Decisions, Decisions

I met with our printer today. (It is a local company, Epiphany Printing, as I believe in supporting DC area businesses with this DC area publication.) We discussed paper choices for the middle insert spread of the upcoming November/December issue. I wanted to include a surprise holiday gift for readers — though I'm not sure if it will be that much of a surprise since I'm discussing it here!

Many of the English gardening magazines that I admire regularly include reader bonuses such as a gift cards, seed packs, or other small items in with their on-stand magazine issues. I'm betting that many readers buy them just for those bonus gifts. I certainly have picked up a few just for the cute garden tools they came bundled with.

What I'm thinking for our bonus gift is to make one page of the middle insert a botanical art print or calendar. It will be on archival paper and suitable for framing. I'm going to delve into my brother's collection of antique art prints for inspiration. I'm hoping I come across an engraving or hand-colored piece that just jumps out at me and says, "Pick me!" It is a tough decision as there are literally 1,000s of them to choose from and hard to predict what people's tastes are nowadays. A bright pink Victorian posy? A stark black ink sketch of a tree branch? Well, I'll let the actual choice remain a surprise for our readers...