Wednesday, April 29, 2009

I just want to say thank you....

I just wanted to take a few minutes and thank all of our wonderful customers. :) Particularly those most recently who have had a longer wait time for their orders than we are comfortable with. This is not indicative of how we do business and I hope we (I) have not tainted your view of our company.
Some of you know that my father in law passed away unexpectedly at the end of March. For obvious reasons (funeral plans, etc.) we were away from home for the week following. This week away put me behind schedule and when I returned home I had to play some serious games of *catch up* with orders placed before then, during, and the days and weeks that followed. Our typical turnaround time is 2 weeks - some orders go out in a couple of days, but others have run into some stock issues, etc. In addition to this I was busy getting ready for the Lethbridge Garage Sale (see last post), which thankfully, because I was mainly clearing out some stock, required little additional effort/creating time. Thank heavens for that.

It has been a month since my father in law passed away, and I am just now finally feeling caught up. The only orders still waiting to go out are ones that have been placed in the last week and are just about complete. This is a great feeling - there is nothing worse than feeling overwhelmed and behind, and as though you are disappointing your customers. I am so sorry - seriously sorry.

And thank you so much for being so patient and understanding. Please know how much I appreciate it and how much I want your items and orders to be perfect and timely. I'm back...I'm on it....and I'm better than ever :D

Thanks a million - you're all pretty darn fab :)

Saturday, April 25, 2009

In true garage sale style...

We had a sale!!! Twice a year Lethbridge does a *giant garage sale* which if you ask me, is the most brilliant idea ever. The table costs are low and it's a great way to do a lot of shopping at once and waaaaay more convenient than driving through the city trying to find the best ones, nevermind lugging your kids in and out (and in my case, trying to keep them from playing with every item, toy or not). This was our third time participating and what we know is that few people go to a garage sale looking for full priced items, so we thought we'd join in the *garage sale* feeling and have a huge sale!
It was a great opportunity for us to clear out some stock (thus making room for more new and exciting items) and give you all an even better deal! We had so much fun and it was a huge success

We had a lot of great people purchasing Cute Like Me accessories for their little ones or as gifts; it was so fun to chat with you all and help you find those perfect items!

To keep costs low, making it even easier to offer these great prices, we ditched the bow cards and bow sets and just kept everything really simple.

We LOVE the way it turned out and are so thrilled with the support we received. We will definitely be doing this again! After all, who doesn't love a sale!!!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by our table - we wouldn't be where we are without you!

Stay tuned for another giveaway (next week) and of course our monthly special!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

We want to hear from you....

First - scroll down to see if you are one of the winners from our giveaway! We're still waiting to hear back from 4 of you to know where to send the items...so let us know!!!

Megan found this lovely little site that you can post businesses on for feedback - essentially from strangers. It's really a nice idea and a great way to get some feedback. It's nice to know what people think when they browse our website, in addition to helping promote our site by having them visit it. (You have to visit the site in order to comment).

So, in addition to addressing a few of the comments left, I want to invite all of you to sign up (it takes only a few minutes) and leave a comment with your feedback. There is no way for us to know who you are, so if you want it to be pretty anonymous choose your screen name accordingly :)
http://www.bzzagent.com/frog/FrogHome.do?name=Cute-Like-Me&frogIdent=8821492733

Aside from the positive feedback we've received through here, which we are of course THRILLED about - we want to address some of the less than *ecstatic* comments. Perhaps there are more of you feeling this way.

Leaving items on the website that are out of stock: There is a method to this madness I promise! Although it never occurred to us to be madness - there are a few things we can no longer get which definitely need to be removed. But for the items we are simply *out of* - we leave them on the site for a few reasons: Some customers like to see what others are buying, Some customers want to place an order but realize they prefer an out of stock item better than something currently in stock so they contact us, or perhaps just wait until the item becomes available online again. Some items we have coming in the mail but don't want to update our status until we physically have the items (we've had issues with mailmen adopting our items for themselves, as well as other mail getting lost - well *lost*). And last, but certainly not least - it helps keep us more organized. Keeping a quantity of stock is sooo helpful and lets us know what items we are running low on and which to order next. If we are out of stock of something but have only sold 1 in the past few months, we may hold off for a little while on ordering more in. But we want to keep it on the website because ultimately the item is still available. We have an agreement with our suppliers to allow us to order piece by piece, so we are not always having to do bulk orders! Okay - hopefully that makes sense. :)

Shipping - We were happy to see a few people comment on how the shipping prices were reasonable. We are so relieved to read this - it was such a task to figure out what we wanted shipping to be. We don't believe in paying ridiculous handling fees (if any) but also ran into the problem of the difference in shipping for a bracelet or a set of bows - bows almost always need to be shipped in a box to keep their shape whereas a bracelet can be shipped in a simple envelope. But there really wasn't a way to organize this to accomodate the different scenarios. So we came up with what we felt was the most fair. Hopefully you agree!

It wasn't mentioned in this particular review - but we also want to address why we carry holiday items all year round. We are slowly but surely getting our holiday selections up and running. Hopefully by the end of this year (before Christmas) we'll be ahead of the game and be able to offer you all the fun christmas items BEFORE Christmas. LOL One of the reasons we offer our holiday items all year round is to help you, as the customer, benefit from the free shipping over $100 offer. If you can take advantage of the offer by planning ahead and buying a few things for the upcoming holidays - we want you to be able to do that. Then you are't putting in a few little orders throughout the year (not that we mind at all!) but rather you can put in one larger order and receive free shipping!

It was also mentioned that we have such a small selection for boys. WE KNOW! We are searching high and low for more and more boy items. With both of us having boys, we understand the need for more adorable boy accessories. We are on the hunt, don't you worry...and hopefully we can add more and more items for your boys! The Canvas belts will help with this - at least adding one more item to the list, but still - we are working to add more! If you know of anything that's a *must have* let us know - we love finding new things and are always looking to expand!

A few people commented that our site didn't have anything unique. I guess this really just comes down to where you are from and what you have around you. In some areas, all of these items are already available, so no - our site would not be considered *unique*. However, there are so many areas where these items are not available and having access to them (particularly in Canadian dollars) is really a great thing! The crafting world is really picking up and there are more and more women and moms creating new items - it's a really fun thing for us to be able to offer a *one stop shop* of sorts, where you can find something fun and even unique.

Some of our items are a little on the high end for pricing. It's true - some are. But rest assured the prices of items we bring in from suppliers are the same retail prices they use - so know that we aren't price hiking in any way. We account for the exchange in our prices though - so it will appear to be a bit different, but it's simply the CAD/USD difference. As for the items we make ourselves - we are also not hiking the prices up. Of course every business has the goal of making of profit, and ours is no different....but our whole purpose is to offer these fun and unique items at affordable prices. Not everyone can or wants to pay high end boutique prices - and we didn't want to just cater to those that can and do....We offer high quality boutique items for affordable (not boutique) prices!
And we almost always have a coupon code offering a discount, which also helps! (who doesn't love a coupon code!!)

All in all, we are working hard to bring you the very best and the most reasonable prices! We LOVE what we do and the opportunities this brings us. We have met some incredible and talented people along the way - it's such a great network to be a part of. We love getting your orders and find great satisfaction in hearing how much you love the items!

Thank you for supporting us...and please, if you have any questions - ask away! If you see something we are out of, contact us and we can arrange to have that item brought in for you (at no extra cost!!). Or if you want something that we don't currently carry, please let us know - we LOVE expanding.

Thanks again everyone!!! We wouldn't be here without all of you! Stay tuned for more news and fabulous giveaways!!!

Saturday, April 11, 2009

DID YOU WIN???

This is the best part!! In total, including obviously the comments on here and the orders we've received and their coordinating entry amounts - we had 109 entries in total! WOW! The best part is we don't just have ONE winner...we have SIX!! So let's get started! As always our winners are chosen using the handy little random number generator on our blog - I assign each of you ticket numbers based on the amount of entries you had - and away I go!

The Grand Prize winner is.....(ooo the anticipation...aren't you glad we don't have commercial breaks like American idol....although maybe this rambling is getting equally as annoying...lol)

Hilary (that's all we know about you...so hopefully you recognize your name. LOL) - the great thing about this too is that I completely forgot to mention in the original giveaway post that the onesie prize comes with a set of 4 loop petite bows (you can get matching ribbon to the bow on the onesie if you want) in your choice of ribbon!

And for the 5 runners up, here you are:

1. Change4Africa
2. RubyMoon
3. Jennifer Burton
4. Skye Varty
5. DeAnna Gallardo

Please e-mail us and let us know if you would prefer a ribbon headband or a 6 loop petite bow and of course the ribbon you would like!

CONGRATS TO ALL!!! Keep checking back - more news and giveaways are on their way!!!

HAPPY EASTER TOO!!!

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

GIVEAWAY FOR YOU!!!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!!

Well here we go again!! It's time for another giveaway! We have been holding onto this adorable prize for a few months now so we could include all of you who are expecting a baby between September and December! We think it's the cutest thing and would be so adorable for Christmas photos (sorry to bring up the winter when spring has finally sprung!). This onesie is sized 0-3 months. Perfect if you are expecting or if you know someone who is (or someone who knows someone who is...you get the picture! lol)

To enter:

1. Comment on this post - 1 entry
2. Visit our website and leave a comment here telling us what your favorite item is - 1 entry
3. Become a follower of our blog (if you already are, let us know) - 1 entry
4. Become a follower on twitter (if you already are, let us know) - 1 entry
5. Blog about this giveaway (send us the link) - 3 entries
6. Place an order (if you've placed one since our last giveaway, you will be included) - 5 entries!!!

**Please leave a separate comment for each entry**

In addition to the grand prize winner, 5 - yes FIVE - more of you will be drawn at random to receive your choice of ribbon headband or 6 loop petite bow!

CONTEST CLOSES SATURDAY AT 9PM. GOOD LUCK!!!






Friday, April 3, 2009

Let's Cook!

Okay - I know this has nothing to do with accessories for kids but I wanted to pass along one of my other passions - cooking! I love it...I love being in the kitchen and spend about 80% of my home time in it (I can't say my husband minds! lol). Case in point - I'm not much of a skiier or snowboarder and consider myself more of a *lodge bunny* if I'm being honest. When I think of a day at the hill I picture everyone out snowboarding and me back in the lodge fixing the grub! I love cooking for friends and family and love trying new things. I'm also a big fan of finding recipes that are easy to make and don't have to be stressful. So, I decided to start a cooking blog...I'm blogging all my existing recipes as well as new ones I am trying.

Come check it out...become a follower...and feel free to send in your own recipes (tried or otherwise) so I can add to the *portfolio*!

www.seriouslyscrumptiousbyhailey.blogspot.com

Okay - now I seriously need to get back to my menu planning for the month...I'm in desperate need of groceries and some new recipes!

Thanks for letting me sneak this moment :)

Hailey

Thursday, April 2, 2009

We're Sponsoring a Giveaway...

We've teamed up with Heather Ward Photography to offer you this fabulous giveaway! You can win this Ashley Madison Apron, beaded baby bracelet, and an island flower clippie, as well as a Photoshop actions package for editing your photos (These are the actions that Heather uses).



So check out her blog and leave a comment to enter!!! It doesn't get any better than this!


Giveaway ends Monday night!