June 2015

Let me start by saying a huge THANK YOU to everyone who voted Pine Straw as your favorite gift and home decor store in this year’s Wicked Local Contest! We won in six categories this year and are so grateful to all of you who supported us!

We’ve been so busy helping so many of you pick out graduation and teacher gifts these past few weeks; I know the next time we look up it is going to be summer! If you haven’t had a chance to do your shopping yet, we’re still fully-stocked for you and ready to help you knock out those special grads and dad’s and teacher gifts!

Our other big news, in case you haven’t already heard, is that Pine Straw will be opening a second location in Waban, (1625 Beacon Street) this fall! The buildout is already underway and we are so excited to share our new space with you! I can assure you that not much will change here -- with both stores just a few miles apart, many of our Wellesley staff and I will be at both stores throughout the week and I promise to keep both stores stocked with the best merchandise around, while continuing to offer you the most courteous, personalized service.

The Waban store is about half the size of our current space and will be a select version of our Wellesley store. We will have a little of everything, including plenty of free parking (and a Starbucks across the street)! We are planning for an early September opening and if you want to follow the construction progress, please follow us on Instagram. I’ve been posting pics of the construction progress of our new space and some of the display pieces that will be making their home there. In the meantime, continue to follow us on Facebook for recipes, sale announcements and updates. Many of you have expressed how much you miss our monthly newsletter. I am going to do my best to get back to the monthly routine come September -- promise!

I feel so fortunate to have the best customers in the Boston area -- the support you’ve shown us over these past few years has been incredible. I still can’t believe I get to do this for a living! I wish you all the most relaxing summer -- enjoy the slower paced days it has to offer and I hope you come see us at the store.

April 2015

Well, we did it! We survived that nasty winter!!! I hope you’re enjoying this great spring weather that we have all waited so long for! The activity in the store and the pop of color on the ground is telling me that a new season really has arrived! With busier days ahead, my monthly newsletter will now be coming out bi-monthly. However, keep up with new items and store happenings via Instagram (my new favorite app), Facebook and our website.

Now that the outside weather is finally aligning with the inside mood of our store, keep in mind the big dates ahead of us all; Mother’s Day, Graduation, Confirmation, First Communion and Father’s Day. We are packed to the gills with great gift ideas for everyone. As always, we are happy to ship anything you need at all and if you spend $250 or more, shipping is free.

We hosted our first store event of the season this past week -- thanks to all of you who made it! Pam Fink, creator/owner of Good Charma hosted a trunk show and boy did we love having her (and her dog, Coheo) for a couple of days. The reaction to her jewelry was overwhelmingly good and we will be sure to have lots of her gorgeous pieces on hand from here on out. Marc LeBlanc, a local athlete/marathon runner was serving up Fit Vine wine, which we all agreed was delicious. Maria of Salon One shared some beauty tips on hair and make up, while our Maria Dilorenzo shared her style sense and debuted our newest apparel. All in all, we had a great time! Mark your calendars for April 30, when we host our next Girls Night Out event with Deborah Trickett, our garden guru who is the creator behind our containers in front of the store. She will be teaching us how to make the most out of container gardening. It should be a fun night and one lucky winner will go home with one of Deborah’s gorgeous arrangements.

I wish all the runners of this year’s Boston Marathon a great race! Our daffodils are up and standing at attention to greet you as you run by the store. And to all who are leaving for April vacation -- safe travels and enjoy some well deserved R&R.