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Six generations pour soul into Kentucky pottery
Waco, Ky. — Mustard-yellow clay dust covers the walls, the low walnut beams and the dirt floor at Bybee Pottery, where six generations of the Cornelison family have been turning, glazing and firing stoneware since the early 1800s.
Despite the constant motion of production, visitors are welcome to walk around the oldest continually run pottery operation west of the Allegheny Mountains. It could be a living history museum if it weren’t dedicated to the pottery business. And the time to see it is now: Though nothing is set in stoneware, the pottery’s long run may be coming to an end.
Family inspires business
Family is infused into just about everything at Barker Road Collection in Tacoma’s Old Town, and it starts with the name and the logo.
It’s a house, with palm trees fronting it, on Barker Road in Hong Kong, where the parents of three siblings – Ginger Shorey, Linda McElroy and William McElroy – who own and operate the gift shop met.
Then there’s the tea, now an Oprah favorite, but when Shorey was a child, the family carted it back by the case from England. Then there’s the bambi balls, which open to reveal gifts inside.
What’s best for business: How does growth affect the way — and where — people shop?
Just walk into Don’s Hobbies, and you can get a sense of the history.
The wooden floors at 815 10th St. have a gleam polished from years of wear. The ceiling has molding so intricate that it would cost thousands to recreate and, frankly, isn’t the type of craftsmanship that is replicated in new commercial buildings.
Sweet ‘n’ stylish; Winnipegger’s candy jewelry is cute, colourful and cavity-free
Designer Janet BrightCorne’s creations won’t melt in your mouth or in your hands.
As little girls, we wore colourful candy necklaces around our necks and pretended to be all grown up. Unfortunately, the jewelry didn’t last for very wrong — the temptation to eat it was far too great.But candy isn’t just for kids. And it isn’t just to eat anymore. It has become a fashion item.
A collection of handcrafted jewelry created by Winnipegger Janet BrightCorne features necklaces dripping with colourful jelly beans and Chicklet gum, rather than diamonds or pearls.
It looks good enough to eat.
Shoppers avoiding ‘Made in China’
New York – When Lisa Landry thinks ahead to holiday shopping for her 9-month-old boy, Ari, her concern isn’t which toy is most exciting. It’s which is safest.
“I’ll be looking for anything that won’t harm our child,” she says. “It may not be super-fun.”
Already crossed off from her shopping list: Toys made in China.
How Luxury Brands Alter Shoppers’ Price Perceptions; Buying a Keychain Instead
What is too much to spend on a suit?
The question weighed on Barry Schwarz as he scanned the racks at Boyds men’s store in Philadelphia, which were laden with $3,000 Brioni suits. “Their prices were just out of the world,” recalls Mr. Schwarz, a professor of psychology at Swarthmore College.
We’ve all been there: A window display or a recommendation lures us into a store — and we face unexpectedly astronomical price tags.
Shoppers playing it safe for summer
New York – The sluggish sales that have dogged the nation’s retailers this year are the result of two quite different sets of problems: Consumers are cautious — they’re paying more for gasoline and watching their home values fall.
Reaching out to a ‘forgotten market’; Shop caters to the female baby boomer
Traverse City — When it comes to women’s clothing, Traverse City entrepreneur Sandy Van Dyke says female baby boomers are a forgotten market.
“Everything is designed for juniors,” said Van Dyke, who opened her comfortable clothing shop, The Little Black Dress & Necessities, last year. “At our store, the goal is to take people from the beach to black tie.
Woman fulfills dream of owning gift shop
Kimball Twp.
Closet closing door on mall: Another local shop heads downtown
Reba Ruth, manager of Carol’s Closet, displays a new line of fall clothing Friday afternoon. The longtime women’s clothing store has become one of the last local businesses to leave Lakeshore Mall. The business is located on the square in downtown Gainesville.
Carol’s Closet, a women’s specialty store, has moved to the downtown Gainesville square after two decades at Lakeshore Mall.
The store opened Wednesday at 1114 Washington St.
“We had been looking for a new location for some time,” store manager Reba Ruth said.
Newcastle’s newest shop features fine arts
Inspired by the Old Town Gallery in Auburn, two longtime friends have opened their own art shop in Newcastle.
For first-time shop owners Susan Evans of Newcastle and Bobbi Harms of Citrus Heights, Bella Fine Arts and Gifts is an extension of their passion for the arts.
Evans is a photographer who specializes in black and white – though none of her work is on display at the moment.
“I’ve been so busy setting up the shop, I haven’t had time to frame my own work,” she said.
Harms focuses her creativity in making beaded jewelry and purses as well as knitted scarves and hat.
Back-to-school spending could be a retail bust
Chicago – (MarketWatch) — Many retailers are bracing for what could be one of the toughest back-to-school selling seasons in recent years as consumers deal with credit worries, higher gas prices and a sell-off in the stock market.
With nearly one-quarter of the country’s population in school, the three-month period when students of all ages stock up on notebooks, electronics and new clothes is considered the second-most important shopping period for retailers, ranking only behind Christmas.
Typically, parents consider back-to-school as a “must-spend” event, but this year many will be t
Retailer finds her cup of tea
Betsy Young has found her cup of tea. She’s sharing it with the birds – and consumers of artful, quirky and rediscovered antiquities for home and gift giving.
Tommy’s Goodie Shoppe — a retro field trip
Remember candy necklaces, wax lips and those little wax bottles full of delicious, colorful sugar-water?
Simmons family transforms eBay store into ‘brick-and-mortar’ store in High Springs
Adam Padgett, Suzanne Kent and Lani Simmons pose in front of some of the merchandise in their newly opened Back to Nature Gifts, located in downtown High Springs.
What began five years ago for the Simmons family as an eBay T-shirt sale has grown into a new family-run business in the middle of High Springs.
The owners of Back to Nature Gifts, which opened July 13, have years of experience selling and shipping all types of clothing and decorations across the world through the Internet.
The Simmons, however, chose High Springs for their first offline “brick-and-mortar” store, saying thei
Four Island General Stores Stock Very Specific Warmth Along With Life Necessities
They sell everything from fingernail clippers to fine cheeses, but the Island’s four general stores stock more than variety and necessity.
2008 Gourmet Housewares Show – Las Vegas, NV
New York, NY —The 32nd Annual Gourmet Housewares Show, the premier marketplace for upscale housewares, will make its return to Las Vegas from May 6-8, 2008, at the Las Vegas Sands Expo Convention Center, one of the most sought-after meeting, convention, and exhibition centers in the world. The Gourmet Show will be co-located with George Little Management’s Global Home Textiles and Global Home Decor shows at the Sands Expo.
Aurora Announces Mid-Year Plush Product Releases
Pico Rivera, CA – Aurora World Inc. (Aurora) announced the top products from its mid-year catalog today, wooing retailers yet again with the best plush made ’round the world. There are upwards of 30 new Mini-Flopsies line additions (8″, MSRP $4.99) including an Iguana, Praying Mantis, Lady Bug, Tarantula, Gecko, Horned Toad and Leaf Bug for the boys. The Mini-Flopsies have been one of Aurora’s most successful lines in the company’s history.
“Boys are often difficult to target in the plush marketplace,” says Paul Roche, SVP of Sales at Aurora.
Innovative PetEdge Dog Toy Wins Top Industry Award
PetEdge, Inc., a leading wholesale manufacturer and distributor of pet supplies, was recently honored for its innovative new developmental puppy toy, the Puppy Builders Pull ‘N Play Puppy Gym. The award came from a leading pet-industry trade magazine, Pet Product News International. The judges considered thousands of new pet-related products before recognizing PetEdge as one of only thirty winners in their prestigious 2007 Editor’s Choice Awards.
TableToss Introduces Personalized Table Top Accessories
TableToss – an award-winning line of reuseable paper table top accessories – introduces colorfully customized placemats and table top accessories that make place settings personal.Winner of the 2007 best new product award at The National Stationery Show in the party category, innovative product designer Barbara McGrath continues to push the envelope of how paper can transform events and the every day.