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  1. News from Us
  2. News from Members
  3. Events
  4. Press
  5. Dollars & Sense
  6. Profile Stories
  7. Updates
  8. Training Calendar
  9. Training Videos
  10. Jobs
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October 27, 2024 Retail Holiday Forecast
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Retail Holiday Forecast
October 27, 2024
Key points: 
- 5 fewer shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. (Thanksgiving falls later than usual.)
- Retailers are starting sales before Thanksgiving. 
- Holiday sales expected to rise 2.5% - 3.5% over last season. 
- Shopper sentiment is good. 
https://www.wsj.com/articles/retailers-grasp-for-holiday-magic-amid-raucous-u-s-elections-and-shorter-season-76feb57d?st=LPUeTG&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink)
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October 23, 2024 WSJ: People Trying to Help Main Street
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WSJ: People Trying to Help Main Street
October 23, 2024
Read the full article: 
https://www.wsj.com/business/entrepreneurship/entrepreneurship-small-towns-711f5dfd?st=gpMohJ&reflink=mobilewebshare_permalink View Post
October 11, 2024 Tableware Today Column: Saying I Do To Registries
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Tableware Today Column: Saying I Do To Registries
October 11, 2024
This article, which will appear in the December/January 2025 issue of Tableware Today, explains the importance of wedding registries to indie stores.

Our e-commerce platform helps 1,500 indie stores sell $22 million a year. Perhaps surprising is that more than 90% of these orders are wedding registry gifts. Our stores offer tens of thousands of goods for sale online, with the lion’s share being wedding gifts. Why are wedding registry sales 90% of online sales while non-gift orders ...
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October 10, 2024 Let's Lead Together by Jason Solarek
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Let's Lead Together by Jason Solarek
October 10, 2024
Money is tight for many indie retail shops. Owners often ask themselves: What brands and products should I invest in to get the best return for my business? We have an answer to this question. Welcome to the Leaderboard. In each issue through this new column, TOP OF THE CHARTS, I’ll be sharing with you the best performing wedding registry brands and products according to my company’s data. There’s something for brands and sales reps as well: we’ll be showing you the best ...
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October 10, 2024 Josephinenhütte
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Josephinenhütte
October 10, 2024
It speaks volumes that the first line acquired by Maison3Amis after the purchase of DeVine Corp., a three-decade distributor of luxe European tableware, was Josephinenhütte, the five-year-old German-based maker of lightweight, thin-walled stemware and accessories. The Maison3Amis team (hereafter known as M3A) is helmed by two one-time Baccarat execs, Jim Shreve and Sally Burnside, who appreciate a nonpareil drinking glass, and Mark Brashear, who quickly recognized the allure of the brand. &...
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October 10, 2024 Spotlight Pattern: Costa Nova Marrakesh
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Spotlight Pattern: Costa Nova Marrakesh
October 10, 2024
Costa Nova’s Marrakesh was designed by famed French florist Christian Tortu, inspired by Yves Saint Laurent’s Les Jardins de Majorelle, the couturier’s botanical garden in Marrakesh that features the warm tones of sandy walls, vibrant spice colors found in bustling markets, and the rich hues of traditional fabrics, a collection with a keen eye to sustainability and Moroccan mystique.
................................

This isn't Christian Tortu's first collection for ...
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October 10, 2024 The More Things Change
The More Things Change
October 10, 2024
This issue marks my 40th year chronicling the tableware industry, the last 28 as the founder and editor of Tableware Today. Spend four decades in an industry and you see change: sometimes sweeping (lifestyle shifts/consolidations/e-commerce); sometimes specific (Covid/less entertaining at home/rising costs). On the other hand, four decades is just a blip in the life of many tableware producers. Our industry, really, is a contradiction in so many ways: a heritage category that must remain fresh, ...
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September 25, 2024 New York Magazine Features Four of Our Brand Partners
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New York Magazine Features Four of Our Brand Partners
September 25, 2024
When Emma Wartzman interviewed 11 trendsetters about their tabletop settings, they touted four of our brand partners: Juliska, Herend, Villeroy & Boch, and Reed & Barton.

Read the full article:  https://nymag.com/strategist/article/steal-my-tabletop.html

P.S. Thanks to Ashley for sharing this article with us ☺️ View Post
September 24, 2024 Tableware Today Column by Jason Solarek 📝
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Tableware Today Column by Jason Solarek 📝
September 24, 2024
I'm happy to share the first column in an on-going series to appear in Tableware Today magazine. This article, which appears in the magazine's current October/November 2024 issue, explains our inspiration for the Leaderboard--a new tool to help retailers, brands, and sales reps. 
..............

TOP OF THE CHARTS
LET'S LEAD TOGETHER by JASON SOLAREK

Money is tight for many indie retail shops. Owners often ask themselves: What brands and products
should I invest in to get the best ...
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September 23, 2024 Shop Local Leaderboard Trophy? 🏆
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Shop Local Leaderboard Trophy? 🏆
September 23, 2024
Citi Bike, a bike-sharing service in New York City, has a competition for those who help redistribute the network’s bikes.  It displays the top helpers, called Bike Angels, on an online leaderboard. Citi Bike gives points, which can be redeemed for monetary credit, for participating. I found this system and their leaderboard inspiring because we, too, offer a leaderboard.  

Our leaderboard (named Leaderboard) that tracks the best-performing wedding registry brands, retailers, ...
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September 16, 2024 My 10 Prime Reasons to Shop Local 💖
From selfish reasons like instant gratification to macro reasons like stopping war mongers, here are 10 reasons to make you feel good about skipping Prime Day everyday.
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My 10 Prime Reasons to Shop Local 💖
From selfish reasons like instant gratification to macro reasons like stopping war mongers, here are 10 reasons to make you feel good about skipping Prime Day everyday.
September 16, 2024
I saw this poster on the website of Shop Local Raleigh. Thank you for inspiring us and other communities. (You’re invited to see the poster here: 
https://shoplocalraleigh.org/care-2/why-shop-local/)

A notable thing on the above page is the poster’s reasons don’t match the text-based list below it. I liked the text reasons more. 

If I were to make a top 10 list, I’d include: 
  1. Instant gratification. Don’t wait for a shipment. Pick it up
...
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September 16, 2024 The Psychology of Shopping: Your Purchase Confirmation Page is Just as Important as Your Home Page
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The Psychology of Shopping: Your Purchase Confirmation Page is Just as Important as Your Home Page
September 16, 2024
There is a lot of psychology that goes into a positive shopping experience—including online shopping. I was reading in The Wall St. Journal about how to improve a vacation experience. The author encourages us to save the most enjoyable vacation part till the end of the trip because our mind is biased towards the most recent event. (In psychology, this is called the "recency effect.") 

When I read this, it made me wonder: what is the last experience a gift giver has on our...
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September 12, 2024 Juliska in The Wall St. Journal
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Juliska in The Wall St. Journal
September 12, 2024
Nice to see our partner Juliska’s items in The Wall St. Journal. 

Read the full article:
https://www.wsj.com/style/design/the-right-way-to-lay-out-your-dining-room-5-formulas-interior-designers-rely-on-0212c54e?mod=mhp View Post
August 30, 2024 Necessity is the Mother of Reinvention
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Necessity is the Mother of Reinvention
August 30, 2024
Ancient Greek philosopher Plato wrote in the Dialogue Republic, “A need or problem encourages creative efforts to meet the need or solve the problem.” This statement led to the phrase “Necessity is the mother of Invention." These words could very well describe Shop Local and how we came to exist. Over time, some have suggested the phrase could be tweaked to read “necessity is the mother of reinvention." This phrase also parallels Shop Local's ethos of supporting...
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August 29, 2024 Tableware Today: New Leaderboard Column from Shop Local
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Tableware Today: New Leaderboard Column from Shop Local
August 29, 2024
Great news: Tableware Today, the bi-monthly print magazine dedicated to our industry, will be publishing our Leaderboard results on the last page of each coming issue.

This article below will appear in the October/November 2024 issue of Tableware Today and explains our inspiration for the Leaderboard.  

You're invited to see the monthly Leaderboard results here: https://www.shoplocal.org/leaderboard

..............

TOP OF THE CHARTS
LET'S LEAD TOGETHER by ...
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August 25, 2024 Paris Museum Exhibit Extols History of Retail
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Paris Museum Exhibit Extols History of Retail
August 25, 2024
Since we ❤️ retail at Shop Local, we’re happy to share that a Paris museum has documented the history of department stores over two centuries. Much of what we know today about retail from indie stores to Amazon dates back to these stores.  

Read the full article: 
https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/fine-art/the-birth-of-department-stores-review-museum-of-decorative-arts-paris-0ab95e14?st=x5syvki7uyfkdpi&reflink=mobilewebshare_permalink
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August 20, 2024 Shop Local Globally 🛍️🌎
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Shop Local Globally 🛍️🌎
August 20, 2024
As I was looking for inspiration for an intro for our weekly team report to combat my writer's block (props to Jason because I don't know how he comes up with something new every week), I came across a Forbes article about Ace Hardware celebrating 100 years in business. The article's title caught my attention, so I decided to give it a read.

From Local Roots to Global Reach
The title of the article, "From Local Roots to Global Reach," resonated with what we do at Shop Local. ...
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July 31, 2024 CHECK YOUR PLATES by JASON SOLAREK
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CHECK YOUR PLATES by JASON SOLAREK
July 31, 2024
The Wall Street Journal recently shared how the used car market has improved in the last 20 years because much of it is now conducted online. When car buyers use the web, they’re more likely to save money (about 2%) and dealers can, in theory, make more with dynamic pricing (about 2%) thereby giving each party a win. Unlike 20 years ago, when we didn’t have smartphones, today 95% of used car purchases start online. While 31% of used car purchases were completely in-person, ...
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July 31, 2024 Spotlight Pattern: Orrefors - 40 Years of Ornaments
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Spotlight Pattern: Orrefors - 40 Years of Ornaments
July 31, 2024
This year marks the 40th annual Orrefors Ornament, which began with the 1984 Dove, left. “That iconic inaugural piece set the tone for the collection, emphasizing quality and traditional holiday themes,” says Emon Maasho, CEO. “The ornament continues to be a cherished tradition, with collectors eagerly awaiting each new release. From classic holiday motifs to modern innovations, the series offers something for everyone, making it a lasting part of the holiday season.” ...
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July 31, 2024 EENY, MEENY, MINY, MOE
EENY, MEENY, MINY, MOE
July 31, 2024
I was working on scheduling a late summer mini-vacation so I carved out an afternoon for the planning. There were so many factors to consider (where? when? how long?) on top of juggling all of us coming from different parts of the U.S. The options were staggering and required so much screen time I was just about ready to give up. When did the world at our fingertips become a negative?

I got to thinking about the astronomical number of options Americans have in every aspect of life. I’ll...
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Next page

Press: Shop Local & Bridge in the News
Tableware Today Column: Saying I Do To Registries
Tableware Today Column: Saying I Do To Registries
October 2024

Tableware Today: New Leaderboard Column from Shop Local
Tableware Today: New Leaderboard Column from Shop Local
August 2024

Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants in Florida Get Google Sales Leads 🔍
Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants in Florida Get Google Sales Leads 🔍
April 2024

Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants in Tennessee Get Google Sales Leads 🔍
Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants in Tennessee Get Google Sales Leads 🔍
April 2024

Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants in Louisiana Get Google Sales Leads 🔍
Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants in Louisiana Get Google Sales Leads 🔍
April 2024

Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants in Delaware Get Google Sales Leads 🔍
Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants in Delaware Get Google Sales Leads 🔍
April 2024

Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants in Pennsylvania Get Google Sales Leads 🔍
Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants in Pennsylvania Get Google Sales Leads 🔍
March 2024

Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants Get Sales Leads in Mississippi
Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants Get Sales Leads in Mississippi
March 2024

Shop Local Merchants Are 60% of Google Page 1 Results in South Carolina
Shop Local Merchants Are 60% of Google Page 1 Results in South Carolina
March 2024

Shop Local Merchants Are 50% of Google Page 1 Results in Georgia
Shop Local Merchants Are 50% of Google Page 1 Results in Georgia
March 2024

Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants Get More Sales Leads than Big-Box Stores Using Google
Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants Get More Sales Leads than Big-Box Stores Using Google
February 2024

Shop Local Retailers Rank on Page 1 of Google in 60% of States
Shop Local Retailers Rank on Page 1 of Google in 60% of States
February 2024

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