Friday, October 27, 2006

Less Than 60 Shopping Days To Christmas...

Hehe, do I have you in a panic yet? I'm in a good panic this year about holiday shopping and decorating already, since my family is heavily involved in Community Theater, and we're all involved in shows this November/December! My daughter and I are going to be in The Sound of Music from mid-November to mid-December. Don't worry...you can expect the same, great Katherine's Cottage customer service and fast shipping during the holidays (Russ, my husband, is the shipping department and I'll still be working hard to bring you all the best in dolls, bears and classic toys this holiday season.

That said..I'm in a panic about holiday shopping. Unfortunately, I don't do a "small Christmas." My whole family gets seriously into decorating, and besides our outside display at home, we do two Christmas trees at the house, plus a North Pole village. Did I mention the six trees at the doll shop, too?? You'd think I'd be sick of it by Christmas day, but I never am. But, this year I DO wonder when I will have the time--ahem, lets just say that there might be some early November decorating this year. As for shopping, I'm not a big-box shopper, so I'll be hitting the smaller stores in my town, plus also online favorites.

If you're one of our online shoppers at Katherine's Cottage then you need to know that we have more dolls than ever. We literally have over 1,000 choices in stock. Which explains why we are (happily) drowning in dolls. We offer nearly all of our dolls online, plus selected bears, gifts, classic toys and more. Its quite the job...but also quite fun, too.

Also, we're inaugurating a fantastic NEW Katherine's Cottage Online Newsletter. If you'd like to sign up, go here: Sign Up For The Katherine's Cottage E-Mail Newsletter.

I'll be checking in and blogging frequently this holiday season. If you're already deep in thought about the upcoming holidays, then a happy (premature) holidays to you, too!

Sunday, April 30, 2006

Welcome To All Our New Online Store and eBay Customers!

I'm not sure exactly why, but Katherine's Cottage online and Katherine's Cottage of Dolls on eBay have really expanded in 2006. Of course, we also continue to get new customers in our bricks and mortar store, but the pace has been greater online. Whatever the reason, thank you!


At Katherine's Cottage, we pride ourselves on personal service. Please always feel free to pick up the phone if you have a question, or if you would rather order by speaking to a real, live person!


As for the new dolls that we've gotten so far in 2006, they are truly spectacular. Tonner Dolls continues to evolve to bring you the best of fashion dolls, and Madame Alexander dolls seem to get cuter and cuter each year. Plus, Marie Osmond Dolls is celebrating their 15th anniversary this year, and the quality and quantity of the dolls from this company is exceptional for 2006. We also can't wait to get our first Himstedt dolls in this year, all dressed for their wedding in Atlantis!


As for special events, look for our annual Adora Make Your Own Baby Doll days, Madame Alexander day, and much more.

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Wow! Its Hard To Believe We Are Nearly A Month Into 2006!

As I sit here surrounded by new doll catalogs showcasing the 2006 dolls, its hard to believe we are already nearly finished with January, 2006! I feel like I just finished wishing all my customers and friends a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I'll be at Toy Fair in early February, finding the best of the dolls, bears and classic toys for my shop. I find that going and seeing the new dolls and toys in person cannot be beat--you get to see the very latest items, and you can see reactions to them as well. It helps me bring the best products to my customers.

However, many companies that I already buy from have already premiered their 2006 lines on the Internet. We already have all the new Tonner Doll items on the web site, www.katherinescottage.com, for viewing and pre-order, and by next week, we'll have the new Madame Alexander dolls as well. After that, look for Lee Middleton and Adora Dolls. We have a harder time obtaining photos from some of our other doll companies, but as soon as we obtain the images we'll make them available, too.

This is a hectic time of year for a doll store owner. Not quite as busy as Christmas, but between trade shows, ordering, customer pre-orders and web site updating, it keeps me (and my staff) pretty busy. However, its also an exciting time for doll collectors, and since I collect dolls myself I enjoy being in the store with customers pouring over the latest catalogs (and manufacturer web sites!) and deciding what to add to my collection!

I'll post some live updates here from Toy Fair this year. I'm looking forward to another great year at Katherine's Cottage and with all my doll collecting friends!