How Do You Solve A Problem Like... ModernTribe?

Lately, I've been finding myself singing the Sound of Music song, replacing Maria with ModernTribe.

For the nuns, Maria elicits the same mix of compellingness and utter frustration as ModernTribe does for me. My mind subconsciously melds the two and there I find myself: singing.

As the nuns sing, "She's is a darling. She's demon. She's a lamb." 

"She's a headache. She's an angel. She's a girl."

ModernTribe is my growing, small, exciting, gratifying, flailing, frustrating, thankless business.

After 5 years of struggling in a record-breaking bad economy, yet growing every year, ModernTribe is debt-free, self-sustaining, employing two part-time employees, and even paying me a little. There is no emergency here and there are myriad options for its future.

ModernTribe reaches:

• Jewish American Women ages 25-45
• 40% do not belong to a synagogue
• 200K unique visitors per year making 6500 unique purchases

However, ModernTribe does need to do something. ModernTribe is not yet in the right place, and it has not yet reached its potential.

I'm looking for partners to help us grow big or pivot.

If you get that product can strengthen identity and brands can catalyze community, join me to learn about ModernTribe and explore the options. 

Come learn about the details of our business and discuss options for growth or pivot.

New York City: Sunday, January 27th
New York City: Monday, February 4th
Atlanta: Sunday, February 10th

Please RSVP for time and place.

MODERNTRIBE'S CURRENT MISSION:

Through retail websites and new product development, ModernTribe is making Judaica compelling to the new generation, delighting and exciting those who are creating Jewish homes. ModernTribe is a for-profit company with social missions of (1) providing Jewish products that help people express and share their Jewish identity and (2) providing appealing, effective marketplaces for independent American & Israeli artists and designers.

Where Do I Hang a Mezuzah?

Can you name off the top of your head all the doors in your home that would require Mezuzah cases? Sorry for the pop quiz. The answer is: it's complicated. We'll try to give you a hand, if you're confused, interested, or both.

A general rule to remember is that every room except the bathroom needs a Mezuzah. As always, there are exceptions. The doors of dressing rooms can also do without one. Any completely open room without a door doesn't need one either. And if the room is smaller than 36 square feet, don't bother.

Some unlikely doors qualify for a Mezuzah. Garage doors, sliding glass doors, and french doors are all fair game. Like we said, it's complicated.

Not everybody gets around to hanging Mezuzot -- did you know that the plural of Mezuzah is Mezuzot? -- in their home, but it's a fun tradition, one that blesses the home and teaches kids something about their heritage. If you decide to add Mezuzot to your home, remember that we've got a great selection of Mezuzah cases in our Mezuzah shop. We also sell the Kosher scrolls that go inside. 

Our cases have designs that range in style from classic to modern to fun: we even have a Hello Kitty Mezuzah case. Can't decide on whether you want a traditional or eclectic design for your room? In the end, compromise isn't a bad idea: the slanted position of mezuzot on a door frame is the result of rabbis compromising on whether mezuzot should be aligned vertically or horizontally. If compromise was good enough for them, it should be good enough for us, right?

As always, feel free to contact us if you have any questions, comments, gripes, or good wishes.

New York International Gift Fair Finds - Day 1, 2012

New Stuff Spotted at NYIGF today.

Today I attended New York's Newest and NYIGF. I always love to visit the newbees. I'm looking for fresh products, of course. Often the items are debuted at the show, like the very cool new menorah I found. I also enjoy seeing how first-timers set up their booths. Some get it right and fit it perfectly. Others, not so much. No matter, the vendors are friendly and eager, and lovely to chat with!

DIY SOUVENIR KIT

The designers I enjoyed chatting with most today were from Bottle Brooklyn. Tell me what you think of this: they've created a product called "DIY Souvenir Kit". I love DIY stuff for ModernTribe because, I like to imagine, my community are DIY kind of folks. This product is a glass tube with a piece of blank white canvas inside. The idea is that, instead of buying (or giving) a-little-something-by-which-to-remember, make it. One makes the souvenir by "dirtying up" the canvas.

It's conceptual, maybe too much so for most buyers. My feedback to them was, "you need a video!" They're working on one.

I HEART GUTS

The next line is totally gutsy. It's called I Heart Guts and is a line of plush internal organs. Here's Large Liver and Heart on the Brooklyn Bridge.

It doesn't fit with ModernTribe... but I do like them and think they'd sell well in a fun gift boutique. "Testicle" and "Ovary" may be cute gifts for the right occasion.

I found colored fabric covered electrical cord for my friend Joel Silverman from NUD Collection. Yes, they will sell you only the cord and it comes in over a dozen colors.

FINGERLESS GLOVES
What do you think of these? I've been wanting to offer gloves for a Hanukkah gift and found these today. They are fingerless gloves made of soft cotton, comes in many colors on the inside fold, with black on the outside layer. They are reversible too. They sell for about $24 a pair.

LIPSTICK & MOUSTACHE PERSONALIZED PRINTS
These would make a good addition to our Jewish Wedding Gift collection.