful rather than mass-produced; you promoted necessary versus disposable; you provided nourishing instead of ‘fluff.’ 76 September/October 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

Instead, encourage customers to spread the word about your shop and perhaps offer a referral discount. Start a loyalty program or frequent buyers’ club. To encourage fun customer participation, hold a contest of some kind: “Update Santa’s Reindeer Names for 2018;” or “Win a Gift Basket for the Best Window Display,” “Guess the number of snow days in December,” etc.

Join Forces Be an example of a not-for-cut-throat community by strategically teaming up with other non-competitive shops. Perhaps a street-wide open house complete with holiday entertainment or strolling carolers; an after-hours VIP pre-holiday sale; or plan a big To-Do inviting local officials or celebrities. This could be as simple as neighboring shops agreeing to cross-promote, referring customers whenever appropriate. Or, table-talkers at local restaurants offering free dessert with proof-ofpurchase at your shop. Two true clichés to remember: We are all in this together, and what goes around comes around!

Creatively Re-Merchandise Do you have some slow-moving items you’d love to give new life to (read: get rid of )? Did you order something you’ve never tried carrying before? Pair them up creatively yet coherently. Tie a holiday bow around a bar of soap and a scented holiday candle; hang an ornament on top of a holiday-themed organic tea towel; place packages of incense inside a ceramic mug. Always attach a business card somewhere. Make clever signage explaining these partnerships (“Pairs of the Season,” “Better Than Two Turtle Doves,” etc.). Offer this no-brainer double sale at a discount, of course, and pin it on Pinterest – another great sales tool!

Refresh Verbiage As you proudly walk your talk, it’s important to express your shop’s specialness in words. It’s too easy to get lost in the barrage of holiday commercialism and online shopping. When was the last time you updated your Mission Statement or tagline, boasting these words on business cards, website, etc.? Does your advertising reflect these techy times by (finally) starting that blog? Or, stay old school by sending out hand-written holiday cards? Whatever changes you make, compose a concise press release, bragging to local papers. They love stories about community, but make sure it doesn’t sound like a ploy for free advertising!

 Royce Amy Morales is the director of Perfect Life Awakening coaching,

and the author of Know: A Spiritual Wake-up Call. Morales is the former owner of Harmony Works, a soul-nurturing shop in Redondo Beach, CA.

advertiser index

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Kheops International, Inc. ...........Back cover, 33 800-215-8705 I www.kheopsinternational.com

Spirit Whisperings ...............................................30 503-701-1073 I www.spiritwhisperings.com

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LLD Production........................................................71 505-867-0425 I www.mineralshowlld.com

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Cork-Nature..............................................................17 206-972-9202 I www.cork-nature.com/ wholesalecorkbags

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Melon Head Supplies ........................................43 830-627-2922 I www.melonheadsupplies.com

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New Earth Records .............................................66 888-245-4481 I www.newearthrecords.com

Transformational Enterprises...............................57 www.maureenstgermain.com

New Leaf Distributing Co......................................47 800-326-2665 I www.newleaf-dist.com

Uma Silbey................................................................49 800-326-2665 I www.umasilbey.com

New Life Foundation ..........................................49 800-293-3377 I www.anewlife.org

US Games Systems Inc. .....................................13 800-544-2637 I www.usgamesinc.com

New World Library ..............................................71 800-972-6657 I www.newworldlibrary.com

Vibes Up ................................................................71 530-677-1248 I www.vibesup.com

Ohm Therapeutics Sound Healing..............16, 43 505-455-7556 I www.soundhealingtools.com

Vision Works ............................................................57 800-933-7326 I www.changingworld.com

QMT Windchimes ..............................................42 800-345-2530 I www.qmtwindchimes.com

VitaJuwel..................................................................... 9 952-291-7490 I www.vitajuwel.com

Raiders of the Lost Art...........................................49 800-527-4367 I www.raiderocks.com

Wakami .....................................................................20 888-532-3915 I www.virtumade.com

Ronin Publishing ..................................................24 www.roninpub.com

Wellstone ...............................................................67 800-544-8773 I www.wellstonejewelry.com

Scents of Success ................................................23 800-580-5579 I www.rhavda.com

Windrose Trading Co. .........................................70 800-229-3731 I www.windrosetrading.com

Schiffer Books...................................................34, 35 610-593-1777 I www.schifferbooks.com

World Buyers............................................................30 800-996-7531 I www.worldbuyers.com

Sequoia Records ..................................................46 800-778-8777 I www.sequoiarecords.com

Zen and Meow.................................................. 33, 43 717-451-9159 I www.zenandmeow.com

Coventry Creations .............................................49 800-810-3837 I www.type40sales.com Craftstones .............................. Inside front cover 760-789-1620 I www.craftstones.com Crystal Earth Studio ..............................................17 866-345-1910 I www.crystalearthstudio.com Deva Designs .................................................31, 43 800-799-8308 I www.devadesignsjoy.com Deep Breath Designs..............................................42 520-616-0235 I www.deepbreathdesigns.com Dragonhawk Publishing .....................................27 731-987-3334 I www.dragonhawkpublishing.com dZI Handmade ....................................................... 8 800-318-5857 I www.dzi.com Esprit Creations Inc. ....................................24, 43 352-316-6130 I www.espritcreations.com Gaia’s World,............................................................33 866-605-1191 I www.gaiasworld.com Ganapati Studios.....................................................48 360-914-4463 I www.ganapatistudios.com Goddess Design Studio.........................................21 570-982-3230 I goddessdesignstudio@yahoo.com Gong’s Unlimited....................................................25 02-474-4664 I www.gongs-unlimited.com Harper Collins............................................................ 3 www.harperone.com

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Return Address: Retailing Insight Magazine P.O. Box 5108 Winter Park, FL 32793

Phone: 800.215.8705 Fax: 800.713.0634 www.kheopsinternational.com www.kheopsinternational.ca Item#17701

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Holiday Gifts & Accessories/ Sept-Oct 2018

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