Marketing for our shop

This week we ve had a great time giving away products with our store name on them. We ve got wine glasses, water bottles and cups with straws. It's a inexpensive way to promote your company and one that gets your name out there for others to see. Next week out shirts should be ready. I ll update soon as they are available.
Next year in October we plan to help out by selling products to benefit the breast cancer awareness campaigns. In March we ve already made plans to help with the March of dimes. It's our way of giving back, that's what it's all about reaching out and helping one another.

Black Friday Sales

Well here it is Sunday and the Black Friday madness is over. It amazes me still at the number of people that are still caught in the TRAP....I use to be one of those but now I m free....LOL I love to participate instead in the Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. Less madness and chaos.
For instance at our shop on Saturday we had palazzos pants buy one get one for 50% off. We also gave a free pair of leggings to every person that spent 50.00 and that was a 10.00 value. We love to show our appreciation to our customers.
Now I just anxiously await the stroke of midnight to shop from the comfort of my own home and have the items delivered to my very door. Just waiting on SG to finish her wish list in time to shop and save money.....

Small business Saturday

Well our lil shop is up and going. We ve been really busy trying to get everything done, lol but we are still a work in progress. This weeks challenge has been trying to figure out marketing draw for Saturday's small business day. We are planning on having a different sale every other hour. Suxh asked for hours 10-12 will be 8.00 for pair of leggings or 2/12.00! 12-2 maybe 25% off one item! 2-4 spend 50.00 or for every 50.00 get 10.00 boho bucks to be used the next visit.
This weekend we did a free pair of leggings for every 50.00 spent. It was a great deal for us as well as customers.
We also have been really busy changing out our windows. Sometimes it has been due to fact we ve sold our outfits on  display   That is a great feeling too. Hope everyone is having a great week. Talk to us later on!

Marketing ideas

We ve opened our boutique. Boho Chic is officially open for business 428 Broad St. Boho Chic downtown boutique Mon-Fri 10a-6P , Sat 10A-3P thru the holidays. We are also in process of launching our online store. I thought since we were in the beginning of the high spending season it would be a great idea to offer a free gift with every 50.00 purchase of regular priced merchandise. Our gift till they are gone is a reusable cup or water bottle with our name on it! I am forever using my cups so what better way to advertise our shop. HM now what can I come up with next! Maybe a free tsirt with every 100.00 purchase. Heck who doesn't like free stuff !

Boho Chic.....our new shop

It has been a crazy couple of days....My aunt and I were trying to line up some shows for our mobile business when a miracle happened. A building downtown that was for rent is now our new shop. Lol wow how God works. So in a matter of like 4 days we have the cutest neatest coolest shop ever. And we have lots of space for expansion. Now I am so busy in my head with marketing ideas.... We are joining the DGI. Downtown Gadsden Industries group and they are having a 3 day event to kick off the holiday season. Thursday evening is girls night out and we are tickled to be a part of.  We are so so excited. I will be posting pics...soon!

Partners in business

Recently a new bakery came to town. She specializes in gluten free baking. I am told she has some really good recipes that she worked on for about a year to fine tune and tweek. She has also recently partnered up with the local frozen yogurt company Yogurtime. They are serving warm bottom treats. They take one of Maggies delicious gluten free desserts and heat it up till it is just right temperature. Then you take it and add your favorite frozen yogurt or frozen treat and even some of their wonderful toppings to make you own unique dessert. Seems a great way for both companies and it seems to be a growing trend. Recently I saw where a local grocery store and a local fast food place were working together. Burtons in located in Sotuhside Al and they are working with Chik fil a in Gadsden to sell chiken sandwiches from their store on Fridays. So folks that love Chik fil a but dont want to drive into town can shop at Burtons on Fridays and get their fix in. Seems like a winning combination for all involved.

Kids and commercials

Recently I ve heard this same commercial over and over for a local pumpkin patch. It is the granddaughter of the owners. She is a sweet talking little girl and it grabs my attention every time. I am so impressed with her speaking I d love to see the pumpkin patch. It really draws one in and makes me curious to go visit. This is my idea of a successful ad. I have found however that a lot of times people will use family and friends just to be putting them in the ad and it does not work. A local car dealership used their daughter and it was so irritating not at all the type of exposure I would want for my business. It was just too cutesy. Corny as well. There are times when you would be better off not to use kids even if they are cute and adorable. And lets not get me started on animals.....but I do love the geico gecko. He is great as are the kia hamsters....love the dancing hams.

Local Joe's

A new bar b que place has come to our neck of the woods. Local Joe's started out in an old gas station in a hole in the wall sorta place. Their first location has grown to the point of adding on to the building several times. It is a neat lil place that really helps out the local people. Its main focus are the locals, average Joe folks. Their BarBQue is so good that they have now opened a 2nd location. It is on the river and as I go over the bridge I see the local Joe's sign. I love how they took a catch phrase and one that has such meaning behind it to name their business. The owner is a super nice guy too plus the smoked turkey is wonderful. If you're ever are down this way please stop by and check it out...they also have fruits and veggies that are locally grown. Gotta run all this talk has made me mad for a snack or two of some good ole Local Joe's grub.

What good are commercials?

Hello everyone....just wondering if I am the only one lately that notices how crazy commercials are these days. There are some that are suppose to be selling burgers and fries but its almost as if they are promoting sex! Then there is the new Dodge commercial that has some guy singing some horrible song in his garage as his friend jones' to touch the new car....at least I think its a Dodge commercial. Now lets talk about the personal hygienne products, no on second thought lets just skip right to the good ones. You have the wonderfully fun and entertaining cranberry juice commercials from Ocean Spray. I love these! Makes me want to go out and purchase some Ocean Spray in all flavors. And the Kia one with the dancing adorable hamsters advertising the SOUL. I almost bought one....makes me wanna dance everytime too...and sometimes I do just that and do it as if nobody is watching. And of course we cant leave out Morty and his precious lil lady and the swifter commercials. They are so cute. Makes you wanna go purchase a set and swifter away. Which reminds me I ve got some housework to catch up on.....guess commercials really do work positive in some cases cause I am grabbing the tools and dusting away.

Pretty packaging

As I entered our local super store, my attention was drawn immediately to the produce section. Of particular interest was the six foot by six foot apple display. Now I was not interested before this in purchasing any apples but they looked so good. They were neatly arranged in these wonderful clear plastic bags. You know the ones with nice neat handles. I thought surely I needed a bag of these yummy looking apples plus as an added bonus the bag could be reused at a later date. Yes the marketing sure was a great idea. The display just captivated your attention. And another add bonus were the apples were very tasty and made for a healthy snack. Plus they reminded me of delicious apples from my childhood from my grandparents farm on sand mountain. And lets not forget the great bag. I m thinking I may use it later, along with some saved tissue paper, for some one's upcoming birthday....

New life to old things

I love to travel and see different things. To experience all that I can from each adventure. I also love to give back what was so graciously given to me. I think it is our job to share with others, to lift each other up and to save our planet. It is our job to reclaim things so that our future generations will have a better place in which to grow and thrive in. I love to see old buildings restored. Below are some wonderful examples of such. Seems like a road trip is in order just to see one of  these.

above is a building in Wisconsin that is now a dental clinic. Beautiful details on this structure and put to a great use.

 This is a wonderful example of how someone put old pallets to good use.

This is a former fire station that is now a restaurant. I love these red graphics. It is warm and inviting and has such a quaint charm. Love the black and red and even the pops of blue against the red brick. What a great way to draw people in and draw attention to this location. It stands out to me and makes me curious to see what is on the inside.

Reclaimed Life

Hello y'all.....yes I am Southern and proud of it and so I say a lot of Y'alls. I was trying to figure out what to blog about today. I had several different ideas, well half ideas and my daughter said "why not blog about your life?" I said nah doesn't fit in with my theme of things you know something old into something new and then it hit me! Another Ah Ha moment! You see when I was around the age of 14-15 I began to drink and smoke pot. It progressed into other things and by the time I was 19 I was in full blown addiction. I tried to maintain and did for a few years and even had periods of semi abstinence. I always did it my way and my life was a complete utter mess. September 4th, 2004 I surrendered to God, completely surrendered. He took a person that was completely broken and made me into someone new....a new creation in his loving hands. Its like he placed my broken life on his potters wheel and made me into this lovely vessel. WOW! once again literally from trash to treasure. He is amazing like that! It has been ten years and even though they have not been easy, they have been so much more than I ever deserved. So you might ask what was my number one motivating factor? A beautiful little blond haired brown eyed girl. You see she deserved and needed a mama that would nurture her, take care of her, love her and teach her right from wrong. She needed someone to protect her, hold her when she was sick, someone to listen to her when she became a teenager and really needed good Godly advice. She needed someone to encourage her, to cheer her on, and someone to punish her when she made bad decisions. Not because I was mean or angry but because I knew how Satan loves to steal, kill and destroy....and I knew she needed me just as much as I needed her.
So this month I celebrate not only a new belly button birthday (September 14th, 51 years old) but a new celebration of life. God gave me many chances during my 25 plus years of addiction and when I was ready and cleaned me up, set me free and removed the chains that held me captive.
Thanks Savannah Grace for helping me out with today's blog! I love you more than you will ever know and cherish the time we spend together. You are an amazing young lady and one day you will have precious children that , if good Lords will, I'll love them and cherish time spent with them. And it will be because I gave in and gave up fighting a losing battle.
Maybe my story will have given someone else hope, if so then Praise God he gets all the credit!
God bless y'all!

Hello everyone.....I decided to share with you all a wonderful and great idea (At least I think so). This would be so cool in a playroom, garage, maybe outdoor living area, etc. The uses are endless and especially since it involves a used tire, very endless.
Ok here is what you need.
1. old tire in fairly decent condition
2. rope or twine as we often say here in the South
3. hot glue gun and of course GLUE Sticks
4. Sealant
5. Foam or some type of padding
6. Piece of burlap or similar material
7. thin piece of scrap wood (large enough to cover the top of tire when cut in a circle)
8. liquid nails or drill and screws
Okay take the tire and use a brush to clean it up from any debris (here in the South thats dirt). Take your material, wood, and foam or padding and cut about 2 inches wider than the diameter of the tire. Cover wood with foam and then burlap. Use liquid nails  or drill and screws and attach the top to the top of tire. Take rope and start at the bottom of tire and go around it gluing as you go until you have the entire tire covered. Use your sealant (pain on)to seal the roped area of the tire,
Ta Da! You now have a great looking relatively inexpensive stool that also just saved the world from another tire biting the dust! Hand clap to you for a good deed and job well done!

Literally from trash to treasure

Have you ever wondered what you could do with someone and then one day you have an Ah Ha moment? Well I certainly have had many of those moments. For years I would remove the cardboard roll off of the toilet paper holder and toss it in the garbage. I thought "thats such a  waste, surely something oh anything could be done to save all these empty rolls from the landfill graveyard". Then one day it came to me as I was trying to figure out how to use some other trinkets that i had accumulated. I had a silk flower that was broken from stem, a broken hair clasp and lots of glue. Hm what could i use as a base to make a cuff bracelet. Then it was that Ah Ha moment....I took a empty toilet roll and cut it painted it and started gluing. Its now one of my favorite pieces.....Now where did I stash all those empty rolls oh never mind soon I am certain in one of our 3 bathrooms another will come available. LOL...now I am outta here to begin anew!