Thanksgiving Shopping Weekend

Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the holiday season. Most people will be out in force looking for the best gifts. For those who prefer the less stressful route, Cyber Monday offers a more laid-back alternative without having to get dressed and fight the crowds. Have you considered where you're going yet? How about something right here in Teton Valley?


That Saturday in between is the first ever Small Business Saturday sponsored by American Express. It is an opportunity for us to give back to our community by shopping the smaller stores in our town.

Like the two-day Holiday Art Fair being held again at the Wildwood Room in Victor on Friday and Saturday for those interested in more unique and/or handcrafted gifts.

Or get ahead of the promotion when the annual Moonlight Madness Sale returns on Friday featuring some wonderful savings from participating local businesses and an opportunity to win great prizes .

As for this gift guide, click on the Etsy holiday badge on the sidebar to the right and check out some wonderful gift items for your consideration. Mea Eclectica is supporting Saturday with a one-day sale as well.

Holiday Craft and Gift Fairs Have Begun!

Megan Bogle, Longaberger representative

The Fall Craft Fair held last Saturday at the Wildwood Room launched the start of the 2010 gift season. Vendors came ready to sell a wide variety of products including handmade baskets, decorative pillows, home decor, jewelry, accessories and others.

This Saturday, another fair is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Kindergarten Center in Driggs. The event organizer has received booth reservations for an estimated 20 vendors for this show which will be advertised in both local papers.

These fairs provide an exciting opportunity for sellers to showcase their handcrafted items or direct sales merchandise to buyers who are equally eager to shop for such goods under one roof. And if last week's response is any indication, then this next one should be even better. I suspect that as Christmas draws closer, interest for the upcoming shows will continue to rise.

A calendar of events is posted on the homepage sidebar. I will update this with any new event information as they come up. From my observation of the first fair, the assortment of products available will likely satisfy a good portion of that gift list so don't forget to bring it with you.

Regrettably, I don't know that anyone has been able to create a handcrafted Halo game for a handcrafted xBox just yet, so I'll leave that segment of the gift market to the big boys.

Ways to Support our Local Schools This Holiday Season

There are a couple of key dates that are coming up in the next few weeks, one of which is going to be this weekend.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20TH, 10 TO 4
The Teton County School District Food Service Office is hosting a holiday craft fair this Saturday, November 20th. Approximately 20 crafters will showcase their products during this event including a fundraising booth for the Driggs Elementary 5th Grade Yellowstone Trip this spring. They still need to raise funds for this event and would appreciate your support.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4, DURING BUSINESS HOURS
The Teton Valley Education Foundation is once again partnering with participating Teton Valley businesses who will donate a percentage of their proceeds to Teton Valley Education Foundation. Plan to do your local shopping on this day. Shop for Schools!! Click on the TVEF link for a list of participating stores.

Mea Eclectica will participate in both events by donating 10% of my sales from the craft fair to to Mrs. Davis' 5th Grade class for their trip as well as on the evening of December 3 during a presentation at the Curves Fitness Club in downtown Driggs, entitled "The Art of Japanese Kimono: A Modern Spin on Traditional Dress" where various styles of kimonos will be available for sale.

Small Business Saturday - Nov 27th

American Express is hosting a nationwide campaign on Saturday, November 27th, to promote community support by encouraging consumers to shop small and locally on that day.

In our own hometown of Teton Valley, some of the shops on Main Street from Victor to Tetonia are owned by friends or neighbors with whom we often share a greeting and a smile. Our community has many talented artisans and craftsmen as well as business owners who care enough to make a point to remember us by our first names.

So while we won't begrudge you the opportunity to save at the big stores this holiday season, consider this: for every $100 spent at a local small business, 45% returns to the community. Another great reason to shop small!

Enjoy this holiday season!

What's in a Name?

Mea Eclectica is the name of my crafts venture. Why?
 
It's stylized latin meaning my eclectic [things] which according to the Urban Dictionary is "(t)he act of being eclectic; having no set defined preference..." because I don't have just a singular passion to any one thing. I have always been interested in many things and I tend to try them all out. Some may consider this a little on the side of ADD and scattered but I prefer to look at it as a creative trait that finds inspiration in all things.

As for Collective Marketing, that's the left side of my brain churning out great methods to give support the right side of my brain . Yin and yang.

Introduction.

The holiday season is here. For those who do not have physical storefronts, the options for marketing and advertising are limited.

Collective Marketing's mission is to provide the means for non-traditional small businesses to pool together their financial resources for the purpose of raising brand awareness in a collective manner thus making the cost more affordable for the group as a whole.

There is strength in numbers. What a group can realize is more viable than the work of a single individual. A goal can potentially be reached faster and progressed further. A cooperative effort can provide a better value for your modest funds.

I am a designer with an extensive marketing background. I am also avid crafter, sewing and beading anything that piques my interest. I have sold online in the usual venues and participated in shows. Word of mouth about my work has also proven effective in generating income.

But what has always been challenging is the ability to market myself effectively with limited funds available. In my marketing experience, the opportunity to create affordable promotions is best achieved when a group can come together to work on the same goal. In the past, I've brought together businesses for this purpose such as the event I initiated a few years ago, working with other businesses in my trade to host a design-oriented "open house" tour in the valley. It was an effective marketing endeavor. And it validated my belief that given a specific promotion, the same dollar amount that one business can spend carries less weight than a collective group's effort for the same identical advertising.

Collective Marketing is about making your dollars stretch as members of a cooperative group. The premise behind the concept is based on two simple approaches to managing your membership funds. First is to utilize traditional but modest advertising as a springboard for increasing awareness for our businesses which shall have presence in the online community including this blog and a related Facebook page. Second is to affordable participate as a group in shows, fairs, and other events by establishing a collective booth in each of these events and manned by members in rotation.

What does this mean in actual application? Find out more under Collective Marketing's guidelines below.

Pen