Felix’s New Home

Felix the cat has been a feature of our Halloween decor all month. He has carefully stood by as other wonderful Halloween treats made their way to a new home. He carried his buckets with pride to his post each morning, only to find his efforts unrewarded each evening. He saw his friends, Jinx, Buckets, Brenda and her broom, all the eyeball soaps, the spider bracelet crew, the cat on wheels and several of the other magical Halloween members move on to loving homes. What Felix did not know was that I secretly hoped he’d be coming home with me. See, I kind of have a thing for black cats for my Halloween decor. As we closed the door tonight I went to collect Felix. I could hear the sigh in his little stuffed cat body that, yes indeed, he WAS going to a home that would love him each year. He sat in the front seat for the ride home. I didn’t even bother wrapping him. As we approached the mantle, every black cat and Jack-O-Lantern moved a bit to make room for their new friend. Felix was excited to arrive at his new perch, buckets in hand and joining others who have made their way to our mantle from stores in Chicago, New York, Houston and other points along the way. Finally, Felix was able to say, “Happy Halloween” with a little extra emphasis on Happy!

Sneak Peek!

We are just two months away from Christmas, so here is a break from Halloween to get a sneak preview of what we have been up to. Soon the whole store will be adorned with festive holiday decor, but here’s a taste.

“Eye” See Halloween!

It’s just about time to “clean up” and say good-bye to Halloween. But, before we go, here’s a fun way to clean the kids after all that green ghoul make-up is smeared all over their tiny faces…the super fun eyeball soaps.

The Story of James – Our Ghost

James is our, well, resident spirit. I don’t mean spirited customer, I mean real, live (er, not live) resident. As we close in on Halloween and All Saints Day, I thought it was a good time to introduce James.
Our building has gone through many changes in over 100 years. But, there was a point when upstairs a funeral home existed. At one point in the mid 40’s, the story goes, a body was found on the train tracks. In those days few had the kind of identification on them that we have today. Between the driver’s license, credit cards and cell phone, today, you could not only identify the victim, you could tell their life story. But, the poor soul who died along the Columbus railroad tracks had only one identifying item – his belt which had the name “James” tooled across the back. “James” laid in state on the top floor of 1120 Milam for three weeks. All residents were invited and encouraged to come by and see if they could identify him so he could receive a proper burial. Customers have come to the store recited this tale and remembering when their parents went upstairs to see if they knew “his people.” “James” was never identified and was eventually interred in the Columbus Cemetery, leaving a local question never answered.
As the years have gone by various residents of the building have reported strange occurrences. Tables moving, lights flickering, etc. When we first were moving in to the building all sorts of things would fall, move from place to place, or generally ‘feel’ strange. Now, we know it is just “James” letting us know he is still there, keeping us company, approving (and sometimes disapproving) of our decorating decisions, and knowing he has a home – forever with the gang at The Silver Barn.
So, enjoy Halloween, dress like your favorite goblin or ghoul and remember our friend James, he’s the guy looking over your shoulder, subtly helping you select the perfect gift the next time you visit our store.

Halloween, 5 Days & Counting

As the clock ticks down, the merchandise disappears!
Tomorrow…we introduce you to James, our resident ghost…he has his own story to tell…..

Here’s to Halloween

My kind of Town

We are now down to less than a week before we celebrate Halloween and then move on quickly to Thanksgiving and Christmas. For those of us in retail we know a seasonal display is constantly changing. There are the holes to fill, the items that just don’t move from where the sit, and the shear fact we’ve looked at it for a week and are bored! I also find it amazing that as soon as you move something, it gets discovered. So, here’s the one shot of the four darling Halloween village homes together. The neighborhood is shifting! Happy Halloween everyone.

31 Boxes of Goodies Along The Wall, 31 Boxes…

Boxes in

I love getting merchandise, what retailer doesn’t? It’s like Christmas day all over again. You get to see what you thought would work in your store, actually IN your store. Becca, my partner, and I enjoy when UPS and FedEx Ground show up. We don’t, however, like it as much when 30 boxes show up at one time. Where to start, where to start? So, this was our view Friday, the back of the store as we opened box after box. We hope everyone enjoys what we selected and you’ll all see it soon.

Boxes out

The Winning Avatar

Vegas, Shopping

I am the visiting avatar this week on Twitter. Why, you ask? What happened to Wrigley? (The ugly white dog). It’s simply. She’s stupid…I can read. She points to pictures. She loves baths. She rides around with the wind running through her ears. I? I can read. I can shop pet catalogs and help with vital pet product suggestions. I can go to the store and not jump on people, not be disruptive. I am basically, well, perfect. Besides, stupid…er, Wrigley, got to be in a recent blog post. I was left out of the pet shampoo endorsement opportunity. I was busy reading. Remember, reading those catalogs, trying to find new products for the folks to buy. I was working. Wrigley can’t go to the store – she jumps on people; she frightens the UPS driver, Denise. She steals baby toys and mom has to buy them. I go to the store and entertain. I hide under tables so children can stoop down and look eye-to-eye with a friend. (Please don’t pet the kitty, kitty is rather particular as to whom she allows to pet her.) Wrigley is not particular at all; she’d let a cat-hater hug all over her. Geez, as I said, stupid dog.
So, as you celebrate Halloween this week, protect your pets. If you MUST dress them up, please use some level of taste. Do YOU want to be dressed as a giant hot dog? I think not. If you are on Twitter, change your avatar to show a member of your family who loves you (for the most part) unconditionally. Let your pets have their moment in the Twitter sun. You get to hog all the air space the rest of the year.
Enjoy your pets. Enjoy your day.
Vegas, spokes-cat, The Silver Barn

A Swiftly Changing Season

Turkey Table

It may still say Halloween season on the calendar, but in the mind of most retailers it is Christmas. As our Halloween merchandise dwindles with each day ticking toward Oct. 31, it is time to evolve into Thanksgiving…a celebration that, as Rodney Dangerfield would say, “just gets no respect.”
We seem to go from goblins to reindeer barely slowing down for to let Mr. Turkey on board. So, we set the table, invited the fat bird on over, and say, “Welcome friends, this is when we stop and say thanks for you.”

Soups On!

Passion Comes to Silver Barn

A Little Romance?

The melodic sound of a gentle rain could be heard as it fell against the tin roof of the silver barn. Inside the young lovers were ….. looking through all the great stuff we carry! Got you!!
For 60 years Harlequin Romance has been satisfying readers with adventures in romance and passion with such titles as “Your Lonely When You’re Dead,” “Pardon My Body,” and “Where the Wolf Leads.” Now, they celebrate all those years of entertainment with original cover art now featured on address books, matchbook notepads and composition books. We all laughed so much when we saw them at market, and when they arrived today, we laughed all over again. What fun. These will make great holiday gifts, stocking stuffers, bunko party favors, you name it. They retail for $2.95 for Matchbook Notepads, $8.95 for the Journals and $12.95 for the Spiral Notebooks. I may have to get one of those to keep track of my holiday “To Do’s” in an amusing way! Enjoy!