Feeling lucky? We added a contest page to our website listing all our current contests and our recent contest winners. Check it out at www.koihappiness.com/pages/koi_contests.html  today!

Customers often ask us how they can obtain koi styles and prints that aren’t available at their local koi retailer. The first thing you should do is to ask your retailer if they can place a special order for you. Most will be happy to do so.

But what if you want to replace a favorite koi top that’s sold out or no longer in production? Sometimes it takes persistence. But sometimes you just get “lucky.”

Koi fan Nicole P. of Long Beach, CA wrote in to tell us how one unlucky day at work her black permanent marker top came off and ruined the koi Kathryn Lucky top that she loved so much. When she tried to purchase a replacement online, she found out the top was sold out except for a size 2X and she wore a small.

When Kim in our sales department got wind of Nicole’s dilemma, she went to see if our see if our product development team had any extra fabric in that style to make another top. But since it was a style from a past season, the odds weren’t good. She also went to see if our production team could cut down a 2x and make it a small. Sometimes, it’s possible if you have the right trim fabric. But that was no guarantee either.

Miraculously, our product development team managed to find an early production sample of the Kathryn Lucky top. Best of all, it was in Nicole’s exact size. Nicole was thrilled. And so was everyone on our team. (After all, we’re suckers for happy endings.)

So if you can’t find the koi style you’re looking for, don’t give up hope. Be persistent and ask around. You could get “lucky” like Nicole.

Above: koi fan Nicole wearing her Kathryn Lucky top.

Have you ever wondered what’s involved in creating all the fashion shots you see in our catalogs and website? Here’s a quick peek behind the scenes at a koi photo shoot and all the hard work (and fun) that went into making our Spring 2010 catalog. Take a look. And don’t forget, our Spring styles are in stores now!

As many of you know, koi designer and founder Kathy Peterson isn’t just sponsoring koi’s “Healthier, Happier You” Contest, she’s also an active participant in this year-long weight-loss campaign. On February 1, she had her first weigh-in. Kathy lost a combined 4-1/4 inches from her chest, waist and hips, but, to her surprise, she actually gained a pound  in January. She now is at 133 pounds, about 23 pounds away from her year-end goal.

Here’s what Kathy had to say to her fellow participants:

“I am so excited that we’ve gotten such a great response to our “Healthier, Happier You” Contest. I am really inspired by all the great reasons you gave for wanting to get healthy.

Here is how I am trying to get healthy. Five weeks ago, I started taking spin classes. I’ve been taking classes 5 times a week for about an hour. I also stopped drinking soda and eating candy. I feel better and can tell my body is changing. I did my first weigh-in and measurements for the year and I gained 1 pound, but lost a couple of inches around. This tells me I need to monitor what I’m eating and change up my exercise. I have to admit that ever since I started my workouts, I am hungry all the time.

I want to encourage you all to keep at it, especially if you are like me and don’t see results right away. Everyone is different. Go at your own pace, but keep going.

For those of you who didn’t sign up in our “Healthier, Happier You” Contest or are already at a healthy weight, I have just the contest for  you. Guess what my weight will be when I weigh in on December 31, 2010. You have until March 31, 2010 to enter. Just send your guess, along with your name, address and phone number, to shiningstar@koihappiness.com. The closest guesser will receive $100 in koi merchandise. If there’s a tie between more than one person, we will award a maximum of 5 prizes, with ties going to the person who submitted their winning entry first. Only 1 entry per person, please.”

—Kathy Peterson