Hi Neighbor!

Usually, you will find that we blog about all things Parchment. But I am just going to take a little break from paper to welcome my new neighbor to the 'hood! The lovely Julie Biondi has just opened up a beautiful store right across the hall from me, appropriately called "The Lovely".

I am so excited to not only have her as a neighbor, but also to be surrounded by her beautifully chosen selection of clothing and accessories. It is obvious that she put a lot of thought and care into putting together every element of her store, from the foundation of the storefront itself to the carefully edited collections. (And, true confession, my style-conscious 6 year-old daughter thinks that Julie's store is much more fun than mine!)

Things are pretty exciting at 11 Washington Street these days, so I hope you will come by and see both of us! Congratulations, Julie, on a job well done. I'm so happy that you are here!

...just sayin'

I mean, really, it kinda says it all, right?! This little poster and postcard arrived this week in a juicy box from Hammerpress, a fabulous letterpress company in Kansas City, Missouri. Being a mid-western girl myself, I confess to having a bit of a soft spot for the mid-western artists and businesses. I love the Hammerpress designs and the way they inject just the right amount of tongue-and-cheek humor in their products. And for those of you familiar with "The Drawer", a few additions have been made, so come in and check it out!

Now get out there and hug someone today!

Oh, Hello There!!

Well hello there and happy Spring! With the tulips and daffodils popping up everywhere, it is high time we opened for the season. Here are a few pictures of the fun, fresh, new things that are filling the shelves at Parchment.

I don't want to ruin the surprise of all the great new products for the season (you'll have to come see for yourself) but here are some general shots of all the goodies we have on display! Don't worry if you aren't on island quite yet, I'll start to feature some of our favorite newbies individually in the coming weeks. For now, everybody gets to shine! (But who can resist that colorful Pantone shelf up there!?)

Early spring hours are Tuesday - Saturday, 10-5. Come down and say Hi! I've been missing all your faces and can't wait to catch up and hear about your winter. Parchment is about to celebrate it's 8th birthday!! Thank you to all of you who support me each year and allow me to do what I love! I wouldn't be here without you and it wouldn't be anywhere near as much fun. See you soon!

Get Your Valentine Groove On

It's almost here... are you ready? Valentines still abound at Parchment, so come on down and get 'em while they last. We've got the right valentine for whatever message you would like to send... whether a simple "Will You Be Mine?"

or something a little more sizzlin'...

Perhaps your still looking for that special someone to be your valentine...

Or maybe you just want to go to bed on February 13th and not wake up until the 15th...

(Hmm, that one is definitely not "G-Rated" - well... if you want to see that one, you have to stop by in person!

Whatever the sentiment, we've got you covered! So come on by, even if it's just to say Hi!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year and Hello to all you Parchment fans out there! ...well, if you're still out there! I know it has been eons since we last posted. 2011 was one of those years that I was just really happy to be done with... not such a great one in my personal life. The things happening outside of the shop took a lot of time and energy away from one of my favorite things: being in the shop! But, in experiencing the sad and the bad, I realized that there is a whole lotta good to be thankful for. This quote, passed on to me by a dear friend, really helped me get through the year... along with the support of my customers, friends, family and most of all the group of Guardian Angels watching over me. (You know who you are!) As a thank you to those Angels, I had the talented and fabulous crew over at Dauphine Press set this wonderful quote in letterpress. The result: something so meaningful and special, I had to share it with everyone.


Speaking of gratitude, I would like to give a little shout-out to the incredible team at Wiley Valentine. They defied typical vendor expectations with a truly generous gesture for a customer of ours who had experienced a recent tragedy in her life. Their kindness left me speechless and I can't express how lucky I feel to work with a company like that who not only echos my own business philosophy, but also has the ability to look at "the big picture." Yes, we are all trying to make a living, but sometimes making money on a project is not the most important thing. It was an amazing gesture of "paying it forward" and so much appreciated.

I hope you are having a fabulous day today. More to come, with Valentines rolling in daily and wedding invitations in the works. There are lots of good things to come in 2012!!

Getting Crafty!

The weather has been beyond gorgeous, but that doesn't mean there are some of us that need a little downtime out of the sun. I'm including some very fun, very creative rubber stamps that have joined us at Parchment this year. Great for rainy days, or when you are beached out (is that possible?) rubber stamps make creating and crafting easy and enjoyable.

Ink + Wit is one of our favorite new additions to the store this year. Perfectly packaged, these little themed sets make it easy to be an artist. I love their recipe card stamp, which would be perfect for creating a handmade recipe set for a friend, bride-to-be or to pass down old family recipes.

As usual, we have a wonderful selection of nautical themed stamps for all of our seaside lovers. How fun is little Mr. Whale? And if you're sending off an important parcel, what better way to add some flair than our "To" and "From" stamps. And for you last minute Lollies, our "You're invited" stamp turns any blank card into a sophisticated invitation with just a quick press of the stamp.

We look forward to seeing you!

Time is Flying!

The days are just flying by and it's nearly impossible for me to believe that August is here and September is on the horizon. Yikes! But fret not, we're prepared for Fall, and for the upcoming year. With a wide selection of yearly calendars and date books, Parchment will keep you up to date. A personal favorite are Snow and Graham's awesome selection of cool desk calendars, and of course their super successful write-on wall calendar to keep you organized and on track. Their bright, vibrant colors and fun graphics make even the dreariest of days (like today?) cheerful!