It's Official - 2012 TOBY Public Choice Awards Announced

If you have not received your latest Teddy Bear & Friends issue (December 2012), we will share with you the winners of this year's TOBY (Teddy of the Year) Public Choice Award winners.

The "Best in Show" and in the Large Artist bear, Dressed was "The Benevolent Benjamin" by Bev White.

Our favorite was the winner of the Manufactured "Friend" "Snoopy Flying Ace" EAN 682070 by Steiff Bears.

Miniature Artist Bear
• Pudding – Katherine Hallam
Small Artist Bear, Dressed 
• Oatman – Joanne Livingston

Small Artist Bear, Undressed
• Alpine – Joanne Livingston
Large Artist Bear, Dressed
• The Benevolent Benjamin – Bev White (BEST IN SHOW)
Large Artist Bear, Undressed
• Bruno – Heike Buchner
Artist Set or Vignette
• What Can I Do? – Byunghwa Ahn
Small Artist “Friends”
• Finery and Finesse – Shelly Allison

Large Artist “Friends”
• Azizi – Krista Griffiths
Artist Creation, Nontraditional Materials
• Three Blind Mice – Stevi T.

Manufactured Bear
• Animalcraft Standing Black Bear – Demdaco Plush
Manufactured “Friends”
• Snoopy Flying Ace – Steiff

Congratulations to All!

Quote of the Day - "The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen." - Frank Loyd Wright

Have You Heard of Small Business Saturday?

Created by American Express in 2010, this annual event is held on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, during one of the busiest shopping periods of the year, and encourages holiday shoppers to patronize small, local brick and mortar businesses, as well as small eCommerce businesses. 

Small Business Saturday serves as a counterpart to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which market big-box retail stores and ecommerce stores, respectively.

Beacon's Glow Collectibles participated last year but we do believe that we got the word out to our current customers a bit late.  This year we will try to remind customers of "Small Business Saturday" at an earlier time so that they can participate in this opportunity.

According to American Express, this is the reason that consumers should support small businesses on "Small Business Saturday":

"As a consumer, you are a key part in helping small businesses thrive. By shopping or dining at a small business this November 24th, you’re showing your support for all the small businesses around you. This means you could be helping local entrepreneurs offer more jobs, which in turn invigorate the economy. Last year, over 100 million people came out to shop at independently-owned small businesses on this day. This year, go out and support your favorite small business and search for savings on unique merchandise while experiencing spectacular service – a cornerstone of many small businesses."

Quote of the Day - "Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Lots of New Steiff Bears 2012 Fall Collection Are In

We received in a sizable shipment from Steiff Bears late yesterday and today from their 2012 Fall Collection.  There are many wonderful pieces in this collection to include:  holiday ornaments; several teddy bears, a snow fox, and a deer from Steiff's Enchanted Forest Collection; Christmas teddies, and their long-awaited Molly Replica 1925 Dog EAN 403101. 

Anyway, it is very difficult to decide on a favorite but we are quite pleased that Steiff has introduced several Christmas teddy bears this year:
                    Christmas Teddy Bear by Steiff EAN 035333 

Romy Teddy Bear by Steiff EAN 035371 Holly Teddy Bear by Steiff EAN 035357 Angel Teddy Bear Ornament by Steiff EAN 035319 Fawn by Steiff EAN 036705 Christmas Rose Teddy Bear Ornament by Steiff EAN 035302

And as always, we offer very flexible layaway plans.  What a perfect way to get one of these incredible Steiff pieces before Christmas!

Quote of the Day - "Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending." - Anonymous

New "Deal of the Day" Format

We here at Beacon's Glow Collectibles have decided to change our format for our "Deal of the Day" and have a true Deal of the Day instead of the multiple deals for multiple days as we had previously.  We decided to go with a more recognizable format for our customers.

So, as of today (Monday, October 8) we will be sending out a "Deal of the Day" email to everyone within our customer database.  If you would prefer not to receive these daily emails, please unsubscribe at the bottom of the email.  Just to let you know, we are maintaining two customer email lists - one is for our monthly emails, and the second is specifically for the daily deal.

Thanks to those of you who participated in our poll.  Our results indicated that 80 percent of you wanted to receive an email whenever our "Deal of the Day" changed.  Unfortunately, we were unable to remove the 20 percent of you from our list as we did not have access to that information.  So sorry for any aggravation this might cause.

And thank you for your continued support, and Happy Columbus Day!

Quote of the Day - "He knows the water best who has waded through it." - Danish Proverb

Fun Halloween Stats According to the US Census Bureau

We came across an article all about Halloween and some facts from the US Census Bureau that you might find interesting:

1.  In 2011, it was estimated that the number of trick-or-treaters aged 5 to 14 was 41 million.  (This does not include those trick-or-treaters younger than 5 or older than 14 by the way).
2.  In 2011 it was estimated by the US Census Bureau that that were 115 million housing units in the US (which were all potential stops for trick-or-treaters).
3.  The highest producing pumpkin states were Illinois, California, New York, Pennsylvania and Michigan and the value of all of these pumpkins were estimated at $113 million.
4.  In 2010, there were 1155 manufacturing facilities that produced chocolate and cocoa products. Pennsylvania in the leading chocolate producer with 102 facilities, followed by California with 100 chocolate-producing facilities.
5.  For non-chocolate factories, there were 409 of them in 2010 with California leading the pack with 49 manufacturing facilities.

Our customers here at Beacon's Glow Collectibles have told us that Halloween is their second favorite holiday for displaying theme-specific dolls and teddy bears.  (Christmas is, of course, the first preferred holiday for displaying their holiday collectibles dolls, figurines, and teddy bears. . . )

Quote of the Day - "If you do not hope, you will not find what is beyond your hopes." - St. Clement of Alexandra

Beacon's Glow Collectibles Blog: Holiday Sales Increase Predicted for 2012

Beacon's Glow Collectibles Blog: Holiday Sales Increase Predicted for 2012: According to several sources (National Retail Federation, Shop.org, & Deloitte), holiday sales for 2012 are expected to grow anywhere from 3...

Holiday Sales Increase Predicted for 2012

According to several sources (National Retail Federation, Shop.org, & Deloitte), holiday sales for 2012 are expected to grow anywhere from 3.5% to 4.1%.  Although this is a somewhat modest increase, this is fantastic news for both retailers as well as consumers.  The increase is due in most part to an improvement in consumer confidence.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) states that their 2012 holiday sales forecast is higher than the 10 year average holiday sales increase of 3.5 percent.  (It is interesting to note that actual holiday sales in 2011 grew by 5.6 percent).

Shop.org predicts, for the first time, that online holiday sales will grow 12 percent over the last holiday season in 2011. 

Although both consumers and businesses might stall a bit in their spending prior to the election, it is predicted that retailers might just benefit from a post-election consumer spending boost.

Additionally, it is predicted that retailers will hire between 585,000 and 625,000 seasonal workers this 2012 holiday season.  This number is right about the same as what occured during the 2011 holiday season.

All in all, this is good news for the US.

Quote of the Day - "Insist on yourself.  Never imitate." - Ralph Waldo Emerson