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| 07 Jan 2008 05:50:24 pm |
 REEL EM' IN |
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Over the years Tinsel has been selling our vintage metal thread to fly tyers from all over the country. What 's that you ask... what's a fly tie . .see this picture . You see the 3 inches of shiny thread wrapped around the center, that's ours. Recently I found out that there are trade shows for this type of thing. Go figure!! So I did my homework & found out that Nov 16 & 17 in Somerset N.J. is THE retail show for fly tyers. Always one to experiment in business, I signed the contract & got a 10x10 booth and then convinced Rosemary that life wouldn't be complete until she learned this world also.
Well I knew metal thread was the lure (yuck , yuck), so I loaded up thousands & thousands of spools to take. Having no clue what this show would be like or what else to bring we decided that since it was so close to xmas ,we'd bring other fish related stuff ...fish xmas ornaments ,fish pens, fish cards and even a fish bottle opener keeping the cliche that all fishermen drink beer alive.
So we get to the place & set up. As always , Rosemary made the booth look beautiful. We had a xmas tree in the center & ornaments & fish stuff all around it & of course the thousands of spools of metal thread in wonderful baskets & containers. We didn't need to bother. These guys could have cared less about the tree & fishing stuff. They went right for the thread. I could have dumped it all over the floor & they would have just dropped to their knees to gather it up (some did). I had never seen mature men go gaga over thread before. Talk about passion! They drooled & grabbed all at the same time. I loved it!
What did we learn? TONS!!! Even though I had been selling metal thread to tyers for years , I had never seen a finished one in person. I did not truly understand what it was all about. Well...let me tell you, it's amazing! It seems that there are gudelines & rules & a bunch of other "laws" governing this stuff. If you are salmon fishing you use the metal thread, the reflection attracts them. And then there are the tyers who do it for the for the art of it. And it is an art , an amazing art! It is quite a sight to see these big guys with huge hands delicately tying a tiny hook using thread, feathers and string. The designs ...the colors, absolutely beautiful!
We met so many interesting & talented people, like Paul Rossman , Bud Guidry , Dick Talleur, Steve Silverio, Charlie Chute and tons more.
Look for a new section on flytying in our website soon |
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Category : General
| By : marcia |  Comments [3] |  Trackbacks [0] |
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| 05 Dec 2007 03:05:03 pm |
| Been A Long Time |
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Yes I know… it’s been a really long time since I had some musing to offer. So much has happened and I kept thinking, I’ll write something later. Well a lot of later’s have gone by & nothing was written.
A few events that have happened since May… met John Galliano (Christian Dior), had the wholesale stationery show, 3 wholesale gift shows, a vintage textile retail show , a fishing retail show , opened a small space in ABC Carpet in Manhattan , had a 5 minute segment on The Martha Stewart Show (along w/being mentioned numerous times throughout the year), Martha came by for a visit at the stores , had 3 artist trunk shows , our metal threads were used in an exhibit in the Met , product mentions in 3 different issues of Home Companion magazine , mentions in numerous other magazines, 2 artist craft jams…… I’m exhausted just writing all of this!!!! As you can see I have been a very, very busy girl and the list isn’t finished!
Check back for more links to these events!! |
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Category : General
| By : marcia | Comments [2] | Trackbacks [0] |
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| 05 Dec 2007 03:01:40 pm |
| We Be Jammin' |
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The International Stationery Show in May is a fun time because I get to see lots of friends & customers who come to N.Y. just once a year. I also meet new people and wonderful artists who are exhibitors & have used something from Tinsel in their products. It is very fulfilling to walk into a booth & see a ribbon or appliqué added to a design knowing that your company sold it to them. Of course I always think that’s what makes the product ….but of course I am biased!
It also gives me a chance to have a fun event I started awhile back …what I call a designer craft jam. By invitation only a group of artists come to the store & I lay out a table filled with Tinsel Trading goodies & present a challenge.
With so many talented artists in town for the Stationery Show, I invited a few for an evening of food, fun & crafting. Nothing like putting a designer on the spot. Kind of like meeting a comic & expecting them to be funny. If it were a competition think…Iron Trim
That evening as they came in to the store, I watched with delight as their eyes lit up, as they passed the goody table. After everyone arrived I dangled plain shadow boxes in front of them and listened to squeals of delight. I thought it would be a quite a challenge for them as most work in paper and I was pushing dimensional embellishments.
I never saw a group of people move so fast to get started. I wish I could have bottled the energy in the air. I sat back as these amazing artists came up with the most wonderful creations. There were 12 people & 12 totally different visions of what they wanted to create. I had to threaten them to take a break for dinner, no one wanted to stop. At 1:00 A.M. I practically had to throw them out. It was a wonderful evening and so inspiring to watch these artists play! |
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Category : General
| By : marcia | Comments [1] | Trackbacks [0] |
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| 05 Dec 2007 02:58:19 pm |
| Meeting The Man |
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John Galliano is THE designer for Christian Dior. I got a call from his secretary to set up an appointment with him in mid May around 5:30. I held my excitement & mentioned we closed at 5:30, would it be possible to come earlier? No, came the answer. He was booked solid and it was then or nothing. Of course, I would have made an appt. at midnight if necessary, and stupid I am not. “We’d love to see him at 5:30” I said to the secretary.
The day finally arrived and a few minutes past 5:30, a party of 3 comes in. John was easily recognizable even though he was wearing a hat. I gave them a short tour of the store...walking past the tassels, past the vintage military trims, past the vintage flower wall heading towards what I knew was the reason for their visit; the Vintage Metal Fabrics! Galliano can buy anything from anywhere in the world, however I knew he could not get fabrics like this. Nowhere in the entire world are there the styles, quantities or varieties that Tinsel Trading has.
The oohing & aahing was music to my ears. I felt proud & yet humbled by the intensity of the occasion. From then on they got to work, choosing fabrics & trims.
In between it all John & I charmed & entertained each other. He was funny with a good sense of humor and an easy going nature. Many fabrics & trims were selected and we were going to ship everything to them in France. We said our goodbyes & he promised to come back again.
That night I had dreams of grandeur. Imagine, my fabrics a major part of Galliano’s Paris runway show. “John, where did you get those amazing fabrics from” the press would ask him. He would answer “All I will say is they are from a wonderful store in N.Y.” Well in my book, that would be enough to start a stampede to our door. Every designer who doesn’t know about us already would have their staff working overtime to try & find out who it is.
My day dream wasn’t over yet. I also envisioned a Fed Ex. Envelope arriving with my invitation for the fashion show. I would wear one of his designs (which is funny itself…I have worn a dress only twice in 35 years!) and be seated in the front w/the A list. Dreams are meant to be BIG, that’s why they are dreams!!
An unfortunate footnote to this story. We got his order prepared and shipped it DHL as per their instructions. DHL lost the package & when they finally found & delivered it, 3 weeks after we sent it, the runway show had already happened! My dream had exploded and all I kept thinking was that John would never step foot in Tinsel Trading again. |
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Category : General
| By : marcia | Comments [1] | Trackbacks [0] |
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| 19 Jun 2007 05:34:08 pm |
| Did you ever... |
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Did you ever have those days when everything went perfectly … tons of customers …a big order is placed …a call with good news….your favorite TV show is on……you win the lottery. Something BIG & EXCITING happens. You grin all day & find yourself singing out loud. You are on top of the world!
Then next day WHAM everything changes. The big order falls through….your favorite TV show gets cancelled….the lottery ticket is lost! It turns out to be the worst day and you get depressed after such a high from the day before. Don’t you hate when that happens?
Well thank goodness things are on an even keel right now, although that has happened to me many, many times!
There has been so much happening this past month that I haven’t had time to catch my breath. From May 7 - 10 I was in Sturbridge, Mass to exhibit at a vintage textile show. Haven’t heard of it? Go to http://vintagefashionandtextileshow.com/press.html and read all about it. I have been exhibiting there for over 10 years and I absolutely love it. It is the kickoff for Brimfield, where the whole town becomes a flea market. What, you don’t know that either? Go to http://www.brimfield.com. It is the best & biggest market I have ever been to!
Thousands & thousands of dealers selling everything from sinks to knobs to shoes old and new. EVERYTHING you could ever want & most things you don’t ...like the 50 year old toilet bowl. Yuck, to think about all that has gone through that…disgusting!
A week after Brimfield we exhibited for 4 days at the National Stationery Show at Javits center here in N.Y. It is a trade show and if I see another fancy pen I will scream. There were at least 40 companies selling pens. Red ones, wood ones, pens with polka dots, pens with stripes, expensive pens - $1000, pens that played music and pens with disappearing ink. Whatever happened to plain old Bic pens!!
Anyway…it was tiring and successful all at the same time.
Marcia
P.S. Thanks to all of you who took the time to reach out to me about my mother. |
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Category : General
| By : marcia | Comments [4] | Trackbacks [0] |
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