I am 4 hours into 2020, yes, up at 4 am.  Not necessarily to "work", I get up to put wood in the wood furnace that heats my home, and usually I'm not going back to sleep.  A peaceful time in the morning, so why not look at year end analytics and write a blog?  There aren't even logs trucks barreling up the street, I'm guessing because it's a holiday and the mills are closed.

Moosehead Marketplace's income grew 13.5% last year.  I'm not a "business wizard", but I'm guessing any growth is a good thing.  Our most popular products were the puzzles, North Woods Aerial's calendar, and the town line signs.  We did sell a lot of gift crates at Christmas, and the balsam fir products are always popular.  This would be a good time to toss in a photo for you.  It's Ryan Edmondson from Moosehead Balsam Fir, picking up my Christmas tree a few days ago.  I love that their products are made with upcycled local Christmas trees, I was happy to see mine being used.

As to the sales, I've been thinking about doing the local puzzles for several years, and talked Isaac Crabtree from North Woods Aerial and local artist Milton Christianson into trying them.  Isaac found a company, and his Frozen Kineo sold out immediately!  We ordered more, and the Katahdin one, those both sold out before Christmas.  The Frozen Kineo is reordered, and I'll keep that in stock.  A couple of puzzle buyers didn't like the thickness of the pieces, my family did all of the puzzles and they were okay.  But Isaac is looking around to see if he can get thicker pieces, and still keep them affordable enough to buy.  Milt's puzzles were also very popular, but they came close to Christmas so I still have some left.  My plan is to continue to add more local scenes to our puzzle inventory.  Don't let the photos fool you, Olivia may have put in the last pieces, but those puzzles were hard!  Personally, if I'm going to do a puzzle, I don't want it to be too easy.  

I've been reorganizing, the Christmas rush really was a crazy time!  We got a lot of packages out in those few short weeks.  I have a few items on clearance, and will continue to add items as I organize, so check back again in a few weeks.  I do have a few pairs of mittens left, and the cold will be around for a bit, so you may want to treat yourself, they are sooooo warm!

We will be adding more products this year, I'm always searching out new things.  We also will be adding a new grandchild, Alex is getting a baby sister in March!  That's one of the most fun things about doing Moosehead Marketplace, I'm able to balance it with my family.  Olivia's family has moved to coastal Maine, so now I have three grandchildren living in Maine, one in Minnesota, and two in Florida.  I can't wait to meet new baby girl, and although she'll be in Minnesota too, I'll get there to see her and they visit here a few times a year.  

Thank you everyone for your continued support, there are some of you who have been ordering since we started, and new ones coming on board every day.  We're still giving away a gift crate the first of every month, just sign up for our emails and you'll be automatically entered.  I remember why I first started doing this, to help our local economy in the off season, and this captures it perfectly: