Getting Bold with Small Business Marketing: slu*tsky Lumber (2024)

Pinup models have been a fixture of marketing at least as far back as World War II, when the US government began using coquettish images of women in pro-war propaganda posters. Pinup models eventually made their way to calendars, which became a sexy marketing and fundraising strategy for everyone from Hugh Hefner to a group of middle-aged British women who raised money for cancer research.

The Hudson Valley’s own slu*tsky Lumber is one of the latest examples of the power of the pinup calendar. Its 2021 calendar featuring models in their “lumbersexual” finest was the first step in new owners Rebecca and Jon Falcon’s inspired approach to rebranding slu*tsky after purchasing the Ellenville business that World War II veteran George slu*tsky founded in 1959.

The couple’s approach to refreshing slu*tsky’s brand offers a look into what it takes to get bold with small business marketing and take meaningful risks that reap strong rewards.

A Strong Voice Is Better Than No Voice At All

Without a big budget of a large company to play with, small business owners and their marketing staff can struggle with pushing the boundaries on their campaigns. The result, however, is often middle-of-the road messaging that doesn’t end up spurring potential customers to action. Creating a pinup calendarto increase awareness of slu*tsky Lumber was a big risk, but its strong point of view has paid off in both love from the community and slu*tsky’s sales.

"A lot of people thought that it had gone out of business years ago or that we just sold lumber, or worse, firewood," says Jon. "They didn't really know that we sold anything for building a house."

click to enlarge

Photo by Victoria Janashvili

Jon and Rebecca Falcon, owners of slu*tsky Lumber in Ellenville, posing for their 2023 calendar.

The calendar—created in partnership with photographer Victoria Janashvili and Destination Ellenville—features community members and local business owners posing in various states of undress. The calendar was an instant hit in its first year, and model hopefuls quickly lined up to be included in year two.

While working on the calendar, Rebecca also created a new logo, which pays homage to the origin design by local artist Roger Baker (best known for mowing giant portraits into grassy fields) and applied it to a new line of hats, tees, and sweatshirts, as well as cheeky magnets that proclaim “I Heart Wood.” “You walk around Kingston and have a slu*tsky hat on and people will stop you,” says Rebecca.

Make Sure the Pros Outweigh the Cons

With a background in fashion and design, marketing was already within Rebecca’s wheelhouse when she and Jon purchased slu*tsky. The sexy play on the slu*tsky name came to her instantly, but that didn’t mean it didn’t give her pause. “The moment that we fell in love with slu*tsky I obviously went on a whole marketing frenzy because there's so many puns,” she says.

click to enlarge

Image courtesy slu*tsky Lumber

Before launching into work on the calendar, however, she and Jon ran the idea by George slu*tsky himself. “I wanted to make sure he understood the concept and was okay with it,” she says.

Even though they couldn’t predict how the Ellenville community would react to the calendar’s content, the potential to meaningfully increase the business’s awareness and its sales, as well as shine a light on local community members, convinced Rebecca to trust her gut. “I think I just made a list of pros and cons, and there weren't any real cons that I couldn't look past,” she says.

As someone who grew up in a small hamlet of neighboring Orange County, Rebecca also felt strongly about donating calendar profits to a local organization. “Before I felt comfortable pulling the trigger I knew I would like to make it for the good of something else. I really believe in Family of Ellenville,” she says.

Be Willing to Fail

For business owners and organizations with small budgets, going out on a limb with a marketing campaign’s messaging without a guarantee of success can often feel like a waste of precious time and money.

click to enlarge

Image courtesy slu*tsky Lumber

Even though their finances for slu*tsky were tight after purchasing the business, the Falcons were able to take a long-term view of their marketing decisions for the business because they purchased it as part of their future goal to develop a local hospitality group that focuses on creating and strengthening mom-and-pop businesses (a Newburgh liquor store and laundromat, a Wurtsboro vintage emporium, and a soon-to-be slu*tsky-branded coworking space in Ellenville number among their projects). They knew that moving the needle on a 62-year-old home improvement business’s brand awareness and its sales wouldn’t come without the risk of potential failure.

“I feel like we're just always trying different marketing and sales tactics because it's so important, especially if you're competing against businesses that have big marketing budgets, to just keep trying different ways to get customers in the door until you see something that's starting to stick,” says Jon.

slu*tsky Lumber's Risqué Pinup Calendar Returns for 2024: The Little Lumberyard That's Helping Rebuild Ellenville

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About The Author

Ashleigh Lovelace

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Email Ashleigh Lovelace

Ashleigh is a writer, beginning farmer, and advocate for all things Catskills. As Chronogram Media's Branded Content Editor, she works with clients to share their stories with readers through engaging sponsored articles. She also writes about food, cookbooks, restaurants, and small business issues.

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Getting Bold with Small Business Marketing: slu*tsky Lumber (2024)

A Strong Voice Is Better Than No Voice At All

Make Sure the Pros Outweigh the Cons

Be Willing to Fail

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slu*tsky Lumber's Risqué Pinup Calendar Returns for 2024: The Little Lumberyard That's Helping Rebuild Ellenville

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About The Author

Ashleigh Lovelace