Yikes, is it REALLY only three days until Christmas????

Here’s when we’ll be around, when we won’t, and when we can ship and when we can’t:

• Wednesday December 24th: someone will be around to answer the phone
• Thursday December 25th: CLOSED
• Friday December 26th: CLOSED (who can resist a four day weekend?)
• Monday, December 29th: we’ll be in the office, and CAN ship orders until NOON.
• Tuesday, December 30th: in the office, but doing INVENTORY, so NO SHIPPING
• Wednesday, December 31st: in the office, still doing INVENTORY, NO SHIPPING
• Thusday, January 1st: CLOSED
• Friday, January 2nd: CLOSED (again, four days!)

WOW!  A new Special Edition glove from Atlas, designed to be a COMPANION to the super-popular Nitrile Touch, so your customers will want them BOTH!  Their purpose is to provide comfort and grip when gardening, so the textured rubber palm is perfect for controlled use of tools and wood handles. Ergonomic shape supports hands, and reduces hand fatigue.  Breathable back & seamless liner.  Raspberry only, in S, M and L.

You won’t find these in our 2009 catalog, only here online and at the trade shows.  Let us know if you’re interested, we’ll provide you with pricing.  NOT AVAILABLE TO SHIP UNTIL 2009!

Wow, for the first time ever we have the catalog available for you ONLINE before you receive your copy in the mail.  AND for the first time ever we have next years catalog DONE before…NEXT YEAR!  I feel so…so…’on trend’!

Just click on the link below and a PDF file will open in your browser, and you can save it, print it, send it to your Auntie Em in Kansas…it’s all yours to use as you wish.

You’ll note that there isn’t any pricing shown…so many changes during the year have led us to decide to go with a ‘bound in’ printed list again.  Sorry about that!  If you need pricing, you can login and look online OR let me know and I’ll email you the Excel file.  So easy!

Click HERE to get it!

I was so saddened to read today that Lexington Gardens in Farmington,  CT is going out of business… another casualty of neighboring big box stores.  They weren’t one of our biggest customers, but they ordered from us regularly for many years.  I remember meeting Craig back at the ERNA show at the Concord many years ago  (many, many years ago), and I enjoyed visiting with him at lots of shows since then.  He is truly a nice guy and I wish him the best in whatever he does next. 

We’ve been trying to get in more of these beautiful Czech glass Flower Frogs for several years, and finally succeeded! They’re approximately 3” wide and 2” high. They look beautiful in a clear bowl (actually, they don’t show much, but do add a bit of sparkle) and hold stems nicely if they’re not too tall. I grew up watching my grandmother use something much like this… it’s a reminder of simpler times and a great gift for any flower arranger or ‘frog’ collector.

These will be included in our 2009 catalog, which hopefully will be in the mail before the end of the month. The suggested retail is $14.95, so they’re a GREAT price point for Christmas shoppers. If you order before October 17^th, we’ll give you a 10% discount off the wholesale price, as long as you order in 6’s.

They are ready to order online, too, if you’d rather. Let us know if you have any questions!

I just read a quote from Hans Christian Andersen that I just love and thought I’d pass it along. Every so often something just sings to me - this one did.

“Just living is not enough… one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower”

Home gardens with fresh herbs were all the rage not so long ago, so folks could make use of their commercial style kitchens properly and entertain their friends…things sure have changed, eh? 

Traditionally, garden items do well during economic downturns…for which we are all thankfull.  This go round, with food prices at an record highs, many consumers are digging in the dirt for the first time in a long time or for the first time, period.  There was a great little bit on Good Morning America over the weekend touting how consumers can save money by growing their own produce, to the tune of $200 plus a month.  And not only are individuals getting on the grow your own bandwagon, communities are as well.  Some places around the country are renting out plots of public land seasonally for apartment dwellers to become micro farmers.

 Yeah, that’s great Amy…but what does this have to do with me and my store?

EVERYTHING!  What an opportunity for promotion you have here…’tired of high costs? We’ve got the stuff you need to grow your own!’…that sort of thing.  It’s good for the pocketbook, good for the environment, and all goods involved aren’t very expensive.  Personally, I’m always looking in the under $30 range for any item and I think most other folks are too.  There isn’t much disposable income out there these days, so you need to focus VERY carefully on showing your customers how their purchase will actually SAVE them money in the long run.  Think of all the ways you can use this trend to actually increase your sales…WOW!

And, of course, we have all the products the budding backyard growers will be looking for…all shipped from one location to further increase your margin.  Questions?  Need help picking out items?  Call us toll free, 888-712-3239.  We love to talk about our line!

Hi folks!

I just finished uploading the new items page reflecting our fall additions, and all the items are ready to add if you order online, too.  Plus all the prices that have changed since our January 2008 printing are changed there, too…and if you want us to send you an Excel file of the July price list just let me know, amy@dorothybiddle.com. 

We’re still targeting mid-October for the 2009 print catalog, and I’m hoping to have all the website revisions done by then, too.  In case I don’t (goodness knows things always take longer than ya think, don’t they?) meet the deadline I figured I’d get these online so you don’t miss out and we don’t miss out and…so your customers don’t miss out, of course!

Hard to belive it’s the 17th of September already…time sure does fly!  You may remember when I was out on maternity leave a while back…well, the ‘baby’ turns FIVE this month.  FIVE!  I swear, it seems like only a few months could have gone by.

But I digress (which is the norm, as everyone in the office can attest to)…hope you’re well and that business is holding up…if you need anything, have questions, etc., don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.  We love talking to you!!

Best,

Amy Keane, manager & internet specialist

In honor of the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre Yankees going to the Governor’s Cup Series, we’re offering a couple of great specials (yes, we get really excited about such things here at DBS).

A black metal carousel display filled with Atlas Nitrile Tough Gloves.  These are the black, unisex versions of the best-selling Atlas Nitrile Touch Gloves.  The rack comes with 54 pair of gloves including four sizes (S,M,L,XL).  $50 off on this one!  There are three left in stock; first come; first served.  Web order promotional code GOYANKS01.

Since it’s the time of year many of us are bringing our houseplants back inside and re-potting, we’ll offer a fall special on the Potter’s Perfection Mat.  This is a large, 2’ x 3’, mat that is easy to work on, and easy to bundle up to dispose of dirt & waste.  It can also be used as a trunk liner.  Take $1.50 off the dozen price on these, order in ANY quantity and get the discount.  Web order promotional code GOYANKS02.

Our one-liter stainless steel watering can is a perennial favorite (actually, it’s a houseplant favorite… sorry, couldn’t resist).  It’s a good size for watering small plants, easy to control, and attractive to look at.  Take $.75 off the quantity price, order these in lots of 8, please.  Web order promotional code GOYANKS03.

Special pricing will be available  until 9/19/08.  These, and all of our items are on the website www.dorothybiddle.com .  We appreciate your business, and hope you have a great fall season.

Lynne

PS…we’re also emailing this to you all…if you have any questions please let us know.

And…GO YANKEES!  (Lynne and Amy are NYY fans and thusly are delighted that at least our ‘local’ Yanks out of Scranton/Wilkes Barre are making it to the playoffs and beyond!)

Hope you like the new look of the Biddle Blog…I’m in the middle (well, the first third, anyhow!) of a major website overhaul and thought the blog needed a facelift too.  I love the way this one has lots of color yet is very easy to read…your thoughts are welcome!

The new website will have some great features, including a blog widget (I know, no one cares but WOW I had fun making it and it’s really called a blidget, so that’s fun too!), a click-to-call button, and an improved all-text menu (so it will work with any browser across the board and you don’t have to deal with the fly outs) as well as *drumroll please*…individual pages for every item!

On those item pages will be UPC codes, case pack info, measurements, country of origin, detailed images and, eventually, videos of item demonstrations.  Seems kooky, maybe, but I just got in a new fax for the office and this was our first ‘combo’ machine…I had no clue what I was looking for, whether or not to go with a laser or thermal, or if the darn thing would even do what I needed it to.  Know what sold me on the one we got?  Buy.com offered a video review and demonstration of the sucker in use… so I bought it without ever stepping foot out of the office.  I had already WANTED to do videos for our stuff, but this experience made me positive it would be a GREAT sales tool.  And with YouTube it’s free…think about adding it to your site, too! 

Back to working on the website…my target date for finishing is October.  Hopefully the beginning of October.