Speed Posting from the Housewares Show

Super quick post. Am at the fabulous International Home & Housewares Show in equally fabulous Chicago. Today attended the Specialty Retailer's University; learned so much my brain is exploding (but in the best way possible).

Monday at noon (in the small theatre adjacent to the Specialty Retailer Consulting Sessions near booth #S42) I'll be leading a discussion regarding green business. Officially titled "Keeping Your Bottom Line Green," I'll be covering some of the following:

• How to go green and actually enjoy it
• How to tell the good guys from the “green-washers”
• How to communicate the value of green products to customers
• It all begins with you: setting an example for your customers and employees
• Involving your community for maximum goodwill and customer loyalty

Then, on Tuesday morning (in the Housewares Design Theater, Level 3 Lobby, Lakeside Center, from 9:30 -10:20), I am on a panel sponsored by HomeWorld Business with the topic "The Green Gourmet" Merchandising Green in a Gourmet Housewares Setting." The panel will be moderated by the very knowledgeable Bill McLoughlin. Maria Ornesto Moran of Green Home Experts will also be on the panel.

It's an interesting position to be in. I'm very clear about how I want to do business and how I believe that business should be handled, which is apparent from the model that we are working hard to develop for the Mercantile (everyone making the same hourly wage, profit sharing, financial transparency, selling only ethically produced and environmentally sustainable products, not selling "stuff" just to make money, etc.). But in the world of bigger is better, selling more because one can, sourcing product as cheaply as possible from China - it is challenging and exciting to try to bridge the gap. I'm finding that people are much more interested in what we're doing at DR and at the Milkweed Mercantile now than they were ten or eight or even three years ago. We're riding the green wave, and I'm hoping that our authenticity will shine through.

If you are at the show, please stop by the Specialty Retailer Consulting Session area and ask for me - I'd love to chat!