Apr 14, 2009

Honor thy mother

The May 2009 issue of Country Living magazine arrived this past weekend. On the masthead where magazines list staff members, everyone is listed as their mothers’ son or daughter. After all everyone is their own special mother’s son or daughter and the phrasing gave the honor of their “being” to the moms. (Maybe dads will get their turn in the June issue!) The magazine includes photos of some of the staff members with their mothers. What a lovely way to pay tribute to the moms in our lives!

Why not try doing something similar in your shop? Start with your staff. Set up a bulletin board — fabric covered, of course. Ask each staff member to bring in a photo of themselves and a separate photo of their mom. Your staff member’s photo should be labeled “Mary Smith, daughter of Hazel Jones.” Leave the mothers’ photos unlabeled (but numbered), and see if your customers can match up the mothers and daughters! Print out a form for customers to do the matching. Completed forms are entered for a doorprize to be drawn on the Saturday before Mother’s Day. As a prize, maybe you could convince a local tea room to donate a gift certificate for a Mother’s Day lunch for two.

Give everyone who participates a copy of “Make Momma Happy!,” American Quilt Retailer’s FREE-to-use pattern from  Vol. 14, Issue 80 (copies of this issue are still available for $7 each, plus shipping) or another free pattern.

Increase the fun by asking customers to bring in a photo of themselves with their mom. Hang these in a display featuring ideas for Mother’s Day gifts and projects.

Susan, daughter of Nancy Crofoot