blog essentials

Books Out Loud Dance Party

2008-01-30T21:07:00.000-05:00

From left: Kelly Link, Ed Skoog, John Hodgman, Thurston Moore, Rachel Sherman

Well, the big event - Books Out Loud Dance Party - is over and it was a smash success. Of course, with Thurston Moore, John Hodgman, poet Ed Skoog, Kelly Link, Rachel Sherman, and alt rock band Who Shot Hollywood how could it be anything else. There were around 300 people for what John Hodgman called a "bookish dance party" and I think everyone had a great time - I know I did. Who Shot Hollywood opened the evening with a rockin' set,

followed by some cool DJing by Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore.

Next up came Rachel Sherman who read from her work-in-progress, "Jews on a Hill".

Thurston spun some more tunes while Athena Maroulis did some video. Next came the excellent poet Ed Skoog followed by the fantastic Kelly Link. Finally, John Hodgman walked on stage, and, well, hilarity ensued. The excellent evening closed with Thurston once again spinning his records and showing us all how to mix Noise and melody in an oh-so-special way.

An Open Letter of Apology...

2008-01-17T11:08:00.001-05:00

In the interest of reflection in the New Year, we have done some soul-searching. For that reason, we feel it appropriate to issue an Open Apology to friends, family, vendors, and all of those who have sent us holiday greetings—not only this year but in the past.

We own a card shop. Okay, it’s more than a card shop, but sometimes, we acknowledge that label. (Although we prefer “design” store—especially in response to anyone who says, “why should I buy a sofa from a card store?”)

We sell cards. We sell more and more cards each year. Boxed cards, single cards, postcards. Letterpress cards and flat printed cards. Screen-printed cards and hand-sewn cards and collaged cards. We sell serious cards and a few funny cards. We sell whimsical cards. We sell cards that have words and cards that have just images. We sell gift tags and, well, you get the idea.

We scour stationery shows for the newest cards and styles, careful to make sure our choices work with our carefully established aesthetic. We buy birthday calendars so our customers can remember the birthdays of Great Aunt Helga and cousin Pixie, or that woman they knew from grad school who they exchange once a year cards with. We even sell card organizers so that they can follow up on those birthday calendar entries. We sell personalized stationery, business, social, and even some Thank You’s you’d buy for your kids so they can get in the habit of sending their own notes.

We sell custom wedding invitations. We work with couples to refine their vision of their wedding day. We help them find matching invitations, RSVP cards with abundant meal choices, and matching thank you notes.

We sell stamps and card making supplies, host card-making classes, and wax seals. We sell inkpads and even stickers to close envelopes.

We sell books on how to write letters. Books on HOW TO WRITE CARDS AND LETTERS!

And yet, when it comes to doing these things myself? When it comes to sending cards, we suck.

Okay, I am including John in that “we”, but really, I suck.

One would think I would have a vast stationery collection. Catalogued cards waiting for just the right occasion. Arbor Day? Executive Assistant Week? Grandparent’s Day?

I should have box after box of letterpress goodies and single cards I can send out to congratulate someone on their adoption, or sympathy for the loss of their dog.

Instead, I have a half-used package of thank you notes, taken from the sale bin last year. The card organizer I forced myself to take home last year remains woefully empty. Well, except for the opened but unused Christmas cards I never sent out last year but have carefully put in the “Christmas” category.

It has been years since I sent a holiday card that actually arrived in time for a holiday related to Christmas or New Year’s. And the slippery slope has begun. It started with holiday cards, but now I forget birthdays. I take too long to send a thank you, and I rarely RSVP on time when I receive an invitation.

And my big confession—last year, our son didn’t even send out thank you’s for the birthday presents he received.

In short, I do almost everything the wrong way when it comes to the art of correspondence. And yes, part of that is neglect of you, our friends, family, vendors, and general folks we care about. For that, we apologize.

Tintin Ink

2007-12-19T15:38:00.000-05:00

I was watching London Ink last night—one of the those shows that makes John and I wonder what people are thinking. Not that we have anything against tattoos. (I have a regretted tattoo from many years ago.) It’s more the question of how much meaning people put into the portraits, symbols, and visuals they choose to adorn their bodies. But, it’s good brain candy after another day of the Christmas retail life. I started to wonder how many people have chosen Tintin characters for tattoos and found a website where people shared the, um, less than stellar work they’ve had done. If you want to honor Tintin, buy the books — or at least find a decent tattoo artist. Sheesh!

This one isn't bad, but the background is all wrong and it really should be in colour. The red is critical in making the rocket so unique.

What the...

OK, now the biggest problem with this one is that s/he used a sock (a sock!) as the reference and the image on the sock (a sock!!) is better. Why couldn't they use an image from one of the TWO BOOKS??!!! And this person totally punked out by making it so small. With an image as iconic as the rocket, it should have been at least 6 inches and placed somewhere more conspicuous.

Another terrible tattoo in a terrible location.

- Syd

Holiday Bowling

2007-12-11T12:29:00.001-05:00

Dancing bowling pins, neon balls, and formal dress—Team Essentials knows how to throw a party. Sporting handmade corsages, and our best bowling finery, Essentials hit the lanes on Sunday night for our first bowling party and DIY Secret Santa event. No threat of dangerous ice storm and hazardous road conditions was going to stop us from rocking out to a little Eddie Murphy singing “Party all the Time” (and when was the last time you heard that song??) while showing off our mad skills. The best part was our Secret Santa exchange. This year, we insisted that all gifts be handmade, and wow, did people deliver! Bound journals, knit scarves, individual works of art, a poem, one website, and cool record album bowls were all among the amazing things our staff surprised each other with.

This is definitely going to become an annual tradition! And of course, what bowling night would be complete without an Essentials variation on the bowling shirt.

In the Valley of the Literate

2007-11-26T13:40:00.000-05:00

Our friend Tony Maroulis of - wunderarts fame - got his name in the New York Times when he was quoted for an article on literature in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts. Now, even though no one needs to tell us how important books are (we sell so many at essentials that we can't keep enough in stock to sell on our website) it is very cool to see a friend get quoted in the Times. Great job Tony!!!! Read the article.

The Best Excuse Ever

2007-11-14T14:19:00.000-05:00

During the holiday season we hear a lot of excuses from our suppliers about why a particular product is delayed, missing, or damaged. Today, though, I heard the best one yet. It is a great example of how global trade and manufacturing impacts the little guy - in this case yours truly.

Apparently, in a little town in South India near Madras, a factory that was making some very cool doormats - many of which we currently have in stock - had a 23 day lockout where the owners were kept inside their factory. From what I understand from my supplier, the owners weren't exactly intending to be locked in...

The lockout is now over, but the doormats still have a 40 day sea voyage ahead of them, so we won't get the product until after the holiday season. UGH! As if the exchange rate with the Euro wasn't bad enough...

- John

Knockman @ Essentials

2007-11-13T12:19:00.000-05:00

OK, this is not the BEST example of the type of item we carry at Essentials, but the video is too cute to not share. Click the following link to see all the video on the Knockman.

- John

A Tintin Halloween

2007-11-12T19:45:00.000-05:00

This entry is a little late, but then again, totally timeless. Our favorite Halloween costume this year was worn by a kid at our son’s school. What a perfect representation of our favorite boy reporter, Tintin! We especially like his version of Snowy.

Fun In Boston

2007-11-12T06:25:00.000-05:00

For John’s birthday celebration, we headed off to Boston. For some reason, even though it’s so close, we seldom travel East. New York seems to call us more frequently, but we’re learning to appreciate the biggest city of our home state.

This time, we started our visit with a trip to the Lego store in Burlington. All of us were almost in shock from all of the choices and it was a bit overwhelming. What Star Wars set to choose?

Our favorites were the Lego Eiffel Tower and the wall of bricks. We filled two cups with all the bricks needed to make our building time more fulfilling. The in-store Eiffel Tower was built over the course of 5 hours by a staff member’s younger brother. And their Millenium Falcon required an overnight by 5 staff members, working 12 hours straight. Hmm…this gives us all sorts of ideas about what Essentials staff might agree to.

From Lego, we headed to the Boston waterfront, with Tintin in tow, for a visit to the ICA. What a great surprise! We knew the building would be interesting, and we especially liked it at night. We were glad to find that the work was as compelling as the space itself. The ICA has a relatively small, but well-curated gallery space, on the 4th floor.

Aidan’s favorite was a video piece by a German artist who spent a week eating only food he could shoot with a bow and arrow. Oh, and he did all of his shooting in the grocery store. Aidan sat on the floor mesmerized by the capture of loaves of bread, a frozen ham, and other unidentifiable German food products.

We ended the day in Chinatown at a great Korean/Japanese restaurant called Suishaya. Ever since coming back from Korea seven years ago, we have sought out good DukBokKi (sp?) wherever we can. This place is tiny (no more than 6 tables plus sushi bar), very casual, and lives up to all of the accolades it has received. We ordered way too much and our only disappointment was that we couldn’t take doggy bags for the ride home.

- Sydne

Adventures with Tintin

2007-11-07T15:15:00.000-05:00

This summer, we were wandering around Quebec City, after stopping in Montreal for the amazing Police show. Our favorite day in the city was when--surprise surprise - we stumbled upon a fun Tintin exhibit.Not to brag or anything, but Essentials has the largest online Tintin collection outside of Europe, so we know a thing or two about the young reporter. The exhibit itself made us highly jealous since it showcased collectibles and images loaned by Moulinsart in Brussels.

The museum used Tintin's time in Peru to showcase elements of Peru's pre-Columbian civilization. In our opinion, the most compelling part of the show were the original drawings and sketches by Herge. In addition to the excitement of being that close to Herge's original work, the exhibit showed how much he had to learn about Peru before he wrote about our favorite boy reporter's South American adventures.

The exhibit is up until January 6, 2008.

(Officially, we weren't supposed to take photos, but really, that made it all the more fun to try.)

- Sydne

We're so modern

2007-11-07T14:46:00.000-05:00

Essentials has entered the modern world. Yes, we have a blog.
So now what do we do with it? And why do we have one anyway?

At Essentials, we're shoppers at heart. Connoisseurs of cool stuff.

On our travels, we consistently find things that spark our interest, but that don't necessarily work for our stores or website. Sometimes we get to do things that are so exciting, we want to share the news with others. (Okay, the best of these was getting to sleep over at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, literally next to the squid and the whale.) Sometimes, our kid does something so great, we have to brag about it.

Basically, we decided to start blogging because there's more to the Essentials story and family than we can convey with simple product. (Of course, that doesn't mean we won't suggest things.) Maybe we'll be the only ones who read this, and the form will probably change and take shape as we go along. As with everything about Essentials, we are always evolving, and figuring out how to follow our nose. Stay tuned...

- Sydne & John