European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 14, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 4 the stars and stripes Valentine s Day sunday february 14,1993 Tightwad take heart and save Money by Jerry Harkavy associated press writer Portland Maine some people would be thrilled to be wooed with a dozen roses on Valentine s Bay but Amy Dacyczyn in t one of frugal Mother of six would prefer a bouquet of hand picked Pussy Willows tied with a red Bow the author of the a fast Selling Book the Tightwad Gazette has nothing against roses., it s a question of How much do i enjoy some thing in relation to How much did it Cost she said. Her opposition goes beyond Price alone. When you go to the card shop and buy your spouse a Knickknacks or a Box of Candy and a card that s jus not very thoughtful Dacyczyn pronounced Deci Sion said from her Home in the Central Maine town of s always More interesting if you can take Money out of the equation and be resourceful innovative an creative. It also ends up being More in her Book Dacyczyn offers a dozen ideas for Cele Brating Valentine s Day that won t break your Wallet or your heart. Also included arc suggestions sent indy readers of her monthly newsletter on which the Book was of the author s tricks is to Booby trap a door with a plastic bucket filled with Small paper hearts so that the Lover is showered with Valentines when he or she returns suggestion heart shaped cookies. And Why spend Money on a commercial cookie Cutter when Youcan just Bend an empty tuna can into a heart or try stomping out a big Valentine in the , a 37-year-old with training As a graphic artist has lived a frugal life for More than a decade Buther Thrift now seems to put her in sync with the cultural backlash against the excesses of the 80s."there Nas always been a percentage of people in our culture who were Tightwad but they be been doing it in the closet she said. She launched a newsletter on How to Pinch pennies in june 1990, and about 60 Ono people subscribe the subscription rate is $12 a year. Dacyczyn suggests get Ting together with ii friends and sharing a subscription last year three publishers offered six figure advances for her 300-Page Book. She refused to say How much she was paid. Villard books said it printed nearly a Quarter million copies of the $9.99 Book in its firs month. Because of the Book s popularity Dacyczyn no longer has to Pinch pennies. But she said a bigger Bank account has t changed the Way she lives with her Chil Dren and her husband Jim a retired Navy Man. Once you learn to do it the smart Way she asked Why would you do it the stupid Way Many getting fresh with a a a name s Day gifts Pittsburgh a for Valen Tine s Day Alice Johnson of new York will get clean floors and a scrubbed Bath room. It May not sound romantic but he Boyfriend Michael Willson thinks hiring a maid for the Holiday will win her hear faster than Flowers or Candy. She s going to think i m sensitive be cause i thought of this said Willson a car restorer. Whether it s hiring a cleaning service or sending a Teddy Bear that whispers Sweet nothings lovers Are finding fresher ways to express their affections on Valen Tine s Day. Flowers Wilt and bears wont said Jerry Crowley of Telebar. The manufacturer based in Bally pa., has sold thou Sands of bears equipped with a microchip that records a message in the buyer s voice and plays when the Bear is squeezed. Lynne Grant of piano Texas sorry topsoil the Surprise will get a Bear that says i love you and i think you re pretty inner Boyfriend s voice when she hugs it. Boyfriend Dennis Essary 39, said he picked the Bear because it was different and affordable. I love chocolate and icat it All the time but it s too Ordinary and traditional for a Valentine s Day gift he said. At $39.95 plus $3 shipping the 12-Inchbear could Cost less than a dozen roses Crowley said. Other Romeos and Juliet Are splash ing their sentiments across billboards and to screens. Jean Guzik 22, paid $210 to spell out her love for her Boyfriend Chris Mullen on a 12-by-25-foot sign in Pitts Burgh for a week. Chris i got you babe love Jean Ney the sign proclaims. I was t going to put our names on it but i figured that if i was going to do some thing this big 1 might As Well let everyone know who i am and who he is too said Guzik a customer service representative. A spokeswoman for Sci Cable in Pitts Burgh said the company receives about so requests a year for Valentine ads. Bruce Keifer of Columbia md., charges$20 to $35 to write a sonnet or love letter for people who Don t want to say it with hallmark. Keifer a Public relations writer is producing two romantic missives this year one for a Man who s telling his girl Friend Why he loves her and another for a Man who is trying to persuade a woman to choose him Over another Man. It s More or less an i love you letter combined with a marketing letter Keifer said. Last year Keifer wrote a poem called winning hand for a Man to give to his Girlfriend a Gambler. Of course you Don t have to empty you Wallet to woo your Valentine. Sometimes an inexpensive gift is just As effective said Kathryn Falk owner of romantic times Magazine in new York City. She suggests sprinkling Rose petals Over your sweetheart s bed or delivering a bub ble Bath Complete with a shampoo. Windup the evening by Reading children s books in front of a fire. When you need something for someone you love to hate by Michael Janofsky the new York times today is Valentine s Day and while roses Are a com Mon currency of sentiment they May not mean what you think. Especially if Todd m. Cohan has anything to do with them. Last year the 25-year-old entrepreneur from East Brunswick n.j., was searching for an appropriate Way for former friends or lovers to convey the anger resent ment or pain caused by a relationship gone bad. A civilized Way he said. Something to. Let theother person know How you feel without fisticuffs slashing tires or other criminal by the fall he had the concept Black roses. Dead ones that is. Thus a company was born although in took som doing to get started in time for this Valentine s Day season. For one thing most of the wholesale florists Cohan knew sold roses of More common color so he had to figure out How to turn them Black without destroying them. First he tried burning them but that did t work. Next he let them dry out. That did t work either. Finally he began experimenting with chemicals. That worked turning the roses Black and leaving them otherwise unchanged with the thorns still Harland Sharp. What was the substance can t say he said. Industry by Jan. 6, he was ready for business with a suitable phone number 1-800-1-hate-you. Callers could order one dead Black Rose $14.95six $59.95 or a dozen $76.95. The idea was to Market them All Over the country Cohan said and about the Only thing comparable was offered by Sweet Asylum florists in Greenwich Village a dozen Rose stems no Flowers just thorns said the owner Louise Damato for $35. But he discovered his advertising budget of $10,000 was not nearly enough leaving him to scramble for additional exposure mostly through radio interviews and notices on computer bulletin boards. By Friday with the Selling season virtually Over Cohan was off skiing trying hard not to think about his losses. Each Rose Cost about $3 to Send he said and the company had sold about 1,000. In a news release in january the company said that More than 100,000 roses were being prepared for their ultimate but it was worthwhile Cohan said. I was looking to make a lot of he was surprised he said by the variety in custom ers not just men sending to women and vice versa but also men to men women to women and in at least Necase a company executive to a former colleague work ing for a rival firm. People get ticked off he said. Cohan said that he would probably leave the dead Black Rose venture to pursue other business interests. Meanwhile he has an idea for a gift Catalon featuring items than can be sent along with personalized Mes sages for special occasions. Like a Nice Robe or a top hat or Champagne he said. And maybe going ape us do Ovidio Patricia Despard gets a visit from a Pink Gorilla de livering Valentine s Day greetings at Raf my Edenhall England. Despard Deputy commander of the moral welfare and recreation funds and services so was one of about 50 people at the base and Raf Laken Heath to receive visits from the Gorilla at toe request of people who wanted to Send out special greetings. The Gorilla also is known As Matt Driver a recreation aide at the Mildenhall american youth activities
