Holiday Love - Hoopla! Emporium's Picks For Gifting

 

Being the owner of a gift store is a lot of work, particularly around the holidays. We've read several industry articles lately in regard to the stress the holidays can bring, and how we storeowners can deal with it all. It's great information, but in all honesty, I don't find this time of year too stressful, I find it invigorating and joyful.  What fun it is to pull out all the holiday decorations, trim the tree, and anticipate all the new merchandise coming into the store!

It's all very exciting, but the thing we like most of all is discovering fabulous products for you that are made locally or regionally.  The talent that we have here astounds us!  From artists and authors, to food producers and gift or card makers, this is our partial list of our absolute favorites (which can change without notice, and often does!) -

• Jus D'Amour The Essence of Love Perfume Oil by Perfumes Mercedes - hands down, our favorite new scent, created by singer, songwriter and performer Mercedes Ganon.  Included in this line are the original Jus D' Amour, its companion scent Sassy, and Legend Cologne for men.  Jus D'Amore is a timeless, romantic blend of fresh coco palm and aqualeaf accord, gentle violet, night blooming jasmine, Tahitian vanilla and deep sandalwood.  Formulated to coordinate with Sassy, a fresh and sexy blend of juicy sweet orange mandarin and vibrant grapefruit, exotic jasmine, bergamot and cassis, the two scents together are bliss!  Legend for men is an evocation of nature's combination of fruits, woods, and florals to capture that very distinct masculine flavor.  Notes include melon, black currant, citrus, green leaf, ozone, bergamot, jasmine, violet, wood musk, oakmoss, and sandalwood.  We highly recommend this as a personal gift to yourself this year! 

 

• LA Farm Girl jams and jellies - this local specialty food product line is so delicious, we can't describe it well enough in words.  Because no matter how hard you try, you just can't smell or taste words, can you?  Rest assured that we've done the tasting for you, and can tell you how much we love them!  Not just for breakfast, either, these jams, most infused with wine or spirits, are so versatile in the kitchen.  From your holiday baking (Linzer cookies, anyone?) to a glaze for roast meats, we invite you to transport your taste buds this season! Currently in stock are Habanero Honey, Peppered Pineapple, Strawberry Sangria, Bourbon & Vanilla Berry, Fig & Sweet Marsala, and Sherry & Cinnamon Persimmon.  Caramel Tangerine, Cognac & Vanilla Cherry, and Blood Orange & Rosemary Mimosa are on their way in about a week or so.

• The Safety Godmothers by Ellen Snortland and Lisa Gaeta - this book is a must-have for all young people, particularly females, and gives sound advice about personal safety without the preachy-ness. We love Ellen and Lisa's humorous tone in this book, as they interview young people who have been attacked, and survived, by using the tactics the authors recommend.  If you have a young daughter or son, or are a grandparent to either, this is our pick for you! It's not a sexy, beautiful, or delicious present, but don't let that deter you.  This is something that will resonate for years with your young ones and, help save a life if, God forbid, they are ever stalked or attacked.

We'll be back again soon with some more suggestions for you.  Until then, be well and enjoy the season!

Reading, Writing, and.....Altadena!

Way back when Scott and I were mulling over buying Webster's stationery department as a stand-alone business, we discussed what we could bring into the store that would be different enough from the other stores next door and nearby.  What else would blend well with all the pens, paper, journals and other writer's accoutrements?  Books!  Books would be great, given my proclivity for writing, but we wanted whatever books we brought in to be very special.  We decided to concentrate on bringing in local authors, and soon, we had a growing collection!

The decision to support our local authors wasn't hard to make.  There are so many talented writers here in the foothills above Pasadena that deserve having their books displayed and sold .  There are also many writers out there who are frustrated trying to find a way to get their books published.  That's the beauty  of Authors Tour USA, a national group that formed from the Artisan Faire held last year at the Santa Anita Racetrack.  The brainchild of Wendy Anderson, of W.O.W. Productions; and LaQuetta Shamblee, of Instrumental Women Project;  Authors Tour USA provides marketing, networking and promotional support for published authors, with a focus on independent publishing companies and self-published authors.

Authors Tour USA will be launching this Saturday, right here at Webster's Fine Stationers!  On Saturday, March 30, from 3:00 until 5:00, you will meet four local authors, get their books personalized to you, and will be discussing their different crafts, from self-help to screenwriting.  On our speaking roster will be Altadenan Ellen Snortland; Pasadenan Kogi Steven Sakai; Monrovian Adrianne Marie Hall; and L.A,'s Christina Hamlett.  This is an incredible line up of experienced, knowledgeable, and prolific writers, that won't be duplicated in Altadena again - until we host the next one!

We invite you to join us for this extra-special event - come join in the learning experience this coming Saturday, enjoy meeting friends new and old, and have a tasty nosh or two - we'll hold a seat for you!

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Have an enjoyable week, friends!  We'll be taking a short blogging hiatus and hope you all enjoy our lovely spring holidays. A joyous Passover and Easter to all of you!  We'll talk again in a couple of weeks.

Lori and Scott 

Our Facebook Fan Page Tells The Story

Those of you who read my personal Facebook page know that Scott and I have been experiencing a real doozie of a plumbing catastrophe at home. The concrete box that encloses our water meter out in the sidewalk in front of our home is crumbling away and has created a leak in the main water line. DWP turned off our water last Monday evening, just as we were getting home from the store, so we're on day 7 of no water. There's been no response from the City or DWP despite our daily calls. Tomorrow morning we take it to our Councilman's office and hope for resolution.

Challenging as life without water at home may be, business must go on. And so it does, as we enter into Market Week. The California Gift Show starts this Tuesday, as mentioned previously, and we'll be there to see all the new offerings for the season. I'm really looking forward to discovering unique items made here in the U.S. or even better, locally. We get such a charge out of picking products that pass our high standards, and it really is a collaborative process here at WFS. Be sure to join our Facebook Fan Page (simply click the title of this blogpost) for updates from the show and the latest news of what's uber hip and cool!

There's a lot of mention about WFS in the press lately and you can read about that on our Facebook page as well. Noted author Ellen Snortland wrote an article that appeared in the Pasadena Weekly (and will be in the Huffington Post soon) called "Homeland Security" that touts The 3/50 Project and mentions us. Hometown Pasadena and Eat L.A.'s lovely Colleen Dunn Bates just posted an article called "Local Heroes: Retail" on her blog and it mentions us, too! And our own Altadenablog reported on WFS' donation to Danny's Farm last week. A huge thank you from WFS to all our supporters - we appreciate you so much!

Until next week (when I can hopefully report that water has been restored to our household),

Lori