Father-Husband-Marketer-Geek

Will Enesco Save  Department 56 ?  - Written by Kristin Singhasemanon of the Satin Button After only three months at the helm, it is still early to assess how Enesco’s ownership will impact Department 56 in the long run.  The good news, of course, is that  Dept. 56  was rescued from the struggling  Lenox  before going under altogether.  From a retailer’s perspective, I was happy to hear that Enesco would be the new owner.  Enesco has been a leader in the gift industry for many years.  They have built a solid foundation from which they are rapidly expanding – let’s just hope they’re not expanding  too  rapidly. Department 56 was not the only company to be acquired by Enesco this year.  They have also added giftware lines Charming Tails, Gund®, Boyds®, Our Name is Mud®, Country Artists®, Bob Olszewski’s Gallery of Light™, My Soul’s Window™, and The Potter’s Shed™ by Michael Macone.  Whew!  That is quite a list....

Two different sources reported sales on items from their respective territories: The Satin Button in Roseville, CA is discounting all of their Halloween Village pieces (except HOWL Radio) at 25% off, and any order over $70 gets free shipping. I know it's already past the big post-Halloween rush. There are two Halloween pages, one for Snow Village Halloween & the other for General Halloween . There is also a Specials page which includes all Halloween items, not just Village. Back on the east coast, word is that Moscarillo's Garden Shoppe in Torrington has a sale of retired villages, accessories & snowbabies - Buy one - get one free. They have a good selection of Snow Village houses & accessories. More NP houses than accessories and about the same for Dickens & New England Villages. There is also a limited selection of Snowbabies.

The Satin Button is an online store that was introduced to me by the owner, Kristin Singhasemanon. The store carries Department 56 , Department 56 Krinkles , Department 56 classic brands and other holiday gifts. Her Department 56 sales are located on her specials page. She sent me a detailed description of her store, but I found a personal note on the website itself that evoked a nice summary of the store's intent (copied in full): "As a little girl, the holidays were always filled with charm and enchantment. To my family, the holidays were something to be cherished. Most little girls experience their own form of magic at Christmastime. What was different in our house was that every holiday was magical. On Valentine's Day, our dinner table became the site of a little game of hide-and-seek to find special messages and treats from Mom. Throughout the year, we colored Easter eggs, carved pumpkins and made our own Christmas ornaments. My mother shared her passion for celeb...