At-Home Trunk Shows Are Huge Moneymakers. I Attend One To Find Out Why

On a Wednesday evening in April, I find myself in a well-appointed home in Brookline, a wealthy Boston suburb, sipping wine and eating macarons with a dozen oncologists from the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Sitting around a coffee table displaying Asian art and colorful books about design, the women—colleagues from the same medical research group, aged between 40 and 60—aren’t talking about their work. “Oh, you never wear bright colors, but that red looks so good on you,” says one to the other. “I keep buying these pants every season, because they fit so well,” another says. “They are perfect for hiding problem areas on your tummy.” I’ve joined these women for a trunk show run by Cabi, a social shopping brand that operates in the U.S., the U.K., and Canada. It was founded in 2001 by Kimberly Inskeep, a finance executive looking for a flexible career after her kids were born, and Carol Anderson, a fashion designer in need of a new way to market her products. Together with ten of their friends, they launched Carol Anderson by Invitation (hence, Cabi), a line of clothing that they would sell in their homes in a party-like setting. In the brand’s parlance, they were creating “alternative stores.” Over the last 15 years, the company has steadily grown, and its team of 3,500 salespeople around the world generate more than $250 million in revenue a year. The concept of selling directly to your friends has been around since the 1950s Tupperware party. But direct selling... Continue reading at 'Fast Company'

[ Fast Company | 2017-05-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #bottom line

Other Publishing stories related to: 'At-Home Trunk Shows Are Huge Moneymakers. I Attend One To Find Out Why'


Publishing Gets the Reality Show Treatment with 'America’s Next Great Author'

The reality show format offers amateurs and unknowns a chance to display their latent talent and work with mentors to nurture it in a competition charged with tension. Could the format work for writers, too? Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-07-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #great author


Kwame Alexander to present new reality show America’s Next Great Author

Contestants will enter a writers’ retreat and be given 30 days to write a novel while completing ‘live-wire’ challenges Reality TV producers have exhausted singers, dancers, drag artists, potters, tailors, and beautiful young people hoping to find love. Now, it seems, the spotlight has fallen on... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-07-12 11:04:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #kwame alexander #great author #find love #bestselling author


Finding a Place for Disability in Publishing

Too much work, too little money, and career decisions made in response to health care precarity: this is the reality of people with disabilities in book publishing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-07-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book publishing


The ALA Annual Conference Returns with Solid Attendance

The 2022 ALA Annual Conference, the first in-person annual conference since 2019, set a new high-water mark for the return to U.S. in-person events in the book business. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-07-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #high-water mark #in-person events #book business


Register Today for AAPI Communities in Conversation #7, Featuring Marie Myung-Ok Lee, Author of 'Finding My Voice'

Lee is set to appear in conversation with Lynn Nguyen from the Los Angeles Public Library. The live stream is set for Tuesday, July 5th at 1 PM ET. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-06-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #register today #aapi communities #live stream


Families of residents who may have been abused at Winnipeg care home disgusted by allegations

Families of people who live in a privately owned Winnipeg personal care home want to know why two care aides were allowed to work for months after allegations were brought forward that they had abused 15 residents. Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2022-06-22 20:00:25 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #brought forward #privately owned


How mothers can be changemakers, at home and in the community

Angela Garbes thinks the pandemic offers a chance to change our approach to mothering and caregiving. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-06-10 12:00:09 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


2 Literary Novels Find the Poetry in Animal Rescue

A Nobel laureate and a future publisher play major roles in Margarita Engle’s “Singing With Elephants” and Michael Morpurgo’s “The Puffin Keeper.” Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-06-03 04:06:53 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #nobel laureate #margarita engle #michael morpurgo #puffin


U.S. Book Show: Our 2022 PW Editors' Picks Panels and More

Did you miss the U.S. Book Show last week? Watch the Editors' Picks panels, along with the rest of our programming from the second annual U.S. Book Show, from now until the end of August. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-06-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book show #picks panels


Toto Albanese steals the post-election show as News Corp front pages do an about-face | The Weekly Beast

Seven’s Mark Riley catches Covid just in time to miss plane to Quad summit. Plus: the West Australian prints Noongar edition for Reconciliation WeekToto Albanese was the undisputed star of the newspaper front pages on Monday morning after her master Anthony Albanese won the election. The... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-05-27 02:22:51 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #herald sun #sunday morning #ad campaign #news corp


The People Who Show Up for You: A Reading List of Unconventional Families

I grew up with two sets of amicably divorced grandparents. That meant I had three grandmothers—whip-smart, accomplished, fans of flowers and capital-c Culture—and four grandfathers: a Civil War-obsessed lawyer who loved opera and plaid; an intimidating, accomplished doctor with a collection of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-05-26 08:50:43 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


U.S. Book Show: Pondering a Healthy Publishing Industry

Panelists addressing the issue of what a healthy publishing industry looks like concluded that, while the industry is suffering some severe aches and pains, creative remedies could bolster the book business—as long as industry leaders are willing to reimagine old formulas. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-05-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #industry leaders #book show #publishing industry


U.S. Book Show: The Pandemic and Publishing: How Has Covid Changed the Industry for Good?

Industry experts discussed the normalization of working from home, the dearth of in-person networking in the age of Covid-19, new expectations among a younger generation of publishing professionals, and more on the second day of the 2022 U.S. Book Show. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-05-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #publishing professionals #book show #younger generation


U.S. Book Show: Humor, History, and Hope at Adult Authors Chat

Sisters confront racism with humor, a fantasy novelist delves into short stories, a military history expert salutes the civil rights movement, and a movie star's memoir goes behind the scenes. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-05-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book show #short stories #movie star #memoir


Finding Hope When Grief Leaves ‘A Hole in the World’

In her debut book, Amanda Held Opelt reflects on loss, including the death of her sister Rachel Held Evans, and looks at different cultures to argue for why Americans must learn to normalize difficult emotions. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-05-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #finding hope #debut book


U.S. Book Show: Jamie Raskin Headlines a Big Day for Libraries

The Maryland congressman, who has become the face of Washington's efforts to fight nationwide book banning efforts, capped off a day full of discussion on the biggest issues in the library world today. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-05-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book show #big day #biggest issues


U.S. Book Show: Oscar Isaac Enters the World of Comics

The actor and producer spoke with Heidi MacDonald about the graphic novel 'Head Wounds: Sparrow,' out from Legendary in June, which he codeveloped with a team of writers, artists, and friends. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-05-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book show #heidi macdonald #head wounds #graphic novel


U.S. Book Show: How TikTok Is Transforming Book Marketing

Panelists from Atria, Barnes & Noble, BookTok, Penguin, and St. Martin's gathered to discuss how the app is rewriting the rules for selling books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-05-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book show #barnes noble #selling books


U.S. Book Show: Raven Named Bookstore of the Year, Lowe Named Sales Rep of the Year

The Raven Bookstore in Lawrence, Kans., was named 'PW' Bookstore of the Year in a virtual awards ceremony held during the U.S. Book Show. Commission rep Kurtis Lowe of Book Travelers West is 'PW' Sales Rep of the Year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-05-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book show #sales rep #bookstore


U.S. Book Show: NCAC Head Defends Free Speech

The surge in challenges to books is nothing new, says Chris Finan, executive director of the National Coalition Against Censorship. What's new, he argues, is are First Amendment challenges from the left. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-05-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book show #national coalition