Thank You!

As the season comes to a close and a new year approaches, we’d like to share a heartfelt “Thank You!” to our network of retail partners. We are grateful to be celebrating another successful year, and we couldn’t have done it without you.

Thank you for being part of a community of entrepreneurs and business owners bringing quality goods and services to your community. As the hustle and bustle of holidays comes to a close, Wind River® wishes you peace, comfort and joy in a job well done. May you and your loved ones find harmony this holiday season.

service@windriverchimes.com so many of our visitors come from out of our area. As such, we look for items that will be appealing to visitors who are looking for something to remind them of their trip, or to be special to take back to a loved one,” he explained, adding, “These visitors often come by airplane or, if driving, have limited space to take things back, so we aim toward items which are compact and not terribly fragile. For visitors from our area who are less interested in souvenirs, we stock more informational items such as books on gardening and nature in our region.”

Perry said increasing gift sales has a process: “Increasing sales starts at the buying level and ends at the cash wrap. At the beginning of my retail journey my best friend and fellow shop Owner Jana Qualey of Home and Garden Vermont in Burlington, Vt., said, ‘Buy what you love to start, and listen to the people who come to your store this year; they’ll help you fine tune your offerings.’ She was right. As I’ve chit chatted with my customers, I’ve learned we are a kitty-cat town. I double up on all the items with kittens on them!” She added, “Our store is bright and, as our name suggests, cheerful! We tend to attract clients who appreciate beauty and enjoy sharing beauty with their friends.”

Steedman said she is definitely noticing a trend in locally-made items as customers look for pieces which represent a certain area. At the Santa Fe Botanical Garden, “Our visitors are either looking for specific infor- mation about gardening or nature in our region, or items reflecting our botanical garden and/or our area,” Sawyer said.

Perry said her team noticed a big trend with mushrooms this past year. “Our customers did love all the fall mushroom products. Now we are off to sparkle trees and twinkly lights! I’m anticipating a return to color and all things happy for next year,” she said.

When displaying items, get as creative as space allows. Steedman said, “We like to work with color stories. We pride ourselves on our unique and appealing displays. Keep the display easy to shop from but still tastefully arranged. We like to create small vignettes to help our customers envision the items in their own homes.”

Perry carefully curates and arranges the items in her displays to tell a particular story. She explained, “Displays are my favorite! I ask myself these questions as I work through re-merchandising: ‘Can I see each item?’, ‘Can I quickly understand what each item is and its function?’, ‘Can I comfortably reach each item?’ ” Sawyer pointed out, “With our small space in a temporary building which also serves as our admissions and education center, achieving attractive displays is an ongoing challenge. We don't have a lot of space to set up creative displays, so it's important for us to have our items easily accessed and, where appropriate, clearly explained so the shopper can see what makes the item special and desirable.” He noted, “For instance, we carry ceramic mugs designed by New Mexico-based Native Americans and dishtowels made by a company that makes a point of hiring immigrant and underprivileged women. It helps make those items more interesting and attractive to potential purchasers if we explain those details.”

These retailers continue to work through ongoing supply chain issues, but overall, they say getting merchandise has not been as much of an issue as it was last year.

Although they are similar to museum gift shops, Sawyer explained botanical garden shops have a distinctive niche which can sometimes make it difficult to choose merchandise. “Unlike museums, which often have items in their collection that can easily be developed into gifts and souvenirs, botanical gardens have to be more creative in developing or selecting items to offer so visitors have something to take with them that will be a pleasing reminder of their visit.”