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Summer 2009

It's been a great summer here at Annie's Blue Ribbon General Store. We loaded up on tons of fun summer items like Kites, Wiffle Balls & Bats, amazing citronella candles, and tons more. Even though it's still warm outside we are gearing up for an action packed FALL and HOLIDAY! We are working with local parents to sponsor a viewing of Free to Be You and Me at 16 Sycamore Playground, a playground that needs some TLC two blocks from the shop. And if you are in the neighborhood October 4th, 2009 will not only be our TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY- but also the famous Atlantic Antic Street Festival, so join us then for a fun day of celebration. Our Girls Club took a summer hiatus but we are scheduling some great ideas for the fall. Join our mailing list to learn more about all those events. We are also working on Holiday buys for the BEST HOLIDAY SEASON EVER! So be sure to check in frequently to see what's new- in the store, online and on our blog, Annie's Treasure Trove. In the meantime, here is our latest 2009/10 NYC Zagat rating. THANKS FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT!!

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Hey There

Checking in to say hi and tell you all what's new at Annie's Blue Ribbon Genera Store. We are excited for Spring to truly come to Brooklyn and all our new and fun products along with it! We have been busy organizing and introducing new themes to the shop and also on-line. We added a GREEN category with some of our favorite items to help you make your life more eco-friendly (there are more items that fit into this category on site, but we just chose to highlight a few in the new category). We also have been keeping up with our blog, Annie's Treasure Trove pretty much daily and we also blogged about some of the things we are doing to be more Earth Friendly at the shop. We are also going to add more categories as the seasons change including one for Host & Hostess Gifts (for all your travels and visits this summer), with some perfect ideas for Mother's Day and Father's Day presents too, Camp- for fun care packages to send your little ones at Camp this summer, plus many more new items added to our already existing categories. We are working on a Wedding Table at the store too with lots of clever ideas for Wedding and Shower Gifts, plus fun (not cheesy!) ideas for Bachelorette Parties. Hopefully this theme will be a big success and we will add it to the site next year (in the meantime, call us if you are not in the area for any of the items we will stock in that section, I can send pics, etc.). Most importantly, we are SUPER EXCITED to have been chosen with the AMAZING HONOR of being in New York Magazine's BEST OF NEW YORK issue as a "go to spot for quirky, charming gifts." Our title was "The Best Place to get a Cheap Last-Minute Gift" Love it!!! Especially these days, right?! Anyway, thank you again for being a part of our community. We hope you make every day a Blue Ribbon Day.

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Welcome 2009

Happy New Year everyone and thank you for a great 2008! Although many people would prefer to forget 2008, we are thankful for a great year and look forward to more exciting things at the shop this year as well. For starters, I started a blog—check it out at www.anniestreasuretrove.wordpress.com It’s got news from the shop, as well as info on interesting things we find in the world (it also feeds into our new Facebook page, Annie’s Blue Ribbon General Store—so you can read it there too!).

For 2009 we are really working on building our community (and so glad that you are a part of it!!) and will also be launching a program for tween girls in April, as well as adding seasonal product to the website for holidays and special events- starting with Valentine’s Day (we have some clever and fun items lined up!) Other things to look forward to this year from us are- “pets we love” program and a new feature on the site, “what kids are spending their allowance on…” So cheers to 2009 and thank you again for being a part of our special community. Let us know if you have any ideas or suggestions- we always love hearing from you!

Cheers,
Annie

p.s. here’s a pic of me and Rob on our long awaited and belated honeymoon in Jamaica over Christmas. We had a few name changes in 2008 as I went from Ann Lopatin to Ann Cantrell after our May wedding (when our website launched too- no time for a honeymoon then!!)- as well as the store name change to include “Annie’s”!

 

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Santa's Workshop

We are busy at the shop with internet orders and store sales! It has been really fun to see what people buy for their loved ones and know that we will be a part of many Happy Holidays this season. Please call us if you have any questions or special requests (718.522.9848)- we loved brainstorming ideas for parties of 60 or hostess gifts or what to get for your five best friends! We can also have everything wrapped and ready to go for you if you'd like to leave your purchases with us, or pre shop over the phone or internet. As one of our favorite customers said, its like Santa's Workshop over here at Annie's Blue Ribbon General Store.

Hope to see you soon!

 

 

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Trick or Treat!

We had a great Halloween with lots of cute & scary trick or treaters! One of my favorites was a little girl around 8 or 9 dresses as Coco Channel. One of my favorite families and their friends stopped by for some treats and got some Glow Necklaces too - here’s their picture...

 

Our masks were a big hit this year and a bargain for $2.50 (here’s a picture with me and some little friends wearing some).

Cheers to another fun Halloween at the shop!

 

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Cool plug on the Isaac Mizrahi show---

We got a cool plug on the Isaac Mizrahi show the other day, as Jessica Romm, Style Editor at Food & Wine, talked to Isaac about Fall Entertaining Ideas and showed our Octavia Cocktail Napkins and mused about the shop and how rockin' Brooklyn is for shopping! check it out here-

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Book Event

Thank you to all who attended the 'You're Amazing' book event on Saturday October 18th. We had a great time learning about ourselves, as well as issues facing young girls (and older ones too!) today. Claire walked us through some exercises and excerpts from the book. We thought we would recap some notes for people who couldn't make it:

1. Locker Portait- Claire asked us to draw a picture of a girl on a large piece of plain white paper. You can do it at home-
At the top of her head, write- "What do you think about/ dream about?"
On the right hand write- "What do I spend my money on?"
One the left hand write- "How do I spend my time?"
At the place over the heart, write, "What do I care about?"
At the place over the belly write, "What do I worry about?"
At the base of the portrait, where the feet are, write, "What do I stand for/believe in?"
Write in your answers, you can also use personal photos, pictures from magazines, glitter, stickers, crayons, markers or paint to represent your answers in a unique, colorful collage. Hang it in your locker, or wherever you can see it every day.

2. We also did the Beauty Playlist activity from the book- pgs. 19-20 and Claire read an excerpt from the book about Magali Amadei, a model who talks about how modeling is hard on your self esteem since most of the images in magazines, etc. are altered. Magali is quoted, "It's not just erasing a pimple here and there. They can change a model's entire face and body. My teeth have been straightened, my waist has been thinned, and I even got 'digital breast implants' for the cover of Cosmopolitan. Believe me, there is no beauty product in existence that works as well as Photoshop!"

3. Another activity we did was called What's Most important to You? (Pg. 95) - where we listed our top ten GOALS, as well as our top ten ACTIVITIES. It was an interesting case study to see if we spend most of our time doing things that will help us accomplish our goals. We spoke about balance in our lives too.

4. We also did- How Well Do you Know your Family (pg. 74-75), a take on the old Newlywed game where we wrote down answers to questions how we thought our parents/ kids would answer. This is something fun to do at home to get to know your family better!

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You're Amazing

We are SUPER excited to have Claire Mysko join us on October 18th from noon- 1:30pm at the store to talk about her book- You’re Amazing! A No Pressure Guide to Being You’re Best Self from Girls Inc. It’s a wonderful book inspiring all girls to be strong, smart and bold. We are inviting girls and their parents for a fun afternoon with Claire at the shop. Come hear about the book, discuss the many issues young girls are experiencing these days, see your friends, shop our fun store, etc. If you have more questions please give us a call (718.522.9848), and also check out Claire’s website and reviews of her book through the links below. Hope to see you then!

http://clairemysko.com/

http://clairemysko.com/?page_id=3
(If you can’t make it to the shop for the event, we will post notes from the event online afterwards, so please check back after the 18th

 

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Thank you for an Incredible First Anniversary Weekend!!

Thank you soo much for all your support as we turned one this weekend! Wahoo!! We had a great weekend seeing old friends, meeting new ones, and celebrating Brooklyn through the Atlantic Antic! We took pictures of local customers throughout the week and hung them on the windows to say Thank you for a great first year.

 

p.s. in case anyone is interested, and as an addendum to story below about Flip and the bike race- he did amazingly well despite some injuries (and a rain delay for the race by 1 week) and raised $1,425 for Mass Mentoring.

 

 

 

 

 

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Our One Year Anniversary October 4th!!

I can’t believe October 4th will be our One Year Anniversary! Wahooo!! Time flies when you are having fun (and working hard!). It has been a great year and as we look forward to another memorable one, I was thinking of all the wonderful people who have helped bring the store to life. I also want to make sure that we give back to our community for all their support- so in conjunction with some festivities at the shop over the Anniversary weekend, we are also participating in the Fund for Public’s School’s Shop for Public School’s event. Blue Ribbon General Store, as well as other participating retailers in NYC will donate part of their proceeds of their sales from October 1-8th to Public School Libraries. Come out and buy something for yourself and support of good cause at the same time!

On Sunday October 5th join us at the shop while you stroll down Atlantic Avenue’s Atlantic Antic Street Fair—come by the shop, one block from Atlantic Avenue (at Bond Street, corner of State and Bond) for special Sale items, treats for everyone and to see all our new fall merchandise. Or order online in honor of our big day! Hope to see you soon!

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You Go Girl!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I pass this on the way to the shop everyday- it makes me feel empowered. It also makes me laugh- which is also a good thing!

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Flip and the Rodman Ride

For those of you who know me, you will have definitely heard me talk about my dear friend Flip (Felipe Suarez, Jr.). Flip was my dear friend Bill Cartier's "little brother" through Big Brothers/Big Sister since Flip was in the 7th grade (he is now 23!). Unfortunately, Bill passed away in a tragic skiing accident in 2001. Since then Flip and I have bonded and with Bill's moms help (my dear friend Pooh!)-we have helped him through high school, a post graduate year at Bill's alma mater-Trinity Pawling, as well as through college at Western New England College. When he graduated last year he quickly got a job at my old previous employer Coach Leatherware. It wasn't his thing though-and he decided to pursue the much more fulfilling world of Non-Profit work where he can start to give back some of the wonderful good will that he has been lucky to receive. Anyway-that is a quick lowdown on Flip-and now on to why I am writing about him.

He is riding in the Rodman Ride for Kids-a 50 mile Bike Ride through Massachusetts (he lives in Boston now and works for Mass Mentoring)-on September 27, 2008 and is raising money for Mass Mentoring through donations for the ride. If anyone is interested in learning more or donating- here is a link to the site.

Thank you!

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I love my neighborhood

I love the hood where our shop is. Truly, it is such a special place. Brooklyn is filled with lots of wonderful neighborhoods, but the little nook where the store is, is filled with such wonderful people-Boerum Hill Rocks! Here are a couple stories of some neighborhood friends and customers and some things that happened this week at the shop.

*P.S. 369 is right down the street from us on State Street and from my first week being opened last fall I knew I was in for a treat being so close to such wonderful teachers and students. Public School 369 caters to children with Special Needs and Autism. The teachers and staff are all so very patient and the kids are extremely dear. Many teachers (and administrative staff) come in from the school and support us, as well as once a month one of the teachers brings her Star Students of the Month in to pick out special treats for being good students. We always love when the kids come in (usually around 10 of them-with about 4 teachers)-as it is always such fun to see their faces light up when they put on a Pirate hat or buy a new ball. One of the teachers from the school, John, is a special friend and customer who comes in and shops about once a week (as well as nicely waving whenever he walks by!) and we discuss classroom ideas, projects and life. He even decorated his classroom this summer with things from the shop! (The school is in session all year round). Anyway-he bought a fun book we have in the store-Wow! City! And drew some pictures from the book for the kids to color in and this week he gave me this picture of the diorama they made from inspiration the book-It's very sweet! More to come on the school next time they come in for treats. And thank you John for sharing this picture with me!

A good customer called me yesterday afternoon to help put together Birthday Loot bags for her daughter's birthday party which is today. I love doing things like this and pulled together some fun treats for the 8 girls and 2 boys who would be at Flora's 8th Birthday party today. This family is so sweet and the daughter Flora is so nice and cute and she is also such a good older sister to her little brother as well. I love my customers and it makes me so happy when I can help them with things like this. They literally came in for 5-10 minutes, confirmed everything I had picked out and then stopped in this morning for the treats which I had packaged up in little loot bags. Very quick and easy! One of my goals for the shop is to help people have a more fulfilling life-and doing things like this-and making everyone's life easier and more fulfilling in the process makes me so happy. That is another reason why I love wrapping everyone's gifts at the store! I like to make everyday events into a special occasion. Rob, my husband, always says I make a "Party out of nothing!" Anyway-I couldn't help but take a picture of the bags before they got picked up for the party-here's a little pic! (those are our party horns sticking out from each corner.

And one more story about a customer who has also turned into a friend, Sadie Nardini, who lives down the street from the store. She wrote a book!! I remember when she first signed with her agent, etc. and now guess what-IT'S OUT!! And it is Amazing!! We just got some copies in the shop-it's called a roadtrip guide to your soul (just released)!!. We are having a book party for her on July 31st from 6:30-8:30pm at the store for anyone who is interested and in the area. Sadie will be on hand to talk about the book, life-plus we'll have some wine, and snacks and it will be a fun evening to visit with friends. If you'd like to buy the book and are not in the area-I can send you a copy-just email me using our contact form. Copies are $22.95 and if you want me to have Sadie sign it-let me know! Sadie's site is sadienardini.com check it out! And here is the cover of the book-love it!

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Summer is Here!!

Summer is here in Brooklyn- and I am loving the sun and warm weather. Of course, I am mostly inside in the air conditioned store but our big windows give a clear picture of what is going on outside- and it's been beautiful! Lots of rain too!! I feel like we are living in the tropics these days with a rainstorm every evening- but it is nothing compared to what our friends out West are dealing with, so no complaints here.

We have been busy packing and shipping out everyone's website orders which has been really fun. Many new customers and friends purchased from us after the great Daily Candy Everywhere email- so thank you to everyone who checked out the new site!! It has been fun to see what people are buying! Lots of fun Father's Day presents, Camp treats, Baby gifts, etc.

My favorite holiday is the 4th of July so we decorated the windows with pretty paper lanterns that we are selling in the shop- here is a picture of our handy work.

Richard- of Richard's Beauty Salon- next door to us on Bond Street, liked the lanterns so much he bought some for his own shop, so now we look like twins!! Since the 4th of July is a favorite holiday of mine, and since a lot of people will be out of town this weekend, I am going away and we are closing the Brooklyn shop for the weekend. Ever since we launched the store (last October) I have pretty much been working 7 days a week, so I am excited for some R&R- in one of my favorite places- Martha's Vineyard. We will be back and work on the 8th. See you then!

p.s. If you are in the 'hood- come by for Atlantic Avenue's Red Flag Wednesday's Specials. Merchants up and down the Avenue will be offering special deals all summer long on Wednesdays starting July 9th. Participating merchants will have a Red Flag outside their shop. Our special offer is 15% off everything RED in the shop!! (sorry, available in store only).

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Our Website launches!!

I am soo excited about our website launch! After ten years my dream has become a reality! We opened Blue Ribbon General Store seven months ago in Brooklyn, NY and now with the website launching, I really feel like my vision is coming to life. Those of you who know me well really have been hearing about this store/ website idea I have had for over ten years now. Throughout it all, my friends and family have been a wonderful support as I talked about the store for hours on end, always in the future tense- as I went from one unfulfilling job to another. I can't believe I actually pulled it off- and am so excited to share it with everyone! Besides being a great ecommerce place to buy gifts, I hope you will all come back to the site to read our Lifestyle Section, See what's going on at store and also Join in our Community Store that will launch in the Fall. We are excited to bring the Blue Ribbon General Store to Everyone- regardless of where you live!!

If you are in the 'hood- come by and see us and say hi!

Best,
Annie Lo

Making your Dreams Come True:
My journey into the world of Entrepreneurism--

Do you have an idea for a business? I think I have a new idea a day! But since I have opened my shop a lot of people have asked how I went about bringing my dream to life so I thought I would start out the Lifestyle section of our website with some ways to help you make your own dreams come true. I think it is important to realize that everyone has a different process and path in life, so please just take what I say as ideas and comments, and make your way---

As I mentioned before, I had the idea to open a Country General Store with modern city living products about 10+ years ago. I always had the same name for the shop, I think back from when I was a kid and tried my best to win the Blue Ribbons at the Country Fair (yes, folks, I grew up in NJ and still go to my local fair- the NJ State Fair is about a mile from where I grew up!). Anyway, I knew what I wanted to sell and how I wanted it to look- I just needed to figure out how to pull it all together. I was working at Brooks Brothers at the time, as a planner for their outlet division in NYC, but knew it wasn't for me. I gave them a month's notice knowing I wanted to pursue a more creative endeavor. In that time I took a class at Parsons New School for Design in "How to Open up a Store." The teacher was very inspiring and besides taking us on field trips around NYC to cool stores, he also gave us projects to help us brand the store and bring it to life. I still have all the work from that class- and the vision of the store hasn't really changed much since then! It has just gotten stronger. So my first message is- START WITH A VISION.

For the next ten years (that sounds like such a long time!)- I worked my way through the corporate ladder in different positions in corporate retail jobs such as Ralph Lauren, Talbots and Coach. I learned a lot, and was able to save some money to live off after I left my last job, but I always felt like I was supposed to be doing my own thing. I went to see a career coach who helped me get more focused and turned me on to some good business contacts, but I still don't think I was ready to get out of the corporate rat race. In the meantime, I collected store info about products, packaging, researched my market, etc. and wrote a TON of business plans over the years. I also spoke to SCORE counselors (retired Business Professionals in your area, they will set you up with a mentor in your field for free) who helped me with my business plan, idea and loan info. My second message is- DO YOUR HOMEWORK, WRITE A BUSINESS PLAN and SAVE YOUR MONEY.

With the hardest part behind me (quitting my good paying job for the UNKNOWN) I cleared my head for a while, did a little traveling for design inspiration (London and Paris was heaven for this and my good friend Emmanuel was the perfect traveling companion) and then tried to raise money for my business venture. This took me several months and again, this part can differ for all people; perhaps you can even start this while you are at your full time or part time job (I continued to freelance at a previous job throughout this process, and even after I opened up the store to keep money coming in). You might raise money from friends, family, savings, Venture Capital Company, angel investor, get a loan- through personal means, or through the SBA (Small Business Administration ) (SCORE can help with this), etc.- but having enough money to launch a business is key. I look at my business plan constantly to see how much I allotted for what. You must be able to be fluid and change your numbers as your business grows and as you see fit- but it is an essential part of being prepared. A well prepared plan will also make you feel better as things get rough- because you know you are ready for them. In the meantime, until I had money in the bank to get started, I read a ton of business books (see below for some of my favorites) and talked to many seasoned business people. I spent hours and hours in my local business library and went to countless (mostly free) seminars on marketing, branding, being an entrepreneur, etc.. There truly are so many resources out there- on the web and in your local community for people who want to start their own business.

Once I had my funding in place, it took less than three months to actually open the store. I had a budget for buying inventory, for the interior of the shop, etc. and just stuck to those numbers and went with my gut as much as I could. I went to trade shows in my industry and tried to prepare as much as possible for them ahead of time. It can be both an exciting and scary time- but having a close knit support system of family and friends truly helped, as well as people I met through the programs I attended. Once I was ready to actually unpack things and put them on the shelves several of my friends came out and helped me for hours at a time. My brother and his wonderful girlfriend Colleen spent hours getting my stereo system running properly, my dear friends Rachel and Paul spent their Saturdays putting together shelves, tables and benches and logging in my inventory. Figuring out my inventory system (through Quickbooks) was another feat that Flip and Kevin helped me with- and so you can see you it was all a big group effort that finally helped pull it all together! Special thanks for this MAJOR help go out to- Kevin, Colleen, Shelton, Flip, Pooh, Tom, Catrine, Ann, Melissa, Ellen, Holbrook, Rachel, Paul, Jill and of course my man Rob!
My third message is: BE PREPARED BOTH MENTALLY AND FINANCIALLY FOR THE NEXT STEP. FOLLOW YOUR BUSINESS PLAN FOR FUNDING AND SET UP AND HAVE A GREAT SUPPORT SYSTEM IN PLACE TO HELP DO THE DIRTY WORK.

From there I just worked hard and got the store ready and opened on October 4th, 2007! We are still so young and have had many curve balls thrown our way, but with the help and support of friends, family and the community- we continue to grow and get stronger every day. Thanks for hearing my story- if you have any questions, or want more help or advice, please email me using our contact form I really want to help people go for their own DREAMS!!

My fourth message is: ENJOY THE PROCESS! AND KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

My favorite Business Books-
Good to Great- Jim Collins
Built to Last- Jim Collins and Jerry Porra
The Tipping Point- Malcom Gladwell
Guerilla Marketing Books- Jay Conrad Levinson
Radical Marketing- Sam Hill and Glenn Rifkin
Your Marketing Sucks- Mark Stevens
The Art of Possibility- Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander
Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping- Paco Underhill
Before You Quit Your Job- Robert T. Kiyosaki (from the Rich Dad Series)
EMyth Revisited- Michael E. Gerber
The Artist's Way- Julia Cameron
The Seed Handbook- Lynne Franks and Ann Field