Fall 2020 - 97

Right: Artisans from Guatemalan (top photo), Armenia
and Peru handcraft timeless offerings, such as Mélange's
Christmas Dresses. Circle 316.
idea is most important: Would I want to receive this as a
gift? Would I be excited to give this as a gift?
GS: What is your best-selling product?
MC: For the past several years, our crochet lambs,
especially the white one, have been our best-selling
product. There are other companies who make knit
toys, but our crochet toys are much more unique. They
are the perfect size and price point for baby gifts.
GS: Did any new products surprise you because
they were more successful, or less successful than you
thought?
MC: The naked Adam and Eve ornaments sell out year
after year and it still surprises me. It's a good reminder
to think outside the box when brainstorming new ideas.
GS: What is the inspiration behind each product?
MC: I want products to make customers smile while
keeping a classic look. The inspiration for new things
usually comes from trying to fill in anything that we
might be missing thematically. For instance, right now,
we don't have a Santa pillow so I was inspired to develop
one for 2021. This was such a fun project - we may end
up having two Santa pillows next year!
GS: How long does it take from concept to design
completion?
MC: About six months. I create new sketches in the
spring and we try to have the new samples perfected by
October so that the new springtime and Easter products
are ready to ship in February.
GS: Do you ever retire products? If so, how do you
know it is time to retire a particular item?
MC: Yes, I retire a few each year. Primarily based on
how well they sold the previous year, but I want to love
and feel excited about everything. If it doesn't scream
adorable to me, I will retire it or rework it.
GS: How often do you create a new line and how long
does that process take?
MC: Not often, I like to stay focused on doing what
we do really well. Last year, we added a line of knit
Easter dresses. They are made with the same cotton on
the same looms so they were very cohesive with the
everything else that we do for Easter. This year, we
added Christmas dresses and sweaters.
GS: Do you offer any limited edition selections, or
customized selections?
MC: Because we are not mass producing, I think of
everything that we do as being limited edition! We do
offer custom products and have done collegiate mascot
ornaments. We just finished a set of custom toys for an
author that match her book characters.
GS: Do you, personally, have a favorite product?
MC: I have favorites for every season! My favorite
of what is new for Holiday 2020 are the knit puppy
ornaments holding stockings in their mouths. These
turned out to have incredible personalities.
GS: What are your future aspirations for your
business?
MC: My biggest goal was to create year-round work
for our knitters by expanding our Easter and Children's
offerings so that there was never any down-time during
the year. We were really close to hitting that goal this
year and I think we will be there by next year.
GS: Do you have any merchandising tips in the wake
of the pandemic for creating an effective in-store
display that may not be as touchable as in the past?
MC: This is hard! I think customers are naturally going
to be more careful about what they touch, but I envision
customers who like shopping in person as being more
tactile. But it makes those in-person conversations and
informational store displays even more important so
that customers can get more details without picking
something up and looking at the tag. I am happy to help
retailers create signage with information and pictures
of our artisans if they would like to display more
information.
GS: Do you have ideas for retailers to create a display
to photograph for online stores, or do you offer retailers
images to use?
MC: We do offer retailers images. Our customers can
use all of our imagery for their website or social media.
We are working to get lifestyle imagery for all of our
products to better support the social media needs of our
customers.
GIFTSHOPMAG.COM 97
http://www.GIFTSHOPMAG.COM
Fall 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Fall 2020
