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Lancaster’s historic government square bustles with business activity
Lancaster, Wis. — When Lancaster Mayor Jerry Wehrle wants out of his wife Judy’s doghouse, he knows where to go.
“This shop gets a lot of guys out of hot water,” said Wehrle, referring to Country Flowers & Gifts, located at 129 S. Jefferson St.
The store is one of nearly 30 entities surrounding the historic Grant County Courthouse on the city’s downtown square.
The square resonates with a vibrant blend of retail and services. People can learn self-defense and receive dental treatments.
Economies: discretionary spending crisis looms
When money gets short, quiet pursuits are the first things to go.
It would be interesting to hear what psychologists say about why the first major retail casualty of the USA’s looming financial crisis has been a bookshop. And not just any old bookshop – Borders.
Borders has weathered the storm of on-line book retailing better than most – or so it appeared.
Umbrella in a bag ready for weather
Umbag!?! Yes, Umbag!!
Never be caught in the rain without your umbrella again. The umbag is a unique and fun way to carry your umbrella. Sold with a full-size manual umbrella, the umbag weighs less than one pound. An adjustable strap makes it perfect for any activity. Wear the strap short to work or wear it over-the-shoulder when walking your dog or hiking. The umbag has enough room to store your ID, keys and some money. You don’t even need a purse.
How many times have you left your wet umbrella under a table or at the door?
From Highgrove to High Street and one’s very own corner shop
Wednesday morning in the ancient Cotswold market town of Tetbury. Outside the Snooty Fox hotel a man is pinning up the lunch menu. Fluffy week-old chicks – a surprisingly rural Easter display in the window of Hairdressing Creative – stumble around beneath a light bulb wondering what the hell’s going on. In a gloomy recess of Tetbury Old Books, Philip Gibbons sits in his armchair waiting for his first customer.
But Tetbury High Street is not quite itself this morning, nor perhaps will it ever be again. For on Tuesday, Prince Charles, who lives a few miles outside town, opened a shop.
Shop Has Scarlet Sparkle
Plant City – The Red Hat Society, a worldwide organization about to mark its 10th anniversary, has inspired a Plant City shop catering to members’ needs.
Tanya Killebrew opened the Bodacious Red Hat Shop in the Frenchman’s Market in November, when the market moved to larger quarters at 102 S. Evers St.
Killebrew’s involvement with the society open to women 50 and older followed the joining by her mother, Sylvia Gordon of Apollo Beach.
“My mom is a Red Hatter and kept telling me how much fun they had,” Killebrew said.
New owner of basket shop to highlight local wines, beers
The new owner of the Frederick Basket Co. is increasing the focus on local wines and beers, while continuing the products that has made the store successful.
Vicki Moore said 15 years ago she made a fruit basket for a party and liked it so much she started a home-based business in gift baskets.
She had a background in human resources and marketed to companies’ HR departments.
Point-of-Sale Software: Even Smallest Shops Benefit
Just because you run a tiny high-touch, small-town business doesn’t mean you have to forego the benefits of automation. Some people would even argue it’s all the more reason for automating to the hilt.
Kimberly Kennedy, owner of The Silver Basket, a gift basket shop in Presque Isle, Maine, may be the ultimate case in point. Kennedy’s business, which she launched three years ago in this town of 10,000, is about as low-tech and high-touch as they come. She custom assembles gift baskets filled with gourmet foods and snacks.
And it’s certainly tiny enough.
New addition
Carver – The historic Crane Brook restaurant has gone through several changes lately. The most delightful new addition to the property is the eclectic and classy gift shop, Gifts at Crane Brook.
“When people are here for lunch, it’s fun because now they have something else to do,” owner Don McKeag said. “The idea is to be reasonable with our prices, but there is also an opportunity to offer something a little different.”
The shop has a garden feel to it already, even though it is not yet fully stocked.
Diaper Cakes Originals is Pride of Dakota business
Necessity is the mother of invention is the old adage.
Amie Peterson and LeeAnne Turcotte, both stay-at-home moms of four, conjured up a business that is a perfect fit to their busy lifestyles.
Diaper Cakes Originals is among 430-plus home-spun businesses marketed by the Pride of Dakota Program through the North Dakota Department of Agriculture. March has been designated as Pride of Dakota Month.
Peterson and Turcotte started their business two years ago.
“I received (a diaper cake) at a baby shower for my youngest baby. It was a gal in Wyoming that had made it,” Peterson recalled.
Shops keep memories of shows alive long after lights dim
Elizabeth Thelen, a mother of two from Oconomowoc, Wis., already has passed the Manilow Store at the Las Vegas Hilton a dozen times during her vacation. But it always was with her husband, who does not use the word “fanilow” when describing himself.
Seizing some rare alone time, Thelen enters the store and begins hunting for a present for her mother.
Sisters still love running COA gift shop
Concord – Glassware, jewelry and assorted trinkets populate the shelves of Harvey’s Treasure Chest, a little store inside the Concord Council on Aging where the service is friendly and the bargains are plenty.
Portland Gift & Accessories Show Pre-Show Report
White Plains, NY – The National Stationery Show will launch a dedicated paper crafting seminar track at the 2008 edition, in response to growing consumer demand for unique paper crafting products, scrapbooking supplies and handmade greetings.
California Gift Show Joins Sustainable Furniture Council
The Portland Gift & Accessories Show will kick off the summer buying season with a must-see showcase of handmade product by Northwest artisans, gifts and collectibles unique to the Pacific Northwest and new product launches by nationally-recognized brands, May 31 – June 3, 2008, at the Oregon Convention Center.
New Creative’s Collegiate Garden Gnomes Get Girlfriends
Milford, OH – Just in time for March Madness, New Creative Enterprises (NCE) announces the addition of new Cheerleader Gnomes to its wildly-popular Collegiate Garden Gnome Collection. The leading designer and manufacturer of home decor and gift items, now offers 12 Cheerleaders and 35 Garden Gnomes in the firm’s Collegiate Sports Collection of outdoor living decor and entertaining accessories.
On Shop Owner’s Break, He Bends
Ruskin – Not much goes to waste in Mark McElwain’s exhaust shop.
He’s a master at crafting whimsical, decorative art objects out of old car parts. Mufflers, muffler clamps, pipes, scrap metal, cotter pins and lug nuts find their way into the bodies of pigs, giraffes, dragons and fanciful butterflies.
“I use anything I take off a vehicle,” McElwain said one morning in his shop. “Sometimes people ask me to make something for them from their old car parts.”
The Ruskin native has owned Mark McElwain’s Custom Exhaust on U.S. 41 since 2002.
Artisans project will nurture and market Hoosier producers and ‘made in Indiana’ brand
A government-backed business- development effort is under way.
Alburtis shop blooms on growth of renewed friendship
While the spring tease is in full swing there are still a few days mixed in that are cold and damp and demand a dose of warmth and comfort. Add some original artwork, some vintage clothing and jewelry, and it’s a great place to get warm.
Folkwerks, at 121 S. Main St., Alburtis, has it all and then some.
Owner and artist Peg McCormack bought the house a few years back, and it was perfect for her purposes: part studio, part store. Previously only open by appointment, the shop is now open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Quilting shop opens in downtown Omro
Omro – If anyone had told Maria Brewer she’d move her shop from among the whispering pines on her rural property in Berlin to the hustle and bustle of a small city on State Highway 21, she might not have believed it.
But, that’s just where she is.
Two years ago, at an age when some women are thinking retirement, Brewer decided to make a foray into the retail world. Quilting and quilting supplies were the obvious choice.
“I like fabric. I’m a quilter.
Easter display inspired by childhood memories:
Hingham – The Easter Bunny has already paid a visit to the Hingham Gift Company, leaving behind an eye-catching and sumptuous “Easter Basket Buffet” for kids of all ages.
Upon entering, customers’ eyes are immediately drawn to the center of the shop, where a splendid array of premium Easter candy — large and small chocolate and marshmallow-filled bunnies, cream- and marshmallow-filled eggs, jelly beans, giant rocky road eggs, all-natural bunny cookies and lollipops, and more — is laid out.
There are also delightful plush bunnies dressed in knitted sweaters and cute mini plus
Enviro-bag takes Fylde by storm
An environmentally friendly solution to carrying shopping is taking a Fylde town by storm.Shoppers at Willow gift shop and tea room on Breck Road in Poulton are going wild for the store’s special newspaper bags and they are rapidly becoming the town’s hottest fashion accessory.
Owner Mavis Ward spotted the bags at a craft fair last year and has been amazed by their popularity.
She said: “I get so many people coming in and saying they have seen their friends carrying the bags and asking them where they got them from.
“Somebody even said they’d bought someone a gift from the shop and th