A Little Retail Therapy?

We got thru January.  Ok, so it took us over a month to close our 2011 books, inventory our merchandise, and generally recover from the holiday season. TWO STORES.  How quickly we had forgotten how much work that is, especially during the holidays.  Thanks to all our fabulous employees including both Smith kids — Emily and Rachael — who put in countless hours at the cash register, wrapping gifts, and behind the scenes — sometimes when they were supposed to be in school.

A Little Retail Therapy?

So far winter 2012 has been strangely non-winter like.  Instead of being buried in snow, we are buried in boredom.  What better pick-me-up than a little “retail therapy?”  Therapy of the retail sort does not have to break the bank.  Here are a few quick fixes around $20:

 Art Glass Nail Files: Art glass nail files are as functional as they are beautiful. Made of tempered Czech glass and embellished with dichroic art glass handcrafted by Oregon artists; with reasonable care they will last a lifetime.  $16

OM’s: OMs are individually hand sculpted gnome-looking little clay creatures with scrunched up caps.  Each whimsical OM has a story and a positive personality to go with it.  Meant to be given, OMs are forever reminders of the connection you have with the person you gave it to – giving one is like sharing a special, wonderful secret.  OMs are designed to remind us that we are all connected.  $18 – $25.  (for more OM info, check out OM’s  ”We Are All Connected” BLOG )

Handwarmer Mugs: Ever warm your hands around a cup of coffee?  Well, this ergonomically designed mug makes it so easy to do.  Handmade in Oregon, these mugs are lead-free, dishwasher safe, and microwave safe.  Available right and left-handed.  $20.

 

Five Shopping Days/Five Great Shopping Ideas

How’s that shopping coming?  If you are anything like me, there’s plenty left to do and not alot of time left to do it in.  Every season we try to guess what the “must-have”  items will  be and do our best to keep them available.  Here our some of our favorites.  As of today (Monday), both our stores have plenty in stock.  Worth checking out!

eco-friendly handbags:  surplus marine vinyl, aircraft cables, and plumbers’ tubing transformed into show-stopping handbags?  who knew these would be such a big hit?  We’ve had trouble keeping these bags in stock all season but we just received a new shipment in updated colors and styles.  Hurry in; these will go fast!   $50 – $90 (bag shown in $67)

wire-wrapped jewelry:  sterling silver wire encases freshwater pearls and semi-precious stones in these unusual artisan pieces by local artist laura lawrance.  bright colors or subdued tones, long or short lengths, simple or intricate designs, these beautiful pieces are hard to resist.  $35 to $75.

mismatched socks:  multipatterned and mismatched, these colorful socks are crafted in Vermont from recycled cotton yarns.  a unique gift that is certain to bring a smile to wearers of all ages.  ($19 )

sculptable jewelry: combining jewelry and sculpture, this unique flexible metal loop allows you to bend, twist, and style it into any shape.  a necklace, a bracelet, a headband….you name it. ($19)

felted soap: chamomile and lavender olive oil soap is artfully wrapped with soft merino wool and handfelted.  the gently exfoliating wool wrapping allows the soap to last longer.  unique gift idea perfect for the shower, a guest bathroom, or as a daily facial cleanser.  ($14)

all this and more at our wicked cool store !

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM ALL OF US AT SENSE OF WONDER

                                                                                    

North Andover Open House

 

Open House Specials ~ Thursday thru Sunday ~ both Sense of  Wonder locations: 

20% off all Thymes Products (inluding Frasier Fir); Free Holiday Ornament with $40 Mariposa Purchase; 20% off Surprise Ball Ornaments. 

Hope to see you in North Andover!

 

 

Shop the Block/OMG we are a UTUBE video!

Truly, Shop the Block was one of the things I missed most about Reading.  What a great community event — and arrived back in town just in time for this year’s Shop the Block — this Thursday.  The evening begins at 5 and goes til …. whenever (usually 9pm or so).  There will be entertainers strolling around downtown, promotions at participating businesses, and loads of holiday excitement.  Watch for Creative Arts performers, Voices of Hope singers caroling around the block, and our favorite rockin a cappella quartet TALK to the HAND  who will performing at our store around 7:15.  Hope to see you there!

OMG we are a YOUTUBE video?

WOW, our store in Reading wasn’t open but an hour when the TV crews showed up.  During a late morning muffin run to The Hot Spot last Saturday, an RCTV crew learned we had our stealth opening that morning.  In came the cameraman! RCTV uploaded us to YOUTUBE this week.  Thanks to Phil Rushmore and his crew for the great plug and very nice video tour of our new store.  Well done.  We are in the background during the vid (thank goodness) but WOW, we are now cool enough to be on YOUTUBE.  haha our kids will be mortified……

 

 

we’ve shouted from the rooftops

ok, i’ve just changed the message on the answering machine  and sent out the big email.  we’ve got a few kinks to work out but we are up and running…just in time as i’ve been saying for a month “of course we will be open before thanksgiving.”  stop by our new store and say hello — we are at 2 haven street, near the reading train depot between salon fringe and sammyjo’s bakery.

A message to our north andover store customers:  we are not leaving north andover.  we’ll be running back and forth, splitting our time between the two stores.  thank goodness we have experienced staff in both places.  i’m actually the weak link:  HAHA this morning I was north of wilmington on rt. 93 when i said “whoops…i’m supposed to be in reading.”  getting back in the swing of two stores?  a work in progress.

Stealth Opening Day

It finally arrrived!  At 10 pm Friday we tore down the paper, washed the windows, and hung the “NOW OPEN” sign on our new Reading store.  Within minutes we had curious visitors.  What a great opening day today!  It is nice to be back in Reading.  While we weren’t nervous this morning, we didn’t know what to expect.  We had no announcement…no fanfare.  Would anyone come in?   WOW  Word spread fast.  We were overwhelmed with the number of supporters that stopped by to say hello and wish us well.  Now…if we could only figure out how to be in Reading and North Andover at the same time.  We’ll ge the hang of it again…like riding a bike.

Stay tuned for information about our Holiday Open House and Lazurus House Donation Drie in North Andover, Shop the Block and Buy Local in Reading, and the unbelievable amounts of new products we have in our stores this season.  Did somebody say “busy’ ?….and seriously, who needs sleep every night?

READING STORE UPDATE — november 11 target opening day

OK, we are making good progress on our new Reading location.  We are shooting to open by mid-November; in fact, we hope to open the store doors on 11/11/11.  There’s new carpet, installed cabinets, fresh paint, bright lights, and a great new  floorplan.  No stuff yet though; we won’t bring merchandise in until we are ready to go.  Our next task is to get the computers up and running.  Hmmm, I’ve got three boxes full of cords, connectors, and hardware — this outta be interesting.  Stay tuned.!