From the Merchandisin' Mailbag
Yesterday's timber-slaughterworth of junk mail brought the Pottery Barn Kids catalog to our place. I don't know if our reception of this new wrinkle in midscale furniture marketing is the result of buying one too many baby-shower gifts in the recent past, or whether the good folks at PB just feel the need to add to the cultural pile-on of pressure on those of us who have reached a certain age. In any event, when I had a free moment to leaf through its little world of soothing pastels and painted wood, it became obvious that a more accurate term would be Pottery Barn Decoratively-Minded Parents With No Real Interest in the Actual Conditions of Childhood. Now it's not as if I expected the putative "kids" of the title to even exist, let along be reading the copy (although I've got to interject that nothing could be sadder or playground beating-worthy than the mythical child who announces him/herself to be a "Pottery Barn Kid."); but I wasn't really prepared for such Martha Stewart-ready entries as this "These pieces re-create the look of antiques yet offer the sturdiness of modern construction." I guess any child wants something classic yet practical gracing his or her bedside. Or how about the "A to Z Rug"? Sound whimsical? Well, according to the free spirits at PB Kids, "Our alphabet rug provides subtle reinforcement of preschool lessons." The most important lesson of all: B-R-A-N-D L-O-Y-A-L-T-Y.
Mind you, we've probably got about thirty things from the Barn, or one of its stylistic clones (Crate and Barrel anyone?) in the apartment. So maybe I should shut my trap.
Posted by B T at April 03, 2001 09:15 AM