Behind the Scenes @ Swagger - Our newest addition

And this time I'm not talking about the clothing expansion!  Of course that is going very well - here is a picture I just took today - totally looks like we are going to open next week - right?!  I love it though -so happy with all our design choices!

My Dad - our trusty carpenter!

The new addition I am talking about is mine and my husband's soon-to-arrive baby!  We are so excited for the arrival of our first child - due date January 4th!

Swagger's store manager, Kellie, told me the idea about a gender reveal party - which of course I thought was a brilliant idea - so we had one last weekend!  The week before we were super productive (not!) and were doing "arts and crafts" with our vinyl machine for the party! 

Kellie can craft like it's nobody's business!

The party was held at my mom and dad's house and was so much fun! The results of the ultrasound - boy or girl - was hidden inside the cake!  I gave an envelope from my doctor to our baker (Jennifer Dail - her cakes are beautiful and tasty!) and she was instructed to make the cake either pink or blue depending on the sex of the baby. 

I am addicted to owls right now so that was the theme of the party!  "Hoot Hoot - the results are in!"

We had everyone vote on what sex they thought the baby was going to be:

This is one of our crafting projects - turned out pretty cute if I say so myself!:)  Team Blue was winning but 1 vote when we cut the cake!

So what were the reults?  Well when we cut into the cake it was...

PINK!!!

We had asked everyone to wear either pink or blue to the party to support "their team".  What did every one the Swaggerettes wear?  Pink - of course!

I love this pic!  We had to go with the "sorority pose" as my mom calls it so we could see the Baby Becker sign!

Susan voted for a girl too but she didn't make the group shot:(

We are super excited and can't wait for Little Girl Becker to be working at Swagger really soon!:) 

Valentine's Gift Ideas

Valentine's Day is less than a week away, so I thought I would share with you a segment I taped for MyCarolinaToday.com!  Watch for great gift ideas for tweens, sisters, best friends, moms, wives and girlfriends!



Gifts for Tweens - Mogo Charm Bracelets and an "I love you to the moon!" picture frame.
Gifts for Best Friends, Sisters, Moms - Pashminas, Monogrammed Jewelry and fun costume jewelry
Gifts for Wives and Girlfriends - Fire Lites and Trollbeads

Thanks for watching!

Back from Market!

Okay - okay - I know.  I basically sucked at writing my blog at market this time:(  Sorry guys - the weather in Atlanta screwed everything up!  I was so worried about missing 1 1/2 days of shopping that I made up for it by shopping from 8 am till 9 pm every day!  Then after taking Marta and eating something besides m&m's and diet coke I was dead tired!  Just ask Heather - the two nights she was with me we didn't get in till around midnight - and believe me - it wasn't because we were out dancing on bars in Hotlanta!

Anyways - I am so excited we put in the extra hours, because the lines we found are AH-MA-ZING!  Here is just a small preview of what's to come:

An adorable line of "going to grandma's house" totes for boys and girls!

Super cute Easter Baskets!  These are going to be so cute personalized!  If you would like to pre-order one let us know!

We loved these sticky dry erase sheets! You can stick them on any wall without messing up your paint!  I think they are going to be great for graduation gifts!  Lots of cute patterns to choose from.

We HAD to get some "gifts with attitude" and you KNOW this one is going to go in my house!

Monogrammed Filigree necklaces were one of our most popular gifts this Christmas, so I was super excited when they came out with these new designs!

Beatriz Ball is so beautiful and functional!  I'll post a video of the process later - it is crazy the amount of work that goes into making each piece - they are done by hand one by one.  I think they are going to be perfect for wedding gifts!

I will post pictures of the purses, wallets and jewelry that Heather and I went crazy on this week!  The prices are perfect for buying several pieces to update your wardrobe for spring!

 

iPad covers, Hand Stamped Necklaces, Kid's Slippers, Ugly Dolls, and More! Market Day 2

Wow - so excited about the shopping day today! I bought several new lines that we've never had before that carry iPad covers, kid's slippers, Ugly Dolls, hand stamped pendants, bird baths, hummingbird feeders, and more!

Here are some of the pics - what do you guys think?!?!

iPad and iPhone accessories are so HOT! iLove this line - it is very classy. ;-)

I can't wait to get one after I get my new iPhone from Verizon!

You guys are always asking for kid's gifts and I thought these slippers were so cute! I wish the princess ones came in my size. :-)

Last market we purchased the MOGO charm bracelets - great for girls of all ages - and they were a huge success! This market MOGO came out with these flip flops that I think are also going to be very popular!

Ugly Dolls! Who has seen these? Although I guess they are probably made for kids, I seriously love them! I can't wait to get them in!

And last but certainly not least - new Hand Stamped Pendants made from copper and recycled aluminum. They are cute by themselves or layered with other pendants on a necklace! Great for mother's or grandmother's necklaces!

More shopping and more pictures tomorrow! If there is anything you want to see at Swagger let me know!

Market in Atlanta - Day 1 1/2

Why day 1 1/2 you ask?  Because Atlanta has the worst ice strom I have ever seen!  The entire city has been closed down - it is crazy!

I was supposed to start shopping on Monday, but that wasn't going to happen - seriously you couldn't go anywhere - and this wasn't just southerners making a big deal out of nothing - this ice was bad!  Then when I woke up Tuesday morning I was hopeful that I could get to market, but then while watching the news, I saw the GA Department of Transportation salt truck crash into the median on I-85 and thought otherwise.  However, I got such cabin fever knowing I should be SHOPPING that I called a cab driver (which was another adventure in and of itself) and had him drop me off at MARTA so I could spend some money!  Unfortunately I didn't start shopping till around 3:30 pm (hence the 1/2 day:)), but I stayed until 9:30 Tuesday night and then shopped from 8 am till 8 pm yesterday! 

I am sooooo excited about the stuff I am finding!  YEAH!!!  I purchased the coolest collegiate stuff,  beautiful frames, great items for wedding gifts, purses, jewelry (lots of jewelry - as usual), cool stuff you didn't even know you needed (but you do!), Easter, and Christmas!   I have to make this post short since I am sitting in a showroom stealing their internet (no internet at the hotel room I bummed from one of my reps - again - another story all together - thank you Michelle!!!), but here are a couple pics and I promise to post more later!

Slapwatches are going to be HUGE!  Did any of you see these on The View?  They are so cool!  There are 6 different colors and you can interchange the watch band and the face to make 36 different watch combinations!  And the remind me of my childhood because of the "slap" band. 

Two thumbs up from me!!! 

Great graphics on these t-shirts AND they fit really well!  Such a cute gift!  Problem is - which one do I want?!?!

Don't laugh - you KNOW you want one!

  And yes - I did by other Christmas stuff but I think this was my favorite item - ha!

Happy 8th Birthday to US!

Today is Swagger's 8th Birthday - I can hardly believe it!  To think 9 years ago I had a nice cushy corporate job - ha!:)  Of course I wouldn't change opening Swagger for the world!  Besides being surrounded by fun cute stuff all day, everyday - my favorite part has been meeting all of you guys.  We say all the time how lucky we are to have the most amazing customers!  That is why I am so happy to be back from living abroad -I missed everyone!   

To celebrate our birthday, we are having our first Peace, Love & Swagger promotion!  Wear your Peace, Love & Swagger t-shirt into the store today and get $5 off any purchase over $25!

Hope to see you soon!  Oh - and if you want to buy a tshirt online click here - proceeds from the sale of the shirt go to Nancy's Butterfly Fund and the North Carolina Coalition against Domestic Violence.

I want to be the Deep Fried Ambassador for the NC State Fair!

So I know what you are thinking - THE WHAT?!?!  Yes, the Deep Fried Ambassador.  And I think I would qualify.  My family and I have eaten EVERY deep fried item found at the NC State Fair!

Hmmmm.  My niece pondering. What can we eat next...

Deep fried Oreos.  Check.  Deep Fried Pecan Pie.  Check.  Deep Fried Cheese.  Check.  Deep Fried Candy Bars.  Triple Check.  Deep Friend Coke.  Yes - Coke.  Check!!!  And the list could seriously go on. 

But we don't stop there.  We eat everything else too.  And we check out the competitions, livestock, Village of Yesteryear, the rides (LOVE the rides), games - we've even purchased a bunch of stuff from the Commercial and Education Building booths (you know - the stuff that basically looks like it should be on an infomercial)! We leave no rock unturned - deep fried or not.

We love the candy apples!



I'm even cutting a vacation to Greece short to attend the NC State Fair with my family this year.  GREECE people!  Yeah - my husband isn't thrilled with this decision, but strangely he understands my obsession with the fair! 

The NC State Fair is good old fashioned family bonding FUN!  My sisters and their 5 children even travel in from other states to go to the fair!  We are a Fair Junkie Family! 

Do we look like we can rock the State Fair - or what?!?!

Last year we were living in Switzerland during the NC State Fair and I CRIED because I couldn't go.  Real tears.  But my family was so gracious to Skype me with their cute painted faces, prizes, and stuffed bellies.  (Thanks guys you really know how to make a girl feel better.)

OKAY - what's my point here.  I want to be the Deep Fried Ambassador to the NC State Fair (yes this is a real (really awesome) title bestowed upon one lucky person), but I CAN'T :( .  I can't because I don't arrive back from our trip to Greece until October 14th and the Deep Fried Ambassador's official duties start on October 11th.  *sigh*

So I'm telling all of you guys about it so maybe one of you bloggers out there will get the title and possibly let me tag along one day.  I even promise to carry your winnings, hold your fried food, kiss a carnie (okay - not really) - but you get the point!  I NEED one of my friends/customers to WIN THE TITLE of DEEP FRIED AMBASSADOR! 

If you are interested (and why wouldn't you be?), here is the link to the NC State Fair Deep Fried Blog post where you can get all the details.  And if you win, will you put in a good word for me for next year?!  I would appreciate it!

Long live the NC STATE FAIR and fried food!:)





p.s. - You can even "like" the NC State Fair on Facebook!  Heck yeah!

Trollbeads World Tour hits Germany!

Trollbeads is currently going on a World Tour!  Each month Trollbeads is "visiting" a new country where they will introduce four new beads exploring the history, culture, and charming quirks of that corner of the globe.   The World Tour collection is available only in it's homeland.

The first country they visited was Denmark (of course)!  Denmark is where Trollbeads originated so it makes perfect sense that they would start there!  The beads designed for Denmark were a Viking Ship, Design Troll, Anemone, and Runes.  You can check them out on Trollbeads Universe here. 

Once they started selling the beads in Denmark they announced the next country on the list would be Germany - arriving in September 2010!  Which I was super excited about, because I was also arriving in Germany in September 2010:)!  Hamburg, Germany to be precise - the weekend of September 3-6.
The Trollbeads Universe website said September 2010, but not an exact date, so I kept my fingers crossed that they would be there when I arrived on September 3rd!

My husband and I went to Germany to visit our good friends, Miriam and James, and when they asked if we had any "must see" things while in Hamburg, I said "YES - we have to go to a Trollbeads store!:)"  I'm guessing they weren't expecting that, but hey I knew they would take us to all the other cool places!

So, not even 3 hours after arriving in Hamburg we found the first Trollbeads Shop on my list!  "Where are your special  Deutschland World Tour beads?" I asked the friendly sales clerk.  "I'm sorry they don't come out until September 15th" she said.

What?  Booooooooh!  That put a damper on things.:(

I asked the sales clerk a few questions like, do you know what they are, do you have pictures of them, can you mail them to me in the USA.  No, No and No.  :( 

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

Oh well - I tried. 

A couple hours later, we passed by another store that sold Trollbeads - the name was easy to remember from my "Trollbead stores in Hamburg research", Becker's Jewelers (my last name is Becker - we're German:)).  Of course, this only made me more depressed. 

James told me I should go in.  WHY?!?!  He said he had a good feeling about this store.  Dude - no good feelings - THEY HAVEN'T COME OUT YET.  But he pushed us all in any way.  And low and behold...

THEY HAD THEM!!!

And not only the beads, but also beautiful brochures about what they meant and special boxes just for the World Tour beads - ah-mazing!  The four beads (which have now come out on the Trollbeads Universe website) are a Gnome, VW bug, Brandenburg Gate, and The Frog Prince.

I was in TROLLBEAD HEAVEN!  I was the first person to come in and ask for them (probably because they weren't supposed to come out for another 2 weeks!), so I got my pick of the litter!  (And if you know about Trollbeads, you know that all the glass ones look slightly different so this was awesome!)

Now which one(s) do I want?:)  Hmmmmm.

Well - living in Zurich (the German part of Switzerland), gave me a new obsession for Gnomes!  Yes weird, I know!  But they remind me of all our hikes in the Alps, because seriously they are in EVERYONE'S yards!  You have no idea how many pictures I took of gnomes and gnome gardens.:)  So I HAD to get the gnome...

Isn't he so cute!!!  Every time I look down at him I smile!

Then there was the Frog Prince.  I loved the Brother's Grimm when I was little, and this bead with the cute frog with a crown on his head and with a beautiful green glass ball under him.  You KNOW I had to get him too...

 Don't you just want to kiss him to see if he turns into a prince?!

Yeah for great Trollbead KARMA!  I'm not sure how that worked out in my favor, but I'm not asking any questions!  I know the beads were released officially Today, so I am one lucky Trollbead FREAK:)!

I had to get a photo in front of the "Becker" store with all my goodies! 

It had to have been Becker FATE! 

Today they also announced that the next country will be ITALY!!!  The beads will be available some time in October.  Italy is my favorite European country so HOW AM I GOING TO GET TO ITALY before I leave Europe and move back to the United States on October 14th?!  I'm working on it and will let you know;)

So my final question.  It was announced that the World Tour will be stopping in the USA some time in 2011 (no I don't know the dates).  What four beads do you think they will design to represent the USA?  A McDonald's arch or a Starbuck's coffee cup?:)  But seriously...

WHAT IS OUR U.S.A. STORY?

Does this work?

Recently my computer blew up. Yeah, it kind of sucked, BUT I did get a new computer out of it so I can't really complain (oh and all my info was backed up through Carbonite so that was helpful too.) My new computer came with the "New" Microsoft Office Suite – you know – the one that creates files that won't open on any of my other company computers. Yeah – that one. (And I do know how to make it work, but I always forget to save as the "old" Word file. Why does Microsoft have to torture me like this?) Anyhoo, as I was "saving as" I saw the item "Publish to Blog" on the drop down list and I HAD to see if it worked. And if it worked in the "old" Word – don't tell me. I feel really special (and smart) right now, so don't ruin it – okay:)!

Moment of truth. Here goes… pushing publish to blog right…NOW!

***OMG - it worked!!!  Now I am in here editing the text to write this and adding a label to the post!  I think I am going to dig this!  Anybody else write their blog posts this way?

Swagger's Redesign on a Dime!

I have to show you what my mom, Jill, has been working on at the store!  Her official title is Vice President of Visual Merchandising, but since Swagger is a small business,she does a lot of other things too - like fulfills all internet orders, calls in all damaged products from our vendors, keeps up with all bags, ribbon, boxes and wrapping supplies, instore sales, customer service, etc.  (I'm actually starting to wonder, if she does all this what do I do...but I digress.)  So, as you can see, it is amazing that our products even get out on the floor!  I'm sure she wonders why she even took this job...but again I digress (love you Mom:))! 

ANYWAY, my point here is - she has all these great ideas for visual display, but since I have her doing all this other stuff and I haven't always given her lots of money for the displays, she worked with what I had given her (which wasn't a lot).  But after attending a visual merchandising class at market, she got motivated (actually I was a little scared by the amount of motivation), kicked me in the butt and said "I NEED MONEY FOR DISPLAYS"!  Sheesh.  Why didn't you just ask?:)  (Okay - so she asked like a bizillion times in the last 8 years.)  But this time I listened!  Don't I get credit for that?

We agreed on $300.  I know it wasn't a lot, but it was better than nothing - right?  So she and my dad (who I need to apologize to because he got roped into a lot of work and isn't even on the payroll at Swagger - sorry Dad - but thank you and I love ya!) set out to Redesign on a Dime!  My mom has always been creative and can envision things I would NEVER come up with (hence why she is the VP Visual Merchandising!), but I am truly blown away by this transformation.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!  Did I say I love it?  I LOVE IT! 

Here are some Before & After shots!  I love it at the store, but thought the pictures might give you some ideas for your home!

Before - boring plain old white.  Now I love the new pop of bright color in the back of the cabinet!  The products really stand out!  I need to find a way to incorporate this idea into my home!

Before - we got this piece at a used displays store.  It was actually from the Godiva store at Crabtree Mall.  The brown wood really never went with our decor at Swagger but the piece was great for display.  Now - OMG!  Amazing what white paint can do!  Then she painted the entire wall behind the unit a light blue and painted another piece of plywood a dark shade of the same hue for behind the shelves.

I had to show a close up.  Not sure if you can tell, but my mom covered the ply wood with wallpaper that you can paint - I believe she just rolled on the color.  Then she went back in and did some hand detailing in lime green and white.  She said it was really easy!  My mind is spinning on where I can do this in my house!

Before - my mom always hated these glass shelves.  They were hard to display on and always looked dusty.  Now - my mom and dad headed down to the Habitat for Humanity warehouse off Capital Blvd and found these cool table legs that they painted black.  Then my dad cut pieces of wood in different sizes, so when stacked on top of the table legs it would look like tables stacked on top of each other.  Again she said - super easy!  I would love this as a book shelf in my family room!

So there you have it.  Pretty cool, huh.  And before you get any ideas she is NOT for hire:)!  I heard some of you people have been trying to get her to do interior designing at your house!  Hello?!?!?!  Christmas is coming up and she is MY mom - hands off people:)!

One more picture to show the finished product.

Here you can tell that she painted just the one wall the accent color - really makes your eye go to the back of the store.

I hope you guys got some ideas! I would love to know if you plan on incorporating any of these ideas into your own home! Have fun!

Swagger has been BEDAZZLED!

So the other day Heather's Facebook status said "I am the bedazzling queen!"  I'll be honest - I was a little scared because I knew she had been working at Swagger that day!

BUT, when I flew in from Finland this week I saw this...

Cute - right?!

I love it!  Makes me want to go hang out in the bathroom at Swagger - ha!  I guess she figured while she was at it she minus well bedazzle the rest of Swagger, too:)  I am actually shocked to see that my mother wasn't bedazzled!  But I love these two things too - added a little more "swagger" to the place!

Plain hangers painted white and then BEDAZZLED!  I think I should take some of these for my closet at home...:)

Just a touch of pizzaz to one of our displays!

Go HEATHER!  Oh and she is for hire if anyone needs a jean jacket done:)!

Emergency Post

Sorry guys - I didn't mean to scare anyone, but I've definitely had an emergency - a technical emergency!  I temporarily moved to Helsinki, Finland for the summer and as soon as I got here my computer welcomed me with the "Blue Screen of Death"!  Good times for sure! 

So unfortunately there will be no Weekly Blog Giveaway this week, because I can't get to any pictures on my hardrive (and I can't take any in the store because I'm in Finland:)) AND because I'm just very discombobulated right now!:)

So next week I promise - okay?  I'll post something EXTRA good!

And... if anyone wants to send some positivity our way by telling something that you love about Swagger (gift you loved, products we carry that you love, staff you love, just general love) - that would be great:)! I really need some positive energy headed in my direction right now and I'm not ashamed to ask for it:)!

I love you guys!

May's $25 Gift Certificates have been mailed out!

Thank you to all our fabulously loyal customers!  We really appreciate you choosing to shop with us!  We just emailed out $2300 in "Swagger Bucks" this morning so make sure to check your inbox!

We've just gotten a WHOLE LOT of new *stuff* in at Swagger - maybe you'll want to get one of these cute new dresses/bathing suit cover ups with your new found money:)?!?! It is so cute!

Super Cute and it comes in Orange, Blue, Red and Green!  $36 each

How do you get Swagger Bucks you ask? Every time you make a purchase from Swagger Gifts we keep tracking of it, and when you spend $250 you receive a $25 Rewards Certificate! Seriously - that easy! We send out rewards certificates at the beginning of every month for those who earned them during the previous month. (Note: this $250 is cumulative - you could have started purchasing in 2008 and got to $250 last month and would now be receiving your Swagger Bucks!)


Just our way of saying "Thanks for shopping at Swagger!"

Mandy Brings Swagger to the Top 50 Entrepreneurs in the Triangle!

Hey Swagger Fans!

Heather here - I'm hijacking the blog today while Mandy is skiing the Swiss Alps (which we are all very jealous of!) to do a little bragging about our fearless leader. She wouldn't write this about herself, but that sure doesn't mean that I can't share the latest bit of good news with the world, right? :-)

Last Friday, I had the awesome experience of accepting an award on Mandy's behalf. And not just any award, this award named Mandy, CEO of Swagger Gifts, amongst many other top notch local business leaders - 50 of them to be exact- as one of Business Leader Media's "Top 50 Entrepreneurs in the Triangle" this year!

As CEO of Swagger Gifts, Mandy prides herself on offering a truly unique selection of merchandise here at Swagger, often forgoing popular items that can be found duplicated over and over again at mass retailers. This approach gives you all - our amazing customers - the confidence that your gift will not only be appreciated, but that it will carry with it a little "swagger"of its own!

She is actively involved on a local professional level through organizations like Chix in Business, but she has also been recognized on the national level many times because of her willingness to mentor and offer valuable advice and tools to fellow retailers and industry professionals. Under Mandy’s leadership, Swagger has seen exciting year-after-year growth not only online, but in our store here in Lochmere, as well.

Her rock star status doesn't stop there, either. Amidst all the growth and challenges of 2009, Mandy still found the time to create our new in-house program for supporting the community organizations that she has always enjoyed supporting through her business and personal involvements. The Swagger Gifts Community Giving Program
(http://www.swaggergifts.com/community_giving_program) was launched in September 2009, as a way of allowing shoppers to support their favorite charitable organizations each and every time you shop! The program gives back 5% of purchases to shoppers’ choice of affiliated groups like the Autism Society of NC, the Caring Community Foundation and the Pretty in Pink Foundation.

Business Leader Media honored Mandy and others in a ceremony on February 26 in Raleigh and she will be featured in the magazine’s March 2010 issue - so be sure to scour local newsstands and professional offices and see if you can find her feature! Business Leader has recognized the Triangle’s most prominent business leaders as the “Top 50 Entrepreneurs” since 1996.

So next time you are checking us out on facebook, be sure to send her a little note of congratulations!
--Heather