August 2009

KinderCone Donates to Chicago First Graders

Welcome to our second newsletter! The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity as back-to-school is in full swing. The most satisfying moment was this last Tuesday, when I presented every first grader at Chicago’s Robert Emmet School in the west side’s Austin neighborhood with their very own KinderCone. It felt really good to be able to take a moment from my busy(ness) life to give a little back to the community and remember why I started this business in the first place. 

I hope the KinderCones and the backpacks filled with school supplies that were donated by the Emmet School alumni group, F.O.R.E.S. made their day extra special. It didn’t hurt to get some airtime on ABC News and a few newspaper articles written, but the feel good factor was what really made it worthwhile.

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KinderCones For Everyone! – KinderCone KFE

After receiving great feedback from people who love the idea of KinderCone but have kids who are either a little too old or a little too young, I am very excited to break with tradition and offer “empty” cones that parents can present to their child at any grade! Why not make the first day of every school year special and make it a back-to-school tradition for the whole family? The hand made cones are really sturdy and can be reused year after year. My husband likes to think of it as a stocking on Christmas morning, only it happens to be September (or August for some). So we are now selling KinderCone KFE (KinderCone for Everyone), which is the same cone as our original, but it contains only the pencils, tattoos, and limited-edition certificate. There is plenty of room to add your own personal gifts…a pencil case, calculator, new water bottle, or a gift card to their favorite store. KinderCone KFE is available now at the KinderCone Store just in time for back-to-school!

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KinderCone for Schools Kick-Off

I’ve also just launched our school and classroom fundraising program: KinderCone for Schools! I think it’s a great way to raise some money directly for your child’s classroom without the hassles and paperwork that some school-wide fundraising partnerships require. 

It’s really simple: every classroom receives a coupon code, and for every dollar spent at KinderCone.com using the classroom code, KinderCone will give 25% to the classroom via a gift card that can be used by the teacher at his or her favorite school supply store or other retailer.

It’s a no-brainer: no committees, no minimums, no parent commitments. All a teacher needs to do is register with KinderCone, receive a classroom code, and spread the word to parents, friends and family. It’s not a huge amount of money, but I think 25% of sales is a generous level that can give our teachers some extra tools to improve our children’s classroom experience. Let your favorite teacher know or contact me at: Vivian@KinderCone.com if you have a school/classroom in mind.

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Reviews, Retailers & Events

We had our first product review from Renée Carver from Chicago’s examiner.com - Check it out here. For those who may not know, Renée is a stay-at-home mom of two and a freelance writer specializing in educational products and parenting issues. Thank you for your review, Renée, and for keeping us abreast of great products for our children. We also had some press in the Detroit Free Press – “KinderCone is a worthwhile splurge”, and an article about the Emmett School Event in the Chicago Sun Times-“KinderCones a hit with 1st-graders”.

I have also added retailers to my list of local shops: Glam To Go is a wonderfully chic boutique in Roscoe Village at 2002 W. Roscoe, funky and eco-friendly Fly Right Gifts at 6902 Windsor in Berwyn (check out the KinderCone display in the window), and the lovely Magic Tree Book Store at 141 Oak Park Blvd. in the heart of Oak Park. Congratulations Magic Tree on your 25th Anniversary!

 

This Month’s KinderCone Winners!

KinderCone was super busy at a number of events making small craft cones with the little ones. We did Taste of Lincoln, Retro on Roscoe (at Glam to Go), and the first annual Lincoln Park Arts & Music Festival two weekends ago. Thanks to everyone who came out and supported the Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce despite 90 plus degree heat! We had lots of fun crafting little cones and chatting about the upcoming school year. The lucky winners of KinderCone from these events are: N. Macklin of Glencoe, S. Evans of Chicago, D. Santoci of Pennsylvania and K. Bernhardt of Chicago.

Congratulations and Celebrate School!

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Where’s KinderCone next?

KinderCone’s next stop will be the German-American Fest in Buffalo Grove on Sunday August 23rd at 301 N.Wieland Street at the Schwaben Center. We’ll be crafting mini KinderCones, eating brats, and enjoying one of the last weekends of the summer.  Soon, three of my own girls will return to their school, Bell Elementary School here in Chicago, but we are planning to end the summer with a nice surprise… I’ll be giving a KinderCone to each first grader as my kick-off for KinderCone for Schools. I can’t think of a better way for my business to celebrate our first year and I am looking forward to putting smiles on lots of little faces that day!

So as the first day of school approaches, I hope that you and your family will embrace the idea of making the first day of school a special moment to remember - a moment where we can all pause and be thankful that we had a fun and safe summer, a moment to embrace a new year of enrichment and learning adventures, and a moment to appreciate the children in our lives and their educators. Thanks for reading and have a great first day!

 

Celebrate School!

Sincerely,
Vivian Lie

 

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