Some of you visitors may be aware that there have been some big changes going on at the store.

I have been absent.

Not without cause, mind you.  In February, just days before David and I were to close on a home in Sebastian, he was laid off from Piper Air, as so many others were.  We lost a bit of cash in the process, and of course, had to cancel the purchase of the house.  It would not have been a prudent purchase, all things considered.

So, here we are, still in my parents home (God bless them!  And God bless my husband for putting up with all of us!).  We had a nice opportunity to be featured by Russ Lemmon in his column in the TC Palm, for which we got a little extra business (and thanks to all of you who supported us then, and continue to support us today!)

For the immediately forseeable future, David will be running the day-to-day operation of the store.  I'll continue to manage a bit behind the scenes as he gets more comfortable with it all, and we are working like crazy to keep product in the store, keep costs down, and keep Hidden Harbour one of your favorite places to get your special cards and gifts!

Now, we do have a secret coming, so please keep watch here.  I can't make the announcement until things are finalized, but we are working on one of our big "wish-list" items, and have been waiting for this for some time.  If it all comes to pass, it will be a huge (I mean HUGE!!!) benefit to our community and our little store.

Keep your eyes on our blog!  Blessings and peace to all, and remember--Shop by Anytime!

Connie

Arlo has posted a blog in which he suggests (and I firmly and with humor second!) the adding of the image of the church which was, at one time, Alice's Restaurant - to the back of the Massachusetts state quarter.  This is a great idea!
As Arlo states, the site is of historical importance, has been included in song and modern and other historical reference, and includes Thanksgiving as well!  How American must it be?
In order to make YOUR vote count, I wanted to pass on the following, as offered by Denis Farley, from Arlo's own original blog on the subject.  Here is how YOU can vote on this important issue:
"Ok - I made the call but just for the folks that will be voting in the future there's a couple of things that you should know in preparation for voting, dispel any confusion:

From the link:
http://www. mass. gov/?pageID=gov3utilities&sid=Agov3&U=quarters_program
you will come to the page with these instructions posted down the page a ways:
How to Vote

The voting is now open. Please note that you can only submit one site at a time, but you can vote as often as you would like until 5:00 p.m. February 26, 2009. If your preferred site does not appear on this list, you can still vote for it by calling 1-800-227-MASS [6277].

Ok, once you call that number, you must call that number because the 'church' is not on the list - this is a 'write in' vote.
1. the exentsion you will be pressing to vote is #5, after dialing the toll free voting number
2. You will be asked for a site and landmark which (correct me if I'm wrong) is the Guthrie Center at the old deconsecrated church in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. That's what you say, "I'm voting for the Guthrie Center at the old deconsecrated chruch in Great Barrington, Massachusetts." - unless I'm wrong and Arlo or the webmaster here needs to correct this.
So, maybe if it doesn't make it to the quarter printers it might become a stamp . . .?!?!?

Posted by Denis Farley on Wednesday, February 18, 2009 - 7:44 AM"

Denis, thanks for the tips.  Now, everyone -- GO OUT THERE AND VOTE!!

PS-you can also make donations to the Guthrie Center.  See his site here on MySpace and click on the appropriate links.  Have a great day!

I know everyone has been waiting with great excitement (yeah, don't laugh, someone may be!) to hear more about Lite Up Night and what we are going to be doing that evening.

I am probably the most excited, honest!  We have so many great gifts for our drawings that if you don't come, you can't win, and if you do come, you will have a good time, even if you DON'T win!  So, let's get into it...

First of all, we have a promotion going on right now that everyone needs to know about.  For every $50.00 you spend in our store (pre-tax), we will give you a $10.00 gift certificate that will be good through December 31 of 2009!  You'll have more than a year to use it!  Not only that, but you can always give it as a gift to someone you love to use on any products in our store.  This is inclusive of all card, gift and consignments too!

All day long on December the 5th, we are going to have special deals on our gift merchandise.  Why is this so special?  Because we already have crazy low prices on quality gifts now!  You HAVE to come by and see everything.  There is something for everyone, and something for every room in your house.  Seriously!

Special prices on Webkinz that day, too.  Full size Webkinz toys will be $9.99 each (this is off our every day price of $13.00!!!)  Zingos will be  $8.99. And Li'l Kinz will be featured at $7.99 each!  Oh, yea, I'm serious.  Your kids are going to love this!!  These collectibles are still the hottest thing going and at these prices, you'll be able to seriously stock up for the holidays. This is a Webkinz ONLY special pricing ONE DAY ONLY.

Our boxed Holiday cards, just in case you haven't already gotten yours, (you still have time to mail, you know!!) is really awesome: 50% off the retail price on the back, plus an EXTRA 20% off of that!  What does that equal out to anyway?  Well, a $21.95 box at half price would be $10.98, but then we take off another $2.20 or $8.78 per box!  That is our highest price box card, so everything will be under that.  (This does NOT apply to our budget box cards, sorry.)

Let's see what else we have...  Our drawings include Ganz products other than Webkinz!  We have a gorgeous ladies wristwatch (a must-see item!), some "XO" jewelry and baby plush lions that need new homes.  Our Representative from Ganz also donated a cell phone charm, a Teddy plush, some <3 Jewelry and a really fabulous Maggie B backpouch (like a backpack, but more of a purse!)  These items all together have more than a $100.00 value.  Some will be put together for a better prize pack.  Prize drawings will begin at 5:00 PM and will occur every half hour until 8pm, when we'll finish up all of our drawings before we close up for the night.

Along with having our sister company, CN Starz* Entertainment out actually entertaining everyone with a bit of music and karaoke, we will also hold a special drawing for a DJ package for your wedding, party or special event.  This prize has a $500.00 minimum value (and some conditions may apply).  We may have to do some special set-ups at the store if the weather is inclement, so keep that in mind, but as long as the weather is fair and dry, we'll be all set up and ready for fun!

Our friends, Joan Beck and Trish Storey will be doing some special demonstrations that day also, weather providing.  Joanie will be doing some special carving/etching and Trish will be painting and showing off her work as well.  Both ladies have their work featured in our store every day! 

We plan to have some refreshments available, and depending on the temperatures will determine whether they are hot or cold!

We will be closed on Thanksgiving, of course, so we can take a break and spend time with our families.  Feel free to call us with any questions or special needs that you might have.  Phone number is 772-388-4665, and we will have our special holiday hours starting up on Black Friday, November 28th.  We will be open Mon-Fri from 9am to 6pm and on Saturdays from 10 until 4:30.  Christmas Eve we will stay open from 10 am until 2 pm.

Hi Gang!  Glad to see folks are still checking out the blog here, so I suppose I better tell you what's going on!

October has been a pretty good month, all in all.  I expected things to tank this month, and I'm glad it's picking up more than I had thought it would.  As we let go of the month and enter November, there are a few things I want to promote.

First of all, for all you with small businesses out there in the Sebastian/Melbourne/Vero area, on November 5th is another meeting of the Suntrust coffee bunch networking event.  Come by the Suntrust Bank at 8 am (be early or on time -- we start right at 8!) and check out Ron from Galleon Jewelers who will be our guest speaker.  He will be telling us all about diamonds; so if you ever wanted to know what your diamond looks like thru the eyes of a jeweler, Ron welcomes you to bring it with you and he will have his machine set up for us.

I also want to tell you about the Sebastian Area Chamber of Commerce Blues Bash.  Celebrating their 50th year of service to the greater Sebastian area, the Chamber has arranged three days of awesome music and fun for everyone.  The Bash will start at 5:00 pm on November 14 and run through the 16th.  Come see my friend Ernie Southern and the Deltaholics as they start things off!  The Bash will take place in Fellesmere at the Rodeo Riding arena on 512, just west of 95.  Come one and come all!!

Last, but far from least, we are gearing up towards Light Up Night.  Earlier this year, I was mistakenly under the impression that it would be held the last Friday in November - mea culpa!!!  It will be the FIRST FRIDAY in DECEMBER!!

We have a lot going on for Light Up Night, so I am hoping everyone will put this on their calendar and start getting ready too!  We'll be taking entries the month of November for special drawings that will be held that day, and which will include Webkinz toys, some of our specialty engraved gifts and even a karaoke party to be DJ'd by our sister company, CN Starz* Entertainment.

I'll post more on these events as time allows, but in the meantime, put these on your calendar and keep your eyes open for more great events!

Feel free to call us for more information about any of the events posted, and as always, Shop By Anytime!!

Connie

OK, I'm really kind of tired of battling this rumor.  For the past month, I've had nothing but annoying comments and questions about "Why are you closing?", and the one and only answer I'm giving is this.

WE ARE NOT CLOSING!!! I cannot be any more precise or any more adamant about this.

Here is the thing that folks need to understand...  When you tell someone that a place is going under, the people who hear it decide it is the Gospel Truth, and they stop going there!  Well, I'm here to tell you that we signed a brand new 2 year lease that just started in July and we have NO plans to close.  These rumors need to stop before they really DO impact our business, so please, please, please tell anyone who swears that Hidden Harbour is closing that they are dead wrong!  Or tell them that they need to go right to the horse's mouth and ask me!  I won't lie to you, but I would much rather you ask me straight up than to assume you know what is going on in our business.

Thanks for the attention to this blog, and I hope that you will continue to support us during this economy.  Things are tough enough without people going off on the wrong track and telling their misunderstandings or assumptions to others. 

Have a great day, and SHOP BY ANYTIME!  We plan to be right here!  Thanks.

I had, briefly, posted an article about the Libertarian Party here on my MySpace.  I decided to remove the article and place it on my personal page because I don't think it mixes well with business; to put my views up and to wave my personal flag.

I know a lot of people who have no trouble whatsoever doing that and more: I've received more propaganda from this politician or that, and I have no faith whatsoever in them to fulfill the obligations of their offices without them being corrupted by their own system.

And that's one reason why I looked elsewhere.

As for you, my customers and friends, if you want to look, you'll have to check out my personal MySpace or go and Google the 'Net.

If you run into me in person and ASK me, however, you can bet you'll get a bit more indepth information and urging.  But, as is the custom, the philosophy is about FREEDOM (i.e. Liberty: hence Libertarian!) and you have the choice to look it up or not, to learn more or not, to act on your truest of beliefs or not.

Regardless of your actions, do two things: Educate yourself on the issues and VOTE YOUR CONCIENCE.

Thanks!

Connie

Our second winner of the Webkinz (tm) Black Poodle was Tony House.  Tony was visiting from Rochester, New York.  He has decided to give the poodle to his mother as a gift on his return home.  I think Tony might end up enjoying it as much as his mother, but whatever happens, we're glad you stopped in, and congratulations for winning, Tony!  Maybe if you come back next year, you'll shop by again! 

Our next drawing will be on August 29th for a Samoyed dog.  The Samoyed was retired shortly after it came out, so this should be a popular drawing.  Get your entries in!

We also have coupons posted: at www.merchantcircle.com (you can do a search on our store name: Hidden Harbour or you can visit my 8/4/08 blog and click on that link), we have a coupon for Webkinz -- buy one, get the second one of equal or lesser value at half price.  This is a great deal, considering we are already one of the least expensive stores selling these great toys!  Good only on the animals, not on lipgloss, trading cards or purses and carriers.

We have another coupon at www.insiderpages.com for the purchase of gift products.  This is NOT good with our current sale, however it will not expire until 10/31/08, whereas the sale will only be going on until 9/6/08.  Shop by and check out our gift line NOW and purchase for Christmas 08.  We are offering 40% off ALL GIFTS (not including Webkinz(tm) or consignment products).  This leaves a lot of room to purchase if you haven't been in lately, folks.

Thanks for reading!  And you, too, may want to shop by anytime!

I was very happy to see Amanda Resmondo come in this afternoon to pick up her Webkinz!  Amanda won the Lemon-Lime Gecko and she and her mom graciously are allowing us to put her picture here on our MySpace!  Amanda's birthday is this week, so it's extra special to win this little guy.

Thanks!  And congratulations to Amanda!

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=238964339&albumID=1104528&imageID=12279671

If YOU would like to win a Webkinz (tm), come in to our store, fill out our card with your name and phone number, and we may draw your name on August 15th, for our next chance at a Webkinz Black Poodle!

We also have coupons available for our customers to print off the Internet.  Check out our ad pages:  http://www.merchantcircle.com/business/Hidden.Harbour.Cards.And.Gifts.Sebastian.FL.772-388-4665

and at: http://www.insiderpages.com/b/15241678349

Thanks, and shop by anytime!

Connie

 

Oh my goodness!  The packages are starting (slowly) to come in.  I'm holding the budget down (way down!) this year, so be aware of that.  I have a nice focus of products coming in, and I think we have something for everyone!

We'll have a lot of follow up: special sales and drawings for free product in the coming weeks as we work to bring our customers new products and new bargains!

Remember, we don't mark things up to the sky here-we offer great products at fair prices, and something for every budget.  We feature as many local artisans and products as we can as we work to reduce our local reliance on products from outside the USA/Canada.

Check out the new artists and the fantastic products they are bringing in:

Jean Dalessandro Jewelry: Jean has an absolutely delightful line of handcrafted bead and stone wear.  Her products were viewed by local goldsmith Rich Boyington, who said 'No need to restring or rewire these!  The quality is excellent!'.  Jean has some really beautiful products geared toward all ages and wallet sizes, so don't be shy about coming in to check these out.  Many have the new magnet clasps, so there is no worry about whether or not you can put it on or take it off again.  Her line is selling well, so be sure to stop in and ask to see it.  Prices run from $10.00 to 30.00 on her bracelets and necklaces.

I've already written about Trish Storey and Joan Beck, so be sure to check out their paintings along with Joanie's carved and microsandblasted products, which she can customize to fit your special occasion.  Pricing for these ladies products run from $79.99 to $375.00.

Pat Woolwine has added some wonderful mug rug sets to the mix.  Priced at $8.95, these 4 piece sets are sure to please.  Pat has chosen fabrics to match every decor or every interest and she is constantly updating them.  I look forward to seeing more, as Pat is talking with me about bringing in some of her handcrafted purses for the fall.

We are still carrying Rebeca Darden's Bedazzled Jewelry also.  Rebeca's line is lovely and includes full matched sets and the beading is exquisite!  She uses gold fill or sterling sets, Swarofski crystals and freshwater pearls for many of her products.  We have earrings, necklaces and bracelets and pricing between $15.95 to $50.00.

We carry ceramics from Leslie Ann Curry-gorgeous handmade candle holders she calls Peace Pots, with ethnic and Christian touches from the Celtic Cross to a Native American Firebird to a gorgeous Menorah to feng shui pots.  You can see some of her products at www.peacepotsbyleslie.com .

Also on tap: "Stretchy Bracelets by Rosie".  Rosie's bracelets have been going strong here since last November when she first asked me if she could sell them here.  At $20.00 each, these Swarovski pretties will delight the receiver and giver alike.  In addition, Rosie offers the lovely Salvation Bracelets also using Swarovski and Mother-of-Pearl crosses, hearts and beading.  You really should see these!

That wraps it up for today. 

If you are a Veteran, active service person, police, fire, EMT come in and get your picture up on our Hero Wall.  We'll give you a free American Flag Lapel pin just for participating (while quantities last).  Thanks gang!

Remember, shop by anytime!

We have Webkinz coming folks!  Lots of them!  (Be sure to read the full statement at the bottom!) 

Sometime this month we are scheduled to receive the following:

LK Black & White Cheeky Dog

LK Clydesdale (nope, not the POM for August-it's the Little One!)

Spotted Leopard

Rottweiler

Crocodile

Toco Toucan

Elephant

Siamese

Lemon Lime Gecko

Grey Arabian

Velvety Elephant

Samoyed

Gecko

Pink & White Cat

Lioness

Brown Dog

Leopard Lizard

American Cocker spaniel

Chicken

LK Pink Poodle

LK Black Lab

LK Chicken

LK White Mouse

August already has 2 orders in.  We expect to receive the following at some point during the month:

Caramel Lion

American Albino

Skunk

Fantaili goldfish

Manatee

Deer

Silverback Gorilla

Cocoa Dinosaur

LK Lioness

LK Bluejay

Turtle

Husky

Samoyed

LK Panda

Trading Cards: Series 2 & Series 3 (We still have plenty of Series 1 in stock folks!)

Camoflage Carriers in Pink and Green

Sparkle Denim Purse

The late August/early September order should bring us the following:

Rhino,

Wacky Zingoz

LK Polar Bear

Tie Dye Frog

Bengal Tiger

Schnauzer

Himalayan Cat

Kangaroo

LK Dalmation

Turtle

Penguin

LK Penguin

Raccoon

Rabbit

and finally, the Blue Hippo

We will be having some drawings and special events coming up and we DO have other Everyday Ganz product on it's way also, along with the regular Webkinz orders I've indicated, so please check back.  I know that stock is a bit low, but it's summer folks! 

Due to Ganz requirements, we cannot sell our product online or on Ebay and we will NOT sell bulk and risk our account, so please do not ask.  Please contact us directly: either by phone or stopping in, or email me for the number and we can put an order together for you.  If you need it shipped, that will be an additional charge-it will be exact cost of USPS mailing plus 1.00 per item to ship to your location for your shipping box and our handling.  Maximum of 4 pieces per phone order at this time.  

All current return policies stay the same: you are responsible for sending via return mail, all tags MUST be intact and undisturbed or we will not accept the return; yes, you may return it by hand to the store, and we prefer it that way.  Due to the high cost of processing these, we do NOT accept online payments or phone credit cards, sorry, but we do have processing in-store for MC/VS/DISC/AMEX.  Yes, you may pay by check if it includes the following: Your address, imprinted on the check (no starter checks, sorry).  Your phone number and your driver license and State must be on the check, but does not need to be imprinted.  If the check does not clear our processors, we will return it to you and no inventory will ship out.  Times are tough for us all!  :)  Thanks for your understanding in these matters.

Just in case you heard we were moving, please rest assured.  We have recently signed a new 2 year lease with the landlord, so we are staying put!   Stop back in soon to see what else is going on this summer!