The May Sale

The people closest to me will gently point out that I tell the same stories again and again.  If you’ve heard this one, please forgive me.

I opened the shop in mid-September of 1987, a shop dedicated to Filofax and other loose-leaf, analogue organizers. A month later, the 19^th of October would be called Black Monday, a stock market crash bigger that 1929.  Stock markets around the world lost more than a trillion dollars, most markets lost at least 20% of their value.  It would have been very frightening if I’d been paying attention.  I just kept opening the door every morning;  I had no idea if I was succeeding or failing; I had nothing to compare it to….

One of my favourite sales reps once said to me, “I think this is my fourth, no… fifth recession.”  We wore them like medals, or perhaps battle scars.  

The most recent challenge was the shutdown due to pandemic measures.  Undoubtedly the word of the year for 2020 was ‘unprecedented’. The word in 2021 was, ‘pivot’ and 2022’s word was ‘hybrid’.  And now 2023, with its rebound, inflation, the end of cheap money, and warnings of a recession, the word is…. I’m not sure yet.

Even in hard times, we all need to treat ourselves to small luxuries.  We still work hard, often harder, every day.  The last three years pushed retirement up for some and delayed it for many others. Tiny extravagances make this rollercoaster tolerable, and we all deserve nice things. 

And May is the month of our traditional pre-inventory sale. This year will be a little different. The sale will run Saturday 13 May until Saturday 27 May. We will have promotions on some items and clearance pricing of others, in-store and on-line.  Watch this space for highlights and features!