A Season of Surprises
We loved putting on the Summer of Surprises events at Short Pump Town Center so much that we decided to bring them back for the holidays. We purchased gift cards from retailers and restaurants at the mall (usually 200 at a time in $10 quantities) and gave them away to shoppers (who maintain social distancing and wore masks, of course) . We gave away gift cards to Pottery Barn, J Crew, and The Boathouse/Casa del Barco. We also partnered with local photographer Kathryn Lee Photography to bring the Snow Globe Santa to the mall and offer free photos with Santa to shoppers and their families. While they waited, we provided free hot cocoa from Frost Gelato.
For our final holiday event, we gave away custom Richmond-themed gift wrapping kits. We partnered with local artist Doug Orleski to create “to/from” labels featuring Richmond landmarks and postcards to send to loved ones that might be far away this year. They also included beautiful dove wrapping paper and red ribbon printed with “with love from Richmond." Thanks to Worth Higgins & Associates and Uptown Color for production! I also got to tap into one of my former student's talents from the VCU Robertson School of Media and Culture. Maria Scott (Conte) is now a freelance graphic designer and she helped us lay out our branded ribbon and gift card holders.

The Blessed Mess, Marco Style, Robey Martin, Real Food with Grattitude, and other local influencers helped us spread the word.

We also partnered with CBS6 Virginia this Morning to create on-air dining and shopping segments.