Open for our Tenth Season!!!

Happy Spring!! Well, it almost feels like spring... I hope it's coming soon to an island near us. Regardless of the temperature outside, it's looking very fresh and fun inside the doors at Parchment! Today is opening day for the 2013 season and believe it or not (I actually can't believe it...) this is our tenth season!

Are any bunny rabbits coming your way? Chloe and I got a little crafty and covered some of our eggs in the japanese washi tape. Kinda fun, right? (We use eggs that have been blown out, due to an episode of our dog finding all the hard-boiled eggs that the Easter Bunny hid, before anyone else had a chance to look!) Here are a few pics of some washi-tape covered eggs...

And if you are looking for some ideas to help that Easter Bunny fill the basket, we have some great suggestions for you! Come by, say "Hi", we would love to see you!

How is your Holiday Shopping coming along?

Oh, gosh, where did this year go? It feels like a blink-of-an-eye ago that I was introducing you to my "Lovely" neighbor, and now here we are at what I like to call "High Holiday Season"! Lots to tell of our busy 2012 season, but for now I'll get right down to business. I mean, really, how are you doing with that Holiday shopping?
I've got lots of great ideas for you... today I thought I would feature two favorites for your Christmas Cook!

This gorgeous recipe box by Rifle is here and ready to wrap up! It's kind of a miracle that these are here, they are hard to get and even more difficult to keep in stock. Made by hand from reclaimed wood, there is a lot of love and labor that goes into these gorgeous boxes. I own one of these myself, and it is a perfect place to keep those recipe cards written in the handwriting of those special cooks willing to share a good recipe! The Rifle recipe boxes are priced at $134. and include tab dividers as well as blank recipe cards too.

I seem to have a weak spot for recipe boxes... probably because my love of cooking is a close second to my totally nerdy love of paper...  This second recipe box is from Susy Jack and is sharply priced at $36. A brass frame adorns the front. My favorite feature... the slit at the top which will hold the recipe card that you are using at the moment! Pretty slick! These little boxes also include the tab dividers and cute recipe cards with a fork on one side, a spoon on the other, perfectly packaged in a sweet gift box.

We're open Monday through Saturday, 10-5, so come on down or give a call if we can help you wrap up any of your holiday shopping!

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!!