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'


16 meaty book series to get you through coronavirus stay-at-home orders

The best series of books in four categories — including highbrow ('Wolf Hall'), L.A. favorites (Easy Rollins) and epic histories (Taylor Branch). Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-04-14 16:00:13 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #wolf hall #book series


Diane Keaton and Ronan Farrow show the challenges of narrating your own audiobook

Some writers make their books sing. Others, not so much. Here are titles to savor — and to avoid. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-04-14 13:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Guppy Books holds competition to find new YA voices

Oxford-based independent publisher Guppy Books is launching a competition to search for new voices in young adult fiction.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-14 12:22:58 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Learning at Home in the Age of Covid-19

While schools are closed nationwide due to the pandemic, educational companies and publishers are rushing to offer digital resources for educators and families. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-10 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #educational companies


Personal Space: Hadley Freeman on Finding Out the Tall Family Tales Were All True

This is Personal Space: The Memoir Show, with Sari Botton. On this episode, Botton talks to Hadley Freeman about her fourth book, House of Glass: The Story and Secrets of a Twentieth-Century Jewish Family, a memoir and family Holocaust history published by Simon & Schuster. Botton and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-09 17:00:34 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #memoir show #sari botton #personal space #hadley freeman #fourth book #simon schuster #memoir


From Harry Potter at Home to the National Shelf Service: bookish fun for the lockdown

An updating list of online treats from bibliophiles including JK Rowling, Simon Armitage and Lynda La Plante to entertain locked-down children and adults • The best arts and entertainment during self-isolationGruffalo artist Axel Scheffler has put out a free new picture book explaining the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-04-09 11:04:32 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #simon armitage #marian keyes #invited readers #cressida cowell #ll continue #british book #big book #book industry #picture book #harry potter


OUP makes education and home learning resources free

Oxford University Press (OUP) has made many of its flagship educational and home learning resources available for free, in order to support teachers, parents and learners affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-08 06:50:42 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #covid-19 pandemic #oxford university press


Survey of Independent Bookstores Shows Coronavirus Toll

We surveyed nearly three dozen bookstores with more than a thousand years of bookselling experience between them to find out how the new coronavirus outbreak has altered the work that they do. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #dozen bookstores #thousand years #coronavirus outbreak


New Launches at Meredith and Penske; Trade Show M&A “Evaporates” | News & Notes

Call it a case of fortuitous timing: as the nation's unemployment rate approaches historic levels and Americans brace for the second major economic downturn in a decade, Meredith Corp. announced this week that it just so happens to have a new personal-finance-focused print and digital magazine... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2020-04-07 17:21:16 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #trade shows #b2b publications #coronavirus impact #eventually return


Finding Permission to Fail in A Confederacy of Dunces

In 1981, A Confederacy of Dunces by the late John Kennedy Toole won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction—a rare honor for a work of humor. That must have been about when my stepmother started reading the book. I was five years old, and didn’t know how to read yet. I also didn’t know the sad […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-07 08:48:16 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #pulitzer prize


DK and Walker unveil 'stay at home' initiatives

DK and Walker have unveiled new initiatives to support families, readers, authors and illustrators during the coronavirus pandemic.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-06 14:35:29 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #coronavirus pandemic


Hive reinstates home delivery service

The bookselling website Hive has reinstated its home delivery service following the re-opening of Gardners.com. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-06 09:35:20 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


New Releases Struggle to Find an Audience

Last week, six new adult fiction titles were among NPD BookScan's top 50 print bestsellers. Three weeks ago, 15 new releases made the top 50 list. The situation was similar for new adult nonfiction titles. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fiction titles


Walker Books and Girlguiding join forces to bring adventures into homes

This week Walker Books launched a family guide to adventure activities 100 Adventures to Have Before You Grow Up, the first children's book by author, adventurer and Girlguiding ambassador Anna McNuff.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-02 13:51:42 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #walker books #children's book


Buddhist Pubs Find New Ways to Cope with Covid-19

Publishers of books on Buddhism are focusing on digital products, compiling reading lists, promoting online author events, and more in response to the global Covid-19 pandemic and rapid changes in the marketplace. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-04-02 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital products


Wizarding World Introduces Harry Potter at Home

Wizarding World of Harry Potter introduces Harry Potter at Home, a new collection of free resources for readers and educators. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-04-01 17:06:24 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #wizarding world #free resources #harry potter


J K Rowling and Wizarding World partners launch Harry Potter at Home

J K Rowling and her Wizarding World partners have announced three new initiatives under the banner Harry Potter At Home, to help children, parents, carers and teachers who are at home during the coronavirus outbreak. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-01 16:21:07 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #coronavirus outbreak #harry potter


‘Lives of Houses’ is a lovely book to savor while you’re stuck at home

This wide-ranging volume celebrates our fascination with the residences of literary figures, artists, composers and politicians Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-04-01 16:03:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #lovely book


J. K. Rowling launches Harry Potter at Home, casting a charm against quarantine boredom

Harry Potter at Home aims to be a new hub for parents and teachers in need of content to keep kids learning and entertained. J. K. Rowling is supplying a welcome dose of magic during the COVID-19 pandemic with Harry Potter at Home.Read Full Story Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2020-04-01 14:20:14 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #covid-19 pandemic #harry potter