December

It has been a busy busy Christmas Season here at Dignity Regained! It has been wonderful and our customers (you!) have been so supportive.

In the beginning of December I had the opportunity to bring some of our products to a meeting held by InterVarsity Staffers in California. I set up a table in the corner of the room at dinner time and they totally stepped up to the plate. They were so generous, lovers of Fair Trade and justice, and it showed. It was such a blessing for me to see that and feel their support.

Then I returned from California back to Illinois and hit the ground running. We teamed up with a Mary Kay consultant and had another House Party here in Morton. Another success. It worked out well because the very next morning we had a holiday sale at Eli's Coffee Shop. We had customers in droves for the first couple of hours. My heart always bursts when I see people excited to learn about what Fair Trade can do for women around the world, and how much they love their beautiful handiwork.

Here are some pictures from the holiday sale.

Thank you to everyone who came out and supported us at these three events, to Rob for inviting me to the IV meeting, to Jamie for hostessing our House Party, to Katie at Eli's for always opening her door to us, and to our online customers. You guys rock! I had so much fun this year packaging up online orders and sending them out.

So this week we are taking a breath, hanging out with out little man, and picking up my sister and her hubs at the airport for a fun and relaxing Christmas week with them.

Merry Christmas everyone!
Tammy

Cyber Monday at Dignity Regained

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! What are you thinking about doing tomorrow? Considering joining the crazy madness that is Black Friday. Who wants to wake up at 3 am and be part of this?

Or....

You could hang out in your PJ's and do this instead...

What? You don't look like that you say? Yeah, me either. And my hubbie wouldn't be caught in a white mock neck shirt either. And I don't sit on the couch like that, I don't think she realizes the back rest is for you're back, not your laptop. I digress...

If you are considering getting your shopping done tomorrow, maybe think about what gifts and stocking stuffers you could buy from a Fair Trade shop first. These days, we have to make our dollar stretch far. But please consider what that dollar is supporting. Fair Trade ensures consumers that the product they buy was made by someone who is making a fair wage and has safe working conditions. It will be even more meaningful to the person you gift it to, because it will certainly make a difference in the lives of the artist that made it.

Here are some of the deals going on at Dignity Regained this coming Monday (Cyber Monday, the online version of Black Friday).

Our most popular item: Indie Orange Shawl 50% OFF **There are only 3 left!**

Vintage Sari Clutches 40% OFF **Only 2 left!**



Cruelty Free Leather Flower Journal 40% OFF



And more! Check us out starting at 12:01 am PST this Monday!

Happenings

I had the opportunity to guest blog about our first Fair Trade House Party HERE.

We had a couple new additions to Indie Edition! I'm loving this new section of our store.

One is a beautiful bracelet from Rachel at Elephantine. *Check out her super cute blog.*

Four great new items from Christine at Eye Pop Art! *Who also has a super fun blog!*

Join me in supporting these great women artists. There is also more Indie Edition in the works!

The H-man and I are headed out Wednesday morning to California for a month to see the fam. Brian will be joining us for two weeks in the middle. We are packing up the store and bringing it along, so remember to check back for a Black Friday sale the day after Thanksgiving. I'll be posting more about that soon.

We've got a giveaway coming up as well, keep your eyes peeled!

Tammy

First House Party

Huge thanks to Cali who hostess-ed our first ever Fair Trade House Party. We had a nice intimate sized group of ladies who came and listened to me talk myself in circles about how much I love Fair Trade. While there was a little shopping involved since I brought a lot of our inventory, the main focus was on just giving the basics of what Fair Trade is, what trafficking is, how the two relate, and how Dignity Regained was started. I'm working on getting our story written down so that we can have a section on our website so our webbie customers (that's you!) can read all about it. It's a pretty cool story so I'm excited to share!

But right now I'm going to sit and work on some orders since the sickie hubbie is in bed, and the baby boy is asleep as well.

Tammy

Starting Fresh

It almost the busy holiday shopping season again, and we are so excited to be up and running again. We are starting fresh with a new website, and a new blog.

Another new and exciting part of our store is called ::Indie Edition:: You can read more about the purpose of this section on our website, but I wanted to tell you that this is something that has been brewing in my mind for a long time now. It is starting small, but we've got a lot in store for the next year.

Speaking of this next year. Our theme of 2010 will be "India On My Heart". We will be introducing some great T-Shirts in a couple of weeks, and will be having some local events related to this theme.

Thanks for supporting Fair Trade (and now Indie)!

Tammy