I'm on vacation in North Conway, NH, and aside from trail runs and alpine sliding, I stopped by to visit some of the adorable gift shops in the downtown area. For one thing, I love to shop (surprise, surprise!) and for another, I enjoy being able to hand out our magazines personally (which is a great idea for any entrepreneur… think of vacations as a chance to get out there, visit new shops and show off what you make/sell).

In one shop, I happened to meet the store owner and we ended up having a very interesting conversation about how she chooses vendors. While design was at the top of her list, equally important was the vendors' commitment to keeping their lines out of mass merchandise stores. She said that many vendors she had worked with in the past promise that they won't sell to discount or chain stores, but then end up creating an almost identical line with a different name to sell there, so she drops their line.

I have talked to many vendors who have told me that they need the revenue of the mass merchandiser. But maybe there is a way for them to stay loyal to the independent gift store owner and still make their numbers. If the industry wants to help gift shop owners thrive I believe this process needs to start on the vendor level. What do you think?