Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Lingering in the Splendor of Fall


Is it just me or have retailers been pushing christmas and gift-buying a bit earlier than usual this year? Seems that emails about getting a jump on Black Friday and the holidays and “last chance” opps are triple what they have been in the past.  Yes, I’m a retailer…but I’m not ready to push the holidays just yet! I remember, back in the late 70s (yes, I am that old) when I had my Country Peddler brick and mortar stores, my clients would clamor and beg for holiday decorative pieces to be put out in September instead of the first day of November. I made the mistake of sharing with a few of them that all of the holiday items were ordered the prior January, received in July and were sitting in the Country Peddler warehouse, tagged and ready to go when I made the switch from fall to Christmas and Hanukkah! Big mistake! The second year, I did acquiesce and changed the shop over to holiday on October 10th!! Loyal customers were parked out front waiting for me to open the doors at 10:00 just so they could get first dibs on all the delightful goodies.



I understand the retailer marketing thinking; but I love fall so much that I hate to see it pushed aside so quickly. There is something about it that is revitalizing and restorative for me. Maybe it’s tied to school days of old when my mom made me a completely new wardrobe of my very own design (!) and insisted on giving me that damn Tip Toni perm. (Honestly, my hair is pretty curly on it’s own…why the Tip Toni I’ll never know other than that was what moms did to their daughters in the early 50s) — so I endured it until I was old enough to say “no!” Growing up in SoCal, seasons weren’t really all that noticeable. We did throw on sweaters over our button-downs and Bermuda shorts sometime around December but we still hit the beach as often as we could. I have old photos of decorating the family Xmas tree wearing just such an outfit! I need to see if I can dig that out of storage for a little look-see.





As an adult, I have been really lucky to experience living in a variety of seasons — New York mostly. Definitely four strong seasons…fall of which remained my favorite. I was one of those people who despised the hot humid summer months and when that first hint of fall crispness hit the air I was ecstatic. I took every opportunity to walk through Central Park where I was ensconced in the beauty of change. Interesting as I write this…by now you know I’m not so good with change; but the change that comes with fall is quite predictable; so apparently I am okay with predictable change. While I always look forward to the winter and the holiday festivities that go hand and hand with it — I never want to rush the beauty and tranquility of fall. So I don’t — even when it comes to marketing my business. Good business practice or bad business practice…I’m an old dog and not ready to learn a new trick…at least not when it comes to marketing holiday gift giving in September!



My love of the rocks and gemstones that dazzle with the colors of fall I know stems from my overriding love of the season in general. Put me in a room full of rocks and I will immediately hone in on the carnelian, agates, smoky quartz, citrine, mookaite and poppy jaspers. I so enjoy the energy I get when I work with and wear these gemstones — there is something about them, alone or in combination, that makes me feel strong, grounded and joyful With that…I will say please take some time to enjoy the beauty that is around you at this very moment — before you know it, you’ll be in the whirlwind that is the holidays and the peaceful time you spent lingering in fall will serve to ground you through the upcoming hustle and bustle and well into the new year.


Of course, it never hurts to do a little, or a lot, of planning while you're taking in the last few weeks of the season!



No comments:

Post a Comment