Friday, April 27, 2012

Don't go into retail

The Good Wife is by far one of my favorite tv shows. There are great moments in that show, but one tiny little scene in a recent episode stuck with me (no idea which one; I record on moxie and sometimes watch them three weeks later). Kalinda (law firm investigator) suddenly finds her life in danger and visits an old friend/mentor who used to be in the same business, but now owns a lovely wine shop. Kalinda wants advice from her friend, who tells her to get out of the investigative life, now. Do anything else but that.

"But don't go into retail!" she tells her.

Sage advice. Fun and creative? Yes, mostly. A good way to make a living? Eh, not so much.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Taste, technology and aging (vs. Facebook)

I believe that good taste – and learning – have no age restrictions.

The other day I saw a darling 12-year-old girl interviewed during the TCM channel's Classic Film Festival; she was very knowledgeable and opinionated about her favorite classic movies. Some of our most stylishly tasteful customers at Pomegranate are, well, not quite spring chickens (neither am I, as I suddenly catapult towards 60... what?). Some are very modern in their aesthetic, and know what they're doing. You don't have to be a 24-year-old hipster to understand modern design. And you don't have to be 24 to understand all the new tech gadgets (although it helps if you cut your first teeth chewing on Dad's iPod). My dear father-in-law, at age 94, is a computer wizard and avid day trader.

So I was surprised today when I went to put together a little ad on Facebook. You write up your 90-character blurb, add a teeny tiny photo, then choose the parameters of who you want to reach and how many dollars per day you're willing to spend. You can be fairly specific, because alas, Facebook knows how old we are, where we live, and what our interests are. So I chose for my audience: women, from age 22 to... well, the age limit only goes to 64. As if anyone older than that does not understand or use Facebook. Really?  Or if you're at "official" retirement age, you're no longer viable as someone to market to? Here's news for all the demographics experts: everything's changing. Don't assume anything about our generation, who grew up with the Beatles and Rolling Stones in the background. Many of us may never actually retire. And we welcome technology and design and the arts into our lives. So there.

Friday, April 13, 2012

Mother's Day...coming soon

Little heart dish in a box for rings or teeny soap

Fully stocked on our fab french hand creams in nice new packaging (love the new Milk scent: very subtle and soft)
Mom's day is only about a month away (which will sneak up on us very fast). If you need to ship a little something sweet for mom, now's a good time to start thinking about it. We're getting stocked up at Pomegranate on all sorts of wonderful gifts for her, from spring scarves and jewelry, to french soaps and lotions... and adorable little treats like our "love you mom" ring dishes (boxed). We made it a point to bring in plenty of affordable things for kids to buy with a limited allowance budget (because there's nothing sweeter than a ten-year-old picking out a gift for his or her mom, right?). More coming, too. Open Monday through Saturday from 10:30–5. See you soon!