Christmas in July
A few weeks ago, in the 100 degree weather up and down the East Coast, I decided to celebrate Christmas in July.
Allow me to explain before you think I’ve lost my mind: as a former magazine editor, I can tell you that we work on ridiculous long-lead time. So, we’re planning Halloween in April; New Year’s ideas in August; and Christmas gift ideas in July. So part of my job for JCPenney is to shoot all of our new holiday merchandise in early July to create “lookbooks” that we share with editors now so they can see how beautiful green products can be (and hopefully share these items in their December/January issues of their magazines).
So, here are some of my favorite pics from the Christmas in July shoot with you!
These Simply Green reusable cups and thermoses are products I’m particularly excited about. In addition to the traditional thermoses that come in metal, we also have containers that look just like the disposable containers you get at, say, Starbucks, but are in fact reusable. The iced coffee cups are double-walled, dishwasher safe plastic with a colorful reusable straw. You just fill it up with your favorite iced beverage, tighten the lid on top and sip away. No “sweating” on the sides because of the double-walled design, too. The COOKS brand reusable coffee cups are adorable, aren’t they? Just fill with your favorite hot beverage and tighten on the sippy lid; the integrated silicone sleeve keeps your hands protected and the whole thing is dishwasher safe.
This horse. What can I say about this amazing white horse? He was so friendly and so wanted to be photographed that we ended up using him for the lookbook. The rule with photo shoots is usually “NEVER CHILDREN AND ANIMALS!” but I’ll make an exception for this guy. Here he is posing with our new Simply Green JCpenney reusable holiday tote bags. Naughty or Nice?
And finally, my all-time favorite lamps from the JCPenney Studio line. I love the fact we are one of the first retailers to launch a lighting program that features LED technology in the lamps, AND at affordable prices. These brushed stainless steel lamps feature the high-tech, mercury-free LED lighting in both a table and floor lamp style. They use a fraction of the energy a CFL bulb uses, is made without mercury, and illuminates beautifully in any room with a soft, yellow glow. Love them. AND, in stores now!
So, here’s a sneak peek at Christmas in July for me. We shot more than 30 product images and I can’t share all of them with you (would not be fair to the magazine editors), but I hope this sneak peek is enough to get you to come into JCPenney this Christmas to see what all the eco-fuss is about.
I think you just made up my Christmas list. Every one of those items looks great. And you should totally sell tie wreaths. I would buy one!
I love that you mentioned the straws are reusable and dishwasher safe! Do you know any companies that just sell the straws?
I have a ceramic coffee cup that looks like the ‘take out’ kind you get at coffee houses. The top is white (and goes on the cup just like the plastic ones do), the sleeve is brown (to look like paper). Both come off for easy cleaning. I get comments on it all the time.
Grace, I don’t know if they still do, but Crate and Barrel and Pier 1 both used to sell the straws. I bought some polka dot ones at C & B a couple of summers ago. You might also check Amazon.
Nice pics…I like those lamps.
We have these recyclable cups here in the southern hemisphere! And it is the middle of summer too when we celebrate christmas!
http://www.keepcup.com.au/
Great blog with lots of great ideas too!
i LOVE the wreath tie. you need to do a DIY about it so we all can have a christmas in the summer project!