What catalogs do you actually like to get?

[mint my own]

I can just toss most of the ones at this time of year, but I love the camping ones.
I drool over expensive tents and top end canoes that I will never own.

[Waterman]

Victoria's Secret!

[Cowgirl Jules]

Man, two posts and you've hit both of mine! I love Cabela's, and I suspect I love Victoria's Secret for a different reason than Waterman...


Oh, and there's one western wear catalog that I always seem to actually buy things from, Rod's . Oh, and Penzey's.

[jayjay]

Patternworks, Halcyon (both yarn and fiber arts equipment catalogs)
X-treme Geek, Cyberguys (gadgets and gizmos and computer components)

[jayjay]

Originally Posted by jayjay

Patternworks, Halcyon (both yarn and fiber arts equipment catalogs)

Incidentally, I call these two my "yarn porn".

[Waterman]

Originally Posted by Cowgirl Jules

... and I suspect I love Victoria's Secret for a different reason than Waterman...

What reason do you have in mind?

[Marconi & Schmeese]

Signals - I just received a gift from my husband from there last night!

[pokey]

Ikea and Holt Renfrew. For some reason those are the only catalogues I get too. So that works out.

[Johnny L.A.]

Moss Motors (MGB parts)
The Easton Press (books)
Sporty's Pilot Shop (pilot supplies)

[betenoir]

Blowfish

[furlibusea]

Penzey's is about 2 miles from my house so I visit that in person. (It is wonderful to walk in there and smell the world.)

My favorites are Rockler and Bits and Pieces and there used to be a couple gardening catologs I got that I loved but they don't come in anymore and I forget their names.

[Johnny L.A.]

With a name like Waterman you should look forward to the Levenger (pens and such) catalogue!

[danceswithcats]

Grainger, MSC Industrial Supply, and McMaster-Carr. Yes, I'm strange.

[Shagnasty]

LL Bean (fine classic outdoor clothing made well)
Sportsman's Guide (cheap outdoorsy and sometimes odd stuff)
Sporty's Pilot Shop (aircraft related)

[lonesome loser]

Adam and Eve.

[Zsofia]

Levenger's, Penzey's, Nordic Needle, Pottery Barn. Oh, and Restoration Hardware, even though I can't afford it. And Van Dyke's Restorers, antique hardware for my antique house that I also can't afford, alas.

[Misnomer]

I love many catalogues.

• ThinkGeek
• Sharper Image
• Improvements
• Solutions
• Get Organized
• Signals
• Pottery Barn
• Levenger
• Hammacher Schlemmer
• Taliesin Bookstore
• Swarovski

Originally Posted by betenoir

Blowfish

[Telperien]

I love the Vermont Country Store catalog, L.L. Bean, and Lands' End.

I only look at the Blowfish catalog online, though. (with a tape measure or ruler)

[Lissa]

My favorite catalogs are for pet products.

Yeah, I buy a lot of dog stuff. When I see the elaborate, expensive items, like cherrywood beds with orthopedic matresses, I can soothe myself with the thought that I'm not that nuts.

Yet.

[Cowgirl Jules]

Originally Posted by Waterman

What reason do you have in mind?

Roll your eyes at me if you want to, but most men I know like to look at that catalog and I like to buy things from it. Not such a huge difference, but unless you're underwear shopping, it's still there.

[Cowgirl Jules]

Waterman, on further reflection, I see that I was just being an ass, and I apologize.

[Thudlow Boink]

I like getting book catalogs (like, for instance, the ones from Daedalus books), and the American Science & Surplus catalogs, which have some of the greatest product descriptions ever.

[Waterman]

Originally Posted by Cowgirl Jules

Waterman, on further reflection, I see that I was just being an ass, and I apologize.

No apology needed, despite the innuendo of my original post here, I have actually purchased items from the catalog in the past, and to set the record straight, not for me!

[Cowgirl Jules]

Yes, that's why my lightbulb went on... I have stuff from there that I didn't purchase, so duh!

My lightbulb's running a little dim these days.

[Jophiel]

My old apartment was on the mailing list for the Harriet Carter catalog. I actually came to look forward to getting it -- there was so much inane crap in there that it made for some fun bathroom reading.

I've been doing a lot of air travel in the past year and refer to the SkyMall catalogs they have on the planes as Harriet Carter's grown up cousin.

[FordPrefect]

My favorite is the Lee Valley Woodworking catalog.
My second is Victoria's Secret, but not for the Puritanical reasons that Waterman and Cowgirl Jules do, I love for the skimpily clad models

[jayjay]

Originally Posted by Jophiel

My old apartment was on the mailing list for the Harriet Carter catalog. I actually came to look forward to getting it -- there was so much inane crap in there that it made for some fun bathroom reading.

My mother gets that on a regular basis. It IS pretty amusing to see the pages and pages of kitsch.

[Waterman]

Now the catalog that I really lust after ( ) is the ---- Williams-Sonoma!. Penzey's is also high on my list but (in response to Johnny L.A.), I have never seen the Levenger catalog. I do, however, have a fondness for fountain pens with fine points as I do like writing with them but the only ones I've owned in the past were Parker.

[ivylass]

Knitpicks.com has a monthly catalog...I linger over the yarn, the books, the patterns, the needles....

[FlyingRamenMonster]

Ikea. It's like furniture porn.

[AuntiePam]

I like book catalogs too -- A Common Reader is one I look forward to.

The catalog from Red Envelope is fun to look at. It's small, and there's not a lot of stuff on each page. Someone spent some time on the design. Same goes for their website. It's a pleasure to visit, and well-organized.

[jayjay]

Originally Posted by the Fun

There is one with baskets of fruit on the cover. Something & David?
But I would never send fruit. It would have to arrive unripe or they'd have to eat it all immediately. How does that work?
So I send the sausage and cheese logs from whatit house.

Harry & David. I got that catalog in the mail this year (unasked-for...I don't do fruit baskets).

Whatsit House = Swiss Colony?

[gfloyd]

Northern Sun always has amusing poltical and social t-shirts and buttons to read. King Arthur's Flour catalog also makes me lust after things I can't afford but want to play with in the kitchen.

[Derleth]

Originally Posted by Thudlow Boink

American Science & Surplus catalogs, which have some of the greatest product descriptions ever.

I love AS&S! Their product descriptions are great.

[Shirley Ujest]

Chinaberry

Bas Bleu

Are two of my favorite indy book sellers.

[Zabali_Clawbane]

Fire Mountain Gems and Beads. Bead porn! One day I'll get some of their findings for some really nice projects, and see how well I can do. I'm already making nice things with decent components, I'd like to see how a project came out with excellent components.

[Misnomer]

Originally Posted by Harimad-sol

Lands' End.

How could I forget Land's End?!

It happened yesterday, too: I filled out one of those "getting to know you" e-mail questionnaires, and completely forgot to put Land's End down under "stores where you'd max out your credit card." D'oh! I would happily max out several credit cards there (well, online).

[alice_in_wonderland]

Holt Renfrew
JCrew
Anthropologie
MEC
TSC
Dog Outfitters Monthly

Ok, the last one is a joke. But if a catalogue with doggie outfits arrived at my door, I would read it, and probably order from it.

[Thalion]

Ah, there's nothing like looking at stuff that you can never have (which brings us back to Victoria's Secret).

My favorites include The Noble Collection, Levenger and Design Toscano.

[Telperien]

Originally Posted by Misnomer

How could I forget Land's End?!

It happened yesterday, too: I filled out one of those "getting to know you" e-mail questionnaires, and completely forgot to put Land's End down under "stores where you'd max out your credit card." D'oh! I would happily max out several credit cards there (well, online).

Do you ever actually buy anything there? I've been studying their clothes very carefully lately, and some of them look good.

[Anastasaeon]

Originally Posted by Zabali_Clawbane

Fire Mountain Gems and Beads. Bead porn! One day I'll get some of their findings for some really nice projects, and see how well I can do. I'm already making nice things with decent components, I'd like to see how a project came out with excellent components.

Ooooh, oooh, another fan of bead porn! I just got my new Fire Mountain Gems catalogue in the mail yesterday! Bliss! I call it my beadie bible.

I also love my IKEA catalogues. I haven't seen a Sears catalogue in years and years, but I remember as a child, and even well into adulthood, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the Wishbook each year.

[psychonaut]

I like looking through the O'Reilly book catalogue. Not so much for the tech stuff as to look at all the pretty animals.

[Idlewild]

Daniel Smith - art supply yumminess. Also, yes, Williams Sonoma and Levenger.

[thirdname]

Parts Express. Audio & electronics parts and products.

[Misnomer]

Originally Posted by Harimad-sol

Do you ever actually buy anything there? I've been studying their clothes very carefully lately, and some of them look good.

Yep, I've ordered jeans, shirts, and even a swimsuit from them (online). I like their stuff, they have good customer service, and their return policy rocks.

[Revtim]

Originally Posted by Waterman

Victoria's Secret!

Amen. Jeff Foxworthy said something like "Pictures of gorgeous models in skimpy lingerie mailed to my home free of charge? God bless America!!"