Welcome to the Viola Shipman Heirloom Newsletter!
Announcing our Holiday Gift & Clothing Line! Homemade, hand-designed candles, aprons, mugs, tumblers, tees, sweatshirts, hoodies, soaps & stocking stuffers! PLUS: A special Thanksgiving essay from me!
THANKSGIVING, BLACK FRIDAY & SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY ISSUE
Happy Thanksgiving from Viola!
My Grandma Shipman loved Thanksgiving and Christmas, and I sure inherited her holiday genes! It’s a season not only to celebrate but also to remember, a chance to spend time with those we love, a chance to slow down, and a chance to spread love and joy to those near and far. My winter wish for my readers (which I shared to kickoff my holiday novel A WISH FOR WINTER) is this:
May your darkest days always be filled with light,
May your home always be filled with family and love,
May your holidays forever be filled with memories new and old,
May your coldest days always be filled with warmth,
May a great book forever sit nearby a roaring fire
And may you always remember how unique, beautiful and loved you are.
I’M SO EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE OUR HOLIDAY GIFT & CLOTHING LINE!
CANDLES, APRONS, MUGS, TUMBLERS, TEA SETS, T-SHIRTS, SWEATSHIRTS, HOODIES, BOOK & BOOKMARK GIFT SETS ALL HANDMADE, HAND-DESIGNED & HAND-POURED FOR CHRISTMAS & HANUKKAH!
REMEMBER: Every order of $50 through November receives a complimentary gift of between $8-$12 as a Thanksgiving THANK YOU for your love & support!
We are deeply proud of our Viola Shipman Gift Line! We have partnered with Urban Vine, a nonprofit and organic farm in Michigan owned by herbalist Amy Vine whose mission is to help adults on the spectrum who fall between the cracks of society and often have nowhere to turn despite having so much to offer. The proceeds from our gift line support these unique individuals by giving them a place, purpose and passion as well as employment and a supportive environment. In fact, many of the gifts we offer are handmade by some of these artistically gifted men and women, or gift-wrapped and boxed with love just for you. We were able to start a women’s program because of your support, and we hope to continue to grow our efforts. Together, we have created a one-of-a-kind gift line that includes beautiful, handmade, Michigan products you won’t find anywhere else (we will never purchase Amazon products and simply up-sell them to you). Moreover, these products align with the mission and message of my novels: To provide hope, beauty, purpose and a community of kindness. Our product line includes one-of-a-kind holiday gifts throughout the year (hand-poured candles, hand-embroidered aprons and more!), homemade bookmarks, herbal skincare, handcrafted tea, seasonal gifts as well as hand-painted cards and frameable artwork.
We also have launched a VIOLA CREATIONS clothing, mug and tumbler line featuring quotes from my novels and hand-designed by fashion and graphic designer Kat Ferraro of TomKat Design Studios based in Michigan. Our clothing line includes T-shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies in all sizes and colors. We only use the best fabrics and materials. To see the latest clothing creations, follow us on Facebook HERE!
In addition to our gift and clothing line, we also offer a one-of-a-kind Viola SHIPMANt subscription book box! This beautiful box is unlike any other of its kind. It is sent bimonthly and contains an original novella by me that is only for subscribers (this year’s novella is The Heirloom Scrapbook). Each box contains one chapter of my novel along with unique, handmade gifts and recipes corresponding to the chapter as well as the holiday/season. It is beautifully wrapped and, again, supports a wonderful cause! A subscription also grants you access to our book club, Read ‘Em & Steep, as well as cooking and crafting days to make the goodies in your box.
Great gifts that support an even greater cause! Thank you for your love and support!
P.S. JOIN US LIVE THIS SATURDAY AT 3 P.M. EST FOR AN AFTERNOON FILLED WITH RAFFLES, GIVEAWAYS, FEEL GOOD STORIES & A MEGA-MARATHON OF SHOPPING! PLUS: A SPECIAL HOLIDAY READING FROM ME!
SUPPORT OUR SMALL BUSINESSES ON SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY!
YOUR SUPPORT SUPPORTS A GREAT CAUSE!
Looking for the perfect gift for the book lover in your life? I have written three holiday novels and three holiday novellas that celebrate the spirit of the season, faith, family, friends and remembering that the greatest gift in life is each other.
To order one — or all six — please visit my Viola Shipman website!
I ho-ho-hope you love them all!
P.S. My new novel, The Page Turner, is publishing on April 8! It’s a book about how books and reading change and save our lives! Visit my website to preorder now!
A SPECIAL THANKSGIVING ESSAY!
I wrote this essay after I lost my mother and best friend. It is a reminder to cherish the moments we have with those we love and to celebrate their memories in beautiful ways even if they are no longer with us. Give thanks this Thanksgiving for those who love us unconditionally and make us who we are. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
It was the first Thanksgiving after my mother's death, and I had reluctantly gone to the basement to look through the orange storage containers that held our family's fall holiday dishes, mementos and decorations.
I had come as a test: Yes, or no to celebrating Thanksgiving this year.
There, on top, sat the childish art project my mother had helped me make decades earlier. I remembered her tracing my little hand onto a sheet of construction paper, before we cut it out and colored it to create a Thanksgiving turkey.
"Wade," my mother's looping handwriting stated on the turkey's belly.
The beautiful thing about my childish art project was that my mother had let me fashion pearls around the turkey's neck. I had also given the gobbler heels. It was more Carol Channing than Tom Turkey.
And it perfectly summed up my relationship with my mother. We celebrated each other's quirks and uniqueness without judgment.
I couldn't stop crying in the basement. I had failed my test.
"No Thanksgiving," I told my family. "I can't do it. I can’t host it this year."
I just couldn't bear celebrating Thanksgiving without my mother. It was the first major holiday since her death, which still felt so raw.
My mother adored Thanksgiving.
She happily rose at dawn to start cooking. She loved to drink coffee and watch the Macy's Day Parade after fixing a big country breakfast.
She relished her Riesling.
And yet – like the turkey she helped me make as a kid – my mother was a juxtaposition of the traditional and non-traditional.
Yes, we did a green bean casserole with Durkee's French onions. Yes, we had stuffing. Yes, the sweet potatoes were topped with marshmallows.
But, my mom loved experimenting with one new dish each year: Fresh cranberries with dates, walnuts and orange. Or, a caramel-apple tart instead of a pumpkin pie.
Celebrating Thanksgiving without my mom would be like celebrating without the turkey. The thing I looked most forward to, the person for whom I was most thankful, was gone. I couldn't imagine simply enduring this holiday. It would never be the same.
As the weeks passed and Thanksgiving neared, Gary said to me one morning, before I'd had the chance to fully caffeinate, "We're hosting Thanksgiving, and all of your family is coming."
I spat my latte.
"No!" I insisted.
"Yes!" he persisted. "Your mother would want you to celebrate."
"I hate platitudes!" I yelled.
"It's the truth."
I Zombie-walked through the early morning prep for Thanksgiving and greeted my family in similar fashion.
When it came time to set the table mid-morning, I headed to the basement to retrieve the décor and my turkey cutout was still waving at me.
I lost it yet again.
"Think of how much your mother loved this holiday," Gary whispered to me, out of earshot of the family. "Why are you trying so hard to forget about her? Why don't you treat her like she's still here? Because she is. And she always will be."
His words resonated, changed me, almost instantly.
So, I went upstairs and sat a place at the table for my mom.
I put out my hand turkey as a centerpiece.
I ran to the store, where I picked up the ingredients to make fresh cranberries with dates, walnuts and orange, as well as a parsnips recipe she'd wanted to make for years but that the family had pooh-pooh'ed.
I watched the Macy's Parade.
I drank too much coffee and then too much wine.
I cried like a baby, and I laughed like a mad man.
Mostly, my family and I celebrated my mother, and when I gave thanks, I thanked my mom for being such a wonderful, loving, beautiful, quirky presence in my life.
And then I cleaned the dishes and put up the decorations, the little turkey cutout of my hand waving goodbye as I placed it on the top of the storage bin.
"Until next year," I said, returning its wave.
Much love from my home to yours! Gobble ‘til you wobble!
XOXO,
You and Gary are so precious 💕 This letter shows how we all must master our inner strengths and step forward into our fears😳 We endure loss but through this we gain strength. The Lord holds our hand thru this. We see our losses but in front of us we can't see our gains💕 The Gary's, my beloved husband of 45 years. They are at our sides daily gifting us more including sharing memories of our grans and other's we miss.
Thank you for your wonderful writing📚💕🦃
It was at this point in reading your piece that the emotions you helped me recall came boiling up. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, why have I not been as joyous as usual?
It has after all, been 15 years since my mom passed away, and I was busily going about my holiday preps. Then I read this:
“Think of how much your mother loved this holiday," Gary whispered to me, out of earshot of the family. "Why are you trying so hard to forget about her? Why don't you treat her like she's still here? Because she is. And she always will be.”
Thank you for helping me to remember to stay open to her memory. It helps a lot to feel her here during the holidays.
Much love to you and Gary.