Nordstrom To Publish First-Ever Holiday Book
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"I really just wanted to write a story about lovable characters that had a great moral, and once I sat down to do it, the idea and the characters just started to develop," said Schliep.
A copywriter for 25 years, Schliep had been penning short stories since he was 8 but had never written a children's book or a holiday story. The tale was an instant hit.
"We immediately fell in love with it when we read it," said Linda Finn, executive vice president of marketing. "This is the first time we've published a book in connection with the holidays."
The book, titled "Once Upon A Holiday: The Moon Fell Out of the Sky," is a story about a little girl named Sophie who has just moved to a new home on the edge of a snowy forest. It's Christmas Eve and as she drifts off to sleep, she tells the moon her secret Christmas wish. She's asked Santa for one special gift: a new friend. But when she awakens in the night, she discovers an event that could change the course of Christmas. Now it's up to a little girl, an ambitious cow, a wise owl and a luminescent moon to save the holiday. Art from "Once Upon a Holiday" has inspired the theme of this year's holiday decorations at Nordstrom.
"It's amazing how the characters came to life through the illustrations and to see them become larger than life in our store holiday decorations. The artist captured exactly what I was thinking when I wrote it. There's something magical about seeing it all come together," said Schliep.
The book's illustrator, Lisa Evans, is a British freelance artist who specializes in advertising, magazine and children's book illustration. Her creativity took root at an early age when she carved an elaborate doodle into her home's fireplace and was sent to bed without dessert. But it ultimately brought her to Anglia Rushkin University in Cambridge, where she studied Children's Book Illustration. Some of her favorite things include dogs, cats, cake, music and dreaming. She currently lives in Bath, England. "Once Upon a Holiday" is her second children's book.
The whimsical characters from the book will appear in Nordstrom store decorations, catalogs, gift cards, holiday bags and on the company's website www.nordstrom.com. The holiday trim in stores and online will invoke a magical winter woodland theme that matches the book's illustrations with colorful and lively winter birds and friendly forest animals, snow-kissed tree branches, ornate chandeliers, wreaths and candles. Moon, a beloved character from the book, will also be part of the trim.
"This year we wanted to tell a story with our holiday decorations and offer our customers the ability to take the story home to share it with family and friends," said Finn.
Not only has the book inspired the trim, but it has also inspired a slew of gift ideas in Nordstrom stores and at Nordstrom.com. The book itself makes a wonderful gift for children of all ages, will sell for $16.95, and will be available for purchase starting in early November. Nordstrom will also sell music CDs of traditional and modern holiday favorites with case art from the story. In the Kids' department, Nordstrom will have festive and fun holiday pajamas and girls' T-shirts inspired by the book's illustrations. Nordstrom is also selling ornaments featuring beautiful winter birds from the story in the At Home department.
In conjunction with the book, Nordstrom will make a $10,000 donation to Friends of Libraries USA, which provides resources and services across the country to support libraries.
"We're excited to partner with Nordstrom on the launch of their book," said Sally Reed, executive director, Friends of Libraries USA. "This donation will help us grow our Books for Babies program with local libraries across the nation. We know that a child's development gets a huge boost when babies are read to at the earliest age and starts them on the path to success in reading and learning."
Friends of Libraries U.S.A. (FOLUSA) is a national organization with approximately 3,000 friends, group, library, trustee, foundation, and individual members representing hundreds of thousands of library supporters. For more than 25 years FOLUSA has offered training, support, and idea sharing for library supporters around the country. For more information visit www.folusa.org or call 1-800-936-5872.
Nordstrom, Inc. is one of the nation's leading fashion specialty retailers, with 157 U.S. stores located in 27 states. Founded in 1901 as a shoe store in Seattle, today Nordstrom operates 98 full-line stores, 50 Nordstrom Racks, four Faconnable boutiques, two Jeffrey boutiques, one freestanding shoe store and two clearance stores. Nordstrom also operates 37 Faconnable boutiques in Europe. Additionally, Nordstrom serves customers through its online presence at www.nordstrom.com and through its catalogs. Nordstrom, Inc. is publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol JWN.
CONTACT:
Nichole Shell
(206) 373-3036
SOURCE Nordstrom, Inc.
http://www.nordstrom.com