This Ambition Crew went to Market…

This past week we were able to revisit a career rite of passage for a lot of people – working retail during the Christmas season. We were invited by A Little Taste of Country (shop online with them here!) to help decorate their location in Calgary’s newest destination market, Granary Road, and to assist with guests for the Market’s VIP event. This was exciting because we’re big fans of A Little Taste of Country (seriously, try the iced honey – or the pickles. Have you had pickled garlic before? The all natural jam is incredible too… Wait, where was I?)   – and also because it’s always great to have the opportunity to meet new people. Spending time on the action-packed floor of their space, observing how Market guests approached their location, the way staff interacted with those guests, and how people spent their time in A Little Taste of Country is always valuable. For us, however, it was also a really incredible honour to be asked to be their brand ambassadors during a VIP event. Local media personalities, politicians and other esteemed guests were all in attendance at Granary Road and we all wanted to put our best foot forward.

Mr and Mrs Claus visiting some of the ladies on the Nice list…

This all brought back many memories of Retail Christmases past – frantic restocking of shelves, long days, huge crowds and puffy jackets.. it’s funny the things you miss sometimes. The thing is though, the Christmas season has never bothered me, no matter what side of the register I’ve been on. I always try to remember that everyone is out with the same intention as everyone else; trying to get that One Thing to make someone’s Christmas morning even brighter (no matter how frazzled and grumpy they may be acting). With that in mind, it’s always been a little easier for me to smile and not stress about the holiday rush.

Our day with A Little Taste of Country was a lot of fun – pulling their Christmas decorations out of storage and even going along to shop for new ones. We heard “Oh wow, is this ever GOOD” from people sampling the Mitchell’s Soup Company (straight out of Duncan, BC!!) Apple Cranberry Crumble and “Ohh… mmmmmmm” from people sampling the McKenzie’s Iced Honey. Visitors were also treated to samples of piping hot soups – Old Fashioned Beef Barley and Mexican Tortilla, both also from Mitchell’s Soup Co. Both of these were absolutely delicious and were met with happy, grateful smiles from all that enjoyed the generous sample bowls. Santa and Mrs Claus even made an appearance, to the joy of all!

Most assuredly on the Naughty List..

It wasn’t all samples and smiles, though – we also got in a good amount of reviewing and planning for the future with Richard and Betty Anne, the founders of A Little Taste of Country. I can never say how exciting it is to work with entrepreneurs that dared to take a chance and build their dreams. A Little Taste of Country has come a long way since they started in 2009, and we are honoured to have been part of this for the last 5 years. We’re excited for everything we will achieve in the future!

No real moral or lesson to this post – simply sharing our experience and gratitude to be working with some wonderful people – and, for the record – 10pm recap sessions with cheeseburgers are absolutely the greatest.

Have a great week, everyone!
 – C

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