Rules Give Us Freedom — Weekly Retail Tidbits #269
“We don’t come out of the womb knowing who we are. In the beginning, we learn by pretending to be our heroes.”
— Austin Kleon, Steal Like an Artist
As I put together our son’s rehearsal dinner invitation, I thought, “Wow. Things have changed.”
Not the invitation itself. The way I made it.
In under an hour, I designed the invitation, checked the guest list for names and addresses, built a website for RSVPs (Emily Post acceptable, I checked) and drafted an email to my printer (one of you!) with the invitation attached.
The speed was new. The secret wasn’t. I told my AI team to do it the way Emily Post would.
There is ease and comfort in doing something the way someone else has already figured it out. They’ve thought through the finer points of how things should be done to help the guests. I might have missed a nuanced reason for doing something a certain way. Tried and true usually beats my inventions.
It may look like our party, but it belongs to our guests. When every guest knows what to expect, feels welcome and is taken care of, everything else comes together, and the focus can naturally fall on the bride and groom.
Todd Henry writes in The Accidental Creative that creative people need boundaries, and that boundaries make us more creative, not less. They ground us.
Retail works the same way.
Good merchandising has rules too:
- Color that draws her in.
- Space to breathe.
- Size and scale that make sense together.
- Aisles wide enough for a stroller, a wheelchair or a customer with an armful of bags.
- Product grouped so she understands what she sees.
This week, as I helped one of you in your store, I redid a Cobblestone Living mannequin. We put a scarf, a pretty necklace, a top and pants together, so a customer sees a whole outfit instead of four separate pieces.
Do you have to follow every rule every time? No.
A packed, overflowing table breaks every rule about negative space. For a sidewalk sale or a treasure-hunt corner, it works, because you meant it.
But breaking a rule because you understand it is different from ignoring a rule. The first is creative. The second is usually just confusing, and it has a way of putting the focus on us instead of the customer.
Same as the party. The store isn’t about us. It’s about the guest who walks through the door.
So know the rule first. Understand what problem it solves. Then, if you have a better idea, break it on purpose.
Rules give us freedom.
xoxo,
❤️ AmyFay
Technology Tip
Talk, Don’t Type. Read, Don’t Listen.
I talk to my AI team the way I talk to people, please and thank you included. You don’t have to, but it’s who I am. If you try to be somebody different than who you are, it makes it harder, not easier, because your brain has an extra step.
Talk to it like you’d talk to anyone – out loud. Stanford researchers found that talking is about three times as fast as typing on a phone. Tap the little microphone next to where you type, and just say what you need.
Here’s the other half: read the answer instead of listening to it. Reading is faster than listening, and your eyes can jump right to the part you need. So talk to your phone or computer, then read what it says back.
3 Tango Tidbits
Three to Stock for the Holidays
True South Puzzles — Coastal Christmas
A beautiful Christmas puzzle that’s not just for coastal states: it sells well in Tennessee and Kentucky. It’s made in the USA by a Nashville-based company, and it’s always fun to support a small business on the manufacturer side too! Make sure you’ve seen the new Dolly: Queen of Country puzzle by artist Lucie Rice and pre-ordered it to ship November 15-30.
Compendium — The Tickle Monster Laughter Kit
Tickle Monster comes as a boxed gift set, the Laughter Kit, or as the book and Plush Hands on their own. Most of y’all buy them separately, 8 or more of each, to get an extra 10% off with non-returnable terms. This is an iconic set that just keeps on selling. MSRP: Laughter Kit $36.95, book $17.95, Plush Hands $16.95. Reminder: Compendium prices are MSRP now, so your order copy may show retail, not wholesale.
Lenny + Eva — Faith over Fear Bracelet
This Faith over Fear bracelet, pearls with one small cross, is a Lenny + Eva bestseller you’ll want to keep in stock for the holidays. It’s beautiful and giftable. Lenny + Eva is a Baxter, Tennessee company, and the jewelry is made in the USA.
“Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use.”
— Emily Post
June Market Fun
With our star eyes on, because Tango is exploding with great stuff! 🌟
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| Shop Tango here → |
The Tango Showroom is open 10 to 4, Monday through Friday, at AmericasMart in Atlanta, Georgia. Come see us! 🌟
AmyFay Chandler
AmyFay Chandler started out as a teacher, then spent 15 years as an independent retailer. Along the way she bought for multiple stores, dabbled in wholesale with two lines of her own, and found her way to repping. Today she is a sales rep for the brands she represents. That view from every side of the table shapes Weekly Retail Tidbits, which she writes from Knoxville, Tennessee, to help local retailers feel connected and maybe see something they do every day in a new light.
Also from AmyFay
Two of the brands I represent run their D2C side through me, with brick-and-mortar partners prioritized at every step:
- Sweet Tree Jewelry — school-spirit polymer-clay earrings
- Caroline B Cook — children’s books (the Virtue Series, Church Kitty)
Wholesale questions? [email protected]
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