Farmer's Table -- Contest

Hey ya'll! We are so excited to announce that we will be giving away two tickets to the Lowcountry Food Bank's Farmer's Table Event!

As you may remember, we shopgirls are thrilled to participate in this event, which is being held in the Haberhsam Marketplace, next Friday, September 10 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are selling for $100 each, so this is a great chance for you to show your support for such a great cause!

All you have to do is this: by commenting below, tell us, what would you suggest our Lowcountry Farmer's grow for families in need in 2011?

Entries will be accepted until Tuesday night at midnight, and the winner will be announced Wednesday. For extra entries, visit our Facebook page and leave a comment underneath the Contest Post.

Thanks ya'll! Can't wait to see who wins!!

Meandering Prose

If you have met the shopgirls, you probably have gotten to know a few things about us, like:

• We're mother and daughter (though many people say we look like sisters)
• We are the cutest girls (seriously ... we have a necklace that says so!)
• We get along ridiculously well (it's creepy, really)
• We must have music in our lives (can you say Pandora addict?)
• We've been known to sing and dance in the shop ... while we have customers.
• We're sarcastic to a fault
• We love to laugh ... at ourselves and each other and at life in general

Which brings me to the real reason for this post. Because we are not so narcissistic to think that you come to our blog to read about us (OK well, maybe a little...). Are you familiar with Erin Smith yet?

You need to be. She's an artist ... and a wife ... and a mother ... and she says all of the things we wish we could say, but don't have the courage to. And then she makes art out of it. And greeting cards. Which we are so proud to have in our shop. Because she makes us laugh so hard that we nearly wet ourselves.

Come in and laugh with us ....

xoxo,

(All images from Erin Smith Art)

Fabulous Event

Just as we were heading back from Market, we received an exciting invitation. Probably the most exciting invitation we've received in our three-year history. The lovely girls at the Lowcountry Food Bank (thanks to the fabulous Ms. L) requested our event design assistance with their inaugural Farmer's Table event.

If you don't know about LCFB, you need to. In their own words, the mission of this non-profit is to "feed the poor and hungry of the ten coastal counties of South Carolina by soliciting and distributing healthy food and grocery products to nonprofit agencies serving the poor, and to educate the public about the problems of and solutions to domestic hunger."  

Not only do they work hard to eliminate domestic hunger in the Lowcountry, but through their Growing Food Locally Program, they strive to help local farmers succeed by providing them with "professional training, free consultations, small pay advances, and a guaranteed safety net purchase of pre-selected crops."

We are so honored to participate in this wonderful fundraising event, which is designed to showcase our fabulous local chefs and the local farmers who provide them with such delicious produce. The proceeds will go directly to the Growing Food Locally Program.

The girls at LCFB, along with chef Jim Spratling, have designed what will be a fabulous evening on September 10, 2010. The evening will begin with drinks,small bites, and a tour of Habersham Farms. Then guests will be transported by hayride to the Habersham Marketplace. In an organic, vintage-farm setting, 100 guests will dine at a community table. Chefs from six of Beaufort's best restaurants will work together to create a delicious three-course meal that features fresh produce from local farms.

We invite you to come dine under the stars with us. Eat fresh, organic, fabulous food.Support a beautiful cause. We hope to see you there!

Little Boy, Big Heart

We've had such a busy summer, and we apologize for the lack of posting. But we've had some exciting things brewing, and I think it's time to start sharing them, don't you?

First things first ... we owe you a Market recap. As ya'll know, we go to Market twice a year -- in January and July. And as usual, this trip was exciting, inspiring, and exhausting. We discovered an amazing and wonderful new vendor, Park Hill, which turned out to be very serendipitous (but that's for another post). We fell in love all over again with mercury glass; warm tones of violet, cranberry, and peach; autumnal designs; and more.

But the highlight of our trip was when we met this boy, heard him play, and listened to his story.

 Meet Aidan. The nine-year-old self-taught harmonica player. And philanthropist. From his website:

Aidan Thomas Hornaday is a jamming harmonica boy on a mission - helping change the world by showing children can make a difference in the lives of others, impact the world and find joy in the process.

This boy is amazing, sweet, humble, and inspiring. Read about him.  And if you have the opportunity, go watch him play somewhere.

Truly Honored

We shopgirls just got the shock of our lives. We won "Best Gift Shop" in the Beaufort Gazette's Reader's Choice Awards. Thank you to everyone who voted. This award means so much, and we are truly honored to receive it.

It gets better though ... almost every business in our beautiful Habersham Marketplace won their nominated categories. Unfortunately, we don't have all the details yet, but as soon as we do, we'll post a full list of the winners in our Marketplace.

Congratulations to all, and thank you again for your support!

Follow the footprints

So, have we told ya'll about our awesome neighbors upstairs? They're the best neighbors ever! They bring us goodies all the time (like homemade chocolate cake and macaroons  -- YUM). They come and chat with us when it's quiet. They have even covered the shop for us a few times.

Well, today, they took their awesomeness to a whole new level. Inspired by the uber-talented street artist, Katie Sokoler, they decided to draw footprints leading to the shop, in honor of our inaugural "First Friday" event.

Take a look ...

And you should see the hopscotch board (is that the right term) they set up for the kids. Funnest.One. Ever.

Aren't these girls awesome? The whole family totally rocks!

xoxo,

Reader's Choice!

Today began like every other morning for me at the shop ... until I received an email with this subject line:

Congratulations Readers Choice Nominee!

Imagine my excitement when I opened the email and read that Joli has been nominated for the Best Gift Shop in the Beaufort Gazette Readers Choice Awards! We are honored and touched that someone nominated us. 

Now we just need to win. That's where ya'll come in. Please please please, head on over to the voting site, and vote for us. And while you're at it, please vote for the other great businesses here in the Habersham Marketplace, as well as around Beaufort. You can vote once a day until May 17th.

Thank you to the person who nominated us. And we are so proud to be in the Habersham Marketplace, where almost every other business has been nominated as well. We wish all the nominees the best!

xoxo,