Market Finds, All Good!

This market in NYC, there was a new section featuring new vendors, most of them of the artist variety. I found several new resources that hopefully will find homes in on my sales floor.

The first one is a most unique product...soft sculpture chicken footstools!! You hear me right. This one's for you, Shannon! Ifell in love with these and their creators-truly engaging.

Shannon will have to help me identify the varieties...I'm afraid I'm not too good with my chicken breeds! I will say that this chocolate one took my heart!

Another buyer stopped by the booth just as we were ending our chat with the creators and indulged me in this photo in order to show the scale of the soft sculptures. I tried them out too, and they were very relaxing!

The feet are cast bronze and the bodies are felted wool. The skill of the designers was just amazing, the way the tail feathers were created by rolling the wool.

These cute gals are the creators. The name of their company; the city girl farm, in Lyons, Ks. As you can see, they love their product and the work involved. I'll vouch for the fact that they are very easy to fall in love with! I regret to say that I left their names in my office. Every good intent to post from work failed (thus, the two week later post...).




The heads bob! They are on some kind of a spring, although subtle, and they move in the most wonderful way.

Just as the creators, one can become very attached to these darlings. If you have fallen for them as quickly as I, call my retail store to place an order. As reflected by the price, these farm friends are labor intensive and finely crafted. Retail value: $2000.00.



Don't worry, Shannon, I already alerted Brian that one of these is bound to be on your Christmas wish list! I'll see what I can do to accommodate.




Another new vendor that you'll find in my gift mix were these darling pillows made from burlap. Way cute friend gift (for a mother, daughter, or sister!) "happy House" , "live THANKFULLY", and...

"carefull free ranging children"...too funny! Photo frames and tea towels with equally entertaining quotes have been ordered too.

More market finds to come. Another night.

There's a Change in The Air!

It's always a happy time of year when the fall/Halloween merchandise is ready for merchandising!

Sorry about the slightly out of focus snapshot! But what about this "Treats" pumpkin for your trick or treat give-a-ways! (And check out those glitter witches and spooks.)

You'll find mahogany colored pumpkins in three sizes...

Vintage reproduction figures....

These battery operated black glitter candelabras set the stage for a real Adams Family dinner party!

A slightly new take on past years Caspers with personal greetings...

I saved the best for last! You know how I love crows (of the statue variety!). Add that seasonal black glitter and some orange tinsel and you've got my heart. This little guy is named appropriately, "Edgar Allen Crow". Check our twitter contest to see more.

Yes, fall is in the air. None too soon for me. It's pretty magical inside the old stone walls of Black-eyed Susan. Come see for yourself.

4:30 a.m. Wakeup Call. Ugh.

When the New York Gift Show rolls around, I have mixed feelings.

4:30 a.m. wake up call: bad

Possible new finds for Black-eyed Susan: good

Trenton Train Station: so-so

Rolling cart for files/memos: dread

Shoes for 12 hour day: stumped

Crowds and badge scanners: irritating

$20.00 sandwich and water for lunch: good grief!

(and we're not talking gourmet.)

Visits with favorite vendor and reps: great

New resources and inspiration: fabulous

Rush to get a seat on the last express train: ugh

Pulling into the driveway at 8:30p.m. : weary, weary, weary

Foot rub in bed: pure heaven

I devoted a quick two days to the New York Market this show, and found some great new things, reordered some favorites, and added a few over-the-top things to the Halloween mix for this year's inventory. Ahhhh...Halloween to be coming out soon!

I'll document a few things I found and/or ordered for your review over the next few nights.

Fabulous color, cool function! These gloves by Echo are a wool blend with tiny pads that let you use your IPhone or Droid(!)...all while keeping toasty warm. And, with ruffles to boot! Favorite colors; chartreuse, orange, aqua. What could be better? Watch for these babies for Holiday gifts.

John Wind, cool jewelry designer (and always in demand at Black-eyed Susan) posed for a shot with me at his booth. Right behind us, a prestigious copy of his mention in Country Living Magazine, spotlighting his coolest new charm bracelet...also to be appearing at Black-eyed Susan for Holiday gift giving. A self-portrait was out of the question, due to the extreme difference in heights. Thanks, John! We are always ready for more new designs and inspiring displays. And, added to the line just in time...lots of BLING! Oh, yea, I ordered that too.


Another cool designer I found, making jewelry from vintage finds. Check out the collection on the vintage dress form...oh, by the way, the longer necklace with the old watch on it is now out of circulation...it now resides in my jewelry collection! The stylish young designer agreed to come to the retail store and do a trunk show in November. Can't wait. I'll let you know when to save the date. Very cool.

Stay tuned for more favorite finds. It's good to be home.

New Jewelry Motherload!

Wow! The cash 'n carry orders are in and ready for the picking!

I' ve scheduled one of our events around the new stash! I'm sure you've seen the latest rage of jewelry embellished with beautiful silk ribbons....and I'm talking multiples! With the help of Kara (my cutest hip sales associate), I will show how to wear the latest jewelry trends. Layer it on, and add a personal touch with silk ribbon. Go home with the latest trend and all at 20% off!

So, come join us for a night of fun and fancy! Call to reserve your spot on Thursday, Aug. 19th. 6:30p.m. Take home your own signature trend! 215-794-1800-hope to see you there!

Cheers! Just a bit of magic.

Day 3 Jewelry Overload!

The first day of the Cash and Carry jewelry buying is always exhausting, while exhilarating at the same time. This market, both Linda and I felt that there were much larger crowds than usual. Good and bad. Good, because that may mean the buyers are more confident in consumer shopping. Bad because you just can't take a step due to crazy crowds. And, I might say that the crowds can be quite entertaining to say the least!

Every year, I chide myself for not documenting how the crowds are, really. Cameras are strictly forbidden on the sales floor, so sneaking a photo was challenging...thus, I didn't get the perfect shot to give the real picture.

I mean, really, the crowds are more like a sea of shoppers. It might be rather like that trampling sale at David's Bridal...this photo just can't give you the real feel of things. It's back to back women and a few men here and there. (As you can see, not everyone wears fashionable shoes...)


This is a view of just one of the isles. Can you tell that graphites/ grays and pearls were the item of the day? Don't worry, I'm bringing back plenty to choose from.


At one of our favorite booths, we found out next hairdo. Do you keep a "hair-file"? My hairdresser always loves it when I pull mine out...but how cute is this cut? I did nearly get thrown off the sales floor by a "fashion police" for sneaking this one, even with her permission!

Side shot of seriously cute new haircut! It's definitely a consideration!

Next stop, a favorite ribbon vendor. Silk hand-dyed ribbons, wonderful colors and fabulously luxurious. I first came to know this vendor when I designed a hat and hair accessory line for Nordstrom some years ago...we reconnected and it was love all over again. The purpose of our stop? I am planning to carry these ribbons by the yard for your use in embellishing your own jewelry! Linda and I brainstormed a class to be held when the new jewelry stock comes in with demonstrations and ideas using the silk ribbons to personalize your own jewelry selections. Fun!

This delicious silk velvet ribbon was to die for! The owner of the company was a delight and cut several generous lengths for me to "play" with and delight over. So darling.

Don't you agree that these beautiful taupe-y gray silk ribbons will be perfect for the graphite metals we picked out?! Oh, yes.

This is called "rat-tail". It is a wondrous silk cord used for many details. Fabulous colors.

After a long day, we returned to our room around 8:30p.m. Linda started to sort her personal purchases. I snapped this cute photo totally out of focus. I guess that sort of sums up the way we felt after half a day on the jewelry floor and the remaining doing accessory and floral buying-slightly out of focus! She can be seen here modeling a few of our graphite selections.

Okay, I just had to show you this...Linda's personal stash, yes personal. I mean all for her use, to give, to own ,and to be overwhelmed by! She began sorting and it lasted for some time.

I had to stand on my bed in order to get the bird's eye view I needed to try to show the reality of her purchases! (If you've ever seen Linda in person, you'll understand!)

Well, the trends are coming to Black-eyed Susan soon. Massive amounts of metal, charms, ribbon, embellishments, pearls...layers upon layer of jewels. Just wait till you see!

Tomorrow we hit the floors early to find the best art, lamps, mirrors and accents at the market.

Wonder what shoes will take me through the day tomorrow....

Day Two-shoe exchange!

There's not anything more wonderful than a shopping companion who is entertaining, stylish, enduring with stamina, and will change shoes with you when you can't take another step. It's even more amazing that this fun friend can exchange shoes with someone who wears a size 41/2 shoe! That's how things went down around 3:00p.m. after 7 hours of shopping.

The market was busy, which is always a good sign, but this also translates into long lines getting an elevator for the 3 buildings, 20 stories each. A lot of shopping...

That being said, there are equally as many vendors offering "unique", or in other words, hideous options for all manner of storefronts. Thankfully, Black-eyed Susan is not one of them!

At times, it seems that that is all we see for hours on end! Today, the first part of the day was spent resourcing new vendors. Give me your vote on some of the fine options we came across...

I'm always looking for new lamp resources...this one was quite unique. Fully beaded and sequined. Holy moly.

Yet another selection, complete with bleached big-bird costume. This is for real.

Mirrors are another category that we source each market, but really...who buys this?!

You know that I have written about the glamour and allure of glitter many times. I mean, we love glitter as much as the rest of the design world, but this just might be the pink limit (as my darling mother would say)...mountain goats...fully glittered! Oh, my.


Tomorrow, day 3, I promise to try to document some really cute things. In fact, I'm going to resist photographing anything hideous and only go for the fabulous. It's a promise.

On the Road Again

Well, we're off bright and early for the first day of the Atlanta Market! Linda and I rose bright and early and felt quite proud of being able to get ready in a small 4 ft square bathroom (and all for $300.00 per night...), grab a Kashi cardboard (...oh, protein bar), and hit the sales floor running.

...working shoes!

We were thrilled to hear right off the bat from an energetic sales manager giving a pep talk to his staff that , "butterflies are rock'in"! Please tell me that this will not be the theme of the market.

You know that I always like to document a few really spooky selections that obviously, other buyers are finding cool....for instance, these giant size Easter eggs...more like ostrich eggs. Oh, dear. And just check out the color. These will not be found on my sales floor. Why buys these anyway?

I guess the same buyers who are buying these GIANT hideous calla lily's...same bad color pallet.

Once again, NOT for Black-eyed Susan. Mercy.

First stop-our packaging source where they have the Black-eyed Susan bag out as a prototype! We selected new tissues for fall, ordered the new bags with the Holicong (yes Holicong) address on it, Christmas tissues and raffia ribbon. Then, we bid farewell to the 1 South Main Street address on our current bags. That was a little sad, really.

On the way to the first showroom on our list, we got distracted by a fabulous new jewelry vendor that was in a very unexpected showroom! Great style and great prices! Great find! I think you'll enjoy the new arrivals...I know I certainly will. Oh, yea.

Linda indulged me in some modeling photographs of some of the splashy new styles.

Great "little" bracelet...really, it's cute!

Companion necklace...I'm thinking my granddaughters will love this one! Not to mention Emily, my fashionista niece. Count me in for one too. Any other takers? Just give me a call!

And, I'll have to say that we were happy (not...) to find something in the "rock'in" category.

We spent the rest of the day selecting and ordering new accessories, furniture and lamps for the store, fought our way into the over packed elevator at the end of the day (not for the faint of heart or claustrophobic) and walked the few blocks back to our room and teeny tiny bathroom.

How is it that two of the most high maintenance buyers at the market end up with this gift?

Tomorrow, day 2 and another report. Stay tuned!