We've Finally Arrived

The day before yesterday, I received in the mail for the first time an invitation to the Maison et Objet show in Paris! Now mind you, they got my name from a list of retailers somewhere, undoubtedly because I am registered for some of the domestic tradeshows. But still. The thought of me being included on this list, period, was a little thrill, one that I wanted to share. I am still new enough at this shop owning thing to stand back and say to myself, "Wow. I'm a shop owner." Three years ago, doing anything retail-related was so far out of the realm of anything I ever expected to do with my life that it's funny. I mean, I never meant to do this. And here I am, loving (almost) every minute of it.

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The almost part is the one exception I have to make for a couple months back when, moving a heavy box in our storage room, my shoulder accidentally nudged our fire extinguisher off of its wall mount, deploying the thing and sending pungent-tasting (yes, I forgot to close my mouth for the first five seconds or so) white powder flying all over our storage room, our boxes of merchandise, our window treatments, and...all over me. Of course. It was real fun cleaning that up.

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And so, thanks to a glossy little leaflet that arrived in my mailbox straight from France, I feel, this week, that I've finally arrived.

'Twas Four Months Before Christmas

I spent last Wednesday and Thursday evening sprawled out on the family room floor, watching So You Think You Can Dance (go, Sabra!) and zipping open box after box of holiday merchandise with my box cutter. Yep, holiday merchandise! Generally the goodies for "fourth quarter" (in retail lingo, that's October, November, and December) are delivered to the shop in mid-to-late summer. This year, we've been receiving all of our big holiday shipments at our warehouse, then taking them home so I can open and inspect everything, ooh and aah over it, check it against my purchase order, check it off my invoice, price it, empty the boxes of a superfluity of packing peanuts (we hate these static electricity-charged little buggers so much we sometimes call them "hell peanuts"), repack the boxes, seal them up with packing tape, load them back into my car (I see an SUV in my future), and take them back over to the warehouse. Were our warehouse comfy and well-lit, I could do this all over there, but what warehouse do you know that fits that bill?

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I hope it's not too much of an abomination to be writing about the Holidays when it's only recently been ninety-plus degrees outside. Before I was a retailer, I would feel disgusted and even slightly offended when I'd walk into the mall in October and see snowflake garlands dangling from the ceiling and oversized red bows adorning every surface. Gimme a break, I'd think. Way to be mercenary. Now, though, I must admit that I eagerly anticipate the holiday season, and not just because sales go way up. Heck, to tell you the truth, I'm ready now! For me, the holidays are the best time of year to be a retailer because we get to participate in helping customers bring comfort and joy to their family and friends. This is the one of my primary motivations for having a shop. I absolutely love to entertain, but with my current lifestyle and the fact that many of my friends live out of town, I'm not able to do it half as much as I'd like. Through appointing my shop with all sorts of delectable finds, I like to think I can extend that same delicious feeling of being a hostess to you.

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And let me tell you, do we ever have some pretty and fascinating things for the offering this holiday season. As my mom and I unpacked, we could already tell which items we probably hadn't ordered enough of. My caveat to you will be shop early, because as you know, we are a small, independently owned boutique and not a big box retailer or a franchise, so quantities are always limited. You'll have to wait a while longer for a sneak peak! It is still only August, after all.

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I have a notebook in which I record all of my fantasy ideas for future vignettes, display stories, category themes, etc. I have recently begun jotting notes on our Holiday Open House! As soon as I have the date finalized, I will put the word out. Until then, I'll keep all of my glitter glass-adorned and mica snow-filled fantasies stuffed up my sleeves and I'll let you enjoy the rest of your summer!

Paper Freak

Our Wine Cork Cardholders keep your pretty paper things in place.

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With back to school just a few weeks away (sorry, teachers, to break into your summer reverie!), I thought it was high time for a post on paper.
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I'll begin with a confession: I am a paper freak. Have been since childhood. From the age of three into early elementary school, I wrote and illustrated my own stories on the inside front and back covers of my Little Golden Books. My parents didn’t mind. They supplied me with plenty of scratch paper, but my crayons, and later on, pens, gravitated only to what paper was between two perfect bound covers. I guess I knew from an early age that whatever I had to say, whatever characters my mind could generate, whatever witty dialogue I could spin, it was supposed to live inside the two covers of a book. When my mind (and word count) outgrew Little Golden Books, I moved my writing life into spiral bound notebooks. Lots of them. Like, one for every story. Because for some reason, it brought me a great deal of discomfort to scrap an idea, turn the page, and begin anew with a fresh idea. With each new idea, I needed a new notebook. Rest assured, the idea of simply ripping out a page and throwing it away occurred to me. But I didn’t like how the pages would then bear the imprint of the words I’d just rejected as too “dumb,” too “babyish,” too “superficial” (yes, this was me at seven). The imprints of my discarded story still were legible, as if they had been written in invisible ink awaiting a milk decoder formula. I felt that my new ideas deserved an unadulterated landing place that had not been marred by what came before. For each new idea, a new notebook. A spanking clean little tome whose paper smelled of possibilities.

Winsome handmade card by calligraphy artist Helen Lewis of Illuminating Words.

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As you might imagine, by the end of high school, what I had were lots of empty notebooks with the first few pages torn out. Back then, I wasn’t a finisher.

Handmade notebooks and sketchbooks from Illuminating Words.

Then came college, where finishing made the difference between completing a workshop course and not. So I had to learn to follow my characters until the end of the stories they wanted to tell...or at least until the end of the page requirement. Usually I was long winded (no kidding???). We usually had to write stories that were ten to twenty pages, though this was more of a suggestion than a rule. Mine generally ran more toward the forty page mark. Single spaced. They wanted to be novellas. For one workshop, I had to submit a five page story, double spaced. Not four, not ten, five. This particular assignment was an exercise in compression, elucidation, extracting only the essence of a moment, an idea, a character. We were to be like poets writing in the short story form. Only the choicest words and details would do.
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I won a prize for that story. Go figure.

Reproduction vintage French "cahiers" (notebooks). Just enough pages for a stirring little epistle.

Triptych of Scrap Journals by Secret Leaves.

Today, as a boutique proprietor, I get to lavish (hi, Becki) in all of the notebooks, journals, and wonderful paper products I can find. Yes, I’ve finally gotten my fill of paper. Here are some wonderful finds at The Blissful to whet your own writerly whistle (Off-rhymes are purely unintentional, I promise.)

Sharon and Ann at Secret Leaves custom-designed these French-inspired Scrap Journals for us. For an inside look at the design and construction process of another type of journal (it's fascinating), go here to read their blog.

Send out all your correspondence and packages with our Tour Eiffel-embellished mailing labels.

Small enough to fit into your handbag or any roomy pocket and fat enough to fill your palm, our little travel notebooks will inspire you to record your dreams and observations when you're abroad...or right in your own backyard.

With a former English teacher at the helm, you can be sure The Blissful is full of interesting titles to help you while away the hours and learn something new.

In lieu of a beach read, take along "Entre Nous" by Debra Ollivier, a cheeky page turner about the qualities of mind, habit, and character that give French women that je ne sais quoi. A must-r ead for Francophiles and aspiring Francophiles alike.

In addition to what you see pictured here, we've got pretty file folders, beloved paperweights, decorative correspondence sets, stationery, labels, cute erasers, and much, much more. Going back to school this year? Sending someone off in just a few weeks? Ease the transition back into the paper-loving way of life with something from the shop. Or buy your favorite teacher a little something to start off her schoolyear on a sweet note.

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And don't forget to pre-order your Sid Dickens Memory Blocks in time for holiday gift giving! I have been taking phone orders from people around the country (how cool is that?), so they truly are booking up fast. The artist just released the first half of the 2007 Retiring list, so stop in to see which Blocks will no longer be in production after December 1st. The second Retiring list will be released later this month. Oh, so much suspense! You've got to love a line with such mystique and cache surrounding it.

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A bientot!

Sneak Peek at Sid

In order to help get your wheels turning about which Sid Dickens Memory Blocks you want to reserve in time for holiday delivery, here's a sneak peek at the Fall and Holiday collections! I wasn't able to get to the big show in Atlanta this past week, so these photos come courtesy of the wonderful Sue from Traditions Unlimited, a retail shop in Erie, PA. Click here to view her photos of the new blocks, snapped in the artist's booth.

Once again, Sid has outdone himself!

Oh, and the number five? Only my favorite number. Did you know that the blocks are available in any letter and in digits one through nine? Here's a unique way to personalize a room: spell out Le Bain on your bathroom wall or your child's name above his bed. As a wedding gift, give the happy couple the numerical date of their Big Day. Possibilities, possibilities...

Get Your Sid

Every shop owner loves it when a new line goes over so well that she actually has to worry about replenishing it as quickly as her customers want it. We are happy to say this is the case with our Sid Dickens Memory Blocks. As many of you have discovered, this is a beautiful, exciting line of handmade, hand-stained decorative plaster tiles. One block makes the perfect gift for the person who has everything. Many blocks comprise a work of art on any wall you want to make especially memorable. You can double click the article above to read the artist's story.

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Due to overwhelming response, we are now taking Holiday Orders (yes, I said it: Holiday Orders!) for all Sid Dickens blocks, including the new Fall and Holiday 2007 tiles. These new collections have only recently debuted and have received an awesome response. The artist has been inundated with orders, so to ensure you receive the tiles you want to give (and receive!) this holiday season, reserve your tiles at The Blissful now with a 50% deposit. Ship time on active tiles other than the new collections is approximately 6 weeks, so it would be a good idea to pre-order those, as well. To view the active collection, stop in and see our in-store vignette and our color catalog, or visit the artist's own website here. As of the date of this post, the Fall and Holiday collections are not yet online, so please stop into the shop to view photos.

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The Fall and Holiday collections are gorgeous and not to be missed. Some of the blocks are available in a new finish, which uses the purest form of silver there is. That silver is then aged, giving the blocks an Old World finish beloved by Sid Dickens fans the world over.

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Please contact us for pricing. We can be reached at the shop at (330) 492-2500 or by e-mail at theblissfulhome@yahoo.com. Pre-holiday ship dates are booking up fast, so place your orders as soon as possible to guarantee delivery in time for gift-giving.

One Luscious Lather

Part of the fun of shop owning is the thrill of the hunt: searching out compelling goods to offer to my customers at great prices. When I find a product I really love that fits with the aesthetic of my store AND offers us all a fabulous value, I get pretty excited.
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Above, see our latest find: these delectable Australian cocoa butter vegetable soaps. Handmade and enriched with Vitamin E, these sweet, three-ounce babies fit perfectly in the palm of your hand and create a super rich and creamy lather. They're ideal for sensitive skin, not to mention they give a fantastic fragrance in the bath or shower.


This weekend, I'm taking off for a much needed trip to the ocean with some dear friends. I plan to give these soaps as refreshing after-sun gifts. My scents of choice? Ocean and Milkshake. What will yours be?

Happy Fourth

Happy Fourth of July!

Thank you to all those serving and all those who have served. Because of you, we enjoy our freedom and liberty.

God bless the U.S.A.!