Where's Waldo? Too

We are gearing up for our second annual Where's Waldo? challenge.  Twenty-five (25) businesses throughout Dixon, mostly in Downtown like Salamandra's Mexican Restaurant and Waterfront Gifts, but also including Distinctive Gardens on Lowell Park Road, will participate by hiding a miniature Waldo on their premises for children to find.  We thank you in advance for allowing people to tramp in and out of your establishment and hope these same people will take the time to look around and see what a great place you (and we!) have.  The "challenge" will be throughout the month of July and culminate in a party right here at Books on First on 31 July, with door prizes and real prizes for winners of a drawing of those participants who have found twenty or more Waldo standees.

We also are stocked up with all sorts of Where's Waldo books.  And, the first 100 kids who find and come in with proof (stamped passport) at least 10 of the 25 Waldos will receive a Waldo sticker and $1 coupon good for a Where's Waldo book at Books on First.  How can any kid aged 12 and under miss out on the fun?

How Does It Feel, Part III

I talked with someone involved in Fantasy Diamond/Hampden Corp's e-commerce who is not only young and tech-savvy, but not originally from Chicago.  He says he has no loyalty to local businesses, because he doesn't know them.  He doesn't know the ones from his childhood in Florida, either, if they still exist today, because they were not on his consciousness while growing up.  It is much easier to shop on the web, especially if it's 11:30pm and if he is just researching, not buying, because he believes he could find the answers to his questions online and does not want the pressure from a live salesperson. 

And, when it comes to buying, he still is much more apt to buy the product online, because he does not perceive the value that a bricks-and-mortar retailer may add after he has done the research.  Even a large-box electronics one has the added hassle of driving there, waiting to be served and paying sales tax, if he could get it at the same or better discount online with free shipping and return.  (He does concede the value of paying sales tax, which he says he contributes in other ways.)  He doesn't exactly have loyalty to online retailers, but he knows which ones he can trust and which ones have always delivered what he expected for his time and money.

Smaller indies may be able to survive if they can provide answers to unasked questions, who can add value to off-line research, including touching and feeling the product before one buys.

Buying online sight unseen could be an opportunity especially with a major purchase, like an engagement ring.  Fantasy Diamond's beautiful new line Endless Embrace is sold online.  With a credit card, one can request CZ (cubic zirconia) and metal alloy samples (the credit card charge serves as a deposit, returnable when samples are returned).  Does the fact that they are sold online or the fact that they offer samples threaten small, local independently-owned jewelry stores like Trein's or Venier's in Dixon?  My response, after some thought, is no, because, besides the loyalty factor, there are still people who need to talk with a person face-to-face.  Fantasy Diamond received a call from a jeweler with just such a situation.  She wanted the Endless Embrace product, which she found online, but she wanted to buy it from her local independent jeweler.  If, even getting samples online is a hassle, the answer is our independent jeweler customers having our Live Catalog display, chock full of the best-selling pieces made with CZs and metal alloy.

We brick-and-mortar guys want and need access.  We want to be a choice and to be on the website as a "where to buy" if someone is uncomfortable with PayPal or with giving his credit card number on the site, or need to see before buying. 

We should be part of the deal if a reader receives an electronic book device as a gift, but still wants to give some financial recognition to a bricks-and-mortar especially if he had come into the store to browse or skim through a printed bound hardcopy before committing to buying a download.  (This not a delusion -- booksellers have talked of browsing shoppers whipping out their devices while in the store and then, walking out without a purchase from the bricks-and-mortar).  Perhaps the relationship between booksellers and publishers must change to something closer to the magazine stand model, where for various reasons some people buy the single issue and end up with a subscription when they really like it, or don't buy it, but certainly got a feel for the publication while flipping through and maybe even reading a page or two.  Meanwhile, the seller gets credit for those left unsold after a period of time, or some other compensation for being a showroom or sample shop.  This combined with Lightning Print digital printing might help small guys survive in situations where a big guy is just too big.

BUT, indies have to be open to being accessible. I just looked online to www.endlessembrace.com and see neither independently-owned local Dixon jeweler as a Fantasy Diamond customer.  That could be a lost sale, neighbors.  Check it out!

Second Saturdays Going Strong in Downtown Dixon

Today, 12 June, is another Second Saturday of the month.  Here in Downtown Dixon tonight, we have a Frequent Flyer contest going on.  With a map of downtown venues, visitors are encouraged to flit from one site to another, collecting stamps.  At 8:30pm, at The Crystal Cork, there will be drawings for the beautiful planters sitting right this moment in front of each venue.  These planters were created and donated to Second Saturdays in Downtown Dixon by Distinctive Gardens on Lowell Park Road in Dixon.  This is a great opportunity to join in the fun, check out all the happenings and maybe win a lovely planter filled (really filled) with petunias, coleus, daisies and ageratum.

Speaking of planters by Distinctive Gardens, next when you are standing in front of Trein's Jewelry and about to cross the street to visit Books on First, look up and see our really gorgeous window boxes, filled with sweet potato, petunias, geraniums, and more.

If you're wondering, what's with the petunias?, you should know, of course, that Dixon is the City of Petunias.  During the week before Independence Day, we have our Petunia Festival (29 June - 4 July).  To kick it off, Books on First will host "Tea with the Queen," on Friday, 26 June, with the Petunia Festival Queen, that is.  She will be here with her court to hold two Drawing Rooms, one at 10:30am and one at 11am.  There will be refreshments served, stories read by the Queen and 20% off all children's books and toys! Sign up in-store or send us an e-message (put "Tea with the Queen" in the Subject line and indicate whether you'll be here at 10:30am or 11am).  Space is limited and you don't want to have Brenda biting her nails in despair on not knowing if anyone will show, so please do pay attention and plan to come enjoy a great time with the Petunia Fest Queen.

Don't Despair. Books on First and Downtown Dixon Is Still Here for YOU

When City of Dixon puts that shovel down, it means business.  With last night's rain and the current drainage pipe disruption, the water collected in the basement of Books on First.  I'm a little worried about the stone foundation of our building, but for now, we're still standing.  Even flooded, we are open for business (although not prepared for an audit or decorating for Halloween with storage sitting in 4 inches of water).

Today, Books on First has no sidewalks outside or inside, but we hope photographer Charles ("Chuck") Osgood will not be deterred to come by and say hello, bringing us a few copies of Sidewalks, Volume 2: Reflections on Chicago, his latest published work with Rick Kogan, based on their Sunday Chicago Tribune Magazine regular feature (on the inside cover).

We tried to get them both for a longer visit to Dixon, and still might be able to host Chuck in the near future in conjunction with a show or talk at The Next Picture Show here in Downtown Dixon.

Meanwhile, Downtown Dixon awaits your visit.  There are still great gift ideas all around the neighborhood, from clothing and accessories from Tangibles to unique new and antique items at Waterfront Gifts to wine at Crystal Cork to wonderful cakes & breads at Snow White Bakery to jewelry at Trein's and Venier's to gift certificates at all of them plus Books on First which has a book for every kind of reader, including journals for those who want to write their own, as well as cards for Mother's Day. While the restaurants downtown are not open on Sunday, they are open for lunch and dinner on every other day (plus available for that gift certificate purchase).  Wait, I think I heard that Basil Tree Ristorante, our great neighborhood Italian eatery, is now open on Sundays.  Give them a call!

Looking ahead, Graduation Day is coming quickly on the heels of this weekend and all those great gift ideas which apply to Mother's Day (except maybe the wine) would equally apply to our new graduates.  If wine for the parents of the graduates won't be enough, we also have books on getting the kids out of the house or on the other hand, coping with the empty nest.  CONGRATULATIONS, ALL!

The first Second Saturday

From Sauk Valley News, 24 February 2010
Art lovers unite: Second Saturdays prepares to launch collaboration of art, music, theater
By ILENE HALUSKA ihaluska@svnmail.com
815-284-2224, ext. 526

Local artist Lisa Higby LeFevre talks about "Second Saturdays Art Happenings," a new art and music event that kicks off March 13 at several businesses in downtown Dixon. The monthly collaboration will showcase the town's art, music and theater offerings as visitors trek from venue to venue, organizers say. (Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@svnmail.com)

DIXON – A new event will begin in a month in Dixon to "enliven the downtown and get people out walking to see what's going on in their cultural community."

"Second Saturdays Art Happenings" will showcase the town's art, music and theater offerings as visitors bop from venue to venue, organizers say.

The event will launch next month, on March 13, with activities at five downtown venues, including a hair salon and a church.

"The idea is to get people to get out and walk the streets and check out the galleries" – like a pub crawl, said artist Lisa Higby LeFevre, one of the event's organizers and owner of Distinctive Gardens.

"Traditionally, it's when all of the galleries will be open at the same time, usually once a month, and do different things on that particular night," Higby LeFevre said.

Second Saturdays is designed to get people interested in what's going on with the community's artists and galleries. People who usually are interested only in music can get a taste of the visual arts, and vice versa.

It will increase community pride, and make Dixon a more attractive place to live, organizers say.

Nontraditional venues are part of the attraction. Episcopal Church of St. Luke, for example, will present organ music and will offer its first art exhibit, paintings by the late artist Gordon Utley.

"It's exciting to have a town with an active base of artists," LeFevre said. "There's a tremendous wealth of quality art."

LeFevre suggested an art hop a few years ago, but the arts community wasn't ready for it, she said.

The idea resurfaced when The Crystal Cork Wine Shoppe and The Next Picture Show both had openings the evening of Nov. 6, and she and local photographer Rick Munson noticed how many people bounced back and forth between the two galleries. They got to talking on Facebook, talked with other artists, and the idea caught on, she said.

Each Second Saturday will feature different venues and events, and The Next Picture Show plans to participate in three of them, organizers say.

The first Second Saturday

The first Second Saturday will be held in downtown Dixon from 6 to 8 p.m. March 13.

■ The art trek begins at Crystal Cork Wine Shoppe, 219 W. First St., which will offer its quarterly show, "Dissolution," which is photography by Hope Greene; and an artist's reception for the pastels "Atmosphere" and "Time Passages," by Lisa Higby LeFevre.

■ Acrylic artist John DeLong will showcase his paintings and put on a demonstration at his business, JSalon, 208 W. First St.

■ The next stop is Trein's Jewelry, 201 W. First St., which will feature Czechoslovakian art glass and a guest artist to be announced.

■ Books on First, 202 W. First St., will present music by Maddies Farm from 7 to 9 p.m. Art exhibits are a regular feature at the coffee shop and bookstore.

■ The hop ends at Episcopal Church of St. Luke, 221 W. Third St., where the late Gordon Utley's paintings will be displayed and organ music will be performed.

To learn more

The next art walk is April 10. Groups and artists interested in participating in Second Saturdays can contact Lisa Higby LeFevre, lhlefevre@comcast.net or 815-285-0014, or Theresa Sholders, theresa@essex1.com. or 815-285-3496.

More information also is available at www.Second-Saturdays.com online.

The Weekday Gig

From time to time, someone asks about my "other life." If it is someone from Chicago, he or she would be able to see our website or now my blog or (wonders of wonders) visit Dixon and our bricks & mortar establishment or the "farmette" 12 miles south in Walton, IL.

A little more difficult is explaining my weekday gig to thoughtful people who want to make sure I stay gainfully employed to keep all of the above chugging along. As the operating companies with which I associate are designers, manufacturers and purveyors of fine diamond & gold jewelry and personalized jewelry & watches versus retailers, here are a couple of websites to peruse: www.personalized-jewelry.com [don't forget the dash!] which sells (as suggested) personalized jewelry by Hampden Corporation and www.fantasydiamond.com (an excitingly renovated site hot off the programming board!) which showcases what Fantasy Diamond has to offer. We have a beautiful new line for engagement rings & accessories called Embrace which utilizes our patented touch setting process (namebrand Endless Diamond) to create the stunning look of center stone with diamond melee so popular yet so eternal. Neither of these companies are our wonderful Trein's or Venier's right here in Downtown Dixon, although they can become a retailer. So, just ask your trusted local independent jeweler.

(By the by, just in case you're a Facebook member, you can join Fans of Books on First on Facebook, but as a dovetail off the ebooks vs printed bound books discussion, let us just say: While we appreciate and know that it's a good thing we can provide a place in cyberspace where John in North Carolina(?), Deb in Illinois and others around the country and world can meet up, keep in mind that Books on First at 202 W First St, Dixon, is the best chatroom we know, and we all would still love to see your face and hear your comments in person! Please come in during our 75 open hours/week. Additionally, the "face" of Books on First, Larry, is not a Facebook member, so he can't have a good heated discussion with you nor give you farm fresh eggs over the internet.)