Archives: News
Lake View Toy Store Preps for Holidays After Devastating Flood
Lake View, IL – Every nook and cranny at Building Blocks Toy Store in Lake View is packed with enough colorful toys and games to make your inner-child squeal with joy, but it wasn’t long ago that this neighborhood staple was in danger of going under.
Located at 3306 N. Lincoln Ave, the toy store is still recovering from major flood during the summer caused by a broken pipe leading to a major sewer line.
New at the Loop: Gifts With Love, a Shop With a Mission
Mobile, AL – Ester de Aguiar, the Mobile International Festival’s “Ms.
VHC, Inc. Adds National Field Sales Manager to Direct National Growth
Kristine Dunlevy has been named National Field Sales Manager at VHC, Inc. – home of Bella Taylor handbags, Lasting Impressions bedding/throws, and Nancy’s Nook home décor including kitchen, window, holiday and braided rugs.
Ms. Dunlevy, formerly with OneCoast and Gund, Inc., will continue to be based in Ohio and will be responsible for building a sales team nationwide by region or state. Sales personnel will be corporate employees and will be responsible for the growth of sales in all VHC lines on a target-client basis.
Introducing the 2012 Holiday Collection From Crabtree & Evelyn
Inspired by the wonder of nature, with a colour palette drawn from the majesty of a magical winter garden, Crabtree & Evelyn’s 2012 festive Holiday collections take you through a spectrum of vibrant colours, seasonal scents, and exceptional flavours.
Giantmicrobes, Inc. Announces a Big New Line-up of Contagiously Cute Toys and Collectibles for Christmas
Trim your trees and fill your stockings with new ornaments and toys from Giantmicrobes, Inc. (www.giantmicrobes.com), the innovative designers of collectible toys inspired by the microscopic world.
Like other GIANTmicrobes® products, the new additions are humorously educational toys modeled on electron micrographs, enlarged a million times actual size. Each toy includes an image and information about the microbe it represents.
Pink Placebo Gift Shop at MMC Celebrates 50 Years!
Oak Ridge, TN – Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge’s Pink Placebo Gift Shop celebrates its 50th birthday this year.
The Pink Placebo Gift Shop opened in 1962 inside what was then called Oak Ridge Hospital of the Methodist Church. The Oak Ridge Hospital Women’s Organization was established to manage the Pink Placebo and the group became known as the “Pink Ladies.”
Charter members were Grace Tench, Claudia MacPherson, Elaine Trauger, Silvia Aliberti, Kay Brown, Nell Whitcomb and Mary Ann Campbell King, who is still on the volunteer roster today.
Merchants Hope Small Business Saturday Complements Other Shopping Promotions
Peoria, IL – The holiday shopping season steps off in earnest right after Thanksgiving. But in between Black Friday with all those doorbusters and Cyber Monday with its computer convenience is Small Business Saturday (Nov. 24), where mom-and-pop stores have a chance to get in on the holiday action.
“This is the second year for us,” said Renee Charles, project coordinator for Small Business Saturday efforts in central Illinois.
“Our whole goal is to get people to realize that small businesses are the lifeblood of every community,” she said.
Sisters Open Business in Berlin
Berlin, MD – Looking for jewelry? A case of beer? Garden tools? Believe it or not, shoppers can find all of those items in one of Berlin’s newest boutiques.
Sisters, located at 113 N. Main St., is labeled a gift shop, but customers can find everything from beer and wine to home décor. They can also enjoy a drink in the store’s bar and lounge area.
“We call it a unique shopping experience,” said Donna Compher, who opened the shop last summer with her sister, Michael Anne Phillips. “We wanted to do something different.”
In the Family Business: Willow Creek Home Decor Owners Turn Passion into Profit
Willow Creek, WI – In 1990, sisters Cindy Bentley and Jeri Hinkley were stay-at-home moms who ran a small craft business from their homes. They decided their love of home accessories could be the foundation for opening a store.
“There was a lack of quality stores and reasonably priced accessories that helped us make our decision,” Bentley said.
Originally, Willow Creek Home Decor was located in Sun Prairie in 600 square feet. After one year in business, they moved next door to a 2,100-square-foot site.
Partners at Partners Have Grown with Business
Westport, MA – Thirty-three years after it opened, Partners Village Store in Westport has come a long way.
Jan Hall, who co-owns the store with business partner Nancy Crosby, gives an abbreviated history of the shop since it was founded more than three decades ago.
“We started as a wholesale store that sold mostly wine- and beer-making supplies, along with a retail section,” says Hall.
Gartzke’s Opening Shop Downtown
Blue Earth, MN – Brown paper covers the windows at 120 S. Main in Blue Earth, but people have been trying to look through openings to get a sneak peek at Gartzke’s Floral and Gifts.
The store is not new; it’s been part of Gartzke’s Greenhouse and Floral since 1933, says Diana McTamaney, who along with her husband, Denny, has owned Gartzke’s for four years.
Italian Foods and Cooking Classes at Scituate’s Roman Table
Scituate, MA – “Italians hug,” said Lorraine Schinelli, giving me a quick squeeze as I packed up my things after a cooking class at the Roman Table.
Schinelli, a Scituate resident, had spent the evening showing a diverse assortment of would-be chefs how to make her grandmother’s manicotti.
Norton’s Flowers Moves to New West Ann Arbor Location
Ann Arbor, MI – Norton’s Flowers and Gifts is a 120-year-old business, and to the best of President Tim Galea’s knowledge, it’s the oldest retailer in Washtenaw County.
The original location at 2900 Washtenaw Ave., in Ypsilanti was opened by Frank Norton in 1892.
Downtown Holiday Pop-up Shopping Event to Expand
Tulsa, OK – The Deco District Association wants to build on the success of last year’s inaugural holiday pop-up shopping event and further develop downtown Tulsa’s retail potential by continuing what it started: giving small business owners and artists the chance to take up shop during this year’s event, which runs Nov. 26 to Dec. 28.
Libby Auld, president of the association, said the event is ideal for start-up businesses.
“Maybe you’ve been thinking about opening up a record shop and don’t know where to start,” Auld said.
NYIGF Partners With Red Clay on Two New Design Projects
In a first-of-its-kind design project, the New York International Gift Fair® (NYIGF®) has partnered with Red Clay, a collaborative product design studio, to produce a crowd-sourced creation of an innovative NYIGF branded tote and a new design concept for NYIGF’s Accent on Design® award. The “NYIGF Design Project: Red Clay Concept Showcase” will debut at the winter 2013 NYIGF, January 26-30, 2103, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
Road Runners Head West With New Showroom Opening in Dallas
Road Runners, LLC proudly announces another strategic expansion with the opening of a new 5,000 sq ft. showroom in Dallas, Texas. Construction will begin this November; the new showroom will be open for the January 2013 Dallas Gift Show. This location, has been occupied by Howard Gardiner, Inc. since 1961, and is located on the 1st floor of the Dallas Trade Mart.
Effective November 1, 2012, Road Runners will begin representing lines previously covered by Howard Gardiner, Inc. in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas and New Mexico.
Magnet Works Introduces Pets Unleashed, Adds Over 90 New Designs For Spring/Summer
St. Louis – Magnet Works, Ltd., a leading provider of indoor and outdoor home décor accessories, debuted its Spring/Summer 2013 catalog with over 90 new designs, including an all-new Pets Unleashed collection by artist Ginger Oliphant.
Zak’s Loopity Loop Tumbler Helps Make Mealtime Fun
For children, a healthy lifestyle includes getting plenty of water and other nutritious fluids. Unfortunately, for many parents, getting their kids to drink the recommended amount of water every day is often an ongoing struggle. Zak Designs is hoping to make that challenge a little easier to overcome with its new Loopity Loop Tumbler.
The Loopity Loop Tumbler features a screw-on lid with a flexible straw that wraps around the top of the tumbler so that kids can watch the liquid travel up and over and into their mouths.
Deco Raleigh gift shop opens in downtown Raleigh
Raleigh, NC – Deco Raleigh has opened at the southeast corner of West Hargett and Salisbury streets in downtown Raleigh.
The store is brainchild of Pam Blondin, former director of the local affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Blondin aims to offer gifts that can’t be found anywhere else around downtown Raleigh.
Blondin says despite all the gains downtown has made in recent years, there’s still very few places to pick up a gift or a birthday card. “It just seemed that there was this piece missing from downtown,” she said.
Fourth Annual Global Gift Shop Opens This Week At Lee
Cleveland, TN – Lee University has opened its fourth annual Global Gift Shop, a collaborative effort with many fair trade craft suppliers united under the slogan, “Gifts that Give Twice.” The shop will be open Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., and 12-3 p.m. on Saturday, beginning Thursday.
GGS offers handmade arts and crafts – from musical instruments, home décor and other fair trade merchandise – from Ten Thousand Villages, People for Care and Learning, Fair Ladies in Paraguay, and other non-profit organizations.