Vermont Shortbread Company

Mother's Day and...National Vermont Shortbread Day

If May wasn't full enough already...wait, there's more! 

If you were with us last year at this time, you'll remember that I pronounced May 16th (my birthday) National Vermont Shortbread Day.  Last year I hand delivered shortbread to lucky buyers all over Chittenden County (in the pouring rain, but hey, it was my 45th birthday and I was stoked!). 

This year, it's my 46th birthday and we're celebrating again.  Due to the rising price of gas and my environmental conscience, I cannot personally deliver this year.  However...all shortbread gift boxes shipped between May 12- May 16 will come with a free shortie (flavor of your choice as available).  That's an extra $3 gift from me to you as a thank you for nearly 12 years in business and 46 (and counting) years of experience, joy, trials, tribulations and just the smallest touch of arthritis (which of course, just makes me appreciate my good health and good fortune all the more).

Like middle age, Vermont Shortbread Company just keeps getting better!  Celebrate May 16th with me.  Order today.   Email (jsaz@gmavt.net) or phone call are best (802-264-4835).   

   

Vermont Shortbread Remember When: Iron Chef Showdown

Happy Vermont Shortbread Day from Ann Zuccardy and the gang at Vermont Shortbread Company!

Even Rachael Ray Loves Vermont Shortbread

Note: please ignore the misspelling of Rachael Ray's name in this image. Thanks and have a Happy Vermont Shortbread Day! With love, from the mysterious marketing elves at Vermont Shortbread Company.

National Shortbread Day = Vermont Shortbread Day

Dina Giolitto, our official shortbread copywriting and marketing friend, just notified me that National Shortbread Day is actually on January 6th!  Check out the list of American holidays you never knew existed here.  I apologize if I caused any confusion or stepped on any national shortbread toes. 

So, if you missed National Shortbread Day on January 6th this year (I know I did!), you can certainly observe it tomorrow on May 16th.  Perhaps next year, we'll change May 16th to Vermont Shortbread Day.  Should I check with Governor Douglas to make sure that's okay? 

In the meantime, if you're looking for a reason to party during the remainder of May, here are some cool foodie holidays we can all sink our teeth into: 

May 17 National Cherry Cobbler Day
May 18 National Cheese Souffle Day
May 19 National Devil's Food Cake Day
May 20 National Quiche Lorraine Day
May 22 National Vanilla Pudding Day
May 23 National Taffy Day
May 24 National Escargot Day
May 25 National Brown-Bag-It Day
May 26 National Blueberry Cheesecake Day
May 31 National Macaroon day

Personally, I'm eager for National Escargot Day.  Love those little guys when they're bathed in butter and garlic.

So, help us honor VERMONT Shortbread Day, tomorrow, May 16th. I declare it a holiday and that's that.

National Shortbread Day is Tomorrow!

Good morning, shortbreadheads.  In case you're just joining us and have missed the hoo-ha about National Shortbread Day, here's a recap:

What's National Shortbread Day, you ask?

I launched Vermont Shortbread Company sometime in 1996 (I'm getting too old to remember the exact date).  It was kind of like a birthyear rather than a birthday.  Actually, it's been a birthDECADE as this company grows  just as slowly but purposefully as the trillium near the stream in my woods. 

I do, however,  know the exact date the CEO of Vermont Shortbread Company was "launched" (thanks, Mom)... May 16, 1962.  And gosh darn it, I'm proud of both  anniversaries.  Thus, I'm declaring May 16th the first annual National Shortbread Day.

So join me in celebrating this day to honor my personal special day and the anniversary of Vermont Shortbread Company's birth.  In honor of this day, and to show my gratitude to my customers, I am offering a BUY ONE, GET ONE FREE deal on shortbread gift boxes.  Place your order on our web site and we will automatically ship you a second shortbread gift box free.

Can't eat all that shortbread at once (we dare you not to eat it all in one sitting!)?  That's okay, shortbread freezes well.  Save your extra shortbread for Father's Day, a graduation party, or that dinner party to which you promised you'd bring dessert and now you don't have time to bake.

This offer is good on orders placed on Wednesday May 16, 2007 from 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. ONLY. One offer per customer.  Offer good for shortbread gift box product only.

Why National Shortbread Day?  Because it's fun, gosh darn it! 

In gratitude,

Ann Zuccardy

Founder and CEO

Vermont Shortbread Company

Getting Ready for National Shortbread Day: Mother's Day Shortbread Done for Another Year!

What a weekend! 

Friday night we enteretained friends for dinner at my house. There were eight of us for tequila sunrises, wine, steak and salmon on the grill and asparagus. Simple, but fun with many laughs, mostly at my expense. 

Saturday night, I enjoyed a special birthday dinner at the amazing Hen of the Wood in Waterbury with old friend, Chris Pace. Chris and I met in 1988 right after we had both gotten married when we both lived in Forest Hills, Queens.

Mother's Day was anticlimatic as I had been working my tail off all last week to ensure other people's mothers received their shortbread. Honestly, I'm not much into the holiday. I like to think my daughter makes every day a happy mother's day for me when she makes me proud of her and treats me respectfully. That means more to me than breakfast in bed because the Hallmark marketers encourage it.  There was quite a bit of blended family "drama" here at my house. I hopped in the car and took off. I choose not to be near loud, bitter, whining voices.  I don't believe yelling and big fights are normal parts of solving problems and I won't participate...ever.   

Some time tending my perennial garden soothed my ragged nerves later in the day followed by a lovely dinner out with Brian at Bangkok Bistro in downtown Burlington. My hot and dirty martini was salty with olive juice, hot with tabasco and an oh-so-strong end to an oh-so-strongly emotional day.  Yum.

The biggest part of my weekend was NOT getting ready for National Shortbread Day as I had anticipated. Many events and interactions converged this weekend to drive home the voice in my head that says, "Write about food...write about food...this is your calling." 

So that's what I'm going to do, starting with my story of Hen of the Wood Saturday night. It's a story of two aging baby boomers telling stories of their 19-year relationship and reflecting on how their lives and bodies have changed over local cheeses and cosmopolitans while sitting in an historic grist mill at a window overlooking a Vermont waterfall. Stay tuned.  I do believe a new blog is emerging which will eventually become a book. I will tell you where to find this new blog once it's set up (hopefully later this week).

Now for the fun of National Shortbread Day...friend and professional organizer, Jane Agran will be helping me to deliver shortbread on Wednesday.  I'll be spending today and tomorrow figuring out our stops and routine. Photos to follow later on in the week! 

So, remember, if you buy a gift box shortbread on Wednesday, May 16th, you will receive a second one (same flavor) FREE!  This offer is good for orders placed on May 16th only. 

National Shortbread Day Gains Momentum

Wow, word about National Shortbread Day is spreading as quickly as butter in a terra cotta shortbread mold in a 350 degree oven!  I'm tickled pink. 

The goal is $500 revenue on May 16, 2007 in honor of National Shortbread Day and yours truly. 

I only dreamed this idea up a short time ago, so there hasn't been time for a full fledged publicity campaign, but that's pretty much the way I've always operated my Vermont specialty food business.  Launch an idea and figure out the how-to parts later.  First and foremost, I'm gonna have a good time on National Shortbread Day because gosh darn it, I only get one day a year to be queen for a day. 

So...$500 in revenue on May 16th.  Can we do it?  I believe so. Remember, buy one gift box, get one free on May 16th ONLY.  That's a $34 value for just $17.  National Shortbread Day only happens once a year.  Let's make it wonderful. 

Mark your calendar and visit us on May 16th to order. 

Love,

Ann

National Shortbread Day: A Zany Zuccardy Holiday

For the uninitiated, National Shortbread Day is right around the corner, on May 16 (next Wednesday).  Why May 16?  It's simple. 

We have no clue exactly how old Vermont Shortbread Company is.  I launched it around the end of 1996, but honestly, I don't know an exact date.  It just kind of evolved slowly so it was kind of like a birth year rather than a birth day.  I do however, have an exact date that I, Ann Zuccardy, was "launched" 45 years ago when John F. Kennedy was our president.  And even in my forties, I still love being queen for a day on May 16.  In fact, I usually like to shop for wine or other liquor on May 16 and feign horror when I get carded (which hasn't actually happened in about 10 years, but it's fun to keep trying). 

Thus was born the idea for National Shortbread Day, a day to celebrate a thriving gourmet shortbread business AND to proclaim to the world that it's my personal special day. 

So, thanks to my mom (who really is the true founder of National Shortbread Day by virtue of giving birth to yours truly) and my fantastic, wonderful, fun, intelligent customers!  This year for the launch of National Shortbread Day, we are offering a buy one, get one free shortbread deal. 

Buy ONE gift box shortbread from our web site (or through me if you're used to dealing with me personally) on May 16 and we'll send you a second one (same flavor) FREE.  Offer is good for 1 free shortbread per customer. 

If you subscribe to my ezine, I will be sending a notice about National Shortbread Day out soon.  If you don't, you might want to consider dropping your email address in the box where it says Join Our Mailing List directly over to your left on this blog so you don't miss out on future fun promotions. 

Also in honor of National Shortbread Day, I will be personally delivering shortbread to some local Chittenden County businesses.  Know a business that gives corporate gifts in Chittenden County?  Send me their name and I will visit them with a shortbread sample.  I may even wear a birthday hat and hand out party favors.  You never know... 

Happy Birthday to Vermont Shortbread Company and me.  Mucho thanks for 10 (plus or minus) great years for VSC and 45 (exactly) "interesting" years for me. 

Countdown to National Shortbread Day: 10 Days

In case you haven't heard, May 16th (my 45th birthday) is also National Shortbread Day, a self-declared holiday based on my love of birthdays and proudly telling the world how young I am.

Order our famous gift box shortbread on May 16th and I will give you a second gift box FREE.   Nah, I'm not making much money on this deal.  I just feel like sharing my joy and my love for my business on National Shortbread Day.   That's how excited I become at the beginning of each May when Vermont wakes up from its sleepy winter slumber and my whole world bursts into green (which is coincidentally the color of our shortbread gift box!). 

Can't eat 2 gift box shortbreads all at once?  That's okay.  Your second shortbread will freeze well if you wrap it in aluminum foil.  Then you can thaw it when you have an occasion to serve it. 

Order some shortbread on May 16th.  Get a second shortbread gift box FREE.  Happy National Shortbread day to you.  Happy birthday to me. 

Ann, The Middle Aged Shortbread Chick and Birthday Girl