Gaithersburg Help - Food Drive

Here at Artisans, we recognize that our success is only possible because of the community in which we live. Because of this, we try to give back when we can.

One of our favorite Organizations is Gaithersburg HELP, which recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. They provide many invaluable services to the less fortunate in our town, particularly in emergency situations. HELP gives assistance in the form of food, infant care, emergency medical needs such as medicine and prescription drugs, transportation, and guidance, support and referrals for people with urgent needs. During 2007, Gaithersburg HELP provided assistance for more than 4200 emergency situations.

In an effort to help this worthy cause, we are starting a food drive for HELP. The drive begins at our Holiday Open House this Saturday, November 15th and runs through December 15th. Everyone who brings a non-perishable food product will receive an reusable Artisans Shopping Bag (while supplies last).

Also, we're still donating a nickel to Gaithersburg HELP every time a customer declines to take a disposable plastic shopping bag with their purchase. So far, we've donated over $100.

For more information, on Gaithersburg HELP, visit www.gaithersburghelp.org

Girl's Night Out Was a Blast!!

We all had fun at our second annual Girl's Night Out here at Artisans Gallery in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

There was a lot of excitement when we announced the winner's of our hourly drawings. We gave away a unique Peggy Karr Glass Transylvania Bowl and a cute little handmade purse from Maruca called Sparrow. One lucky winner also received a warm, fuzzy scarf from Zazou and our last hourly prize was a wine gift basket!! (Given to the nice woman pictured above.) Mariposa gave us a delightfully, unique Halloween tray with bats for handles that one lucky lady won!!

Probably the most fun of all was getting to see everyone test out the gorgeous witch hats and decide which one best fit their witch outfit!! We enjoyed sampling some of the new foods that Artisans is now carrying. The favorite snack was probably the Chocolately Cherry Amaretto Cheesecake Fondue. It was wickedly good!

If you missed out on this event, make sure you keep track of any upcoming ones by visiting our events page at shopArtisans.com.

Girls Night Out! September 25th, 2008 at Artisans Gallery

Just a note to remind everyone that this Thursday, September 25th, is Girls Night Out at Artisans Gallery right here in Gaithersburg Maryland.

The event will run from 5-9:30.

We'll be showing off all our new Halloween costumes and accessories as well as the unique and handmade fall accessories we are known for!

There will be refreshments and we'll be giving out lots of prizes too, from Mariposa, Peggy Karr, Maruca and Zazou! The first 25 people will receive door prizes!

More details can be found on the event page of our website, shopArtisans.com.

So leave the boys at home, and come check out all the new fall styles!

Since Earth Day in April, Artisans Gallery has started a program to save on plastic bags and help the community at the same time. Although our shopping bags are made of recycled plastic and paper(Artisans Gallery has been using only recycled bags since opening 15 years ago), we thought we'd see if we could make a difference. Every time you take your purchase home without a bag, we donate 5 cents to Gaithersburg Help. So far we've been able to donate about $100. That's a lot of nickels!!

I'm really excited to have a way to let you know all about some of the new and unique gift lines that we've just introduced here at Artisans Gallery. One of my favorites is this jewelry line called Acacia Beads that I found at a gift show in Pennsylvania.

Each bead is individually handmade from recycled magazines!! Women in Uganda roll the paper to form the beads and then seal them with water-proof lacquer. The beads are then brought to Kenya and made into unique jewelry. This provides an income for many people and keeps a lot of paper out of the dump. Each item is crafted under fair trade conditions and a portion of each sale goes back to the Kenyan artisans.

We are not currently selling these items online at our site shopArtisans.com, but hope to get them posted soon. Because each bead is a one of a kind piece, no two necklaces or bracelets will be exactly the same and may differ slightly from the picture.

I love these lines that connect us to everyday people around the world.

Artisans Has a new Website and a New Blog!

Welcome to Artisans' brand new blog. Artisans employees will be updating regularly with posts on everything Artisans related. From gift giving tips and shopping advice, to fashion trends and hot new product lines.