Book Presents
I don't often get snarky, but this interview at The Lipstick Chronicleswas a fun opportunity.
A Tisket, A Tasket, A Book In A Basket
Every booklover should know about La Vie en Rose - a company they creates and sells book gift baskets.
Each basket contains a book plus a music CD, plus a variety of other delectable and sensual gifts. One includes a "Tin of Tea Bags from Republic of Tea, Lemon Madeleine French Cakes, a Sachet of Pink Rosebuds, Cozy Karen Neuberger Slipper Socks, a Clip-on LED Book Light and a Pewter Teapot Bookmark" along with a card that offers special suggestions to compliment the reading experience.
"I hope that the luxury and beauty of the baskets appeal to book lovers and general gift buyers alike. I know for a fact that people have chosen baskets based on the music or tea, and I love that women are reading books they normally wouldn't have selected on their own," said owner/creator Beth Barnes.
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The idea came to Barnes when she was reading Lolita , and listening to Duke Ellington's Such Sweet Thunder, and enjoying a glass of Cabernet and nibbling on some dark chocolate. "It was incredible," she said. "I *felt* the characters more than just reading Nabokov's words. It's still my favorite combination. I wondered if I could do the same with other books. To my delight, it worked. A little while later I "discovered" tea and everything else just fell into place."
La Vie en Rose launched 3 months ago and is selling almost a dozen baskets a week. Between advertising on all the major search engines as well running ads on bookslut.com, she plans to continue to market the baskets. Next on her plan is to reach out to book group websites.
"Choosing books and building baskets is the fun part. I obviously love to
read. I started with some of my favorites - The Great Gatsby by F. Scott
Fitzgerald, Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, The Last Time They Met by Anita Shreve, A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway. I've learned that customers feel more comfortable buying newly-released best-sellers than classics or older books because they fear choosing a book the recipient has already read. It's hard to retire collections that don't do well, because I become so attached."
What are the most popular baskets right now?
Circle of Friends is the most popular basket over all - Barnes thinks it's the title more than anything.
Chocolat and Ya-Yas in Bloom sold out over Mother's Day.
Jonathan Strange is the best-seller for corporate clients.
More of 's baskets are aimed at women than men. "I think reading is important especially for women. It gives them their own space. I love that what I do gives women an opportunity to celebrate each other. While a lot of my customers are men purchasing gifts for a woman in their life, I get the most fulfillment from reading the notes of support and encouragement that a woman will write to her friend or sister or daughter. I'm proud to be building such a wonderful new business with my own mother. I'm proud that I built most of the site with my daughter sleeping on my shoulder as I typed (she is at this very moment)."
"Books have played such a defining role in my life and who I am as a person, and I love that I get to share that on such a large scale. I hope that's kind of what you wanted. I'm open to suggestions and thrive on constructive criticism, " said Barnes.
Should it bother me that as a male reader I'm being ignored by this company? I'll get over it.
Posted by: Kevin Smokler | June 12, 2005 at 11:26 AM