We are proud to introduce VAGABOND HOUSE to our clients.  This line has a wonderful history and makes unique and beautiful products in the USA!  Please take a few minutes and check out their web site www.vagabondhouse.com.     Shipping is excellent and they are very responsive!  What more can you ask?

I am excited to announce we are now the representatives for VAGABOND HOUSE!  Our current line up is VIETRI, STRAY DOG DESIGNS & DOG SPEAK.  VAGABOND HOUSE offers a plethora of fantastic serveware for the discerning client.

One of our clients LOVES CREATION opened a new location in the Seminole Towne Center Mall this past Friday. (see the photo above)  DESIGNWERKS  the talented team of designers from New York, designed the store from the ground up.  DESIGNWERKS designs stores and showrooms globally and LOVES CREATION was so blessed to have them work their majic in one short week’s time.  Please stop by and say hello to Mary Murphy the owner.

This year has flown by.  I think I have said that before!  Things are picking up and with fall in the air, the end consumer is spending!!!!!  We are blessed to represent such great lines and will be adding a few more within the next month.  Our theme is “be part of the solution”!  We have added a wonderful new line called domestic-aesthetic.  It has received a ton of press and the product can be seen on their site, www.domestic-aesthetic.com.     All of our lines are crafted by artisans and they use a combination of  recycled materials, water and other resources.

We want to be a part of the solution for this spectacular planet we live on.  By partnering with manufacturers who share the same philosophies, we become part of the solution.

Our line package now includes:   VIETRI, STRAY DOG DESIGNS, DOGSPEAK and DOMESTIC AESTHETIC.  All of these great organizations give back to their communities and we hope you will too.domestic-aesthetic

What a great time of year! Despite the heat in Florida, we live in a beautiful state and have much to be thankful for. Today 1000 people became citizens at Disney World in Orlando. We don’t often think about how important this is, but when I see new citizens weeping from happiness, I am reminded of what a great country we live in. Our freedom is truly priceless. We get to vote our views and don’t have to worry about being persecuted by the government, i.e. IRAN! What a shameful situation in that country. I admire those that are standing up for their freedoms and becoming martyrs for the cause. Although I am sad there is such devastation, I know that freedom often comes with a high price!

Just as our forefathers sacrificed for us. And just as my Dad’s father stood up against Mussolini & became a prisoner of war, my Mother’s step dad in World War 1, my father in World War 2 and my husband in Vietnam. All of these men in my family are decorated war heroes and I am thankful for them being in my life. For without their sacrifices and dedication to our countries (America and Italy), I would not be here today. And in light of this, “IN GOD WE TRUST” takes on a whole new meaning.

I wish you and your families and loved ones, a safe and Happy 4th of July!!!!!!

Here I am working from my sister’s home in the beautiful rolling hills of Pennsylvania.  I needed a change of scenery and it couldn’t be more idealic!!!!!  All we need is a few horses and cows outside the window and the picture would be complete.    I miss these hills.  The roads are  narrow and I had forgotten how fearlessly I had navigated them as a young woman.  Mario Andretti had nothing on me in those days.  This is the best time of year here.  Sunny, breezy and mild.  I escaped the suffocating heat of Florida and am drinking in this fresh, energizing air.  We have walked every day and I can now walk up a hill without thoughts of passing out or being dragged back home.  It is invigorating!!!!

I have now power shopped with the best……my little sister.  She is not only my BFF, but my BBH (best bargain hunter).  Now if I could only get this crazy keyboard to stop jumping all over the place, I would be more productive and less crazed!

Buona sera, Joan

It’s that time of year again!!!!!  The Atlanta  show starts on July 8th and the new product is fabulous.  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Special orders are coming in left and right and our events are going gangbusters!!!  One of my stores will make VIETRI’s VIP status with the next few months and her staff is absolutely on fire for VIETRI.  She is also seriously considering STRAY DOG DESIGNS.  This line is in every major publication and Designers just love it.  If you haven’t see it yet, you must go to www.straydogdesigns.com and check it out!  We all need some “happy” stuff in our lives now and this the product to do it.  Happy surfing and stay COOL!!!!!!

DOG SPEAK is a fabulous new line for us.  As one of my good friends says, “it is a happy”.    We can learn a lot about man’s best friend.  Loyalty and trust come easy and love is forever for them.  Hmmmmm!   Humans need to study up.  Anyway, there are all sorts of things available from cards to caps to books to inspirational plaques.  Take a look www.dogspeakcards.com .  We will have our samples this week and calling you all for appointments.  Let’s get some fun stuff in your stores to add some excitement for the summer months.  Oh!  AND have some fun out there.   Smile!  God loves you and so do I.

Isn’t it hard to get out of bed somedays!  Especially during this soggy weather in Florida.  Sleeping to the sound of rain is so relaxing.  This reminds we of what we are going through in the economy these days.  It is a cleansing and a time for us to rest, take stock of our lives, both personally, professionally and most importantly spiritually. 

We are learning lessons, that our parents and grandparents learned,  about what is most important in life and it’s not that next promotion, next new gadget, next new car.  It’s what’s inside that counts.   What are you doing today to enhance your life and that of others? 

Try this!  Do one thing each day that no one knows you are doing that will enhance someone else’s life. 

A few years ago, I chose to return my shopping cart to the proper area or evenly directly into the store, every time I went shopping.  I wanted to make someone else’s life a little easier by having one less cart to move and to take responsibility by not littering the parking lot with one more cart.  Now after 3 or 4 years it is a habit!  No one knows I am doing it (now you d0!), but I know that one less cart to move, just may make someone’s life easier that day.  

It could be a shopping cart, picking up a papertowel on the bathroom floor and putting it in the trash, letting another driver get in front of you (even though you are about to scream in the traffic) or picking up some litter on the street where you live.  The rule is, you may not tell the other person you are doing it! 

I challenge you to try this for 30 days and let me know how that works for you.  I promise your life will be better for it, knowing that you did something today to help someone else.

Remember that COKE never lets anyone forget who they are!  So if they don’t, why do retailers assume that everyone knows who they are?  YOU HAVE TO TELL THEM everyday you are here to serve them.  Are you promoting your web site?  Do you even have one?   (I have a dynamite web designer if you are interested let me know.)   Take a look at www.joanhartley.com.   Do you have your site on your store window, stationery, business cards, bags, tissue paper, by the register.  In other words, just short of plastering it on your forehead and that of your staff, get it out there!  Tell customers you are there by emailing them, with their permission, monthly specials, events etc.   Please feel free to call me and I will be happy to consult with you on jumpstarting your business for ultimate success in 2009!!!!!  Remember, if you don’t get their money, some other merchant will.

Here’s to success!!!!!

As I look forward to the future, I realize it is important to honor our servicemen & women who gave their lives for our country, who are still among us and who are still fighting to preserve our way of life and the values and blessings that God has bestowed on the USA from its’ inception. One of my favorite songs is Lee Greenwood’s and if you haven’t listened to it lately, “God bless the USA”, today would be the day! Happy Memorial Day to all of our veterans, including my Father (WWII) and my husband (Vietnam).