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

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No Direction Home: On Ben Lerner’s “The Topeka School”

AN ADOLESCENT NAMED Adam Gordon is the protagonist of Ben Lerner’s new novel, The Topeka School. He shares this name with the narrator of Leaving the Atocha Station, Lerner’s debut novel from 2011. Leaving the Atocha Station was about the quarter-life crisis of a talented misanthrope;... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books

[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2019-10-09 12:30:44 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ben lerner #topeka school #quarter-life crisis #debut novel


PNBA 2019: Strong Sales Make for Upbeat Show

With a good summer and the beginnings of a strong fall, booksellers at this year's Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association annual trade show, were decidedly upbeat. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-10-09 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Wordsworth Trust presents new vision for the poet’s Grasmere home

With a huge landmark for the Romantic poet William Wordsworth next year, a multimillion-pound refurb of his Lake District home is set to open—and it has fresh plans to re-engage with visitors. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-07 13:38:52 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #huge landmark


Where to Find Free Short Stories Online

Whether you're looking to break a reading slump or prefer short form writing, we've got the deets on where you can find free short stories online. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2019-10-07 10:37:57 UTC ]
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TikTok users are surprised to find themselves in ads for the app

Elijah Jay is wants nternet stardom, almost anywhere he can get it, just not as a TikTok salesman. But that’s exactly what he became when the social media company used one of his videos in an ad that ran on Snapchat. Jay's video, in which he performs a balloon-swallowing stunt, has been seen by... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2019-10-07 09:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #e-mail statement #bad form #full-time job #twin brother #digital media


Heartland 2019: A Small but Mighty Show

Heartland Fall Forum, held for the first time in Cleveland, received high marks from both exhibitors and booksellers, who described it as a highly productive gathering of publishers, booksellers, and authors. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-10-07 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Linnea Hartsuyker on Finding Her Characters in Old Norse Folklore

When I spoke with Linnea Hartsuyker back in 2017, her epic saga was just beginning. The first novel opens with her hero, Ragnvald, seeing a vision of a golden wolf who will unite the feuding kingdoms of Norway under one rule. The vision sets the course of Ragnvald’s life, bringing him into the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2019-10-04 08:47:45 UTC ]
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Turning Editorial Franchises into Brand Builders and Moneymakers

Bon Appétit’s "Hot 10" list of the best new restaurants in the country began as a typical magazine feature when it made its debut in BA's September restaurants issue in 2009. The following year, the magazine threw a party to honor and celebrate the restaurants, inviting them to New York to cook... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2019-09-27 19:55:46 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #daily podcast #hotel chain #100th anniversary #selma blair #associate professor #syracuse university #bonnier


Pew Survey Finds More Adults Listening to Audiobooks

In a survey of 1,502 American adults conducted from January 8 to February 7 this year, Pew found that 20% of adults listened to an audiobook in the 12 months prior to the time the survey was conducted. In 2011, only 11% of adults said they listened to an audiobook. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-09-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Huge tour for Nadiya Hussain memoir as Headline unveils 'unmissable' campaign

Headline has announced an “unmissable” campaign for Nadiya Hussain’s first memoir Finding My Voice, including a huge national theatre tour. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-23 13:51:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #nadiya hussain #memoir


Industry Notes: Bologna Tours Rodari Show; Denmark’s UNSILO Signs UK’s Cambridge

The Bologna Children's Book Fair is mounting a new touring exhibition of illustrations, and Danish AI specialists at UNSILO sign Cambridge University Press. The post Industry Notes: Bologna Tours Rodari Show; Denmark’s UNSILO Signs UK’s Cambridge appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-09-23 06:30:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bologna children #book fair #children's book


For Diasporic Writers, Nostalgia is a Powerful Tool For Engaging Home

The summer before my freshman year, a kind family friend gave me a crash course in cultural awakening. She loaded me up with Fuentes, Martí, and Cortázar—all names tethered to any Latin American literature syllabus worth its salt. But it was the works of Gabriel García Márquez that stood out to... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2019-09-20 08:48:41 UTC ]
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The dying author of ‘The Leopard’ finds new life in ‘Lampedusa’

A man’s death and a masterpiece’s birth are the conjoined subjects of Steven Price’s historical novel. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2019-09-19 13:00:00 UTC ]
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‘What’s taking so long?’: children’s books still neglect BAME readers, finds study

Although picture has improved since 2017, research shows that last year only 4% of books for the youngest readers featured a minority ethnic heroIn most children’s books, according to one London primary school pupil, “people are peach”. Another feels there are “no black people” in the stories... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-09-19 11:15:59 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #children aged #black people #main characters #finds study #research shows


Headline Home buys book on 'orgasm gap'

Headline Home has bought a book on the "orgasm gap" from psychosexologist Dr Karen Gurney. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-18 17:04:25 UTC ]
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Slight increase in BAME representation in children's books, CLPE report finds

The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE) has revealed that there has been a slight increase in children's books featuring a BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) character – from 4% in 2017 to 7% last year – with a rise in BAME central protagonists, from 1% to 4% in its second... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-09-18 14:42:56 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #books featuring #slight increase #bame black #annual report


Once again, Tracy Chevalier finds inspiration in an unsung woman from history

Chevalier’s new novel, ‘A Single Thread,’ tells the tale of a woman who embroiders cushions for a grand British cathedral. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2019-09-17 16:00:00 UTC ]
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SIBA 2019: Spartanburg Hosts High Energy Show

The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance Discovery Show in Spartanburg, S.C. this past weekend was one of the best attended in years and offered an enthusiastic kick-off to the fall regional season, and a rousing send-off for outgoing executive director Wanda Jewell. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-09-16 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Hulu's 'Castle Rock' season 2 teaser shows the origins of 'Misery'

Hulu is at last ready to offer a glimpse at Castle Rock's second season, and it's evident this won't be the feel-good hit of the year. A newly posted teaser for the Stephen King-based anthology focuses on the arrival of a younger version of Misery v... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2019-09-15 02:50:00 UTC ]
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Lyra McKee anthology to show 'subtlety and courage' of murdered reporter

Collection of the campaigning journalist’s work will be published next year to mark the anniversary of her killingAn anthology of work by the investigative journalist Lyra McKee, who was fatally shot by New IRA gunmen, will be published next year on the first anniversary of her death, Faber... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2019-09-11 10:16:33 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fatally shot #faber faber #lyra mckee #anthology