Frydmania

Gifts that rule the world

However many shopping days to go, and all that.  The weekend papers fill up with more supplements of presents to buy that promise to help you control your kitchen, your bathroom, cats that visit your garden.  Meanwhile, Lakeland continues to attempt to take over the universe…or at least, tries to add to the prospect of taming chaos, all with a nice biscuit to hand.

I have a slightly love-hate relationship with Lakeland (formerly Lakeland Plastics).  I suspect quite a lot of women do.  One of the Times columnists who writes in the T2 supplement during the week confessed her excitement, earlier in the year, at the latest catalogue arriving - and how many of her friends she would then have Lakeland discussions with.  Another friend on Facebook seems to have a fairly similar reaction.

What is it about Lakeland? They are clearly doing something right, yet a bit different, with ever more stores opening up, yet still none in central London, for example.  I should be properly grateful that Edinburgh is considered nice enough to have a store - along with other gentle (or is that genteel?) destinations like Bath, Canterbury and York.  I’m told that the customer service over the phone is second to none, though the ladies who police the Edinburgh store tend to be slightly on the officious side, on the whole.

And this, it seems, is how Lakeland divides - as well as conquers.  As does the list of products.  Because for every item that seems over fussy and controlling, or rather too twee, there are some tremendous ones that find you circling items, or even, bending down the page too, so that the male of the household might find them and respond appropriately.

No to tea bag squeezers.  To washing up gloves with very long sleeves.  To water carafes with matching glasses painted with spring flowers.  But yes to yoghurt makers, silicone baking tins, to sets of stacking bowls that get constant use.  And they are very good at adding new products, so you have to look at the next catalogue…hmmm.

The bit that confuses me more is where kitchen items, cleaning items, are not enough - Lakeland must also be the first thought when you want to buy craft materials, or, now, toiletries, and other items that Boots would probably prefer to monopolise.  I’m not sure what their main age range demographic is for customers, but clearly, they are very sure that their customers want to be clean, tidy, good at thoughtful presents, and at times, creative too.

What interests me is that you’re not being sold just one lifestyle, as you are with a lot of other brands or stores.  But I do think that, ultimately, Lakeland conspires to sell you products to make you feel that some things are working properly in a few key parts of life - perhaps a very female wish, and part of the reason for their success.  

It’s not just men that want new gadgets.  It’s just that they don’t seem to need as many ‘inverted commas’ statements in the advertising copy to encourage them to do so.

Add comment December 8th, 2008

Child magnet

Next door bought a large trampoline earlier in the year.  Perfect child magnet.  (It works quite well as an adult magnet too, but only as long as the adults consent to have their performance critiqued by the kids).  We haven’t yet been asked if we want a go, but as long as we keep making approving noises at our neighbour’s routines on the trampoline, I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before we’re given a shot.

But what happens when the year turns cold, and there’s no time to play out?  You need a few other options up your sleeve.  Many of our readers are familiar with our yellow friend Eric - and for those who aren’t, type in ‘Eric Frydman’ on Facebook and see what you find.  Eric is happy to add child magnet to his list of abilities (as well as conducting, playing charades, and general making us laugh duty).

In fact, such is Eric’s appeal that we had to find additional Erics for our friends in Italy, and Dan’s small cousin on the west coast.  Other friends’ children have wised up to Eric’s importance in the household - when I got in the car to get a lift from the family a month or two back, the first question was ‘Is the yellow thing with you?’  Eric consents to dance, hang upside down, spin round and round, be tied in knots, quite apart from laughing obligingly at each ‘look at this!’

For parties, we have another trick up our sleeves - or in the box we bring out for parties involving small children (that is to say, all parties now, pretty much).  One of my toys from my childhood is a Viewmaster - essentially a way to view pictures in 3D, by inserting a disc of images in the viewer and looking at the overlapped images.  Despite the fact that kids now have lots of access to films and cartoons, this always gets played with and marvelled over by new visitors, particularly when they get the hang of working it themselves.

Tall bloke, child magnet.  Dan discovered on our recent trip to Italy just how tempting it is for kids to have a moving climbing frame that will also tickle you and hold you upside down.  Unless of course three medium sized kids jump on the climbing frame at the same time…and even then, there’s a happy balance between pretending you’re completely outnumbered and actually being so.

Meanwhile, I’m off for my tea - food being a long favoured magnet of most children, and thankfully, adults too.

Add comment December 8th, 2008