Thank you for critiquing our quarterly HGH Hardware Supply catalog (“Catalog Critique: A Hard Look at a Hardware Cataloger,” January issue). As is the case with anything worthwhile, the reviews were a little painful, but they will certainly be helpful as we continue to grow as a marketer and distributor.

Last year as we celebrated our 40th anniversary, we produced quarterly “retrospective” fliers highlighting the products, colors, trends, and typefaces of each decade of growth. This year we are showing more new products on our cover than ever before. HGH is held in high regard in the cabinet industry for being the first to advertise the latest products, and our “new for 2004” campaign helps drive this point home.

We also are known for our insert media. I was disappointed that there was no mention — good, bad, or ugly — of the insert media/POP piece, which we all thought was pretty snazzy. In each third-quarter catalog was a three- (actually four- ) panel retail vehicle that the cabinetmaker could set on the counter. The piece was devised so that when the limited-time offer expired, it could be reconfigured to keep selling with longer shelf life. The manufacturer brought to us concerns about showing off its latest products without installing displays, and this innovation fit the bill.

I really enjoy putting our catalog together, creating graphics, photos, and text. With the help of your Catalog Critique, I'm better armed to inform our customers. Thanks for this new column, which I'm sure will become a favorite. Here's to a year brimming with new opportunities and challenges.
Chris Walker
marketing specialist, HGH Hardware Supply

We love paging through Wisteria, the self-described catalog of “antiques and decorative items for house and garden.” The many gorgeous gifts and home decor products notwithstanding, one of our favorite things to see is on the order form. Under the contact information for the Dallas-based company, you'll find this message: “If you find yourself steamed for some reason — or really happy about something we've done, there's customer service: 1-800-767-5490. Ask for Marge (happy) or Bruno (steamed). Please. These people are specialists. Make every effort not to request the wrong helper.:)”

We were eager to look through the spring 2004 edition of shoes catalog Simple, from Flagstaff, AZ-based Deckers Outdoor Corp., but we got stuck on the opening spread. The entire spread is used to introduce the women's shoes section with a full-bleed closeup photo of a sneaker lifting off the pavement. The wearer has apparently just stepped in chewing gum, a dilemma highlighted by the cataloger's use of a filter that simulates thermal photography. The artsy effect makes it seem like the pink-soled sneaker is connected to the pavement by a shaft of pale pink light, which is sort of pretty until you realize it's a wad of spent Bazooka. More icky than edgy, if you ask us.

Next time you're perusing the L.L. Bean catalog and you see yet another photo of a buff outdoorsman modeling the men's apparel, take note: He's probably giving you the standard Josh. How do we know that this classic catalog pose has a name? Model Matt Considine recently detailed his experience on a shoot for L.L. Bean's Christmas 2003 catalog for the Las Vegas Mercury, an alternative newsweekly. Considine describes the Josh as “a midthigh-to-head shot of a ruggedly handsome man who's turning his head slightly to the right, as if to greet a ruggedly handsome friend who's just emerged from the timberline carrying some antique snowshoes. Most importantly, the Josh calls for a ruggedly handsome smile that looks as if it could break into hearty laugh at any second.” According to Considine, the Josh is named for model Josh Caldwell, who cultivated the look during his work for the Freeport, ME-based cataloger during the late '70s. Sadly, Caldwell died of AIDS in 1987, but the Josh lives on in L.L. Bean's pages.

If you've had the pleasure of staying at the tony Charles Hotel in Cambridge, MA, this spring, you may have noticed that the front-of-house staff looks particularly natty these days. That's because the hotel is now outfitting its front-desk attendants, bellman, doormen, and concierges in “uniforms” from New York-based preppy-chic apparel marketer J. Crew. The outfits include gray tropical wool pants, navy blazers, and yellow, light blue, and pink cotton haberdashery shirts for the men, and lightweight navy pants or skirt suits for the women. It was not revealed by press time who is designing the uniforms for the chambermaids.