Cinn Daz Blog

Our outdoor vending season ended in September. But you can  still shop with us indoors at our house on Madison St SE, Albuquerque.

Better yet, many items are on sale  at up to 50% off. You will  save by shopping where we live.  At home we can offer the best prices around for our style of Tribal Belly Dance & Gothic clothing, jewelry, statues, and banners.

Some sale items (50% off) include: Clothing, staues, magnets, jewelry and more. Many items can be unique gifts for Yule, Christmas, or Hanukkah.

Contact us at505-268-9159 or email us at info@cinnamondazzle.com for an appointment. You can find Cinnamon Dazzle on Mapquest.

We hope to hear from you!

Thanks

Jim Heyser

Cinnamon Dazzle

You can see pictures of us and comments by us by going to www.facebook.com/cinnamondazzle. That’s the page for me, James Heyser. Madeleine has her own page.

Several web gurus suggested that I use ’social networking’ as a means of promoting Cinnamon Dazzle. I am not quite comfortable in mixing my personal and business lives.

For years, Madeleine and I have not done any hard selling to friends. Some of them never buy from us. Others do for a while and then stop. Anyway, it does not matter. If we offer goods you like, please consider buying from Cinnamon Dazzle. Our opinions of you, however, do not depend on how much you purchase.

If you would like to become a Facebook fan of Cinnamon Dazzle, you may add your name. If you prefer your privacy, we understand that too.

One last thought. We will be again going to a Pagan festival in Colorado in early August. We enjoy the vacation and the people there have really supported our business. Thanks! We hope to see many repeat customers and new ones as well.

That’s it for now.

Jim Heyser

It’s been way too long since I last posted to our blog.  Now Madeleine and I are taking a month off from weekend vending and I want to update you on our activities.

We have vended at belly dance, SCA, Pagan, Gypsy and Gay events since February first. On the business side, our sales are down about 10%. Everyone, who asks me about 2009 sales, comments that we are lucky they are only down 10%.

Several people have visited our home-store (which you can locate on Mapquest). It is easier for us to sell from our house, and everyone has paid less there than they would have at our weekend booth.

We have had some web sales, and again for the umpteenth time, we plan to increase our web presence. Finding a suitable promotion company is not easy. We get all sorts of commercial spam from people claiming to do SEO, but they have vague email addresses and no listings of their company’s webpage.  Not a reliable source, I think.

If I had more time, or made more time, I could gradually learn the SEO game using keywords derived from using commercial sources. However, after vending all weekend, I am just too tired to put in the extra hours learning SEO. That’s been my decision, but it may change as I age.

This July I turn 64 and it is getting physically harder to vend at events as much as I would like. Maybe it’s a good time for me to stop, before I get too personal. My life has been good, and early retirement freed me up to do a vending business I love.

I promise to post again soon.

Jim Heyser

Cinnamon Dazzle

www.cinnamondazzle.com

Today is the start of a new era.  Cinnamon Dazzle is a profit making and nonpolitical business, but still Madeleine and I have high hopes for a better future under our new president.

We want to live in and do business in a society where all people truly are equal. We want economic security and access to quality health care. All these goals will take time, but today, at least, we have made a start.

On the business side, we have been ordering new jewelry, banners, sarongs and more. Our first vending event this year is Amaya’s Oriental Potpourri on February 7 & 8. You can visit the vendor area without paying an entrance fee. Attending the belly dance workshops and/or evening show requires a fee.  For more information call 505-281-4492 or email maria@amaya.com.

We hope to see you.  You can also visit the store in our house by calling 505-268-9159 and making an appointment. We also plan to keep adding new merchandise to our website (www.cinnamondazzle.com). Shipping is free within the United States for all purchases $30 or greater.

We hope to see or hear from you soon.

Jim Heyser

Cinnamon Dazzle

Dear Friends,

Let’s hope 2009 is turning point for our economy and country. A majority of the Americans who voted last November made it clear that it was time for a change. Sill, regardless of who is president, our economy is likely to linger in recession for a while.

Cinnamon Dazzle (as with other small businesses) completely depends on the economy. Last year, we saw fewer people making small purchases, but those with stable incomes spent about the same as in earlier years at our booth. It’s a two-tier economic system I think.  Haves and have-nots to put it in simple terms.

We , of course, want everyone to continue spending as before, but we are realistic. Only when the economy improves, will our business likewise improve. In the meantime, we will keep on offering our unique and quality goods at moderate prices. We do not have the overhead of the larger stores located in business districts.

We will continue to expand and keep current our web page (www.cinnamondazzle.com). Shoppers are welcome at our in-house store at 1101 Madison, SE; Albuquerque, NM, but please contact us first at 505-268-9159 or cinnamon@swcp.com for an appointment.

Our next vending event is Amaya’s Oriental Potpourri held on February 7 & 8 at Albuquerque’s South Broadway Cultural Center . We hope to see you there.

Jim Heyser

Cinnamon Dazzle

Dear Folks,

We have decided to join the trend and offer Free Shipping within the Unites States until January 19, 2009.  Our reasoning is simple. Everybody is offering big discounts this holiday season.

Unlike many of the big box chain stores, we plan to be in business next Spring, so there is a limit to the discounts we can offer.

For those of you who stop by our store at 1101 Madison SE, Albuquerque, we offer a 20% discount on purchases $30 or greater. That discount is in addition to the 50% discount off on some of our clothing. Many other items are discounted 10 to 30%.

 This year has been interesting. Our business was good through the outdoor festival season, which ended on September 21.

We don’t do well vending in cold or wet conditions. Imagine that! People do not want sarongs and other light weight clothing when they are freezing.

We will vend at Oriental Potpourri in Albuquerque in February

Let’s all hope that a new year and Federal administration will bring a return to the good times we now miss.

Happy Holidays!

Jim Heyser

Cinnamon Dazzle

Directions to 1101 Madison, SE

Some of our customers report that they have trouble finding our store. This is probably because both Kathryn and Madison Streets start and stop several times. Here is a sure way to get there.

Our house is located four blocks west of the intersection of San Mateo and Kathryn and approx. three blocks east of intersection of Ridgecrest Drive and Kathryn.

For those unfamiliar with this area, we recommend that you proceed to the intersection of Central Ave and San Mateo. Go south on San Mateo past a couple of lights. You will first pass a Wal-Mart Super Center on your right. At the intersection of San Mateo and Kathryn (which has a traffic light and a 7-11 store on your left) turn right (west) on to Kathryn.
You will past Whittier Elementary School on your left and a stop sign. Two blocks past the stop sign is Madison. Turn left (south) on to Madison and park in front of our house. There are also a couple of spaces for parking in our drive. Do not park on Kathryn, because it is a major street in the area and has some fast traffic.

At our house, proceed around to the north (along Kathryn). You will see French doors on the left, which is the entrance to the store.

We hope to see you!

 Dear Friends,

 We are busily planning for our store’s opening on November 15. We have cleaned out a room in our former garage, which now has French doors, a painted floor and central heat.

The display racks and ceiling hooks are set to display our items.  In many ways, the store is similar to our outdoor booth, which many of you have visited over the past four years.

We will continue to offer our goods at reasonable prices. Some items will be 50% off (these include some clothing, jewelry, and gift items for Christmas).

Depending on how many of you visit our store (hours are 10 am to 4 pm from on Saturdays only from Nov 15 through December 20), we will reorder more seasonal merchandise, and possibly expand our hours.

 We know this recession has hurt many of our customers and we have kept this in mind as we plan for the upcoming holiday season.

 As always, let us know what you think. Post to this blog or send private emails to Heyserj@cinnamondazle.com

 Jim Heyser

co-owner

Dear Folks,

After ignoring this blog for a year, we now plan to use it to regularly communicate with our loyal customers and friends.

This fall we will open (on certain weekends) a store in our house. People will be able to stop by on selective Saturdays (dates to be determined) or call to make an appointment.

With this store we hope to serve our loyal repeat customers who have regularly visited our booth for the during the past couple of vending seasons.

We hope to hear fromm you, and we promise to keep this blog active. Our goods will always be unique and reasonably priced.

Sincerely,

Jim Heyser

Co-owner Cinnamon Dazzle

cinnamon@swcp.com

505-2w68-9159

A blog for a small retail store sounds suspicious? Just what are you trying to sell to me?

In reality, we crave your input about us, our products, and how we may better serve you (while hopefully making a modest profit). This blog sells nothing. You should click on the Cinnamon Dazzle online store link (to the right) if you wish to shop.

Your opinions are so important to us that we want to hear them all - good, bad, or indifferent. Since we are small, we can not possibly stock every item in the fantasy, Gypsy, Gothic, Pagan or SCA communities where we vend on weekends. So here is you chance to tell us how improve, or where to go (jumping into a cold lake or worse).

 Hope to hear from you soon.

 Jim & Madeleine,

Owners & 100% of the employees at Cinnamon Dazzle