A Scentalicious Event

We had our First Friday Event last Friday on South Main Street. South Main is a smaller stretch of newer businesses that have an artsy bent to them (I am a artist, Lealand at 'Lealand Eve Boutique' is an artist, and Jeff at 'Silica' is an jewelry artist representing other jewelry artists.) We started doing the event to draw attention to our end of the downtown - the first Friday of each month we each stay open later 6pm-10pm, and have free food, prizes, and in-store events. More about First Friday: http://www.sayvillesouthmain.com/

For this event the Seafarer Gift Shop had lots of delicious free appetizers, a free gift basket raffle with merchandise and gift certificates from five South Main shops and two restaurants ('Oystermans' and 'Collins & Main'). More excited about our guest! I had in Jennifer from 'Flourish', http://www.flourisheveryday.com/ a newer tiny shop around the corner that sells fabulous body care stuff - soaps, lotions, etc. She was here giving away FREE sample size custom blended fragrances for our customers to promote her service and perfume parties. Read Jenn's new blog http://flourisheveryday.blogspot.com .

That's right, she was custom mixing the perfume oils right here. It smelled divine! Even the husbands got into it (really into it - it was funny!) and got scents made. I made one for my husband, and my oh my does he smell good.. (A mix of some exotic oils called Geisha, Bergamon, & Leather) Unfortunately it rained (and it's still raining- ugh), so traffic was light for the event. We'll have Jennifer back again, it was a great time. My own scent we made up was a fabulous blend of Honeysuckle and Gardenia, with a touch of Lilac.

New Items Coming Soon - Nautical Gifts & Sea Glass Jewelry!

Just met a new rep with a line of coastal home decor I was unaware of (always exciting to discover something new), here's a teensy weensy preview of that line (clocks, plaques, prints on canvas, candle holders, seagrass balls, vases, and more) and some pretty new handmade sea glass designs by a New England artisan, coming to the gift shop soon!

LIGHTHOUSE CANDLE HOLDER
POLYRESIN SEASHELL PLANTERS

STERLING & SEA GLASS JEWLERY

Backlink Directories are Bogus

In order to get my fabulous newly launched website http://www.seafarergiftshop.com/ ranked higher as quickly as possible (so my site comes up on search engines closer to the top) I posted links on directory sites that claim to include your site in exchange for a reciprocal link. Come to find that they are bogus. They never add you or update their directories - they get the benefit of your reciprocal link and THEIR page rank improves. You on the other hand, get nothing. I pulled all their links. Glad I checked. :o(

MOTHER OF PEARL FRAMES AND JEWLERY BOX

CLOSEUP - WITH SEED BEADS ON LINEN!

Just got in the wrong merchandise - it happens from time to time where the warehouse pickers pick the wrong boxes... I ordered mother of pearl button picture frames with small square buttons to match a collection in the store, and got mother of pearl picture frames - just with large dangling oval drops. They are pretty, like jewelry - and actually something I wouldn't have ordered myself - so I'll keep them! They sell for only $18... In the square button collection besides frames, I have gorgeous sheer tab top gauze curtains that are embellished with mother of pearl buttons from the tops to the bottom - so so so pretty... and small jewelry boxes with a lift out tray. I love the shimmer of mother of pearl shells!

Shop Local - the 3/50 Project

Saving our economy one dollar at a time!


The 3/50 project shows how simple it is for each of us to do our part to restart our stalled economy. The creator of the 3/50 Project Cinda Baxter says that “….you realize slamming the breaks on all spending stalls economic recovery. It’s just that simple.” And it is! Simple. We each have the power to make a difference that will help change the world. I do it. I started awhile ago. After I opened my gift shop, I bought all my Christmas gifts ALL of them in the neighboring gift shops. I felt silly giving gifts from my own store that first year for some reason... Shopping locally was convenient - I did not having to fight the big box crowds, and circling parking lots, or stand in line. I dealt with the owner more often than not.

Even if you don't know what to buy, or from where you can still help in Sayville. Our local Greater Sayville Chamber of Commerce sells Chamber Gift Certificates that can be spent in any local chamber member's business! It's brilliant! For example, You can buy five $10 gift certificates, and your gift recipient can spend $50 in town in as many as five different shops and maybe get to know a great new shop she didn't realize was there. Chamber businesses get reimbursed by the Chamber for the spent certificates.

Now when I need a gift that maybe I don't have at the Seafarer Gift Shop (like gifts for all the birthday parties my kids go to), I walk out the door and up the street to a neighboring merchant and buy locally.

To Find a Box.

Our first website product inquiry! I was very excited to get the call! - Yay! We've been found on the internet. Of course, it was about our second most tricky items to ship, the rocking dory. (The viewing scope being of course the most difficult). We state on the website that this item has not been setup for shipping yet, so it will take some work.

A peek into the more mundane things I do: As a retailer I've found most vendors bubble and bulk box merchandise rather than individually carton everything to save money. That leaves the shop owner to figure out how to gift wrap or ship many varied sizes and shapes. In a small store you just can't afford the room or expense to buy and stock every possible size. I've spent the weekend trying to find the best, cheapest way to ship this hand crafted rocking dory... Not easy... At 40", it is oversized and won't fit in any of the boxes I've got here. My local wood crafter doesn't box them - too expensive. Most box companies don't carry anything close to this size so I don't have easy access to a supply. Then I found one company, boxes cost about $14-$20 each (for 4-10 boxes) that is crazy, but it is not a popular size and I don't want to have buy 150! Forget it anyway, they charge nearly $90 to ship just 4 flattened empty cartons to me! Good heavens.

So I scoop up the dory and cart it up the street to our local UPS pack & ship store, since they advertise that they can ship anything. But at a big price I come to find - well over $150! Who would buy a $195 boat that costs over $150 to ship? I can't tell this potential customer that. Sigh.... then I remembered the reproduction fire truck pedal car my DH got my son for Christmas - the box is still in the basement!! Mine!

Now we're down to $86 to pack and ship myself. Can I get it lower? The box is great, but larger than I actually need. So I poke around in the back room in search of heavy duty shorter boxes that I can cobble together with lots of tape. Found one! That is not my ideal way of course, but this box expense thing is not something I want to pass onto any customer, and the local wood crafter makes most of the money on this particular item. So now we're down to about $59 to ship a semi-disassembled boat in free boxes that I received with one of my own shipments and cobbled together. And the story continues... I am still working on getting this box shipped even cheaper... I am determined! This customer may not want the dory, but someone else will and I'd like to get it figured out and reasonable.

New Prints in by D. Elias!

I LOVE these lovely framed prints I just got in today! This North American Artist has wonderfully colorful watercolor paintings of seaside beach scenes. This one is called Beach House & Bouys! They are matted and are framed with whitewashed hardwood frames - very good quality. My favorite is her lighthouse paintings on nautical charts! I have the Fire Island Lighthouse painted on a chart, available as a matted print or framed matted print with a driftwood and rope style frame. Gorgeous! The prices are fantastic and larger sizes can be ordered. I have a panoramic framed print in the store right this second of a beach scene with a bicycle, beach umbrella, & chairs, sand, sea that is hand signed by the artist that makes me sooo happy every time I look at it - so pretty and serene. It may be following me home if you don't get it first....

Welcome to the Seafarer Gift Shop's Blog!

My very first blog post.....

Let's get started with introductions. About me: my name is Barbara Whitbread, and I own the fabulous Seafarer Gift Shop, an actual downtown bricks & mortar store. I am married and have 4 1/2 year old twins. I opened the shop about 3 1/2 years ago in the seaside town of Sayville, New York. Yes, with 1 year old twins. With me. In the store. I know, insane. Seemed completely rational at the time, but what can I say. Anyway, Sayville is on the south shore of Long Island, east of NYC by about 35 miles.

I grew up working on my family's boats and commercial fishing docks. I have gift shop experience, and lots of creativity... I am a professional artist and I create all sorts of things for the shop, as you'll see.

I am feeling really techie these days - I just finished creating the first phase of my gift shop's website and went live with it http://www.seafarergiftshop.com/ but that is just the start of it, as now I'll be adding tons more product but the tricky part is done. Then, I put the store on Facebook, (just enter SEAFARER GIFT SHOP) and now - Ta DA! The Seafarer Gift Shop has an official blog! Well, a few, actually... but more about that later.

This is where I will write about all that is going on in the store, all the great items, new vendors, and creations. New sealife and sea glass jewelry, beach house decor, ships, gifts, artisans, driftwood, seashells, starfish, corals... We have everything beachy for coastal decorating! All the blues, aquas, greens, sand tones, and whites... from vintage shabby styles to upscale styles. Love it!

It is a pleasure to meet you all, and I hope you enjoy and comment on my blog and follow my journey...