ups & downs-Weirs biz

[nj2nh]

Has it moved? Is it gone? I haven't been in years, but I was comforted by the fact that it seems to have been there for as long as I can remember - unlike everything else these days.

nj2nh

[winniplayhouse]

Annalee has consolidated their business into the front building that had previously been their corporate headquarters. They now have a gift shop in there in addition to all the admin stuff but I don't believe they have the museum anymore. They are definitely still there!!

[fatlazyless]

I understand that the actual work of crafting all the dolls by hand that used to be done at the Annalee "farm' in Meredith, has been farmed out to a less costly Annalee team somewhere in China. Crafting those famous doll creations requires lots of skilled crafter-people......ah-so!

Nice area that old Annalee farm complex....lots of trees, farm-like red buildings, rolling meadows, water streams, open fields....just like an old farm.


As the old time saying goes: If you can make it at The Weirs, you can make it anywhere! Winni Playhouse moving to Meredith is a smooth move for Meredith! Eat your heart out, Weirs Beach!

[Airwaves]

I think for the Weirs to survive they really need to remake themselves. I agree with SAMIAM that currently they are relying way too heavily on Bike Week. So any ideas how to save the Weirs from themselves?

[CanisLupusArctos]

Originally Posted by Airwaves

I think for the Weirs to survive they really need to remake themselves. I agree with SAMIAM that currently they are relying way too heavily on Bike Week. So any ideas how to save the Weirs from themselves?

The Weirs is in a hard place now. In the last few years they've been the place for non-upscale people to go, while the rest of the lake slowly switched to upscale. Now the non-upscale crowd isn't spending money like it was until a couple years ago and that situation doesn't look like it's going to improve anytime soon.

The Weirs could join the rest of the lake in going upscale and survive for the short term (maybe longer), but history shows that when predominantly upscale destinations crash, they crash big and it takes them decades to recover. The things the upscale crowd considers "In" and "Out" can change overnight sometimes, depending on what's going on in the world and what trends the talking heads decide to promote. There were a lot of predominantly upscale destinations in NH that collapsed when the car became more popular than the railroad, and paved roads didn't serve the same places as the rails did.

Weirs could do well if they capitalized on the current recession by assuming non-upscale families still want a scenic retreat if only it were affordable, and make themselves the kind of place where southern NH's growing population can go on a budget, and without spending a lot of gas money to get there.

A few years from now they could benefit from the revitalization of regular passenger service on the railroad. The line in the Weirs goes all the way to Boston via Tilton, Concord and Lowell (it is basically an extension of the Lowell line that goes all the way to Lincoln via Plymouth). Right now they're hoping to get commuter service on the line extended to Nashua by next year, Manchester in 2 years, and Concord in 3 years. If gas prices keep going the way they're going (which is likely,) it's reasonable to assume that when passenger trains return to Concord, people in Laconia will be asking for further extension of the service. Recently the Citizen ran a story about one of the boards in Laconia already talking about that.

For more info, visit the NH Railroad Revitalization Association.

This is an interestng tidbit from their web site:

New Hampshire Rail Transit Authority Created

With a special city hall signing in Nashua, the governor of New Hampshire created a rail authority that not only will oversee commuter rail into Nashua, but also its expansion, as well as any other commuter rail service in the State of New Hampshire.

[RI Swamp Yankee]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

I understand that the actual work of crafting all the dolls by hand that used to be done at the Annalee "farm' in Meredith, has been farmed out to a less costly Annalee team somewhere in China. Crafting those famous doll creations requires lots of skilled crafter-people......ah-so!

My wife (and I ) were members of the Annalee Doll Society and had quite a collection of Annalee dolls including all the "members only" collector series. We went to the annual "social" and auction every year. "Made in Meredith" was worth something. When they moved the manufacturing "offshore" as they called it we stopped buying and let the membership lapse. Maybe Chuck feels the profit is greater but it just isn't the same.