Hi Lovely Sponsors,
I've got a few things that I wanted to let you know about. I hope that this note, coming right on the heels of our newsletter, isn't crossing the line into spamming territory. However, things are still moving along with the sponsor program and so I've got some news about more benefits, sponsor events and, of course, I'm also looking for more advice.
EVENTS
The First Sponsor Social - This Thursday, April 16th at 7:00 pm at Borderlands Cafe and Bookstore.
I'm very excited about our first get-together and having a chance to see so many of you in person. We've already gotten over 50 RSVPs so I think it'll be a great party. Here are a few of the neat things we'll be doing:
- Publisher Treats. Our friends at Tor, Orbit and Nightshade Books have sent some books for you. It's a bunch of great titles, several of which are highly recommended by us. One per sponsor and first come, first served, while supplies last.
- Cocktails. Our friend Nate Taylor, sponsor and mixologist, will be making Manhattans and Negronis for the first part of the evening, as well as offering some fizzy alternatives for those of you who fizz. That will be in addition to some beer, courtesy of Borderlands, whatever you all bring for drinks and at least one nice bottle of Scotch, courtesy of yours truly.
- Raffle. I've been looking around the store for cool stuff and I've found a few things. We'll be giving out tickets at the door for a raffle that will take place later in the evening. And, don't worry, at Jude's request I'm not going to be including random tools from my disorganized workshop.
- Behind the Scenes Tour. As time allows, we'll be showing people around the rarely seen "backstage" parts of the shop. SEE the "napping couch". THRILL at the charred brick and foundation from the pre-1906, pre-fire building that once sat where we are now. STAY far, far, far away from the spirit house of the previous tenant's Santeria Temple, abandoned in place and touched only once by Borderlands' staff.
- plus lots of pleasant people, good conversation, and so forth.
Party Details:
- Enter through the cafe
- Party starts at 7 pm and ends at 11 pm, sharp
- Attire is casual
- Food & drink are pot-luck and BYOB, respectively, but don't feel obligated to bring something
- One guest per sponsor, RSVPs are appreciated but not required
- If you want to shop, the store will be open-ish (but you may have to track Jude or I down to ring you up)
Scotch Tasting with Mary Robinette Kowal, Sunday, May 24th at 8:00 pm at Borderlands Books.
Hugo award winning author and Scotch Whisky aficionado, Mary Robinette Kowal will host a private tasting party sampling some of her favorite whiskies. For a modest $20 attendees will get to try at least five notable labels while enjoying fine company and Mary's educated commentary. There will be only 20 tickets available so reserve your seat now by emailing sponsors@borderlands-books.com. Payment will be at the door.
Upcoming - Satellite Socials, various dates, times, and locations.
I've been talking to some of our sponsors about setting up social get-togethers in others cities. Thus far I've started conversations with folks in Chicago, New York and San Diego. Nothing is set yet but plans should be moving along shortly. I'll send out more news as I have it.
BENEFITS
Package Drop Off.
Living in San Francisco has plenty of challenges and one of them is where to have packages delivered. Most apartments only have a mail slot or mail box. If you work during the day, you're often out of luck when it comes to getting parcels delivered by UPS or even the US Mail. At the suggestion of one of our sponsors, we'd be happy to accept delivery of your packages and hold them for you to pick up. If you'd like to do that, please use this address -
<your name>
c/o Borderlands Books, Sponsor
866 Valencia St.
San Francisco CA 94110
Also, please drop us a line at sponsors@borderlands-books.com, to let us know to expect a package for you. When it arrives, we'll give you a call. Please, if it's going to take you more than 48 hours to pick up the package, please make specific arrangements with us to hold it for a longer time.
NEWS
Scott Cox, who many of you know from his Monday and Tuesday shifts at the bookstore, is going to be giving me some help with sponsor matters. You may be hearing from him regarding usual bits of business like internet passwords, RSVPs, and so forth. I'll continue to see every email that comes in from the sponsor's email address and I'll continue to jump in whenever needed.
QUESTIONS
I'm working on our first sponsors'-only item and I'm trying to decided what it should be. I'd love to get some feedback on what you would like. Here's what I'm thinking of, in ascending order of price -
1) A limited print of Ripley, our original store cat and mascot.
2) A baseball-style T-shirt (i.e. contrasting color long sleeves) with the store logo and "sponsor" discretely incorporated somewhere on it.
3) A hoodie, with "sponsor" similarly included.
4) High quality, small, folding knife, laser engraved with our logo (we favor SpiderCo and Cold Steel brands around the shop, BTW)
5) Messenger bag, top quality (i.e. Chrome or ReLoad) with a Borderlands "look" (i.e. patches, red and black)
Myself, I'm leaning in the direction of the T-shirt because I think many of you have a Borderlands hoodie already and the messenger bag or knife would be quite expensive (i.e. over $100 is my bet). But, if there's a lot of interest in any of the other items, I can certainly plan on doing a small run of them, which will still get the price down a fair amount.
That's all for now. As always, thank you for your support and I look forward to seeing you around the shop anytime you're in the area.
Best,
Alan
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