Archives: News
Top it Off Offering More than Ever in Kids Line
BOSTON, MA – Top It Off is proud to announce its expanded line of accessories for babies and children. Ribbon belts and flip flops are two of the most popular categories in the Top It Off product line of women’s accessories, and both are now available in the TIO Kids line. The charming ribbon belts are available in a variety of colors and patterns and feature a silver D-ring buckle. The flip flops coordinate with the women’s flip flops so customers can achieve a “Mommy & Me” look.
Tea rooms in southeast Minnesota cultivate a tradition
Fall is a great season for cultivating the tradition of afternoon tea. With its popularity soaring as a healthful and inexpensive beverage, now is the time to head into a tea room for a cup of pleasure.
What exactly is a tea room? In my visits throughout the area, I have found that a tea room is a place where you can relax and sit down in a quiet atmosphere. Each owner capitalizes on his or her assets to make the tea room unique.
Tea rooms can be found in most every kind of building imaginable, from old banks and barns to Victorian and cottage-style homes.
Pittsburgh’s eclectic Strip District boasts unique shops, fare
Pittsburgh, PA — The smells of basil, Chinese food, fish and baked goods linger in the humid air along Penn Avenue, mixing with the sweat and grime of packed sidewalks and outdoor vendors. Children cling to their parents’ hands, and young couples stroll leisurely while elderly people zip in and out of stores they have known for generations.
It’s Saturday at Pittsburgh’s historic Strip District, an area stuffed with mom-and-pop businesses, gourmet food stores and offbeat gift shops.
He’s got a gift for promotion
San Gabriel, CA – When David Hornberger worked as a banker, he never dreamed that one day he’d be selling ideas for promotional goodies to corporations.
But now, long into what should be his retirement years, he’s banking on those goodies.
The 77-year-old San Gabriel businessman has parlayed his experience as a bank executive into a career as the owner of Hornberger Companies, which sells promotional gifts to corporations – the kinds of gifts firms hand out to market themselves.
Pencils, hats, key chains, greeting cards, crystal, badges, towels, jackets, calculators …
7WNY announces permanent and temporary exhibitors for fall market
NEW YORK – At this fall’s New York Tabletop Market, buyers at 7W New York will find a whole host of new resources to shop. The building is proud to announce three top-tier permanent brands will be showing for the first time in their own permanent spaces: Arc International, Robbe & Berking and Sieger.
In addition, a growing list of temporary exhibitors has signed on to take advantage of the 11th floor Market Suites.
New Creative gives customers “Extreme Makeover”
(Milford, OH) — New Creative Enterprises (NCE), a leading designer and manufacturer of outdoor living décor and gift items, continues to be a trendsetting leader in outdoor living with innovative changes that have revolutionized the way manufacturers conduct business with retailers.
Sayville businesses eye First Friday plan to boost sales
More than a dozen specialty shops line the long block on Sayville’s South Main Street between Railroad Avenue and Collins Avenue.
From wall street to main street
As people try to figure out what a government bailout of financial institutions means in their own lives, there are still strong differences of opinion about whether it’s needed.
Disputes about whether the government or free market should correct the current crisis led to the House rejection of the $700 billion plan Monday, sparking a nearly 778-point Dow Jones nosedive, the largest one-day plunge in history.
It also was what drove the market back up Tuesday.
Questions remained even after the Senate’s approval Wednesday of a modified plan that might have a greater chance o
T’s with ‘tude
Wearing civic pride on your sleeve (or torso) just got a whole lot hipper.
Yes, it’s finally fashionable to declare an unabashed love of Columbus, sending a kitschy message to your Los Angeles friends: Y eah, I’m from Ohio — what of it?
A growing crop of area artisans, some using only a silk-screen printer and an Internet connection, are creating T-shirts with a satirical (yet loving) take on regional identity.
Think cassette tapes and cornstalks; or lightning bolts, surfers and smokestacks.
Resident returns home, starts business
Jill French was just looking for a place to make a present for her grandson when she stumbled on something more – a business plan.
The former South Lyon resident was living in Florida at the time, and visited a combination coffee shop/pottery painting shop to make the gift.
‘Girlfriends’ gift shop not afraid to walk a little on the wild side
Turkey Creek, TN — Turkey Creek’s newest shop is a little bit ‘wild.’
The Wild Pineapple, a gift shop aimed toward women, opened Friday, Sept. 26.
“It’s a lady’s gift boutique and our tagline for the store is ‘Where girlfriends go shopping,'” said Patty Gail White, owner, pictured above.
“It’s designed to be the place you go anytime you need to buy a girlfriend a gift,” she added.
The store carries wide ranges of products geared toward babies, preteens, teenagers, college students, working women and beyond.
Juried Pavilion Introduced at the Buyers Market of American Craft
(Baltimore, MD) — A new, juried pavilion of museum-quality crafts will be the centerpiece of the Philadelphia Buyers Market of American Craft, Feb. 13-16, 2009, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
“The AmericanStyle Gallery Pavilion fills a need by creating a destination on the tradeshow floor for the galleries that cater to high-end collectors,” said Christine Kloostra, show director.
Mud Pie Partners With PureRed Creative
(Atlanta, Ga.) — The award-wining international gift company, Mud Pie, is excited to announce its new agreement with PureRed Creative, a Georgia-based communications company that specializes in results-driven creative services, including branding, design, photography, web design and visual merchandising. As Mud Pie’s new creative agency, PureRed will provide a new creative concept and look for the company’s 2009 catalog series: Baby, Gift, Holiday and Initials.
About Mud Pie
Downtown getting Uptown gift shop
Columbia, SC — Uptown, a new business specializing in personalized gifts, is locating on Main Street in the old Capitol News stand location near Gervais Street.
A Dunkin Donuts franchise is also to open next door in the old Capitol Cafe storefront.
The gift shop is the type of business identified as lacking in a recent retail study commissioned by City Center Partnership.
“It’s a business that is going to appeal to the downtown worker, but will also appeal to the tourist market,” said Amy Stone, the partnership’s retail recruiter.
Politicians fight to save Main Street
Purcellville, VA — The shop on Main Street, with its neatly stacked bottles, gourmet cheeses and glass case full of fancy chocolates, will soon be closing for business.
People just are not interested in excesses these days and sales have dwindled.
“People stopped going out and shopping; people stopped having parties,” said Duane Harris, the owner of Purcellville Wine and Gourmet.
Mattel, Hasbro Say Most Holiday Toys to Be Under $20
Mattel Inc. and Hasbro Inc. said most of their toys will cost less than $20 this holiday-shopping season as cash-strapped parents temper impulse purchases amid the U.S. economic slowdown.
Mattel, the world’s largest toymaker and seller of Barbie dolls, will offer High School Musical 3 dolls for $14.99 each and its Color Me Gemz Jewelry Box for $19.99.
Sisters business dream comes true
Three sisters are seeing their dream turn into a reality as they open their own business.
Denise Arthur, Yvonne Potter and Karen Shaw had always talked of launching a venture – now they are preparing to open Poppies tearoom and gift shop.
The business will open on Monday on the ground floor of the building which formerly traded as Sylvia’s pub on South Crescent, Seaham.
The building, one of the oldest in the town, has been transformed by businessman Norman Robinson, who has also created a Thai restaurant.
Yvonne, who has previously worked as a purchasing manager in
Niche retailers hold out hope for their bottom lines
Some local retailers are shrugging off congressional dithering on a finance-sector aid package and the resultant stock market fall-off that’s unnerved everyday American shoppers.
“Consumers are starting to spend much more cautiously,” said Michael Moran, chief economist at Daiwa Securities America Inc.
Even before the fall-off in stocks and the gridlock in Washington over the bailout bill, the normally upbeat National Retail Federation forecast retail sales for November and December to rise at the slowest pace in six years.
Red Barn rebuilt as railroad boutique
CA — Thousands of daily commuters traveling along the stretch of Highway 126 east of Santa Paula will soon have a new reason to stop.
At least, that’s what the new owners of roadside business Loose Caboose, the landmark formerly known as The Red Barn, are hoping.
The six-acre property, which includes a fruit stand and garden center, was purchased Sept. 3 by the Fillmore & Western Railway Co. It is now being restored and expanded.
Loose Caboose will open Saturday, with a pumpkin patch dubbed “Ichabod” on the far west end of the property.
Still going strong: Sundial Shop celebrates 35 years and counting
New Hampshire — Thirty five years ago today, a self-described “snot-nosed kid from Massachusetts” and his wife opened the Sundial Shop, a card and gift store that has become a mainstay of Laconia’s downtown.
While not predicting a second consecutive 35-year run, Warren Clement said he and his wife Martha are committed to their Main Street business, which, like Laconia, has seen its share of ups and downs.
For Clement, who grew up in Woburn, Mass., coming to Laconia and opening the Sundial Shop was an opportunity to return to his familial stomping grounds.