Annie’s Blue Ribbon General Store A Modern General Store where Fun and Function reign supreme
A wise woman (my Mom!) always says, Count your Blessings– so even when (and especially then) times are tough, be sure to write in a Gratitude Journal every day. It will help you realize how wonderful your life is, and all the things in your life that you are grateful and thankful for- ours is brightly colored and hard covered. $14.95.
We just got this new book in today, Tickle Monster- and it is so fun to read, plus you can get the fun Tickle Monster Mitts as well for a real tickle throw-down. This cute little boy Leo that lives two doors down from the store came by this morning and we read some of it together (he comes in a couple times a week just to say hi, he’s super cute, almost 2 years old and carries a spoon with him most of the time- we read a bunch of books together on the floor with his dad). The books is actually written by Josie Bissett- remember her from Melrose Place (she played Jane)? Book is $16.95 and check out the Mitts below, sold separately for $14.95.
My favorite new card! $3.50 each. I also love the way Rob (my husband) pronounces Smock- like Schmock. Life is Messy. Wear a Schmock.
I love when customers write me and tell me about their experiences with the store and website (mostly this come from on-line shoppers). We get quite a few emails and we save them all- I even hang up some of the hand written ones and special emails. Lots of customers have even told me how they “found” us too, and lately several of them have said it was a search for their favorite cleaning wax, Town Talk Polish. I found this stuff in London and love that it works well AND also comes in a super lovely tin with a nice scent. We need all the extra help we can get to do our chores, so I thought I’d pass on the secret about this great wax in case you are need a little encouragement to do your Spring Cleaning. Comes in Lavender, as above, and Orange, below. $13.65.
Our shoppers are very eco- conscious and it always astounds me how many of them bring their own bags to the store when they come shopping (lots of them have also purchased our lovely Enviro Saks that roll up so you can carry them conveniently and fold out to hold 2 bags of groceries). It really hit me over the holidays as we had several people in line and no one took a shopping bag from us! I thought I had to capture this phenomenon somehow and started our “Tree of Bags Not Taken” where I drew a tree (above) and got some green pens for us to add a little star/leaf whenever someone did not take a shopping bag from us. Of course our bags are recyclable and sometimes you need to take a bag– but in case you don’t, we are keeping track! I remember before I opened toying with the idea of fancy bags with our names printed on them, but thought that did not really work with our neighborhood vibe, and I am glad we scratched that expensive idea. Hopefully our tree will be filled by the end of the year and we will have many more in the years to come.
With Earth Day shortly upon us, and the whole world becoming more Eco-Conscious I wanted to point out some other Green measures we are taking at the store. First and Foremost we recycle tons of packing supplies. We send and receive lots of boxes each week and reuse boxes and packing materials to re-send out our online orders, as well as recycle whatever boxes we do not use (through the landfill or by giving away to needy neighbors). We buy as many Earth Friendly and Organic Products as possible- and added a GREEN section to our website (although there are many more items that can be included in this category, just decided to highlight some of our favorites). And when Jill was visiting last week she set up our Green table in the store- here’s a little peak-
Here are a few highlights of products that I love from the Green theme that are NOT available online- call us if you’d like any of these gems and click here to see what IS available online)-
Cardboard Birdhouse. Water Resistant. Folds together easily. Easy to send to a bird loving friend. $5.95.
Have you guys seen these? Looks like a big Mason Jar, but has a Solar Power cell inside that just need direct sunlight to work. Sooo, you can leave it by the window all day and when it gets dark it automatically lights up- and last for 5 hours on one charge. We sold a bunch of these during the Holidays- great gift for eco- friendly friend, your uncle with the cabin in the woods, niece who still likes a nightlight but is a super cool little kid. We have one out and it always glows as we are closing up for the day. $45.
Clothespin trash can. Clip in your recycled bags into the wood frame and your office, bathroom or wherever will be stylin’.$24.
Helping our younger generation get in a healthy mindset for renewing our resources is an important step- and this new book from the fun Charlie and Lola series, We are Extremely Good Recyclers will help your favorite little ones learn more about Recycling. $16.99.
Even though these great “Respect the Earth” flashcards are available online and I love them so much I had to plug them too! $12.
Little things that we always try to do that add up to making a difference- turn off all lights at night (you can’t see in our gates at night, and we even turn off outside light that frames our sign), took store off all FAX lists (so many company like to fax in 5 page ” specials”–ugh! what a waste. email us instead!), limit packaging waste as much as possible, recycle & re-use wherever/ whenever we can, use recycle materials such as toilet paper, paper towels, bags and printer paper. Rob once pointed out to that I opened the shop without a car– just a metro card, occasional car service/cab when needed for big items and my Big Brother’s car if needed to haul out tables, etc.
We are always working to improve this part of our business as well, and to that point I will be attending an event through the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce on 4.22 – Building Sustainable Businesses- Green Ways to Save. The Event is free and open to the Public. For more info- click here. Hope to see you there!!
We also will be having a special EARTH DAY celebration- with a new book as the highlight- My Life in Pink & Green by Lisa Greenwald (neighbor & customer) – on April 18th. It is a book written for tweeners ages 9-12 years old and will be the Kick Off to our Girls Club. More details to come (and if you are interested, join our mailing list for more info on this great event).
4/7 UPDATE– we also just switched to Green Power as our Energy supplier for the store– 35% New Wind Energy, 65% Small Hydro. BONUS: It’s cheaper too!!
Hot off the presses is the latest from the Dangerous and Daring series, the all new The Double- Daring book for Girls. We just got them in yesterday and I am already in love. These books are truly for everyone (recommended for ages 8-80) and so much fun to give and get. They are chock full of so many interesting things to learn and do. Here is a little video from youtube on this latest book so you can get the gist of what’s inside–
We also have the pocket Daring/ Dangerous books at the shop too- they are really fun to read as well and make wonderful gifts. $14.95 for the pocket size and $26.95 for the new Double- Daring book.
Okay so it is OFFICIALLY Spring, but still FREEZING in NYC. With Spring comes Easter though and my favorite thing to put together at the shop besides Christmas Stockings are EASTER BASKETS!! I passed this cute tree on State Street (out here in Brooklyn) this morning on the way to the shop– they decorate it with fun Holiday decorations, and Easter is no exception (can you see the cool owl statue on the top of the tree? in the back). Then when I got to the shop (a little early mind you), I had a nice (and new!) customer knock on the door and we had a nice chat and she got the run of the store before we officially opened. She bought some fun Easter items, and since I had just passed the Easter Tree I thought I would write about my favorite Easter items at the shop. As per usual for the store, they range from the silly to the refined…
Here are some pics of our benches filled with Easter fixins’–
And here is the lowdown on my favorite Easter items-
Easter Cookie Cutters- $8.95 for 6 cookie cutters in this beautiful box. Cookie Cutters include Chick, Easter Egg, Flower, Umbrella, and two different bunnies, both very cute.
The “pooping” category is very big for us at the shop. Each season we get a new member of the “pooping” family in– from Black Cats for Halloween, to Penguins at Christmas– and now the wind up Hippy Chick, with yummy candy eggs that come out the bum as the chick walks. These little Poopers seem to capture as many adults as kids, even some of more refined customers collect these. Ha! Love it! $5.95.
Like I said, we have the SILLY and the REFINED. These Gianna Rose Atelier soaps are adorable, smell yummy and come on a leaf- shaped dish. I snagged the picture from their website to show y’all (and guess what– our prices are a little lower than theirs!)- $19.50. A lovely gift on its own too– when you are visiting someone for Easter Brunch.
So, come on by or call us 718.522.9848 for some of these Easter treats. We also make Easter Baskets for you if you’d like us to pick out all the treats. We have several in the works already so you better HOP TO IT! Easter is April 12th.
We just got these wonderful books in this week- Barack’s Inaugural address in a nicely bound blue cloth book, together with both of Lincoln’s Inaugural addresses and The Gettysburg address, with Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Self Reliance. Own a piece of history for $12.
Hi All!
Jill Valle here. AnnieLo has been pretty busy getting the store ready for the spring season, so she asked me to be her guest blogger today.
I had the great fortune of spending a few days in the shop with Annie and of course I want everything in there!
A lot of new items came in this week and my favorite is in the photo below. Check out these lunchbags and winebottle holders by Built. The winebottle holders come in single and double size and would be great for a picnic as warm weather is FINALLY around the corner! Either size would also make a great hostess gift. The lunch bags are roomy and hip and I have my eye on the laptop cases in a modern polkadot motif (not pictured). Prices range from $16.95-$42-95
Have a great weekend and make sure you get into the store and check it out (I arranged the garden’s in a bag in the window – I think I missed my calling as a merchandiser!)
Jill
Winebottle Holders and Lunchbags
Have you guys heard of Z- Trend? This lovely and well edited site for discriminating shoppers (concentrating on NYC at the moment) is full of write ups of great shops around the city. You can read their creed here to explain more about their mission to educate shoppers. We were HONORED to be chosen to be on this site and just saw our amazing write up today– along with some great pictures that the founder Suzanne took as she explored the shop. Thanks Suzanne!
Check out our write up here—
