Archives: News
Wauwatosa Boutique Offers High Fashion at Low Price Points
Wauwatosa, WI – If there’s something familiar about Element Style boutique, it might be that you’ve heard the name before.
And not just at the shop’s original location in Delafield.
The boutique was named after Carrie Rozek and her husband Chris’ other family business – My Element Style. Based in North Lake in Waukesha County, that Element Style features Anthropologie-esque salon accessories like aprons, scissor cases and barbicide jars Chris Rozek designs.
New Boutique Opens in Park Mall’s Visions Seaside Spa
Pacifica, CA – When she opened her new women’s clothing, jewelry and accessories boutique in Park Mall over the weekend, Meaghan Gearing celebrated the occasion with friends, family, a large contingent of Chamber of Commerce members and the most adorable black Labrador puppies, which were all huddled in one of the dressing rooms or picked up for cuddles.
Almost as attractive as the merchandise lining the shelves were the shelves themselves, unique creations made by Gearing’s boyfriend, Erik Bleyle of Bleyle Elevator, from recycled elevator parts.
“I love to shop and I thought this b
Aurora Promotes Tony Sayles to Vice President of Sales
Aurora World Inc. (www.auroragift.com) today announced the promotion of Tony Sayles to Vice President of Sales, effective immediately. He will oversee all field personnel in the United States as well as Aurora’s national and strategic accounts. Sayles will report directly to Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Michael Kessler who handles all US and international operations for Aurora.
“It’s a great pleasure to promote a gift industry veteran like Tony to his new role at Aurora,” says Kessler. “His 20-plus years of experience are a huge asset to our company.
Midwest‐CBK Announces New License with Artist Amylee Weeks Featuring Inspirational Gifts and Accessories
Midwest‐CBK, LLC, national designer and manufacturer of seasonal and everyday gifts, announces it has signed a license with artist Amylee Weeks to create and sell her new inspirational gifts and accessories collection to independent retailers.
The collection, Hope Shines Through by Amylee Weeks, includes gifts, accessories, and home accents featuring inspirational text in contemporary styling and bold colors.
Abbyson Living Opening Permanent Showroom at Las Vegas Market
Abbyson Living is returning to the Las Vegas Market with a new permanent showroom in space B-0880.
The 6,256-square-foot showroom is in a “prime, atrium space right off the escalator,” said Yavar Rafieha, vice president of Abbyson Living. “We are remodeling the space for market to create a stunning presentation.”
The new showroom is being designed to spotlight lifestyle vignettes.
Here’s Looking at Euclid: Zometool: Made for Kids, Used by Nobel Prize Winners
Often, connecting the dots in unexpected ways has been the start of a great discovery. “Nobel Prize winners James Watson and Francis Crick learned that competitor Linus Pauling had used a toy-like modeling system to crack the structure of a helical protein,” explains Paul Hildebrandt, President and Founder of Zometool. “They followed his lead and by developing their model of the DNA molecule, they spawned a new era in biology.
Kube Import Showing Expanded Outdoor Furniture Line in New Las Vegas Market Showroom
Contemporary lifestyle furniture specialist Kube Import has relocated its Las Vegas Market showroom for the market being held Jan. 28 to Feb. 1.
Kube will exhibit in a 2,600-square-foot showroom in space B-759 for the winter show.
Based in Palm Harbor, Fla., Kube Import sources dining sets, occasional chairs and tables and outdoor furniture from a select group of factories in Asia.
New Gift Shop Opens On Main Street
Safety Harbor, FL – A new gift shop recently opened downtown, and according to owner Tricia Farley, it offers the kind of eclectic art and gifts that are perfectly suited for Safety Harbor.
Tricia’s Tribute, located on the second floor of the building at 500 Main St., features original artwork, handmade jewelry, rare antiques and hard to find collectibles.
“I’m a resident of Safety Harbor, and I wanted to have my business here as well,” Farley said.
Shop Owner’s Love of Dolls Becomes Her Livelihood
Bowie, TX – Imagine going to work and being surrounded by beauty and joy.
Frances Wiggins says she has that each day she enters her doll shop and is greeted by the faces that smile at her from the shelves.
Wiggins has been operating Sharing the Love of Dolls in Bowie for six years after she and her husband, Carl, retired to Bowie about 10 years ago.
“Retired” is the key word, as both decided about six months later they were not quite ready to stop working.
Everyday is a Craft Show on 95th Street
Oak Lawn, IL – Most local churches and schools hold craft fairs once a year.
Kathy Kampenga holds one every day.
Owner of the Craft Show Store, 5370 W. 95th St. since January, Kampenga presides over a bright and cheerful business that beckons shoppers with its display of wood sports memorabilia, including a Chicago Blackhawks birdhouse on a pole bidding everyone welcome. There’s a Christmas tree in the window, assuring passers-by the spirit of the season is alive and well here.
Aurora Highlights Spring and Easter Themed Products for 2013
Aurora World Inc. (www.auroragift.com) has announced its newest spring and Easter-themed product releases including the colorful Sherbet Bunny, a “Spring Garden” RAGGEDY ANN® doll and a new take on the best selling YooHoo & Friends™ line.
CRAFT: The Summit 2013 Promises to Inspire and Educate Retailers and Artists
Craft Retailers & Artists for Tomorrow (C.R.A.F.T.) is pleased to announce “CRAFT: The Summit 2013,” a one-day intensive, inspired education event for retailers and artists who serve the wholesale marketplace. The first annual event is scheduled to coincide with the ACRE Las Vegas show on Tuesday, April 30, 2013 at the South Point Hotel Casino and Spa.
The one-day “CRAFT: The Summit 2013” event will feature well-known marketing experts who will share their knowledge and experience.
Nonprofit Gift Shops Add Local Color to the Christmas Shopping Season
Wichita Falls, TX – Jingling all the way doesn’t always have to mean jingling all the way to the nearest megastore. Nonprofit arts and cultural groups at this time of year like to tout the arts scene via their gift shops.
The Kemp Center for the Arts’ Local Color Gift Shop, for one, is a good place to discover work by local artists who don’t churn out mass quantities of items but make one-of-a-kind gifts that the bearer won’t see anyone else wearing or hanging on their walls.
Lorain Pop-up Shops Continue Business Downtown During Holiday Season
Lorain, OH – Vintage furniture, custom-made clothes, flowers, pictures, music and video have moved into downtown Lorain in the pop-up shops that opened for the Christmas shopping season.
Lorain officials have said they want to match small businesses with landlords who have storefront space available in hopes adding stores and drawing shoppers downtown. The shops have variable hours during the week but remain open on the weekends.
More than a dozen pop-upreneurs have brought their wares to eight sites, joining a host of other merchants who make their homes on Broadway.
St. Regis Gift Shop Has Been Offering Treats to Highway Travelers for 50 Years
St. Regis, MT – The only place in the world where you can probably find a huckleberry milkshake, “Fartless 16 Bean Soup,” and a live trout aquarium all under the same roof is the St. Regis Gift Shop.
Years ago, Montana Slim, a painted plywood cutout of a bowlegged cowboy, would greet visitors at the entrance, but the seasons gave him a beating.
New Life for NL Fair-Trade Store
New London, CT – A new missionary of the fair-trade movement in the region has reopened the Flavours of Life gift shop on Bank Street, ready to take over a store and a vision pioneered by David Lewis and Marcie Boyer.
Ellen Cummings, a city resident who had no retail experience before reopening the store in August, said she at first felt downhearted at hearing Lewis and Boyer were giving up the shop that she loved.
Spending Helps Small Business Across Nation, Locally
Spending by holiday shoppers trumped Superstorm Sandy’s impact on small businesses in November.
A recent report from MasterCard Advisors and Wells Fargo shows that shoppers spent 5.2 percent more at small retailers in November than they did last year. Small businesses even fared better than the industry at large: Total U.S.
Friends’ Strengths Work Well Together in Business World
Middletown, OH – Kathryn Schaub and Amy Tolson discovered early on they were a perfect compliment to each other when it comes to running a business.
Schaub said she had previously run a mortgage business with her husband, while Tolson had more of an artsy flair, specializing in interior decorating.
At Ann Arbor’s Falling Water, Themes of Peace and Gratitude Resonate This Holiday Season
Ann Arbor, MI – When Jim Johnston recalls his 24 years of operating Falling Water on Ann Arbor’s South Main Street, one word comes to mind: gratitude.
“I’ve always thought about (Falling Water) as a gift in my life, and I’ve tried to honor that as best I can,” he said about his years as a store owner.
For many people, feelings of gratitude and peace are easily forgotten during the hectic holiday season. That’s why Jim and his daughter, Jessica Johnston, decided to erect a “peace wall” inside the store’s window at 213 S. Main St. this year.
Cash Mob Hits Readers’ Books
Sonoma, CA – There are packed ballparks, crowded theaters and now, thanks to two Sonoma friends, at least one mobbed bookstore.
Some 50 people collectively descended upon Readers’ Books Saturday afternoon as part of Sonoma Cash Mob, a movement to support local, independent businesses.
The bookstore staff was “wildly astonished” by the noontime mob, all visiting on a cold, rainy day with the intention of spending at least $15.
The mob was organized by Cynthia Tarr and Janice King through social media like Twitter and Facebook, local media outlets and old-fashioned word-of-m