My mailbox has been full this holiday season — full of discount coupons and special offers from all of my favorite places to shop. I received a $10-off coupon from LLBean, free panties from Victoria’s Secret, free shipping from J.C. Penny, 30% off from Lee jeans and $25 off of a $75 purchase from Express to name a few. The catch, of course, is that each must be redeemed by a certain date. The obvious reason retailers created these promotions is to incentivize consumers into spending money in their stores or online.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I hold on to many of these “great offers,” sometimes long after they expire, because I always have it in the back of my mind to use the coupon. That is, of course, if they have an item that I am in the market for. This season, I used quite a bit of these offers because I was trying to save money on Christmas shopping. Knowing that I had an offer encouraged me to select a gift from that store. I am assuming many of you are the same.
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The holiday season is upon us and everyone is bustling to finish their Christmas shopping. If the task of buying gifts for corporate friends, colleagues, clients, vendors or co-workers has fallen on your list of things to do before Dec. 25, then you’re in luck! We’ve got some fabulous ideas that are sure to make you or your business a hit this holiday season.
For your co-workers try: (6) 8 cookies from flourpot cookies, (7) The Keep Calm and Carry on tote bag from Decorative Things, (1) personal desktop speakers from the Container Store, (8) these groovy notepads from Rusell and Hazel or (3) the Tazo Gift Set from Starbucks.
For your boss and clients, these gifts are sure to impress: (10) a functional piece of art — the Michael Aram cheese board from Williams and Sonoma, (2) a basket of gourmet goodies appropriately titled the best of Dean and DeLuca, (11) exotic truffles from Vosges Haut at Saks, or (4) delicious chocolate-covered, Christmas-themed strawberries from Shari Bari’s or membership to a wine of the month club courtesy of the Wine Cellar.
Finally, a great gift for anyone philanthropic in your life is a donation in their name to a great cause — two of my favorite charities are (5) St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and (9) Heifer International. Donations can be made on both of their websites and it’s a great Christmas gift for the person that has everything!
Happy holidays and peace to everyone in the new year!
My second Side Stitch comic illustrates the hazards of bad typography. Please be sure to kern all words carefully, lest a giant gorilla be thrown into a destructive design-rage. Modern buildings may be built to weather storms and earthquakes but not to defend against the coupling of 7-ton gorilla fists and poor letter-spacing.
Type is a force to be reckerned with.
-burt
My introduction into the world of BBR Creative started with a bang. Or, more accurately, with a bash. It all began in 2007, back when I worked as a feature writer (though I called myself the features editor) for a local newspaper and entertainment magazine. There, nestled all snugly in the print media’s nurturing arms, I wrote a weekly humor column that resonated strongly with:
1. 20-something slackers and…
2. Moms who usually recognized me at the grocery store
One sleepy afternoon in the newsroom, I figured it might be in my best interest to check my mailbox. Good thing I did, because packed amidst low-fi band demos and event listings for The XXth Annual X Festival, I received a curious invitation to something called the BBR Beer Bash. The invite’s contents included one admittance pass along with a poster designed especially for this particular event. (That poster, for the record, instantly became my most prized cubicle decoration — right next to a lonely plastic Spider-Man figurine usually set up in a compromising pose.)
“You have got to go to this thing,” said my then-editor, one Mrs. Jan Risher. “I know the BBR partners and … just trust me on this one.”
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