October: A Tale of Three Trunk Shows

Trunk shows are the heartbeat of Noonday’s business model. I love that instead of a storefront or online-only sales, we do relationship and conversation. We connect to style and impact while we connect with each other. I love that hosting offers women a simple way to expand their impact and their wardrobe while having fun with friends. I provide lots of tips and guidance to make your job as hostess easier! You gather friends and get them excited; I do the rest.

And as you’ll see, trunk shows can look very different for different hostesses - which is what makes this so fun! Just as every hostess is unique, every show is unique. If you’ve ever wondered about what it could look like to host a show, or wanted a peek into my life as an Ambassador, look no further than three of my October shows.

Show #1

Jen’s Sunday In-home Show: A Crowd of Noonday Veterans and Newbies

I met Jen at a vendor event a couple years back, and she has become a huge supporter of Noonday’s artisan partners through my business. She hosted in 2018 and again this October. I love my repeat hostesses - not just because of their ongoing commitment to impact, but also, because it means their experience must have been good the first time around (whew!)! And, it was so sweet to see some of her same friends and family come back to see what’s new at Noonday since their last time at a show.

She invited her friends through Evite, but as I tell every hostess, individual asks are key - and Jen took my advice, which helped fill her living room up. She told me, “My process was just to invite everyone I could possibly think of, from many facets of my life (the worksheet you provided helped me brainstorm). Then I did a lot of individualized follow up in the 2-3 weeks before the show (email, text, in person if interactions permitted). I sent links and noted that the online catalog is a nice way to browse….There is something a little awkward about asking people to come over so they can buy things. I’m still not fully comfortable with it! But I do focus on the fair trade aspect and that helps me feel good about it.”

I’m so thankful that Jen put herself out there in this way - because it matters!!!! Every single woman in that room was thrilled to be there - and may not have ever received this invitation to shop with purpose if it hadn’t been for Jen. And you know what? I can feel awkward about putting myself out there too! But like Jen, I think of the artisans who depend on our consistent orders, and I know I can be brave and make the ask. It’s worth it. Plus, as Jen says, the products “just add a spark of fun to life,” which makes it easier to invite others in!

We did the show at a time that often yields a good turnout: 4pm on a Sunday. She offered a full dinner, though hostesses can do just as well with a simpler spread, like cheese, crackers, and sparkling cider! Jen found that some friends wanted to bring their kids, so she offered that they could come too. We had a nice fall day so they played in the back yard with her own kids and husband, popping in to see their mamas or graze on the food here and there.

A few of the goodies NOonday sent to commemorate my Rock Star status!

When I arrived, Jen had cleared space on her long kitchen peninsula for my display, and her friends arrived and piled into her living room. Some had already been to a show or two with me; others were new to Noonday; some were new to Fair Trade altogether. This is where I light up! Some guests knew I’d traveled to Ecuador since we’d last spoken and wanted to hear more. I asked repeat guests things like how that surgery went, or how the book-writing process is going. Others wanted a crash course on what Fair Trade means and why it matters. Others were asking for specific advice on what pieces to get. I connected and enjoyed great conversations, then asked everyone to put on a piece she loved and gather to hear more. After this “style and story time,” we had plenty of time for women to try things on, ask their friends’ opinions, and make their final decisions on what to get or what date to snag for their own shows.

A few days later, once Jen had gathered any outside orders from interested friends who couldn’t make it to the show, she and I got on the phone to sort out her hostess order - which was a doozie! I love seeing hostesses earn lots of amazing rewards. And it was that much sweeter because her hostess order was the one to put me at over $100,000 in lifetime sales - which means, in Noonday terms, I’m a Rock Star. Hitting Rock Star is a big, highly celebrated thing at Noonday, and it was a joy to share that news with Jen on the phone, since she’s walked this journey with me.

Show #2

Leeanne’s Online Adoption Show - Gathering Friends From Afar

Pictured: my set-up for the live video portion of LeeAnne’s show. Not pictured: the assorted randomness my kids have spread around the rest of the room :-) Online shows are a simple way for me to engage women around the country without being away from home for the evening. All I need is a quiet corner of the house and a good internet connection.

Ever since we launched online trunk shows last year, I’ve had the ability to help non-local hostesses earn rewards and expand their impact. A perfect candidate for this was my friend LeeAnne, who I’ve met online in the ethical shopping space. She’s created an incredible resource with shopping guides for all kinds of industries: her website, Change the World by How You Shop. I highly recommend it! LeeAnne is so passionate about inviting others to shop with purpose, and making it super accessible - which made her a great hostess!

LeeAnne’s friends love our handmade, eco friendly wrapping paper. Click to shop!

LeeAnne knew she wanted to do an adoption fundraiser trunk show, but didn’t know an adopting family to support - so I told her about my friend Barbara. Barbara even contributed a guest post to my blog, which made it simple for LeeAnne’s guests to get to know her sweet family! I was so touched that LeeAnne wanted to support Barbara’s family, even with having never met them, because I could attest to Barbara’s heart.

As with all online shows, I scheduled some posts to go out for a few days leading up to a live video event. This freed me up to focus on engaging guests without being glued to Facebook too much. Women could learn through the week and either tune in live, or catch the replay later. We had some great conversation through the live video, and lots of buzz around the handmade wrapping paper especially! Barbara has even booked her own show, to take place around Black Friday, to again support her own adoption funds.

On the live video, I shared like usual, using the set of simple cue cards that Noonday provides to us Ambassadors. But I chose to elaborate a bit more than normal on the adoption side - how it’s part of Noonday’s DNA, and also, how important it is to also support orphan prevention efforts. In other words, when we support jobs for women, we make it possible for them to keep their families together. This means Noonday is tackling the orphan crisis from two angles - and shopping at an adoption fundraiser brings that story of impact into each guest’s actions as they shop!

It was so fun to see women tuning into the video from Pennsylvania, Michigan, Washington state, and even Hawaii - not a bad turnout considering the time zone differences!

Show #3

Rachel’s Wine Bar Fundraiser - Prison Reform, Near and Far

One amazing part of doing the work I do is gaining connections with awesome local organizations! I met Rachel at her daughter’s trunk show last year, and we’d stayed in touch ever since. She’s heavily involved in MOSES, an inter-faith nonprofit dedicated to criminal justice and prison reform. Wisconsin has some of the worst racial disparity in the nation, including in regards to incarceration. MOSES is working to end solitary confinement, fight against racially inequitable sentencing, increase preventive support for people struggling with substance abuse or mental illness, provide support as people exit prison, and more. I offered to do a fundraiser event to support MOSES, where I would make a donation, and Rachel would donate her free hostess rewards to a MOSES silent auction coming up.

My teammate Jessica and I had a show at Grape Water once too - and her arm party was so cute against the backdrop of their amazing snack wall!

Rachel opted to have her show at a local public spot rather than her home - and I knew just the place. Grape Water Wine Bar is one of my favorite spots to set up. The owner is great, guests can buy their own wine, there’s free popcorn, and the space is bright and fun. Rachel was able to snag some of the cheese and crackers for sale, which the owner arranged into a charcuterie tray - easy peasy!

We did an early-evening show, 6pm on a Tuesday, and Rachel worked hard to share the catalog and gather outside orders from her friends who couldn’t come. Many women who hoped to come couldn’t, which was a bummer - but hostesses like Rachel are key to making sure those women are still in the know and still involved! While we always hope for 15 guests, this just goes to show you can have an amazing impact even with a smaller crowd - and Rachel did, for sure, with well over half of her orders being from women who couldn’t come but shopped online or through the catalog. Thanks to Rachel’s efforts, we’re excited to have a generous donation to MOSES: cash from me, and Noonday product for their upcoming event!

The guests - all other MOSES volunteers - were, of course, a group of women with a huge heart for social justice. I deviated a bit from my usual style and story sharing time, and went into more detail about Noonday’s donation to the African Prisons Project, one of many organizations we support. (You can hear an interview between Noonday’s founder Jessica Honegger, and the founder of APP, here.) While the challenges may look different in east Africa than here in Wisconsin, there is a common thread: incarcerated men and women everywhere deserve justice and dignity. I shared with Rachel’s guests about APP and Noonday’s commitment to giving, but also, how our core business model in and of itself is about impact. Impact isn’t just something we offer a bit of our profit to; it’s baked into everything we do. We had a great conversation about how Fair Trade protects women in the workplace, and how the Rana Plaza Complex drew my attention - and the attention of the fashion industry at large - to the need for major reform. I even shared about our pieces made of artillery, which highlight how something hard and destructive can yield something beautiful and new - something that those fighting for compassionate treatment of incarcerated individuals can get behind.

Gosh, I love seeing women get excited about Noonday’s impact, and see their role in it! Rachel is already planning another event, after seeing how excited her friends were about shopping with a local and global purpose.

What will your show look like?

Have you hosted a Noonday Collection Trunk Show yet? I can’t think of a better way to change the world, have fun with friends, and earn rewards - all at the same time.

Will it be an online-only event? I’m booking a few for the week of Black Friday - when Noonday will have great deals, and your friends will already be primed for online shopping!

Will it be in your home? At a wine bar or other local spot? Maybe a Playdate with a Purpose, a pajama party, a cookie exchange, a variation on your usual book club night?

This time of year, hosting can be especially powerful, as we get in front of your friends with an invitation to use their holiday spending (or gift-requesting!) for good.

Tuesday Dec. 17 is the last day for guaranteed Christmas delivery - so you can host in November or the first half of December. Knock out a chunk of your own shopping list while inviting friends to shop for a better world.

Contact me - or your Ambassador - to find your date!