Berlin Pajama Party brings more than local shoppers out in their PJs
Saturday, Jan. 28 marked the annual inventory reduction sale for Country Craft Cupboard in Berlin. Ladies were in the store between 6-9 a.m. for 40 percent off their purchase across the board, with one catch. Everyone must wear their pajamas.
“The 40 percent off sale started as an inventory reduction, and requirement of wearing your pajamas was just for some winter fun,” said owner of Country Craft Cupboard, Karen Lamp, “We always have the sale in the dead of winter because not a whole lot is going on. It’s something fun for our customers; the ladies end up meeting friends... and come back together for the sale annually.”
Meeting new shoppers is just what many did early on the snowy Saturday morning, as the store was packed, with groups of friends and family.
“It’s a lot of fun. For the past four years, I’ve came with a group of 10 to 12 people and we make weekend out of it. We get here on Friday and leave Sunday. It’s our needle work retreat. You get great deals and plenty of things on sale everywhere,” said Karen Seitz, of Dayton, who came to participate in the PJ party.
Packed from wall to wall, the store was selling fabric and wool like crazy, along with the other many items they had on sale.
“We had a very successful morning; between 6 and 7 o’clock is our crunch time. We have people come in on Friday night and will scout out what they want and be here in the wee hours of the morning on Saturday to get it as soon as we open our doors,” said Lamp.
Lamp and her fellow employees dressed in pajama’s a day early, passing out coffee and doughnuts to people scouting out the sales. Lamp explained that the sale brings a lot of people from out of town to Berlin, so much so that hotels around the area give discounts during the weekend, and many other shops on Main Street participate in the sale, as long as they don’t overshadow the original sale starter.
“When we first began years ago, ladies would come in and shop with us then leave and have nothing to do the rest of the morning; everything was closed. So merchants started opening around the same time, some also requiring customers to wear their pajamas,” explained Lamp.
In past years, the sale was only between the hours of 6 and 7 a.m., but for the sake of crowd control, Lamp had to extend her hours.
“Before we open, there are usually 100 people outside waiting to get in, and then several hundred more come through the doors pretty steadily throughout the remaining hours,” added Lamp.
Many of the hundreds of people that attend the sale come from all over the place, including ladies from all around Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and as far as California.
“My mom and I come every year together from Pittsburgh. It’s some fun quality time together and we get some great deals,” said Barb Tarhi.
Barb’s mother, Carole Tarhi, added, “I do wool work and I get a lot of great discounts this weekend. We come to Berlin a lot throughout the year. We love shopping and wandering around Main Street, and always get good food. We love to eat at Dutch Valley and Boyd and Wurthmann.”
However, the Saturday sale isn’t all about profit for Lamp and her business. Anyone who participates can donate winter clothes, diapers, and many other things that go directly to the Friends and Neighbors of Every Woman’s House in Millersburg, and in return, donators get a coupon for 25 percent off their next purchase at Country Craft Cupboard.
Lamp went on saying, “We also set aside a percentage of our sales this morning to donate to a Cystic Fibrosis foundation. It’s our way of giving back to the community.”
For the customers who missed out on the sale, there’s always next year. Just remember, wear your pajamas and get there early. Who doesn’t love wearing their pajama’s anyway, right?
“The 40 percent off sale started as an inventory reduction, and requirement of wearing your pajamas was just for some winter fun,” said owner of Country Craft Cupboard, Karen Lamp, “We always have the sale in the dead of winter because not a whole lot is going on. It’s something fun for our customers; the ladies end up meeting friends... and come back together for the sale annually.”
Meeting new shoppers is just what many did early on the snowy Saturday morning, as the store was packed, with groups of friends and family.
“It’s a lot of fun. For the past four years, I’ve came with a group of 10 to 12 people and we make weekend out of it. We get here on Friday and leave Sunday. It’s our needle work retreat. You get great deals and plenty of things on sale everywhere,” said Karen Seitz, of Dayton, who came to participate in the PJ party.
Packed from wall to wall, the store was selling fabric and wool like crazy, along with the other many items they had on sale.
“We had a very successful morning; between 6 and 7 o’clock is our crunch time. We have people come in on Friday night and will scout out what they want and be here in the wee hours of the morning on Saturday to get it as soon as we open our doors,” said Lamp.
Lamp and her fellow employees dressed in pajama’s a day early, passing out coffee and doughnuts to people scouting out the sales. Lamp explained that the sale brings a lot of people from out of town to Berlin, so much so that hotels around the area give discounts during the weekend, and many other shops on Main Street participate in the sale, as long as they don’t overshadow the original sale starter.
“When we first began years ago, ladies would come in and shop with us then leave and have nothing to do the rest of the morning; everything was closed. So merchants started opening around the same time, some also requiring customers to wear their pajamas,” explained Lamp.
In past years, the sale was only between the hours of 6 and 7 a.m., but for the sake of crowd control, Lamp had to extend her hours.
“Before we open, there are usually 100 people outside waiting to get in, and then several hundred more come through the doors pretty steadily throughout the remaining hours,” added Lamp.
Many of the hundreds of people that attend the sale come from all over the place, including ladies from all around Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and as far as California.
“My mom and I come every year together from Pittsburgh. It’s some fun quality time together and we get some great deals,” said Barb Tarhi.
Barb’s mother, Carole Tarhi, added, “I do wool work and I get a lot of great discounts this weekend. We come to Berlin a lot throughout the year. We love shopping and wandering around Main Street, and always get good food. We love to eat at Dutch Valley and Boyd and Wurthmann.”
However, the Saturday sale isn’t all about profit for Lamp and her business. Anyone who participates can donate winter clothes, diapers, and many other things that go directly to the Friends and Neighbors of Every Woman’s House in Millersburg, and in return, donators get a coupon for 25 percent off their next purchase at Country Craft Cupboard.
Lamp went on saying, “We also set aside a percentage of our sales this morning to donate to a Cystic Fibrosis foundation. It’s our way of giving back to the community.”
For the customers who missed out on the sale, there’s always next year. Just remember, wear your pajamas and get there early. Who doesn’t love wearing their pajama’s anyway, right?
Published: January 31, 2012
