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Shop Local

A Day in My Life of Shopping Locally–in MAY

May 8, 2018 by Marlene Kern Fischer

Shop Local enthusiast and blogger, Marlene Fischer

 

I prefer to shop locally where, like the song from the television show Cheers says, “Everybody knows my name.” I feel good about living in a small town where the businesses are such an integral part of the fabric of the community.

A typical day in my life in Armonk generally has several stops, starting with Tazza. Most of the lovely people who work at Tazza can attest to the fact that I am one of their most tired customers. They are kind enough not to comment on my disheveled appearance (I am generally still in the clothes in which I slept) as they hand me my iced coffee around 7 a.m. I am a huge fan of the Skinny Muffins (although I’m not sure they have made me any skinnier) and other baked goods, although I also enjoy their delicious oatmeal and their egg and cheese sandwiches for breakfast. I sometimes stop in at Tazza again during the afternoon (when I am more awake) for an iced tea and avocado toast or an acai bowl.

After Tazza (and showering and getting into street clothes), I might swing by Beginnings Bleus for a wardrobe refresh. The sales people at Beginnings are patient and attentive as I try on clothes; they never go for the hard sell and are always honest when I ask, “Does this make me look fat?” I feel like I’m among friends when I am there. They help me find the right jeans, tops and accessories, which help me rock my “mom look.” I recently even got my husband to ditch his baggy old jeans and buy some designer jeans; now he likes Beginnings Blues almost as much as I do! In case you’re wondering, the “cold shoulder” look is still in style and bright colors and Bermuda shorts are on-trend for this spring and summer.

My next stop is Town Center Pharmacy. I have often thought how fortunate we are to have Town Center Pharmacy in Armonk; just last week the owner helped me choose the right allergy meds for my youngest son. It took a while for spring to arrive but now that it has, allergy season is full blown, which means I will be restocking nose spray and eye drops often. I also go there for my favorite hair products and vitamins. I feel like they know me at Town Center Pharmacy and care about me and my family; the old-fashioned service they provide is hard to find these days. If they don’t have something I need, they are happy to try and get it and go above and beyond for their customers every single day.

My not-so-secret shame is my handbag obsession, which means a visit to Luxe to check out their inventory (they get new arrivals almost daily). The ultimate consignment shop, Luxe has a selection of high-end bags such as Chanel, Hermes, Dior and Louis Vuitton. It’s like having a little bit of Madison Ave. right here in town (across from the recreation center). I have sold several bags as well as purchased bags at Luxe. Their merchandise (which also includes clothes and accessories) is always authentic, in great condition and beautifully displayed. Why not sell some of your old stuff to make room for something new you’ve been eyeing? If you need a little retail therapy or just want to talk about bags and browse, Luxe is the perfect place.

Next, I head over to Changes Hair Salon for a much-needed haircut and blow-out to tame my unruly locks. Located in Elide Plaza, the family friendly hair salon has been a part of the Armonk community for 35 years. The staff at Changes is warm, professional and knowledgeable about the latest hairstyles and products. The personal service they provide, as well as the reasonable prices, are the secret to their success and the reason their customers remain so loyal. I myself have been going there for close to 20 years. From their youngest clients to entire bridal parties, the stylists make sure everyone leaves satisfied and looking their best. Whether you need highlights, a haircut, keratin (summer is coming), or simply a blow-out for a special occasion, Changes has you covered.

These are only a few of my favorite places in town which I’ve chosen to highlight. Armonk is filled with many fantastic small stores and restaurants—I feel lucky to have so many options and sometimes feel like I never have to leave our hamlet at all!

To be featured by Marlene in the Inside Press’s next sponsored “A Day in my Life of Shopping Locally–in JUNE,“  email: marlenekf@aol.com

Filed Under: Lifestyles with our Sponsors Tagged With: Armonk, Beginnngs Blues, Changes Hair Salon, community, Luxe, North Castle, Shop Local, Tazza, Town Center Pharmacy

‘Local Faces’ Campaign Unites Community and Merchants

December 1, 2017 by Kelly Leonard

Trish Kallman (Left) and Carolyn Simpson   PHOTO BY LORI LAZARUS

Last summer, studio portraits of local Chappaqua business owners and merchants started popping up on Facebook and Instagram with the caption: CONNECT THE FACE TO THE PLACE! Post your guess as to who it is and where they work. Write what you love about the place, share your favorite story! Help us spread positivity, loyalty and shopping local in our community!

The only clues in the photos were the merchants posed with items from their trade like flowers, bottles of wine, or cups of coffee. The one common factor in every portrait was a ball cap each merchant wore that read “Local Faces.”

The mysterious campaign was the brainchild of two local business owners, Trish Kallman of hip-kid and Carolyn Simpson of Doublevision Photographers. Their idea for Local Faces was to connect Chappaqua and Millwood residents with the faces and personalities behind local stores and businesses. The idea was born during a photo shoot with local kids who wore a cap that said “Local” on it to be featured in the hip-kid shop window instead of using vendor supplied photos of child models.

Kallman also recounts a customer who asked: ‘I’m looking for a gift and so-and-so told me that you had it. We were at the Mall, and they had the gift, but they said, no don’t get the gift here, Trish has it.’ “Oh, that’s so sweet,” Kallman says she thought. “The customer didn’t even call to see if I had the gift or that it was at hip-kid but that Trish had it. I thought that’s so cool they think of me by name instead of the shop name; it’s like a personal relationship with the customers.

“So then I started thinking of all the stores in town and how many of the owners and managers that I knew by name. I wondered if others had a similar experience. So Carolyn and I sat down to talk. I suggested, ‘How about doing something that doesn’t have anything to do with hip-kid, what about something that just features the different business owners in town, connecting the name to the face?’”

Originally Kallman and Simpson were just thinking about doing a gallery showing event, but then as they got started, the idea evolved and as Kallman notes, “We thought, wait, this could be a really fun kind of interactive Facebook campaign. So each day we posted a picture.”

“When we first started,” Kallman recalls, “we were concerned about how do we get everybody in this? We basically went door to door to the merchants with flyers. We did a sample shoot so merchants could visualize and see what it was going to look like. So we created a prototype to put on the flyer and said this is our idea. Some people got it and some people were like, ‘No, I’m camera-shy’ and some people needed a little more prodding. Then we worried about other businesses that weren’t right on the street so we tried to get as many mailing lists as we could pull to find them. This was a Chamber of Commerce sponsored event, and they sent out an email to their list.”

Simpson adds, “Trish and I came up with the name Local Faces because we wanted the name to brand what we were doing so people would connect the faces to the places. As we went door-to-door to businesses in Chappaqua and Millwood, merchants initially thought we were trying to sell something. We donated our time to do this because, especially with the construction in town, we wanted people to feel a connection and to help draw customers in. The photo sessions got really fun as we got to know so many of the merchants in town. The photos allowed people to see a whole other side of local business owners.”

“The campaign was more of a community event than a sales endeavor. We asked the participating merchants to invite their customers and clients to the Gallery Opening where we all could relax. It was all about building relationships…”

Kallman shared that they used the lounge space at hip-kid as a studio for the shoots. “It was really fun for us to work together and collaborate on this and bring our different interests to it. This really made it evolve and grow,” she says. “The Facebook and Instagram campaigns helped it take off and merchants started calling us asking, ‘Can we be a part of this?’ We realized this was really going to be something when people started reaching out to us. When we started posting the photos on Facebook and Instagram, we’d ask, ‘If you know of anybody that you want to be Local Faces please let us know.’”

Simpson adds, “For the Facebook campaign, we started posting every day and then we did a countdown leading up to the September gallery event. We also did some outtakes to post during the countdown. Part of the social media campaign was that people would comment about what they liked about the featured merchants and other people would see those comments, this helped build momentum throughout the campaign.”

After the Gallery Opening & Exhibition event at hip-kid lounge in September, Kallman and Simpson gave the merchants their framed photos. “Hopefully,” Simpson notes, “they’ll have it in their stores and it’s something they can look at with good memories. The campaign was more of a community event than a sales endeavor. We asked the participating merchants to invite their customers and clients to the Gallery Opening where we all could relax. It was all about building relationships and not about the transactions per se.”

As for what’s next for Local Faces, Kallman says, “We’re talking with the Town about it and the Chamber of Commerce to see if they want to do it again. Or if it’s something we want to bring to other towns…”

Simpson adds that it’s “just something to bring everyone together.”

To view and follow the Local Faces virtual galleries, visit: facebook.com/localfaceschappaquamillwood instagram.com/

 

Filed Under: Cover Stories Tagged With: Businesses, Digital Marketing Campaign, Local Faces, merchants, photography, Shop Local

Local Faces Campaign Emphasizes Positivity, Loyalty and Shopping Local

August 26, 2017 by The Inside Press

A photo campaign this summer is intended to help spread positivity, loyalty and shopping local in our community. Culminating in a gallery exhibit, the campaign aims to connect residents of the community with the faces behind our local stores and businesses. Photographed by Carolyn Simpson, Doublevision Photographers. doublevisionphotographers.com  Here are just a few faces in the campaign. Can you name these faces? The gallery show with the final images of everyone who was photographed will take place on September 15, 6-9 p.m. at Chappaqua’s hip-kid lounge, 77 South Greeley Ave.

Filed Under: Chappaqua Community Tagged With: Local, Local Faces, New Castle, Shop Local

Supporting our Local Merchants

August 5, 2015 by The Inside Press

dawn greenberg  w ice creamdawn rosen 2 Welcome to Chappaqua-Millwood’s ever-evolving and prospering business community! The Town of New Castle is comprised of a highly intelligent mix of creative, exciting and enterprising minds and individuals, families and partnerships with thriving businesses of all sizes and in all categories who are members of the Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce.

Many Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber members have built and grown their businesses through effective networking, productive collaborations and professional skill-building with businesspeople residing or doing business in the Town of New Castle (Chappaqua-Millwood), as well as neighboring towns in Westchester County. The potential is here for you–and opportunities abound through active participation and membership in the Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce.

The new Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce members. Back row, left to right: Jeff Rocco, Dawn Greenberg (Executive Director), Dawn Dankner-Rosen (President), Carolyn Vento, Bernadette Bloom Front row, left to right: Dominique Simons, Collin Slattery, Lauren Levin, Nicole Hair.
The new Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce members. Back row, left to right: Jeff Rocco, Dawn Greenberg (Executive Director), Dawn Dankner-Rosen (President), Carolyn Vento, Bernadette Bloom Front row, left to right: Dominique Simons, Collin Slattery, Lauren Levin, Nicole Hair.

Our mission is to foster the success of any business that aims to serve Town of New Castle residents. To fulfill this mission, the Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber creates programs and initiatives that inform and educate, as well support and facilitate connections within the town and the community. Our members report that the skills, exposure and contacts gained through membership in the Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber have enabled them to start and expand new business ventures that may not have otherwise happened.

Among the many benefits of membership, we provide a host of member services all aiming to build your business including: a full listing and description of your business (including your logo) on our website; member-to-member discounts, educational programs and seminars, key networking events; special business-community activities, events and parties; and important business-town advocacy efforts.

In addition, we make it a priority to promote greater awareness and enthusiasm for anyone who does business here. Our intensive efforts on behalf of your business include online, written and word-of-mouth communications between your business and the community, as well as your business and the town government via social media, traditional media, grass roots marketing and special events.

We are here to help.

PrintSincerely,

Dawn Dankner-Rosen

President

Dawn Evans Greenberg

Executive Director

 

Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce Annual Highlights

It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

beautiful day at the libraryHeld annually every April, this “getting-to-you-know” event is a great way for local residents and families to come together and meet town officials, first responders, shopkeepers, merchants and other neighbors in a fun-filled day, complete with special treats, programs and projects. The afternoon also features a live musical performance, and local restaurants cater a lunch for all participants to enjoy. This is one event not to be missed!

 

 

Millwood Movie Nights

jungle bookHeld every Friday evening in June in Millwood Park (next to Rocky’s Deli), Millwood Movie Nights are a great way for families to come together, eat popcorn, and enjoy a cool summer night under the stars. Past films shown have included E. T., The Lego Movie, Ghostbusters, Despicable Me 2 and in 2015, The Jungle Book. Admission is free, and screenings begin at dusk each week (approximately 8:30pm). The event is sponsored by the Town of New Castle Recreation and Parks Department with area merchant support.

 

 

Chappaqua Sidewalk Sale

Sidewalk Sales pic groupHeld annually every summer, the Sidewalk Sale is a New Castle tradition! Merchants in downtown Chappaqua line King Street and South Greeley Avenue with their merchandise, available for sale at great discount prices. A fun-filled day for all! For more information, search the ChappaquaSidewalkSale on Facebook.

 

 

Summer Concert Series

summer concert seriesCo-sponsored by the Town of New Castle Recreation and Parks Department, the Summer Concert Series brings families together to celebrate community and listen to great music. The series takes place every Wednesday evening in July, with a different band or musical group performing each week. Past groups have included local favorites Tramps Like Us, the Don Dupont Big Band, a Neil Diamond cover band, and the Chappaqua Orchestra. Amid the music, local food and ice cream vendors are also on hand to serve up some treats, and kids can play in the “Kid’s Corner,” which features various arts and crafts, an obstacle course, and a bouncy castle. The series is held in the
gazebo at Recreation Field on South Greeley Avenue.

Filed Under: Inside My New Castle Tagged With: Chappaqua, merchants, Shop Local

Shop Local, Chamber of Commerce Unites Residents and Merchants

August 16, 2013 by The Inside Press

Hillary Clinton enjoying Chappaqua’s Summer Sidewalk Sales. Carlyn Simpson Photo*
Hillary Clinton enjoying Chappaqua’s Summer Sidewalk Sales.
Carlyn Simpson Photo*

By Paige Schoenberg

What do a restaurant, a preschool, a clothing retailer, and a dentist have in common? All are members of the Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce, a local association that aims to bring together New Castle businesses and the community.

The Chamber was founded just over one year ago in 2012 by Rob Greenstein and Christine Yeres, who hoped to help local merchants expand their businesses while at the same time creating a sense of community that many felt had begun to fade over the years. When the Chamber was first formed, only a few of the town’s many businesses were members. Thanks to the tremendous efforts of the Chamber Board, that number has grown to include over 170 diverse local enterprises

A Community-Minded Mission       

The Chamber supports these and other establishments with the “Shop Local” initiative, which encourages residents to shop at smaller stores in Chappaqua and Millwood instead of at big-box chains. This helps merchants by increasing revenue and benefits customers by providing a unique, personalized shopping experience that cannot be found at larger retailers. As part of their plan to boost the local economy, the Chamber promotes the 3/50 Project, which reinforces the economic benefits of shopping locally. For every dollar spent at a local store, more money is returned to the community than would be if that money was spent elsewhere.

Of every $100 spent locally, $68 comes back to the town through taxes, payroll, and other expenditures, as compared to only $43 for every $100 spent in a national chain.

The Chamber also participates in the American Express Small Business Saturday, a nationwide program advocating the importance of supporting small businesses.

The program, which provides free marketing materials for merchants, is run by the American Express Company and backed by corporations such as Facebook, Twitter, and FedEx.

Helping Business and the Community Thrive Together       

One of four movie nights at Millwood Park this summer. © Hidenao Abe, StudioAbe
One of four movie nights at Millwood Park this summer.
© Hidenao Abe, StudioAbe

These campaigns are important to revitalize the local economy, but the Chamber recognizes that creating a sense of community is of equal value. To achieve their goal of making local businesses a part of the greater community, the Chamber has held several events, designed to increase spirit and bring residents into stores and restaurants. Recent events include the first annual Tails to Trails pet fair in Millwood, sponsored by Drug Mart and the Millwood Animal Hospital, and the May Madness Sweepstakes, which gave customers a chance to win one of four iPad minis by registering at participating merchants. Free family-friendly movies were shown in Millwood Park on Friday nights in June and July.

During July, the Chamber worked with the New Castle Recreation and Parks Department to host the Summer Concert Series, which featured the Chappaqua Orchestra and Bruce Springsteen and Neil Diamond cover bands, and local food vendors were on hand to provide refreshments.

The Chamber hopes that these kinds of larger events, in addition to the popular Sidewalk Sales in late July, will draw crowds from the surrounding area as well.

Ready for a Busy Fall       

New Castle residents have several upcoming events to look forward to. In October, the Chamber will organize its second annual Fall Festival in downtown Chappaqua. Planned activities include pie-baking and doughnut-eating contests, hayrides, and food tastings by local restaurants. Stores will sponsor activities, and merchandise will be available for purchase. The Chamber will be running a Community Day table to highlight future happenings.

Two returning events, the Taste of Chappaqua and the Holiday Stroll, will take place in November or early December. Last year’s Holiday Stroll featured carolers, ice sculptures, and refreshments as part of a joint event with the New Castle Historical Society’s annual tree lighting, at which the Horace Greeley High School Madrigal Choir and the Chappaqua Orchestra performed.

Residents can also expect new lighted snowflakes in time for the holidays, which will add a bit of winter sparkle to the Rt. 120 bridge and throughout the downtown area.

The decorations are part of a combined effort with the New Castle Beautification Advisory Board to boost foot traffic by improving the appearance of Chappaqua’s downtown area.

Chappaqua Fall Festival Apple Pie Contest
Chappaqua Fall Festival Apple Pie Contest

The Chamber actively participates in town matters and encourages residents to get involved. Currently, the Chamber posts a weekly ChamberChat on the New Castle NOW website to publicize town meetings and community activities, as well as special promotions from merchants. The Chamber also sends updates through email blasts and the Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce Facebook page. An independent Chamber website and mobile app is in the works.

zoo bookPaige Schoenberg is a senior at Horace Greeley High School. Growing up, her favorite book was Put Me in the Zoo.

*Editor’s Note: Carolyn Simpson of Doublevision Photographers graduated from Syracuse University with a BFA in Photography. Through her lens she has photographed many things, from the cobblestoned streets of Italy to the smiling faces of families at holiday time. With  over 20 years of experience, Carolyn strives to always capture the essence of the moment. She specializes in Events, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, Portraits and Architecture Photography.

Filed Under: Cover Stories Tagged With: Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce, merchants, Shop Local

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