By AARON HINTZ
Eagle Staff Writer
One thing leads to another, so the saying goes, and very often the two results are only vaguely related. The inspiration for a new community event coordinated between local specialty shops had its roots late last year in Mattoon.
Ruth Rankin didn't know what to expect when she visited Macomb. The Mattoon resident and a fellow medical professional were in town for a week to familiarize themselves with an accreditation process at McDonough District Hospital. She spent the week at the Pineapple Inn and occupied her off time by shopping every afternoon at the specialty and antique shops around Macomb. She was so impressed by the variety that she had an idea. Rankin organizes a surprise shopping trip for her church group to a different destination each year and decided Macomb would make the perfect spot for her Christmas shopping extravaganza 2004.
"We decided that if we could find a special enough place, we would actually stay the night and spend two days," said Rankin. "That's why I decided to go ahead and make the trip to Macomb because I knew it was worth it." She brought her group more than 200 miles to The Pineapple Inn and rented the entire house, which she said added to the experience. "It was a blast -we really had a very good time. Charlene at The Pineapple Inn made a really good supper for us, it was like a gigantic grown-up slumber party," said Rankin. "We would not have had that sort of fun in separate hotel rooms; the bed and breakfast aspect made the trip phenomenal. It made Macomb a great destination spot."Rankin said she had such a good experience, she and her group plan on returning in the fall during the local festivals for another go-around. "I think that you're a great destination," she said. "You're close, yet it's not something that everyone will have already done."
That's exactly what the local shops have in
mind for their soon-to-be "Second Saturday" events. Debi's Interior
Decor and Floral was one of the Rankin's regular shopping destinations. Owner
Debi Raymer receives regular visits from groups and individuals from out-of-town,
but the atmosphere around this one moved her to act. She
said she had been trying to organize other specialty shops to coordinate their
efforts in attracting more regional customers. Raymer saw the festive atmosphere
around the Mattoon party and decided creating an event - sponsored by Debi's
and other merchants - and advertising that would be the way to go.
Thus Second Saturday was born. "I've been thinking about this and talking
to people for five years. Sometimes it's hard to get everybody to jive and work
together," said Raymer. "I had talked to other businesses previously
like Nostalgia, the Princess Shoppe and No Place Like Home and we just thought
we would make it a day of shopping in Macomb."
One of the first to sign on was The Princess Shoppe at 1520 E Jackson Street. "Debi has wanted us to participate on some advertising in the past and we just never hit on an idea," said Dennis Moon, part owner of the The Princess Shoppe. "Debi arrived on this idea, everybody thought it would be a good idea and a promotion that we could all take a run at. I'm just glad at the number of businesses that have signed up to participate. The more the merrier."
There are 13 merchants signed on up to this point: Debi's Interior Décor and Floral, The Princess Shoppe; Nostalgia Decorating; The Magic Dragon; Jane's Off Jackson; Bliss; Chelsea's Hallmark; Wood Makers; Classy Closet; Piece to Peace Treasures; No Place Like Home; Attic Upholstery and Decorating and Art City and Gallery. "The more we talked, the more excited we became about the opportunities and the cross marketing - that's the most exciting thing for me. I probably got my money's worth just sitting and talking to the other retailers on how we can all work as a group and really market Macomb," said Raymer. " When the Pella Company announced they were coming here, this is the perfect time to advertise the uniqueness of shopping in Macomb. I have families of students that come from Chicago and say that they have nothing like the shops that we have in Macomb in their area. I thought the other retailers ought to hear that and really capitalize on the uniqueness of our shopping area."
The plan is for each business to create an attraction other than their merchandise, like a cooking demonstration, sample give-away, art exhibit, or anything else the merchant believes would attract prospective customers. "It's exciting to me because it's the first time that the specialty shops have worked together and created an event for Macomb," Raymer explained. "All of the shops involved will have special events. It is something that will kind of make it an event to come to Macomb and shop. I know some of the shops are planning on using some musical groups. We may have a sampling of foods or a demonstration on making bows; Jane's Off Jackson may have cooking demonstrations; the Magic Dragon may have children's activities. Everybody will do something different and each Second Saturday it will be something different."
Moon said he saw the best part of the project as the business unity. "By working together, we bring down the cost for the advertising and makes it more affordable for everyone to participate and that gives us more exposure," he said.
The businesses all contribute to general fund used for advertising and all will hand out bag stuffers to current customers with all the Second Saturday information. Raymer is handing out information and flyers at a home show she is attending and overall there is a tone of progress and change. "Hopefully we can build on this and figure out what works and what doesn't then make it a stronger event as it goes along," said Moon. "It's just like any advertising promotion; it takes some time. It isn't going to happen right out of the box. Until we experience it, we aren't going to know." What is known is that the first day of the event will be the second Saturday in April and it will last approximately six months before they reevaluate. "I don't know if we want to make this a year-round event or we just want to make it (a) late spring summer early fall event," said Moon. " It might be that we want to make this a 12-month-a-year thing. Hopefully it's successful and there will be more businesses that want to participate in it; and if we can get more businesses to participate, then I think it would be easier to expand our advertising area without too much of an increase to everyone who is already participating."
Towards that end, Raymer said she hopes to involve bed and breakfasts, restaurants and anyone else who is interested. "Restaurants are a possibility; there's a lot of opportunity for growth," she said. "We're just getting started. I am so excited and so are most of the retailers that are involved in it. The most exciting part is that we're all working together to promote the shopping in Macomb."
According to Ruth Rankin, Second Saturday has a good chance of success. "Everyone
there was just incredibly friendly and open and warm," said Rankin. "I
just think you have a really special community. I'm sure we'll be back - I'm
quite sure we'll be back."