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Family believes its Gribbits earbud accessory sounds like a winner
A Batavia father of four young children is hoping a product he designed with his brother-in-law grabs on.
Dan Donohue and his family created gadgets designed to attach to the earbuds of iPods. The decorative accessories that come in the shape of soccer balls or flowers can also be attached to pencils or sunglasses.
The idea for the product, which the family started selling last week, developed when Donohue’s family gave him an iPod for Father’s Day. Donohue, a self-employed landscape architect, thought, “this is an expensive gift.
Maine Made & More has new owner
Maine Made & More, a retail fixture in central Maine for 30 years, has been sold — but don’t look for many changes.
New owners Emilios and Paige Zirtidis said they are more than content to stay with the formula that George and Paula Gordon used for three decades to make their business a success.
Maine Made & More features clothes, souvenirs, gift items and other home decoration merchandise.
“We are basically going to keep it exactly the way it is,” Emilios Zirtidis said.
The Zirtidises bought three Maine Made & More outlets from the Gordons: the original flagship shop in Waterville
Penny Auntie’s new owner continues tradition
The parents and children of Chappaqua know Penny Auntie 5&10 as a place where they can find fun and quirky toys and gifts.
For the women who have owned the store during its nearly 30-year history, it’s a place where they could find a life that balances family and work.
Cross River resident Karen Lustig, who bought the King Street shop in May, is following in the footsteps of two previous sets of owners who were moms and businesswomen.
Lustig, a mother of four children, was fed up with her corporate job at a market research firm when her baby sitter’s mom mentioned in passing in March
Spooky Sales
Pumpkin patches may not materialize for another few weeks along the Gulf Coast, but that hasn’t kept local shoppers from stocking up on all things orange and black since mid-summer.
Larry A. Heard, manager of Robert Moore & Co. in Mobile, said nearly 40 percent of their Halloween merchandise has been purchased by customers looking to deck out their homes and yards before the air turns cooler.
Halloween has expanded its reach in recent years, stretching from a one-day give-me-candy-or-else feast to a monthlong celebration of everything creepy and cute.
Toys and Honey Mix For Sweet Success
Proctor—Wooden folk toys and honey may not seem like a logical combination, but Steve and Ellie Conlon of Thistle Dew Farm and Mountain Craft Shop have made the combination work very well.
“Everything is based on produce,” Steve Conlon said of the operation. “From the bee hives and bees wax to the wood.”
The business has expanded through Internet sales, participation in fairs and festivals and wholesale orders.
The business supplies toys and honey to businesses ranging from “little gift shops, to state parks, to the National Aeronautical and Space Administration,” he noted.
Halloween Sales Leave Retailers With Nothing to Fear
Washington, DC, September 24, 2007 – With the year’s spookiest holiday approaching, consumers are looking to celebrate. According to the National Retail Federation’s Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, consumers are expected to spend more on Halloween this year than last year, with the average person planning to spend $64.82 on the holiday compared to $59.06 one year ago.
Cooperation can be good business for everyone
It could have been a lonely night at the Book Rack in Arlington.
Owner Mike Buglio wanted to host a Harry Potter extravaganza, but the neighboring shops are usually closed in the evening.
New home decor shop opens on Liberty Square
There are probably not many home decor shops named after a cat, but Crybaby Farm Gifts and Design is one of them.
According to manager Teresa Confer, a stray kitten showed up at the Ehney family farm crying. It was so noisy that Caroline Ehney, the shop’s owner, named the black, longhaired cat Crybaby. A portrait of Crybaby hangs in the new store on the east side of Liberty Square.
The shop, which opened Sept. 5, is housed in a former title company building at 9 N. Water St. Significant changes have been made to the exterior of the building.
Playing in the dirt pays off
St. Petersburg – Learning history for some people is like eating vegetables: something good for you that you’d rather not do. For Brian Evensen, it’s dessert and he’s finally getting to enjoy some sweet success.
“I’ve waited 40 years for this time,” said Evensen, who this summer opened Lost in Time, a gift shop/museum at the Pier. “It’s been a passion.”
For several years Evensen had a home-based business in fossils and artifacts, but not since he moved downtown has he been getting the traffic and sales he needs to pursue his life-long pursuit of ancient Florida.
New shop opening up at Knoll Crest
Artist Laura Brown Egan and entrepreneur Sandee Abele are opening on Saturday Desdemona’s Fine Art and Other Cool Stuff, an art gallery and nautical gift shop.
The store is opening in the Knoll Crest Shopping Plaza in Port Clinton, adjacent to Newport Dry Goods and near Bassett’s IGA.
The Marblehead women, who have been close friends for more than 30 years, have combined their talents to bring the distinct flavor of Lake Erie to Desdemona’s.
“We’ve lived on the shoreline of Lake Erie all of our lives and want to share that nautical flavor,” said Abele.
Parents Choose ‘Last Word’ First
Buffalo, NY – The National Parenting Center has awarded Buffalo Games’ Last Word Party Game the 2007 Seal of Approval. Last Word is the uproarious race to have the final say! Players advance to the finish by creatively connecting subjects and letters, while racing a random-interval timer and the other players. For example, subject: “Vegetables”, letter: “C”, players blurt out Carrots! Cucumbers! Corn! Cauliflower!
Dani Natural Products Introduces Corn-Based Packaging For New Product; Continues Commitment to Sustainability
Bend, Oregon – DANI Natural Products announced today the launch of a new product line – The Eco. The Eco pure soy candle and natural reed diffuser will be sold in clear containers made from natural and renewable sources. The package for this new product line is the corn-based alternative to plastic, NatureWorks PLA. The Eco container is biodegradable and compostable, and easily disintegrates into water, carbon dioxide and organic material. To the knowledge of the company, this is the first time a soy candle or reed diffuser has ever been packaged in a corn-based alternative to plastic.
10-Year Partnership with Accessories Resource Team Announced; Includes Strategic Plan to Extend Membership and Enhance Industry
Dallas, TX – Dallas Market Center, the world’s largest wholesale resource, and the Accessories Resource Team (ART) today formally announced a 10-year partnership. This strategic alliance includes long-range plans designed to further enhance ART and promote the decorative accessories industry.
Leanin’ Tree Produces Greener Greeting Cards With New ‘Zero VOC’ Ink
Boulder, Colo. — Leanin’ Tree, Inc., a leading alternative greeting card company, has converted their printing operation to use a new “zero VOC” soy-based ink that eliminates harmful emissions into the environment. The company had used a low-VOC soy-based ink for years before switching to a zero-VOC ink new to the market.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are chemicals that evaporate easily at room temperature. The term “organic” indicates that the compounds contain carbon.
Gently Spoken “Sprouts” New Introductions; Three new Eat Your Peas books offer “peas” and praise for in-laws
Anoka, Minn. – Using the written word to hug, cherish and encourage others in times of friendship, grief or life’s celebrations is how author Cheryl Karpen touches millions of hearts across the nation. “At Gently Spoken, we specialize in helping others communicate what’s in their hearts and minds when they can’t find the words themselves,” says Karpen, owner and founder of Gently Spoken and author of the company’s highly-touted Eat Your Peas Collection of gift books for all of life’s occasions.
Nine Year Old Selects Store Products
If nine years old seems too young to be a buyer for a store, think again. What better way to attract young buyers to a gift shop than to have one of those young buyers select the gifts?
Citing Economic Concerns, NRF Forecasts Holiday Sales Gains of Four Percent
Washington, September 20, 2007 — The National Retail Federation today released its forecast for the upcoming 2007 holiday season, predicting that sales will rise 4.0 percent this year to $474.5 billion*.
“Retailers are in for a somewhat challenging holiday season as consumers are faced with numerous economic obstacles,” said NRF Chief Economist Rosalind Wells. “With the weak housing market and current credit crunch, consumers will be forced to be more prudent with their holiday spending.”
The 2007 holiday sales increase is expected to fall below the ten-year average of 4.8 percent.
Are You a Tightwad or a Spendthrift? And What Does This Mean for Retailers?
Men are bigger tightwads than women; younger people are more likely to be spendthrifts than older people; and the more educated a person is, the more likely he or she is to be a tightwad.
While “tightwad” and “spendthrift” are not exactly labels that most people would welcome in a discussion of their spending habits, they are valuable as predictors of consumer behavior.
International Greetings USA Acquires Glitterwrap Inc.
International Greetings PLC, through its subsidiary International Greetings USA is pleased to announce the acquisition of Glitterwrap, Inc., the renowned domestic manufacturer of high design content gift wrapping and party products.
International Greetings is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of paper greetings and stationery products.
‘Tis the season
While decking the halls may be low on the chore list, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas anyway.
Backyard grills have hardly cooled from summer barbecues, but ready or not, Santa and his fleet of merry merchants are quickly ushering in the holiday season at local shops.
Hobby Lobby, 5500 Beckley Road, began displaying its Christmas goods in May, and many other area retailers jumped on the marketing sleigh the first week of September.