Going Analog — Weekly Retail Tidbits #250

As I prep for market — like I know bunches of you are — one word kept popping into my head: analog. And the more I thought about it, the more it confused me.

Technically, analog means a continuous signal: the smooth sweep of a clock’s second hand, the groove cut into a vinyl record, mercury creeping up a thermometer.

But when Gen Z (born 1997–2012) says they’re “going analog,” they mean notebooks, film cameras, paper planners, shopping in person. Are those really analog?

Turns out Merriam-Webster has two definitions. The technical signal one — and a second that basically means “anything that doesn’t involve computers.” Both are legit. And right now, Fortune, CNBC, and TikTok itself are all using the second one.

That’s good news for you. It reinforces everything you do every day to create the best in-person experience someone can have in your store.

Which brings me back to market.

Our Tango team is learning the digital way daily right now — mostly Zooms and emails — because digital speeds everything up so we can slow down and enjoy the analog way: being present in our gorgeous showroom starting June 7th.

And gorgeous it is. I say that with the most unbiased opinion. 🥰 I can hardly wait to see what our designer has done — “analogically” speaking. I’ve only seen it digitally, because our showroom manager, Debbie, gets so excited she runs around with a laptop during our Zoom meetings showing us! 💫

How to make your market the best — use the digital to enable the analog

1. Download the ANDMORE Markets app. Scan & Go QR means a 30-second badge pickup. Floor maps and turn-by-turn navigation across 7+ million square feet. Save showrooms as you walk, build your Market Plan at home, and follow it on the floor. The app is excellent for logistics. It does NOT tell you what to buy, what to skip, what’s launching that nobody knows about yet, or which gap in your floor is hurting you most. That’s the rep’s job. (Hi.)

2. Plan your walk before you arrive. Jot the order: Building → Floor → Showroom. Hit your must-sees first in geographic order so you’re not zigzagging between Building 1 and Building 3 four times a day.

3. Send your reorders to your rep before market. Have us hold them so you can review the new alongside the proven. Better decisions, faster.

4. Then do what only happens in person. Touch the line. Meet the makers. Be present. That’s the analog half — and nobody can do it for you.

Exhibit A — analog. Compendium’s new summer plush family. The most analog thing a child can hold. Pure hug.

Can’t make it in June with most retailers? There’s an apparel market the first week of August. And our Tango Showroom is open year round, M–F, 10:00–4:00.

I am excited to see you. I hope we have an appointment. I love working with you, and I do my best to make it worth your effort.

Whoopers — one more thing before I close. This is Tidbit #250. Five years of these Friday notes. I want to mark it with you. Read on — there’s a little 250 moment from me to you just below. ❤️

xoxo,
❤️ AmyFay

---

This is Tidbit #250. Almost five years of writing to you on Friday mornings — I can hardly believe that either. Some of you have been here since the very first one. Some of you joined last week. Every one of you matters to me. Thank you for reading.

And on July 4, the country turns 250 too. America’s semiquincentennial. A bigger arc, but the same idea — continuity worth celebrating.

Both milestones are about staying with something. Showing up week after week. Or year after year. Or, in your case — opening the door of your shop every morning, restocking the same beloved corner, remembering a customer’s daughter’s name. The slow accumulation of presence. That’s analog too.

I want to introduce three pieces from our Tango lines made for this 250 moment — two probably new to you, and one you may already know. All of them for the Fourth, for the flag, for the country turning two-and-a-half centuries old.

True South Puzzles — American Originals. I talked to Susan, the founder, this week. She calls it “a love letter and a history lesson in one — Ben Franklin, the Model T, the things that make us America” — plus the quirky bit from each state she always sneaks in. Designed to live well past the 250th, so it doesn’t go stale on the shelf July 5. Made in America, in a small Midwest factory with a team that’s been there for years. Heads up: the puzzle itself ships the week after Atlanta market.

EvaBelle — new for the semiquincentennial. “Land of the free, home of the brave. God bless the USA. 1776–2026.” A 4×4 acrylic. The real piece has Vanee’s signature gold at the corners — the photo doesn’t show it. This one is preorder only. Cut-off is Thursday 5/29, ships 6/5. If you want it on your shelf for the Fourth, email me at [email protected] or text 865-217-6790 and I will get you on the list.

Mary Lake Thompson — United States of America, 250 years. Watercolor Lady Liberty, the flag, fireworks. Est. 1776. Just what it is, and it’s really good. Order soon if you want it on the shelf for the Fourth of July.

Two-hundred-fifty Fridays of trying to put something useful in your inbox. Two-hundred-fifty years of a country that keeps figuring it out. And a whole lot of analog headed your way for summer.

Here’s to 250 more of all of it. 🎁

---

Tech Tip — Two Data Sites That Have Profiles On You (And Probably Stale Info)

Two websites have profiles on me that I never created. MyLife.com pulls from public records — voter rolls, property, marriages, court records. ZoomInfo scrapes business websites, LinkedIn, and state filings. Most of us are listed on both whether we know it or not — and the information is usually stale.

Customers Google you before they visit. Agents and AI tools are starting to do the same. What they find shapes whether they trust what they see.

Five minutes, two searches, two emails:

1. Google: “[your full name]” mylife — MyLife indexes people
2. Google: “[your store name]” zoominfo — ZoomInfo indexes businesses
3. If you find a profile, email the site directly:
   • [email protected]
   • [email protected]
4. Ask them to delete your data. Include your full name, your business name, and the link to the profile.

They’re legally required to respond. The web forms are clunky and broken — emailing works better.

---

Tango Tidbits

The 15 Lines — June Market 2026

The full Tango package at a glance. Four new lines have joined since January.

NEW Bunnies by the Bay	Cobblestone Living	Compendium
NEW erin gray design	EvaBelle	FacePlant Dreams
Lenny and Eva	LINNEA	NEW LJ Sonder
Mary Lake Thompson	Meghan Browne Style	ORI London
True South Puzzles	NEW Whispering Willow	The Winding Road

Want catalogs and the latest from each line?

SEE THE CATALOGS ➤

---

a tidbit more

Resale certificates — a friendly nudge

A handful of our vendors have reached out asking for retailer resale certificates (sometimes called sales tax IDs). They need these on file before they can ship to you tax-free.

Auditing has picked up across the industry — likely a side effect of AI making audits faster and easier to run. Our brands are tightening up their paperwork and asking us to do the same.

If you don’t have a copy of your resale certificate yet, your state’s department of revenue is the place to start — typically a quick (and free) form.

If you do have one but haven’t sent it to me, please email it to [email protected]. One email to me saves you sending it to every brand I rep — I’ll distribute for you.

---

Here’s to 250 more Fridays — and to you, for being on the other side of every single one. Happy Memorial Day! 🇺🇸 xoxo, ❤️ AmyFay

---

With heart eyes on — finding things we ❤!
Fun things planned for my June Market appointments — can’t wait to see you there.

❤ Plum Nelly — Chattanooga, TN

❤ Townsend Mercantile — Townsend, TN

SHOP TANGO HERE

---

---