FIRST TUESDAY

The perfect day is the First Tuesday of every month at the LA Mart! This is the day we choose to go to the Mart to place new orders because this is the day there are sample sales. A "Sample Sale" is when the showrooms have ordered more of an item than they need for displays or when an item is sold out or no longer going to carried. Things are marked down to a percentage off of wholesale, the best being " half of wholesale". What a savings and too much fun! We have very fancy carts we pull because we don't have to order items on Sample Sale, we get to pack them up and take them with us.
Our customers love it when this happens because we can pass the savings on to them.
The Mart is 13 Stories tall in downtown Los Angeles. We start at the top and work our way down, easier that way because we can take the stairs down. It seems going up the stairs just wears us out when we are carrying so many things. Could be old age, but we have been starting at the top and walking down for 12 years now.
Mary and I (Carol) got to go yesterday and came home with lots of Treasures. We should have taken our camera to share our adventure with everyone. Next time this will be the plan.
Mary's husband and my husband thought perhaps Tuesday, May 1st would not be such a good day to go to LA because of the Demonstration that was planned. But they are the silent partners so we went anyway. It is all in the planning. We had to change our route so we wouldn't be on Broadway and Olympic. Easy.
I think not going to LA yesterday was on everyones mind because the traffic on I5 was a breeze and there weren't many other shoppers at the Mart so no competition. This was great, no crowding or getting what we wanted.
Lots of laughs and lots of Treasures. We stopped at Enesco to check on Jim Shore, Heartwood Creek, but we already have it all we decided so no orders were needed. This is one of our biggest lines and we ordered it all in July, now as things arrive at the warehouse they are delivered to us. We store most of the Christmas items by Jim Shore and display them as Christmas gets closer.
Department 56 is next. Then Timeworks for their wonderful clocks.
We are running low on Teddy Bears and we are lucky and find some wonderful stuffed animals on Sample Sale.
I could go on and on (I already did) so if you live close just stop by and share in our finds.
Can't wait till the First Tuesday in June, then the major Gift Show in July.