Long lineups greet Village Pottery Jilly mug promotion
Story and photos by Jim Brown
They brought their masks, their raingear, their umbrellas and an unquenchable desire to go home with a ‘Jilly’ mug – named after wildly popular Canadian influencer Jillian Harris, host of Love it or List it and star of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, who expressed her love for the pinkish-hued mugs in a viral Instagram post.
Though the doors to New London’s Village Pottery weren’t scheduled to open till 11 am on Saturday, Nov 14, several determined customers had been waiting in line since 6:45 am, said owner Suzanne Scott. And the lines kept growing throughout the day, to as many as 50 or more. They had to be patient because the store only allowed five in at a time, due to COVID-19 restrictions, which also included using hand sanitizer, mask wearing recommendations and physical distancing.
“We had people drive here from Souris and New Brunswick and Nova Scotia,” said Suzanne.
The shoppers were limited to two mugs per household and these mugs were ‘seconds’ with slight imperfections. Good luck trying to nab a regular ‘Jilly mug’ since there thousands of people already on waiting lists.
Lots of merchandise was available for sale but the big prize for many shoppers was the Jilly mug, of which 35 were available on Saturday.
Those disappointed in their quest on Nov 14 had another chance the following day, when 35 to 40 more Jilly mugs were to be made available. The big question was, how early would people arrive to ensure they are at the front of the line?
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