shopArtisans blog

Artisans was featured on Fox 5 in DC

2009-12-24T07:38:00.000-08:00

Check out the video!

Ladies Night Out at Artisans - October 8th 4-9 PM

2009-10-02T11:55:00.000-07:00

Back by popular demand it's our 3rd annual Ladies Night Our. We would be delighted if you join us for this evening of fun! Check out our glamorous Halloween hats and accessories with you friends or just shop around while enjoying refreshments and good times.

There will be two half hour Trollbead Fantasy Necklace classes at 4:30 and 7:30. Bring in your beads to find out how to create many different necklaces. (Reservations are suggested but not required for the Fantasy Necklace classes. To reserve a spot, simply reply to this email or give us a call at 301 990 3219.

Local artist Anne Carney will be hosting a trunk show featuring her unique jewelry.

There will be a free piece of fun Halloween jewelry for everyone who comes. We'll gave games with prizes from Vera Bradley, Lampe Berger's home fragrance line and Zazou's line of shawls.

So, forget you worries and responsibilities, and joins us for a wicked good time! The party runs from 4 to 9.

Grand ReOpening Celebration - Sat and Sun Sept 26 and 27

2009-09-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

Our move into the new space is complete! We're so happy about the new store and can't wait to share it with you, our customers!

We're having a Grand Re-Opening Celebration in our new location, which is just across the parking lot from our old space. The celebration is going on all day Saturday, September 26th and Sunday, September 27th.

There are going to be so many specials and giveaways at the event!

Every customer gets a free coffee sample
Every purchase gets a spin of our prize wheel
Free Vera Bradley Limited Edition Journal ($15 value) with $100 or more purchase in Vera
Free Thymes Soap ($18 value) for every Halloween or Fall purchase of $30 or more
Free Candle Snuffer ($9.99 Value) with a candle purchase of $12 or more
Free troll bracelet with an upgraded clasp
Free trinket box with a jewelry purchase of $20 or more
Buy 2 Melissa and Doug kids puzzles and receive the 3rd free
Buy 2 Webkinz and receive a free Lil' Kinz
$5 off personalized Danielson Designs and mongramed purchases
Scout Bag Raffle on Saturday, one bag every hour will be given away
3 grand prizes will be given away. 2 free personalized Danielson Designs signs and 1 free personalized Language Arts sign

Please tell your friends know about the celebration. As always, our customers are our greatest asset and your word-of-mouth is invaluable to us. Let people know, "Artisans has expanded!"
See you at the event!

Danielson Designs Personalized Wall Signs

2009-08-13T13:27:00.000-07:00

Here at shopArtisans.com, we're excited about offering Danielson Design's new personalization program. They've developed a great website where you can design your own signs on your choice of shape, style and color. Put your name and your favorite quote, or use one of their suggested quotes.

Danielson Designs is a really great company based out of Colorado. They do a lot for their local community. It's one of those companies that we are really happy to do business with. Their build quality is superb. Everything is made by hand.

Preview of the New Location

2009-08-03T13:35:00.000-07:00

As you may know, we are moving across the parking lot into a new space twice the size of our current store. Here are some pictures we snapped of the space during construction.

You Can Make Stuffed Animals Out of Water Bottles?

2009-06-08T07:35:00.000-07:00

Apparantly you can! Mary Meyer Corp. has introduced "Fuzz That Wuzz," a line of super soft stuffed animals made from recycled water bottles. They claim that each stuffed animal keeps about 10 water bottles out of the landfills!

Some products are bad for the environment. Some have little to no impact. A product like this is one you can feel good about buying because it actually has a net positive impact on our planet by making a dent in the 51 billion water bottles that go into landfills annually. Plus, just look at 'em. They're so cute!

They're available for sale now at shopArtisans.com, where, as always, you can have them gift wrapped for free!

Teacher Gifts

2009-06-05T12:50:00.000-07:00

Now is the time of year to thank teachers. They do so much for us and our kids. Show them your appreciation with a unique and thoughtful gift from shopArtisans.com.

Every teacher needs coffee to keep up with those little kids. Buy them this humourous mug today at shopArtisans.com and have it gift wrapped for free!

Mothers Day

2009-04-22T12:58:00.000-07:00

Mother's day is right around the corner! Here at shopArtisans.com we have a great selection of unique and thoughful gifts for mom.

Check out this Mommy Needs Sleep Mug from Our Name is Mud:

It's the perfect gift for a new mom struggling to stay awake after sleepless nights.

Or, check out these items perfect for the mom who always knows whats best:

And you can't forget about Grandma, she's a mother too! The new grandmother might really like this tote bag which let's her proudly diplay photos of her grandchildren!

At shopArtisans.com, sending a gift is easy! We'll gift wrap your purchase for free and even include a personalized enclosure card for your recipient. So, if you can't make it home for Mother's Day, it will feel like you were there!

Form Vs. Function

2009-03-26T13:59:00.000-07:00

When giving a gift, we're all concerned about whether it will be used or not. I hate to think that something I have given is just sitting in a bag or on a shelf until the recipient is cleaning out a closet and decides to throw it out.

An easy way to avoid this problem is to buy something that finds the delicate balance between form and function. Between beauty and brains. If something is beautiful but just sits there, it will do just that in the home of the recipient: sit there.

Take the USB Hub Man from Kikkerland:

This little guy sits on your desk and you can connect all your USB enabled devices into him. It really is a useful and sleek USB device and he's so cute too. He'd make a great gift for a college student.

Or check out these Take Out Menu Boxes from Tatutina:

They're such a great idea and make such fun and unique gifts. Everybody has a ton of delivery menus but nowhere to put them. These handmade delivery menu holders are the perfect example of balancing form and function.

A great example of a gift balancing attractiveness and usability is this wall leash hook from A.I. Paper Designs:

I know that as a dog owner, I'm always looking for the leash when it's time to take the dog on a walk. This gives you a useful place to store your leash as well as a really unique and fun piece of art to hang on your wall.

Housewarming Party or Open House?

2009-03-15T20:52:00.000-07:00

We all know someone moving into a new home or apartment. They invite us over to see their new pad and we'd like to share their excitement with a gift- but we haven't been there...don't know their colors...what to bring? What's the etiquette?

The number one rule of gift giving: Give the recipient something that you want them to have!! Sound simple? It is!

The number two rule of gift giving: Gifts are never mandatory!!

What do you own that you really enjoy using? A wine bottle opener that really works could be added to a favorite bottle of wine for a lovely gift. A cocktail napkin holder with napkins to cover different themes or holidays is useful and the color doesn't matter. If you have a recipe book that you rely on regularly, find another copy and wrap it up.

Keeping track of your home projects is a lot easier with a project organizer file that keeps receipts, proposals and wish lists orderly. This is a great, unique gift for the do-it-yourselfer.

If you're bringing food to the party, buy a new serving piece, use it to present your food and leave it as a gift for the hostess or host. A neutral color choice is good if you don't know their colors.

If they are downsizing, a gift that will be used up is always appropriate: gourmet nuts, specialty coffee, or something sweet. Whatever you think they'd enjoy! Candles with a light scent also fit into this category. A box to collect carry out menus is fun, particularly if you've filled it with some of your favorite restaurants.

If you haven't much cash in the bank, a handmade gift from the heart is worth a lot. Bringing a dinner for the frazzled new home owner is a really thoughtful gift. Homemade cookies are a real treat. If you have pictures of the host/ hostess at other fun occasions, print them out and make a small album.

If you're invited to an Open House, that is usually an opportunity for friends and family to stop by and see the new place. With flexible hours, you can drop by anytime the open house is going on. Most people agree that a gift is not necessary but should be viewed by that host as a pleasant surprise.

A Housewarming Party has a little more structure to it. Like a shower, a housewarming party "warms " the new home with friends and gifts. Although some people have a registry for their housewarming party, you should never feel obligated to pick an item from a registry. ( Most people that I've polled are really turned off by the idea of a registry for a housewarming party.) Here are some symbolic gifts to start you thinking.

A bottle of wine symbolizes a wish for joy and happiness in your new home.
A gift of a broom will sweep away all the evil!!
A gift made out of wood symbolizes strength and stability.
A houseplant symbolizes life. (Not a good idea if the recipient doesn't have a green thumb.)
A gift of honey brings to a new home the sweetness of life.
A loaf of bread and a container of salt represents a wish for prosperity.

Valentines Day Sale!

2009-02-05T12:22:00.000-08:00

Hello There From Artisans!

We're very excited about our huge jewelry sale running until Februrary 14th (Valentines Day).

All of our Jewelry is on sale: 10% to 75% off!

Stop into the shop or visit us at shopArtisans.com and check out what we have!

Sale excludes Chamilia and Troll as we are not allowed to discount these lines.

See Ya Soon!

Gaithersburg Help - Food Drive

2008-11-11T14:14:00.000-08:00

Here at Artisans, we recognize that our success is only possible because of the community in which we live. Because of this, we try to give back when we can.

One of our favorite Organizations is Gaithersburg HELP, which recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. They provide many invaluable services to the less fortunate in our town, particularly in emergency situations. HELP gives assistance in the form of food, infant care, emergency medical needs such as medicine and prescription drugs, transportation, and guidance, support and referrals for people with urgent needs. During 2007, Gaithersburg HELP provided assistance for more than 4200 emergency situations.

In an effort to help this worthy cause, we are starting a food drive for HELP. The drive begins at our Holiday Open House this Saturday, November 15th and runs through December 15th. Everyone who brings a non-perishable food product will receive an reusable Artisans Shopping Bag (while supplies last).

Also, we're still donating a nickel to Gaithersburg HELP every time a customer declines to take a disposable plastic shopping bag with their purchase. So far, we've donated over $100.

For more information, on Gaithersburg HELP, visit www.gaithersburghelp.org

Girl's Night Out Was a Blast!!

2008-09-30T15:10:00.000-07:00

We all had fun at our second annual Girl's Night Out here at Artisans Gallery in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

There was a lot of excitement when we announced the winner's of our hourly drawings. We gave away a unique Peggy Karr Glass Transylvania Bowl and a cute little handmade purse from Maruca called Sparrow. One lucky winner also received a warm, fuzzy scarf from Zazou and our last hourly prize was a wine gift basket!! (Given to the nice woman pictured above.) Mariposa gave us a delightfully, unique Halloween tray with bats for handles that one lucky lady won!!

Probably the most fun of all was getting to see everyone test out the gorgeous witch hats and decide which one best fit their witch outfit!! We enjoyed sampling some of the new foods that Artisans is now carrying. The favorite snack was probably the Chocolately Cherry Amaretto Cheesecake Fondue. It was wickedly good!

If you missed out on this event, make sure you keep track of any upcoming ones by visiting our events page at shopArtisans.com.

Girls Night Out! September 25th, 2008 at Artisans Gallery

2008-09-23T15:40:00.000-07:00

Just a note to remind everyone that this Thursday, September 25th, is Girls Night Out at Artisans Gallery right here in Gaithersburg Maryland.

The event will run from 5-9:30.

We'll be showing off all our new Halloween costumes and accessories as well as the unique and handmade fall accessories we are known for!

There will be refreshments and we'll be giving out lots of prizes too, from Mariposa, Peggy Karr, Maruca and Zazou! The first 25 people will receive door prizes!

More details can be found on the event page of our website, shopArtisans.com.

So leave the boys at home, and come check out all the new fall styles!

2008-09-12T06:02:00.000-07:00

Since Earth Day in April, Artisans Gallery has started a program to save on plastic bags and help the community at the same time. Although our shopping bags are made of recycled plastic and paper(Artisans Gallery has been using only recycled bags since opening 15 years ago), we thought we'd see if we could make a difference. Every time you take your purchase home without a bag, we donate 5 cents to Gaithersburg Help. So far we've been able to donate about $100. That's a lot of nickels!!

2008-08-08T12:29:00.000-07:00

I'm really excited to have a way to let you know all about some of the new and unique gift lines that we've just introduced here at Artisans Gallery. One of my favorites is this jewelry line called Acacia Beads that I found at a gift show in Pennsylvania.

Each bead is individually handmade from recycled magazines!! Women in Uganda roll the paper to form the beads and then seal them with water-proof lacquer. The beads are then brought to Kenya and made into unique jewelry. This provides an income for many people and keeps a lot of paper out of the dump. Each item is crafted under fair trade conditions and a portion of each sale goes back to the Kenyan artisans.

We are not currently selling these items online at our site shopArtisans.com, but hope to get them posted soon. Because each bead is a one of a kind piece, no two necklaces or bracelets will be exactly the same and may differ slightly from the picture.

I love these lines that connect us to everyday people around the world.

Artisans Has a new Website and a New Blog!

2008-08-08T12:08:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Artisans' brand new blog. Artisans employees will be updating regularly with posts on everything Artisans related. From gift giving tips and shopping advice, to fashion trends and hot new product lines.