Monthly Archives: December 2011

USPS Bail Out

This week, collectively our clients picked up over 1200 holiday cards and over 30 boxes of personal stationery to give as gifts.  So now will you stop asking…”do people still write?”  Here at TT Patton we are doing our share to “bail out” the USPS.  Why?  Because not only do we need this American institution, but also they’re our clients.

As I rushed to finish addressing a thank you note and searched for the appropriate postage stamp, my mail carrier was kind enough to wait an extra minute.  And as you can see he found something in the shop that he enjoys.  Doesn’t he look like a natural using that Lamy Calligraphy pen?

Remember, the next time you think about writing someone a note, you could be saving a job.  And he or she could be a TT Patton client, or even your client.

Business neighbors…wonderful people

Last month I received this handwritten note; hand delivered.  I still can’t decide what I like best, the sentiment or the handwriting.  I just leave it around the shop to share with clients or as just a reminder of my wonderful business neighbors.

If you enjoy friendly sales associates, knowledgeable owners, or just great company, shop local!  I can promise you, my neighbors at Cook and Station Streets are good people to know.  But I am a little biased.

Just thought I’d share this little sentiment…

A $50,000 Christmas Card?

Did you know the movie It’s a Wonderful Life was made from a Christmas card?  In 1943, Philip Van Doren Stern was frustrated with rejection letters from publishers for his book The Greatest Gift.  So, he made 200 pamphlets of the book and sent them out as Christmas cards.  One made it to the producer of RKO studios Charles Koerner who bought the pamphlet for $50,000 and the rights to make it into a movie, It’s a Wonderful Life.


Tom Glazer of the Graphic Image leather company in New York, found an original copy of The Greatest Gift among his father’s possessions.  In just a season as this, he has created a new edition based on the original version in three styles; the original blue, a holiday red and an edition with a lovely red leather cover.

It’s a small book of only 31 pages, but packed with a message of “The Greatest Gift”.  What will your Christmas card say this year?  Will it be sold for $50,000, made into a major motion picture and ranked number twenty in the top 100 movies of all time?  You never know who will see your message, so make it personal and let it be a reflection of you.  Regardless of what you see through your lenses or in the mirror at the moment…you’re still living a wonderful life; the greatest gift; worth much more than $50,000. Continue reading