Where do you see Swirly?

It's that time a year again where we begin planning our Holiday Craft Schedule and figure out where we want to spend our advertising dollars.

With most of these crafts show you need to start planning the next years enrollment right after you finish a show. We never seem to get it together and do this. With the holiday shows so crazy it's really the last thing on our mind! We learned a hard lesson this year when one of our more successful shows' deadline came and went without us knowing. We never received any application from the organizers and now we might not be able to get in this year. We are still waiting for confirmation.

In that light, we'll keep you updated with all our shows in the coming months that we will be attending this holiday season. Which leads us to ask all of our readers, that live in or near the Boston area, if you know of any holiday craft shows you attend that you think we would be a good fit for Swirly Designs please let us know by emailing or posting a comment.

Advertising

During the months leading up to the holidays, all the major magazines put out a holiday issue or a special holiday issue. These are great for inspiration.

We buy lots of magazines all throughout the holiday season, but rarely get to peruse them until the spring. Not only are looking at new trends in colors and themes, but we're also scoping out which publication would be a great place for Swirly to advertise.

Our first taste of national exposure came in November of 2006 when we we're profiled in Yankee Magazine as one of New England's Finest. The response to that little blurb made us really think hard about print advertising.

After that success, we ran our first national ad in Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion Holiday issue. We were very pleased with the response (even though we weren't too happy with the placement of our ad in the magazine).

This year we are going to advertise in the MEHC Oct/Nov issue (to introduce our new Halloween Collection) and the Dec/Jan issue with our holiday collection. We are also considering Romantic Homes, which seems to be a publication our customers enjoy and read.

We would love to hear from you with any magazines or newspapers that you enjoy reading or use as a Christmas/Holdiay shopping guide.

Keep your eyes peeled, you never know where you'll find Swirly Designs!

How quick they grow

I know all of us here in Boston are trying to beat the heat! Boy is it hot here. While trying to stay cool, we've been planning our son Gryffin's 3rd birthday party, slated for this Thursday 6-12...his actual birthday. It's a dinosaur theme this year. We've posted our invite that we made, which showcases Paul's illustration. You can see more of Paul's work here.

It's been such an adventure watching the little guy grow, it's really amazing. Everyday is different and we learn something new.


Stay Cool,
Lianne

Swirly Designs experiences a little R+R in San Diego, CA

Before we plow head on into our holiday ornament production, we were able to take a little time off for a trip to San Diego with the little guy. Here are a few shots of our fun filled vacation.


First time on the plan and he was a trooper and a natural. Sit back relax and chill.

We're here!! The weather is always nice and sunny in SD...of course the first few days was rainy and cool!

Traveling with a child forces you to appreciate and explore everything over again. We were always searching for fun places to see, the like the beaches, amusement parks even the local library!


Here is Gryffin at the world famous San Diego Zoo.
Our favorite attraction by far were those happy-go-lucky hippos!

A brand new attraction just came to SeaWorld in San Diego: Seame Street Bay of Play section. Gryffin was in heaven!!

And what's a visit to CA without hitting the beach-clothes and all.

We had a wonderful time in CA. Not to sure we would ever
move there. As designers, it would be a bit challenging for us thinking of Christmas in 80 degree weather.