Do you see what I see?

As you might have guessed, this week is the shop's busiest time of year. We get so many visitors coming through the door, each person looking for something special. Some people who only come around this time of year think we're only a holiday shop! The air is full of glitter, gleeful shouts of children, oohs and ahs from victorious treasure seekers, and the grumbles of those who have run out of holiday spirit.

A big part of keeping one's sanity at this time of year is knowing where to look, and what you're looking for. This is true when looking for holiday gifts, but it's also a good rule to follow in life in general. So when the clouds over Berkeley gave Fourth Street a little sprinkle this afternoon, we stood with our backs to the sun and took this picture to best remember the day.

A Note from our Facilities Manager

It has been observed that there are ups and downs to operating a premises infested by Gnomes. On the down side, the necessary annual fumigations are expensive, and the wretched creatures have been known to chew through over a hundred yards of expensive European ribbon in under a fortnight.
However, especially around this time of the year, one is granted the opportunity to enjoy the more pleasant aspects of having a minor civilization make its home between your walls and amongst your rafters. For instance, when the magical creatures are feeling festive, they become possessed by a certain twisted, manic obsession with decorating each and every corner of the store they can get their crafty little pixies paws on, and with a zeal that can only be described as one-part disturbing to two-parts delightful.
Thus armed with a vaguely Germanic work ethic and about twenty pounds of import glitter, the fey beasties have created quite a breathtaking tableaux of seasonal splendor for us this winter. Do drop by and share in the magic while it lasts. We will be fumigating again come boxing day...

- H. Drosselmeier
Facilities Manager