Archives: News
Jewelry Store Opens in Niles
Niles, MI – Pat Starr wanted more than the usual daily grind — driving to a job, working at a desk all day and than going home.
“Life’s too short to just get up and be tired and not enjoy going to work,” she said.
So Starr, a Buchanan resident and accountant at Andrews Tax X Accounting, P.C. in Niles, saw an opportunity when a business space vacated next to her work.
“It was like divine intervention. Things just started lining up,” she said.
Icon Brings Hip, Funky Gift Items to Mill Avenue
Tucson, AZ – Although Shane Henson and Charles Goffnet created Icon, it’s difficult for even them to come up with a simple description of their eclectic shop on Mill Avenue.
“We didn’t want to say it’s a boutique because men will think it’s just for women,” he said.
“And it’s not a gift shop because people will come in and find something for themselves and not necessarily to give it to someone else.
C & F Enterprises Quilt Inspirations for 2012
C & F Enterprises’ new 1st quarter quilt inspirations for 2012 were introduced this week at the New York Home Fashions market to wide acclaim.
NYIGF Launches “100 Days of Design” Initiative
Beginning in October, the New York International Gift Fair® (NYIGF®) will launch “100 Days of Design,” a new initiative connected with the New York market’s design-driven resources. The campaign — which includes a collaborative blog, an Accent on Design® Awards retrospective and at-market activities — begins on Thursday, October 20, which is exactly 100 days prior to the opening of the winter NYIGF on Saturday, January 28, 2012.
The program’s main component will be the “100 Days of Design” blog.
Store Owner Leaving Mark on Elgin After 50 Years in Business
Elgin, IL – Dave Andersen had no intention of running his father’s gift shop in Elgin.
He went to college and earned a degree in sociology, then served in the Army during Vietnam.
But after returning from the war in 1972, he found himself moving back home with his own new family in tow.
“My dad said, “Listen buster, if you’re going to eat my food and live in my house with your wife and baby, you’re going to come out to the store to help,'” Andersen recalled.
New Ahwatukee Boutique’s Sales Exceed Owner’s Expectations
Ahwatukee, AZ – When Leslie Grady-Atwood made a business plan to open her own boutique, she figured selling 40 items a month would keep the doors open.
She opened Expressions Boutique Aug. 1 and ended the month with about 650 items sold.
“I just get tears in my eyes when I think about it,” Grady-Atwood said.
Last week, the 49-year-old Ahwatukee resident celebrated her grand opening. The boutique, at 4025 E. Chandler Blvd., Suite 42, sells home decor, jewelry, clothing, accessories and gifts.
Gift Shop at Remington Park Brings Retail to Racetrack
Oklahoma City, OK – Officials with Remington Park recently opened a gift shop near the casino entrance of the state’s premier racetrack and casino. Offering unique fashion items to both racing and casino patrons, The Gift Shop at Remington Park carries items for all ages and includes Remington Park logoed pieces as well as accessories from top designers Steve Madden and Betsy Johnson.
Sharon Lair, Remington Park marketing director, said the new gift shop was opened in response to numerous patron requests.
Bites Nearby: British Imports
Plymouth, MA – Locals do not have to drive far to find specialty food stores. Take a trip to downtown Plymouth and you will come across British Imports, where, according to owner Unity MacLean, you will see the same products found in supermarkets in Britain. These include standard, not gourmet, groceries, like teas, jams, cookies, chocolates and pre-packaged frozen meats, as well as gift items. There are also some Irish foods sold.
Some of the most popular products, MacLean tells, are Branston pickle and sauces, Scottish meat pies and the Cadbury Flake and Crunchie chocolate bars.
WallPops Center Stage on “Made in America” Series on “ABC World News with Diane Sawyer”
WallPops, the most coordinated, on-trend line of wall art on the market has yet another feather in its cap. It was center stage in this week’s “ABC World News with Diane Sawyer” “Made in America” series on dorm room decorating. Monica Resendiz, a student at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, tweeted to the World News team that she could not find any products for her dorm room that were made in America and asked them for help. Resendiz and World News set out to find American-made products and came upon WallPops in the campus store.
Natural Impression Design Announces Sponsorship of Wish Upon A Wedding
Natural Impression Design announces sponsorship of Wish Upon A Wedding’s Wishes, Galas and an upcoming mid-range Custom Invitation Line to benefit Wish Upon A Wedding.
Couples receiving Wedding Wishes from Wish Upon A Wedding will be given the opportunity to choose from a selection of wedding stationery compliments of Natural Impressions Design. “This is a great organization bringing joy to so many people,” said Eddy Martinez of Natural Impression Design.
Woodstock Percussion, Inc.’s Garry Kvistad Invited Presenter at Accoustical Society of America
More than 30 years ago, Garry Kvistad repurposed a pile of discarded lawn chairs he found in a landfill. He cut the chairs’ aluminum tubes to various lengths to create a musical instrument known as a metallophone. This led him to make a windchime based on this same experiment, which sparked the creation of his company, Woodstock Percussion, Inc., makers of windchimes, known as Woodstock Chimes® and children’s musical instruments, known as the Woodstock Music Collection®.
Couple’s Big Plans for Gift Shop Business
Ely, UK – A new gift shop is opening in Ely – in the premises of another gift shop that suddenly closed.
The Gift Box, in Newnham Street, shut down in May and has stood empty ever since.
Now Ian and Yvonne Bishop, from Isleham, are taking over the premises and opening a store called The Occasional Gift Shop.
The couple, who have been running a gift shop at Isleham Post Office for around 10 years, are confident theirs will succeed.
Mr Bishop said: “We’re not worried that the Gift Box shut down.
“We are going to offer much more than they did.
Forecasts Point to Modest Holiday Growth
New York – Retailers just got an early Christmas gift: Americans are expected to spend more than they did last year during the holidays.
Retail revenue in November and December is expected to be up 3 percent during what is traditionally the biggest shopping period of the year, according to research firm ShopperTrak said Tuesday.
The sales prediction, which matches the outlook from the International Council of Shopping Centers on Friday, would be below last year’s 4.1 percent spike – and the 5-plus percent gains during boom economic times.
Whereoware Joins “Like for Life” Facebook Campaign
Gift For Life, the gift, stationery and home décor industries’ sole charitable organization, today announced that Whereoware has launched a “Like for Life” fundraising campaign on Facebook benefitting Gift for Life.
Throughout the months of September and October, Whereoware will donate $3 to Gift for Life for each Facebook user who “Likes” the Whereoware Facebook page. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/whereoware.
Colonial Candle Partners With Big Machine Records to Light up Q4 Sales With Exclusive, New Holiday CD and Candle Gift Set Featuring Today’s Popular Country Artists
Christmas tunes sung by America’s favorite country artists combined with the magical scent of a yuletide fire and fresh cut pine – there’s no better way to set the holiday mood! Colonial Candle introduces a new luxury boxed holiday gift set featuring an exclusive holiday CD with Christmas songs recorded by today’s most popular Country music artists packaged with an 8-ounce Colonial Candle Holiday Sparkle fragranced candle.
Gift Shop Moves into Marine City Incubator
Marine City, MI – The Capt. David Lester Residence gift shop has set up in one of the incubator offices at the Marine City Chamber of Commerce, 218 S. Water St.
The shop will be open until after Christmas.
Sandy Brown, coordinator of the residence, has been manning the shop.
“The biggest reason for me being here is to get the word out about the foundation,” she said.
Canterbury Lane a Store for All Seasons
Tulsa, OK – Robin Benesh loves her commercial empire, all 1,035 square feet of it. Her gift shop, Canterbury Lane, is tucked neatly into a corner of the Shops of Seville on the northeast corner of East 101st Street and Yale Avenue. It has turned out exactly as she wanted it, a small and friendly place where customers can feel unhurried and get exactly the gift they want from a sales staff trained to give maximum support. It’s an old-fashioned shop where the regulars are greeted by name and a stranger is made to feel comfortable at once.
Dynamic Sister Act Continues to Spice up Westfield
Westfield, NJ – Savory Spice Shop, a Colorado-based franchise that sells hundreds of herbs, spices, and exclusive spice blends is flourishing at their East Broad Street location in downtown Westfield.
Inspirations Embroidery Opens At 427 Main Street
East Greenwich, RI – Lynn Murphy is back on Main Street with an embroidery shop, this time with less emphasis on contract work and more on retail.
She had been on Main Street, then on Frenchtown Road, but two years ago decided she needed more training in the computer aspects of her business and went to New England Tech where she got a software engineering degree.
The degree was something she needed, she says, because everything in the operation is computerized and with the additional training she can function as an in-house design center.