Business Lesson #2: Moon Marble Company and three Marble Events

The English proudly claim The British and World Marbles Championship has been held at Finsley Green, West Sussex, England every year since 1932.  However, Americans can claim the National Marbles Tournament founded in 1922 and held in Wildwood, New Jersey.  It gives kids an opportunity for a scholarship, competing against other kids age 7-14 who have won a local championship.  If you don't compete, you may still want to visit and witness a game or two.  The event holds over 1,200 games over four days.

Learn a few of the terms before you arrive:
- "knuckle down" means the position adopted at the start line with his or her knuckles against the ground
-"keepsies" the player keeps all the marbles he or she wins
-"quitsies" allows any opponent to stop the game without consequences, if quitsies are allowed
Plus marbles have different names depending opon the marble size:  Peewee (under 1/2"), Shooter (3/4"), Targets, Duckies, or Alleys (5/8"), Boulder (1"), Jumbo (1 3/8"), Super Jumbo (1 5/8"), Toebreakers (2"), Grandfather (billiard ball or tennis ball size)
If you plan to compete, you'll need your Shooter.  It's the only size accepted in U.S. tournaments.

I spent hours playing with marbles, watching them move down the wooden run in my grandparent's house.  A form of kinetic art, the marble run or rolling ball sculpture, can mesmerize you. Kids don't play with marbles as often these days which makes it understandable why it's difficult to find a marble plant tour.  The United States had two factories, Jabo Vitro in Reno, Ohio and Marble King in Paden City, West Virginia.  Despite Ohio's fame as the marble-producing capital of the world, Jabo Vitro shut down.  Marble King as featured on The Travel Channel's Made in America and Discovery Channel's Some Assembly Required does not offer factory tours.  However, you can see hand made marble creation at a small toy shop in a small town called Bonner Springs, Kansas.  Moon Marble Company is located less than 30 miles from Kansas City.  We took a seat in the bleachers and watched the glass art demonstration.  If you plan for the right timing, you can see over 25 artists at Moon Marble Company.  The company hosts "Marble Crazy" event with free admission.  Here's three other marble events to consider:
1.  Badger Marble Show:  October, Madison, Wisconsin, show presenters exhibit marbles in their rooms Friday and Saturday prior to the show, free admission
2.  Des Moines Marble Show:  First Saturday in June, Des Moines, Iowa, six day event with in-room trading, free admission
3.  Humboldt Marble Weekend:  February, Eureka, California, visit artists, see glass blowing demonstrations, participate in a marble hunt, and attend the Bella Vita Fire Dance (dance entry requires a minimum $20 dollar donation to charity)

Business Lesson #1: Jelly Belly WI tour and 10 other Candy Factory Tours

What kid doesn't love candy?  Show him or her how it is made by taking a factory tour.  The Jelly Belly company offers tours at two locations - Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin and Fairfield, California.  I've taken my kids to both locations.  I usually highly recommend factory tours.  In this case, I'd like to give warning that the Wisconsin location is mostly a trolly tour around a warehouse.  You don't see major production lines.  The trolley stops at stations with video screens explaining the process of making taffy, gummies and the famous jelly beans.  The most action we saw was a small area of employees assembling shipments for online sales.

At the time, the tour ended at the shop which made it worth the visit.  However, please check their website for status of the shop.  Laura Sutherland, author of Amazing Places to Take Your Kids, also highlights the store as most exciting, "The Jelly Belly tasting bar is definitely the highlight of this sweet-smelling, family-oriented factory tour, which offers visitors samples of many of the 100 candies the Pleasant Prairie Wisconsin, company makes, including a wide variety of Jelly Bellies."  The tasting does give you an opportunity to try new flavors you might not normally gravitate towards.  I think they know their pre-teen and teen audience think the bad smelling flavors (rotten egg, dirt, earthworm, stinky socks, lawn clippings, moldy cheese) or mystery flavors are hilarious.  I'll stick to the fruit flavors like pear, coconut, cherry, and pineapple and sometimes search for buttered popcorn.  Another bonus in-store was the discounted bags of Belly Flops.  The misshapen jelly beans tasted just as good to me.

I've also visited The Hershey Company, Jelly Belly Candy Company in California, and Long Grove Confectionery Co.  These companies made the Fodor's Travel Top 10 Candy Tours list.  The article by Kristine Hansen gives you more tours to consider:
1.  Jelly Belly Candy Company:  Fairfield, CA, self-guided free tours
2.  The Hershey Company:  Hershey, Pennsylvania, free tours
3.  Long Grove Confectionery Co.:  Long Grove, IL, tour by appointment
4.  Hammond's Candies:  Denver, Colorado, free tour
5.  Pez Candy:  Orange, Connecticut, $5 self-guided tour
6.  Raaka Chocolate:  Brooklyn, NY, book a tasting tour or chocolate-making class
7.  Theo Chocolate:  Seattle, Washington, weekday tours
8.  Kimmie Candy (Sunbursts):  Reno, NY, weekday tours by appointment
9.  Sweet Candy Company:  Salt Lake City, Utah, free weekday tours
10.  Spangler (Dum Dum, Smarties):  Bryan, Ohio, trolley tour

Thinking Global in the USA #4: Jungle Jim's International Market - Fairfield, Ohio

Jungle Jim's Entry, Photo by Krenda

How can a grocery store provide an international experience?  If you visit Jungle Jim's grocery store in Fairfield, Ohio, you take your mind to 75 countries through food.  While living in Ohio, this store provided both education and entertainment.  When we had visitors, it was a must stop attraction with no entrance fee and lots of wonder.

Let's start with the numbers.  This place has scale, spanning seven acres.  Even the food inside has scale.  Just visit the 781-pound block of cheese.  If you like variety like me, you can explore to your hearts desire with 180,000 items and 60,000 International items.  Certain sections seem disproportionately big including the wine section (15,000 different wines -one of the largest collections in the United States), beer section (4,000 beers), cheese (1,400), and honey (140 types).  It takes 700 employees to operate this business.

You'll have to choose the store entrance.  The one closer to the parking lot entrance, across from the garden center, is relatively plain (for Jungle Jim's) with the NASCAR racing car and animatronic corn and butter inside.  Keep walking to see the talking Campbell's soup can.  I usually drive further to the main entrance.  I like to take a moment and enjoy the sounds of a waterfall and jungle calls when entering the grocery store.  I may snap some photos of the fiberglass giraffes, gorillas, pelicans, and elephants.  Past the wine and bakery section, I also stop to wait for the animatronic Lion dressed as Elvis and will sing you a song every five minutes. 

Fruits and vegetables acts as my favorite section.  The naturally colorful section entices me to try something new.  Although others have warned me to stay away from the durian.  I also like to look up at this point to see the "Cereal Band" play in a 55-foot boat between the fruit and seafood section. 

Keep walking towards the seafood live tanks and non-perishable international sections, clearly labeled.  Every corner of the store has delight, look up and you'll find a Robin Hood like scene with a horse and giant tree.  The Europe section has delightful facades representing each country.  The tiny theater with a video about the store origin is a must visit nook.  The message of the owner Jim and his determination is one you want your kids to hear.  He talks about starting as a farmers market worker to finding land and convincing local authorities in 1975 to give him a permit for a fruit and vegetable market.  His message rings loud and clear to follow your dreams.

Jungle Jim just kept expanding.  There's an event center and strip mall in the same lot.  My company had an outing to the store because it has a cooking school.  As a team building event, we made apricot stuffed dates.  So delicious and I conveniently ended at a location that takes my mind everywhere just by shopping.

If you or your kids need a restroom, don't let the Rumpke portable toilet facade fool you.  Open the door to modern, award winning bathrooms.  Jungle Jim not only exhibits determination and creativity, he has a sense of humor too.

Agriculture Lesson #8: Frankfurt Germany's Market Hall & 15 U.S. Farmers' Markets

When my business partners take me to local sites, it's a real treat to learn about the culture, history, and local agriculture.  I appreciated my business partners taking me to the Klein Market Halle in Frankfurt, Germany.  The market had a building built in the early 19th century, but it World War II destroyed it.  Reconstructed in the mid-Fifties, you can now appreciate the European art deco style.  With over 1,200 sq m of space and 156 market stalls, you can find a wide variety of fresh produce and flowers including wurst, mustard, dried fruit, and Frankfurt's famous green sauce.  The fishmonger resides downstairs and we treated ourselves to fresh oysters upstairs, overlooking the market.

You don't need to fly to Germany to give your kids the experience of buying fresh produce from farmers.  Visit your local farmers' market.  When you plan a vacation, look up the dates and places of farmers' markets.

As a college student at the University of Wisconsin, I enjoyed beautiful summer and fall days at the Dane County Farmers' Market on the Square.  Located on the sidewalks surrounding the State Capitol, the smells, bright colors, and sounds was like a weekly celebration.  Instruments played, people laughed and ate on the lawn.  Who can resist bread full of melted cheese?  I'm not the only one who enjoyed the experience.  I met Peter Greenberg, New York Times Bestselling Author and fellow UW-grad, and he included Madison in "Best Places to Visit Food Markets" within his book The Best Places for Everything:  "Guess where my favorite farmers' market in the country is located.  Napa Valley?  New York City?  Nope.  It's in Madison, Wisconsin.  The Dane County Farmers' market is the largest producer-only farmers' market in the United States.  The "no resale" rule means that the person behind the tables is the same person who grew or made the product."

I've sold behind the table a few times, invited by my aunts, uncles, and cousin who are the farmers growing the produce.  It's healthy to buy local and fresh.  If you visit the Quad Cities (Davenport, Bettendorf, Rock Island, Moline), stop by the farmers' market say "hi" to the farmers and purchase vegetables or flower. 

The 2014 Fodor "America's 15 Best Farmers' Markets" includes the Dane County Farmers' Market and these 14 other markets:
1.  Portland Farmers' Market on Portland State University's campus (WA) - 140 vendors
2.  Union Square Greenmarket (NY) - 140 farmers, open year-round
3.  Pike Place Market (Seattle,WA) - 80 farmers
4.  Santa Fe Farmers (NM) - 150 vendors
5.  Charleston Farmer's Market (SC)
6.  Davis Farmer's Market (CA)
7.  Green City Market (Chicago, IL) near Lincoln Park - 55 vendors
8.  Ferry Plaza Farmers Market (San Francisco, CA)
9.  Eastern Market at D.C.'s historic Capitol Hill
10.  St. Paul Farmers' Market (MN)
11.  Santa Monica Farmers' Market (CA)- 75 farmers
12.  Sweet Auburn Market near Atlanta (GA) - 20 vendors
13. Crescent City Farmer's Market New Orleans (LA)
14.  Burlington Farmers' Market (VT) - 40 vendors, Sat. May to Oct. since 1980

Agriculture Lesson #5: Pike Place Market - Seattle, Washington

If you visit Seattle, you'll likely shop at the city's #1 attraction - Pike Place Market.  It's a great way to talk about agriculture with your kids because it's the place where producers and consumers meet.  It began by farmers as a way to cut out the middleman.  With an opening in 1907, it is one of the oldest continuously operating farmers market in the country.

You'll look for the iconic red "Public Market Center" sign with clock above the building.  Before you enter the market, you can do good by donating your change to the bronze cast piggy bank.  Rachel the Piggy Bank serves as the market mascot and a way to collect money to the Pike Place Market Foundation.  The foundation provides many services including a food bank, senior center support, and preschool financial assistance.  The piggy bank has raised over $200K.

Once in the market, you don't need to go far to see the fishmongers

throwing salmon over the counter.  It began as a way to increase efficiency and now seen as the iconic action in the market.  You might have seen such action on shows such as Frasier and The Learning Channel (TLC).  While the market has fame for fish, you can find so much beautiful, bright colored produce and flowers too.  If you can't buy food that will spoil, look for pasta, nuts, and chocolates.  With over 500 shops, you'll also find crafts and a variety of restaurants, including ethnic - Persian, Thai, Japanese, Mexican, and Italian.  

Walk around the market building too and you'll enjoy views of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains.  I kept on walking.  It can take less than ten minutes from the market to reach Pier 59.

In my article about the Frankfurt, Germany market, I listed the top farmers' markets according to Frommer book.  Of course, Pike Place Market makes the list.  When Country Living magazine made it's list of top 14 markets per "The Best Farmers' Markets in America" article, Pike Place listed at the top.  Here's their full list:

1.  Pike Place Farmers' Market - Seattle, Washington, June-November

2.  Historic Soulard Farmers' Market - St. Louis, Missouri, year-round Wed.-Sat., since 1779

3.  Crescent City Farmers Market - New Orleans, Louisiana, Tue.-Sat.

4.  Union Square Farmers Market - New York, New York, Sat. until Nov. 23

5.  Baltimore Farmers' Market & Bazaar - Baltimore, Maryland, April-Dec.

6.  Brattleboro Winter Farmers' Market - Brattleboro, Vermont, Sat. Nov. - March

7.  Charleston Farmers' Market - Charleston, South Carolina, Sat., April - Dec.

8.  Des Moines Downtown Farmers' Market - Des Moines, Iowa, Sat., May - Oct.

9.  Portland Farmers Market at PSU - Portland, Oregon, Sat.

10.  Rowayton Farmers' Market - Rowayton, Connecticut, Fri.

11.  Sag Harbor's Fair Foods Farmers' Market - Sag Harbor, New York - Sat.

12.  Green City Market - Chicago, IL Lincoln Park, year-round, outdoors May-Nov.

13.  Aspen Saturday Market - Aspen, Colorado, Sat. June-Oct.

14.  West Tisbury Farmers' Market - West Tisbury, Massachusetts, Sat. & Wed, June - Aug.

Science Lesson #3: Geology - Salt Mine -Strattaca in Kansas

 Few salt mines allow the public to tour.  There's the Bavaria Mountains and Salt Mines tour in Salzburg, but when I visited Salzburg, I opted for the Mozart tour and The Sound of Music Tour.  Poland has the Wieliczka Salt Mine Tour and Pakistan's Khewra Salt Mines attracts approximately 250,000 visitors per year.  I'm not sure when I'll take my kids to Poland or Pakistan. 

After researching US tours, I found one place - Strattaca, located in Hutchinson, Kansas.  Thanks to the Reno County Historical Society and two companies, the Hutchinson Salt Company and Underground Vaults and Storage company, the Kansas Underground Salt Museum opened to the public in 2007.  It's the only working museum that exists in a working salt mine anywhere in the Western Hemisphere.  Voters named it one of the "Eight Wonders of Kansas" (2008).

Formed 275 million years ago when the Permian Sea dried up, it's one of the largest salt mines in the world and still mined today.  When you descend 650 feet below the prairie surface on an industrial elevator (and our group chose to keep the lights off - cool!!!), you walk out and see the vast space.  It's 300,000 square feet of mined out area.  Ceilings are 10 to 17 feet high.

 Kids read every sign in their geology exhibit, listened to short history videos, and checked out the equipment.  As Chicago residents (and people who need to get to work, no matter what the weather), we need to really appreciate this place - it's a source of the salt used to melt the ice and snow on our roads.  The museum fund raises to expand the exhibit. 

We bought the Blast Pass ($19 adult, children $12.50).  Besides admission, you get two tours:  1.  Dark Ride (30 minute tram tour explaining air flow and mine hazards), and 2.  Train Ride (15 min. Salt Mine Express shows the active areas of 1940s and 50s including the garbage that never disintegrated).  Kids tend to love hands on activities, so when the tour gave them a small bag and told them they had a few minutes to pick a piece of salt from a pile, they were excited to find their own souvenir.


The salt mine also serves as a secure storage facility, holding original Hollywood movies and many other documents.  An exhibit explains.

For a real treat, the museum offers special Scout and 4-H overnights.  Boy Scouts may earn their Geology and/or Mining in Society merit badge.

Art Lesson #5: Longaberger Basket Factory & 6 Other Art Tours

Longaberger, once hand crafted in the United States and provided tours in Frazeysburgh, OH. Beauty and pride in craftsmanship and service, Longaberger now closed, so I've listed other factory tour opportunities below.  As we toured the office, we learned about the leadership team insisting the building be shaped like a basket, even when architects said it wasn't possible.  It was possible.  

The museum and tour was a great learning experience for my four year old.  The employees allowed my son to help make a basket.  They even allowed my son to sign his name on the basket bottom, a basket that will be sold to some lucky family.  The employee was so enthusiastic about my son's basketweaving skills that my son decided that besides being the President someday, he'd like to be a Longaberger Weaver.  How will you inspire a kid today in a way that may change their future?

Here's 6 other artisan factory tour opportunities:

1.  Terra Studios:  Durham, AR, home of the "Original Bluebird of Happiness" glass art and a non-profit organization supporting art,  you can watch art demos including glassblowers for free (12-4PM) and relax at their cafe on Sunday (1-4PM) to hear local musicians
https://terrastudios.com/gallery-cafe/

2.  Shidoni Foundry:  Santa Fe, New Mexico (NM), sculpture, bronze art foundry, self guided foundry tours (Mon.-Fri., noon-1PM, $3) and walk the 8 acres of sculpture gardens, especially cool (or hot) would be watching molten bronze poured into ceramic shell on Saturday Pour Days (Sat. noon, $5), Shidoni is a greeting to a friend in Navajo
 http://www.shidoni.com/html/home.asp

3.  Michael Ricker Pewter Designs:  Loveland, Colorado (CO), pewter sculptures, museum and showroom (Mon.-Fri. 8AM-5:30PM, Sat. 10-2PM)
http://www.ricker.com/index.cfm?category=1

4.  Cornwall Bridge Pottery:  Cornwall Bridge, CT, 35 foot long woodfired tube kiln and you can visit the workshop, watching the process, call ahead
 http://www.cbpots.com/category/_the_workshop/

If your these sites are too far away, share a video with your child for a virtual tour.

5. Salisbury Pewter (Easton, Maryland) Discovery Channel's Factory Made video on how a pewter coffee pot is made, check out the website  http://salisburyinc.net/salisbury-fine-metal-artisans/

6. D. Pickering & Company (Bucyrus, Ohio), explains company history and Copper Kettle process, check out the website with video http://dpicking.net/virtual-tour

Women Inspiring Women, Read all about It

Inspiring Books for Marketers:

Author Mary Lou Quinlan made her debut of her new book What She's Not Telling You at a Procter & Gamble marketing training that I attended.

She inspired us all to do power listening and search for the whole truth. Mary Lou writes about the risks of relying on focus groups and 'literal listening'. I agree, you need to understand at a much deeper level.

I hope the book inspires you too. My favorite quote is "start marketing with women, and stop marketing to them."

I was the Tampax Pearl Assistant Brand Manager and the book mentions one of my commercials as an example in the section about secrets/silent pride (Thanks Mary Lou!): "While it's an easy laugh to see women trying not to be seen buying a pregnancy kit in a drugstore, more marketers in the feminine categories would be wise to help her keep a little dignity in the aisle or "pink ghetto" as Jen calls it. Perhaps the best efforts belong to TAMPAX, who've taken a cue from the youner women's comfort with "down there" and lightened up the tone of the category with commercials that brought tampons front and center, like using one to stop a leak in a rowboat on a date, so that no one needs to feel weird in the drugstore aisle." (page 138, What She's Not Telling You by Mary Lou Quinlan, Jen Drexter, and Tracy Chapman).

If you want to read more about the author, visit http://www.justaskawoman.com/
and if you click on the blog tab, you can read the first chapter for free.

If you want to read more about the commercial, visit the Effie Award website www.effie.org/winners/showcase/2005/56