Breath of Fresh Air

It's 65 degrees in Canton, Ohio! I think this breath of fresh air is just what we all need to lift us out of any post-holiday doldrums.

The first stirrings of Spring are making their appearance at The Blissful. Come in for a glimpse of what's newly arrived and what's to come...from garden pots and colorful early-blooming poppies to new art on canvas and Spring accents for your home. New shipments are arriving weekly (a new crop of monogrammed lamps awaits me in our receiving area), while last season's finds are on the move...right out the shop door!

Come and get it while the getting is good: all Christmas and holiday items are 75% OFF. In addition, we have select everyday items, including some great candle and apothecary lines, at 50% to 75% OFF. The shop is looking a bit lean and spare as we make room for the new influx, and I keep having to remind myself that this is the time for sales and that barer-than-usual shelves only mean we can all look forward to the new season's deliciousness!

And now for a most exciting announcement: it's that time of year again! The Blissful will be venturing to Market in Atlanta this Saturday through Tuesday. (The shop will remain open per our Winter Hours, which are Monday-Friday from 10-5 and Saturday from 10-4.) The focus of this particular Market is to complete our ordering for Holiday '08. I know, I know. Most of us are relieved to have packed away our Christmas decorations and are thinking of Spring cleaning, but those of us in Retail Land are already making our holiday lists and checking them twice. 'Tis the nature of the business.

In addition to holiday buying, we'll also be placing some last-minute Spring orders, while concentrating on rounding out our mix for Summer and Fall. Our goal for this Market is primarily to discover new lines. We've listened to you and heard what you've been asking for, what's hard to find, what you always have your eye out for. We've got our eye out for those things, too, and intend to bring the best of what we find back to fill the shop for the coming year. We are always on the lookout for the next great seller and the freshest new find, and never more so than when we're at Market. I'll be keeping copious notes while we're there and will report back in full upon our return with some inside scoop!

One highlight of this trip for me will be meeting my friend Jamie, who is the proprietor of Dahlia's in St. Charles, Missouri. We've brokered a wonderful friendship through e-mail over the past year and will be laying eyes on each other for the first time in person next weekend! It's great to have a "retail sister" to compare notes with and Jamie and I have been this for each other. I can't wait for our little tête-a-tête over chips and salsa!

So please stop in and see us, do some bargain shopping, and enjoy the brighter, lighter colors of Spring, which is just around the corner. A bientôt!