Christmas Eve inspires a variety of feelings in a shopkeeper's heart. It always has for me. On the one hand—as I'd lock-up my shop after a long and exhausting season—I'd feel as though I'd just (gratefully) stepped-out of a wind tunnel. Because I'd usually close later than most of my neighboring merchants, the streets were always dark and unusually quiet as I ambled home for my Christmas Eve dinner. The walk was an annual ritual of decompression and it was always clear that a chapter had just ended.
On the other hand, the Christmas rush brings with it a flurry of excitement: familiar customer faces, happy music and a definite sense of purpose (not to mention lots of sales). There have been times when I've secretly wished that the Christmas season could go-on for ever. Given the choice of a smaller, calmer business or a perpetually-busy store, I'd always choose to ramp-up the organization to handle the sales demand. But I was never given such a choice; after about five weeks, the season came to an end and it was time to get-back to ordinary time. And it was nice to have the time to clean-out the shop's crevices.
The cufflinks above, made in 1930's England, are enameled in ruby red and emerald green—a sophisticated, Art Deco take on the traditional Christmas colors. Please click on the photo above to learn more about them.
LEO Design's Greenwich Village store is now permanently closed. While we contemplate our next shop location, please visit our on-line store which continues to operate (www.LEOdesignNYC.com).
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