BLACK FRIDAY at ArtsEcho...well, perhaps DARK GREY Friday

Dear Friends:

On this warm November 20 evening, I want to greet you all and wish you a very Happy upcoming Thanksgiving! I love Thanksgiving as it is really the only non-commercial holiday that we celebrate. It's all about eating, family, eating, relaxing, eating, watching football, eating, napping...

So doesn't it just get to you that the next day has become one of the most commercial days of the year? Well, if you can't fight 'em...

On Friday, in the spirit of "joining 'em" the ArtsEcho way, we will be open (not at 6am, not at 3am, not at 1am) but at 9am!!!! And unlike some of our competitors (like Walmart and Macy's...OK, lol) we won't have just a few things on sale, but EVERYTHING will be 40% off!!!! Even our fabulous jewelry (that you won't find anywhere else and that NEVER goes on sale since our prices are already soooo looooow) will be on sale. Here are a few samples of our wonderful new things to whet your appetites (for BLING, not turkey...):

That's Arianna and Karina behind the counter (no, they are not for sale on Black Friday) with flowers from Ben Roman and a basket of chocolate kisses that we always keep on hand to sweeten your day...

And that's Guy, the best doggie in the world...he's for sale...$20,000,000...no discount!

Have a wonderful week, warm regards,

Sandra and the ArtsEcho Galleria team, Lil (on her way to Panama!), Crystal, Ben (returning from Israel this week), Judy, Arianna, Jackie, Karina, Lina, Dina and our new intern Claude (pronounced Claud-ay).

PS: Next week I'll tell you all about the Dec. 9th "New Jersey" concert with the amazing Jennifer Lampert who has sung at the Rainbow Room, The Waldorf, Roseland Ballroom, Giant Stadium & Shea Stadium, not to mention touring the world entertaining the troops as Miss USO 2001! She will be joined by Emmy award winning musician Gary Schreiner and a few other surprise guests!

PPS: Ah yes, we are open M-W 11-7, Friday 9am - whenever, Saturday 10-6.

PPPS: Ben Roman's exhibit ("People of WaterColor") last Friday night was superb! Over 60 of our neighbors, friends, artists were here admiring Ben's amazing watercolors. Make sure to stop by to see them.

The Joys of "Visual Marketing" (or making it up as you go along)

Dear Friends:

I've just learned that what we at ArtsEcho Galleria call "let's move everything around and see how it looks" is also called Visual Marketing. We always get comments from you all saying "Oh, you've changed the store!" Yes...it's fun to do it (builds muscles!) and we love to see what looks best where. Well, it turns out that you can spend about $200,000 and get a fancy degree in this. There are even universities that offer PhD's in Visual Marketing.

So here is the ArtsEcho Galleria do-it-yourself version of Visual Marketing with some lovely new items that are in the Galleria (notice how the bags and scarves and pins all match!)

And sitting on the famous pink couch (did I ever tell you that it is the exact same couch that was in the 2005 film "The Producers"? Yes, friends and film trivia buffs, Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick sat on this couch and 8 men danced on it in the film) is our mannequin Rachel, also VM'd with the Einstein Wall behind her:

So stop on by, enjoy our ad hoc Visual Marketing and all of the lovely things (and people!) who are here at ArtsEcho Galleria, our charming little shop.

Warm regards,

Sandra and the ArtsEcho team, Lil, Crystal, Judy, Ben, Jackie, Arianna, Karina, Dina and Lina.

PS: Speaking of wonderful people, don't forget that tonight at 7pm you can meet the watercolor artist Ben Roman right here at ArtsEcho Galleria in his first solo show "People of WaterColor". You'll also meet some terrific neighbors and other artists who will be here (and you'll get to try my famous homemade smoked salmon/ cilantro dip!)

PPS: Can't think of one, but didn't want to disappoint you...

PPPS: Oh yes! The secret (save 50% on one fabulous item of clothing including our really gorgeous "Classy Cardigans") word is "Hurricane Ida".

PPPPS: We're open M-W 11-7, Th-F 11-8, Sat 10-6 and you can reach us at 201-617-1110

The Fantastic Fun of Fashion

Dear Friends: Take a little beret, add a sweet plaid jacket, a wonderful scarf, a big black belt, put it all together with a swirly leather skirt with some ruffles (leather ruffles!) some shiny black tights, thigh high suede boots and you get...fashion! Totally up-to-the-minute fashion. Fashion that feels fabulous...fun fashion... frivolous and fantastic facets of fashion...OK, enough with the "f" words...

Meet Karina Osorio, our college intern. Karina is studying Fashion Marketing at LIM (Laboratory Institute of Merchandising) in NY. Fashion is a very, very big business as in multi-billion dollar global business. Well, why not? Everyone wears clothes. But the how and the why of what you wear has a strong effect on how you feel. And that, in turn, affects how you present yourself to the world.

Of course, everything Karina is wearing is from our charming little Galleria. And, as you know, we don't just choose our collection from catalogs or lists, but search out every special one-of-a-kind item from designers, collectors, contacts and special sales. So stop by soon, swoon over scrumptious scarves, skirts, shirts, sables and saris in our sartorial showroom...OK, no more "s" words...

I'm so glad to be back at ArtsEcho, chained to my computer, loving every moment.

Warm regards, Sandra and the wonderful ArtsEcho team, Lil, Crystal, Ben, Judy, Arianna, Jackie, Dina, Lina and Karina

PS: Next Friday night at 7pm...join us for the opening of the exhibition "People of WaterColor", a solo show by the wonderful artist, Ben Roman.

PPS: Coming up on Wednesday, December 9: "The View From Here, The Sounds From Here". Save the date!

PPPS: We're here M-W 11-7, Th-F 11-8 and Sat 10-6 and you can reach us at 201-617- 1110.

Yassou! from Athens and "Sustainable Couture"

Dear Friends:

A family issue brings me to Athens, Greece this week. In my spare time I have been wandering around the city trying to find the "Greekest" places. It's not that easy.

Years ago, the Athens flea market had stall after stall of items made all over Greece. Lots of handmade pottery, wood carvings and dolls in traditional dress, particularly those cute guy dolls in the short white skirts and blue blouses. (Will the Greeks ever live that down?) Now, of course, almost all of the Greek souvenirs are made in China.

The women here are very fashionable with the right shoes, jeans, skirts, tops, sweaters, jewelry and bags (huuuuge bags). And they look exactly like the women in Union City, Weehawken and New York (and probably Boise, Melbourne and Vladivostok.) These items all come from China as well. What d'ya wanna bet that the trendy women in Beijing only wear jeans made in the US, France or Italy?

This brings me to one of our new ideas: "Sustainable Couture". It seems the only way that one can have totally original items in our 21st century is to create them yourself (that's the couture part..."couture" in French means hand-sewn) or purchase them from a charming little shop (hint, hint) that supports designers making one-of-a-kind items out of superb existing fabrics (that's the sustainable part). A classic win-win. You get to wear fantastic original things while helping emerging designers, a sweet neighborhood shop (ArtsEcho Galleria, of course) and the environment!

We will be having a mini-"sustainable fashion" show as part of our next musical evening (December 9th) to show (and show-off) some of our vintage and designer clothes as well as some of the new and exciting things being created (as we e-speak) at the Galleria.

Upcoming events:

Friday, November 13: meet Ben Roman (and all of us) and see his wonderful watercolors.

Wednesday, December 9: Hear Jennifer Lampert (an amazing singer!) sing great NJ songs and see our own Dexter Lane prove photographically that "there's no place like home".

Warm regards and Yassou! from Sandra and the ArtsEcho Galleria team (busy holding down the fort)...Lil, Judy, Crystal, Ben, Arianna, Jackie, Karina, Lina and Dina (and Toni who will be teaching knitting tomorrow morn)...

PS: We're open on M-W 11-7, Th-F 11-8 and Sat 10-6. You can call us at 617-1110.

PPS: Since I'm in Athens, I have NO IDEA what's on sale, but I bet that the lovely Lil does and I'm sure she'll be glad to tell you! Hi, Lil...(I'm waving...)

PPPS: We are starting a list of artists (visual, musical, theatrical, photographical, etc) for a the North Hudson Artist Coalition, a new organization (for which we will donate admin services and a place to meet). We are doing this so that artists who live in our area can have a stronger voice in Hudson County. If you are an artist (or know one in Union City, Weehawken, West New York, Guttenberg or North Bergen), please give us a call or send me an email.

NUDE at ArtsEcho Galleria (isn't that a great marketing ploy?)

Dear Friends:

Now aren't you glad you opened this email?

"Autumn" is an extraordinary new watercolor painting by artist Ben Roman. It is part of the upcoming solo exhibition of Ben's remarkable work, "People of WaterColor", at ArtsEcho Galleria. The thing that amazes me most about this painting (and you will see it much more clearly in the flesh...so to speak) is the way Ben painted the unforgettable expression on her face. Until I saw this painting I never thought about the fact that faces are not what you usually focus on when you see paintings of nudes. (Cut it out, I can hear you saying "duh".) But bodies can be a bit generic as in "you've seen one gorgeous nude, you've seen 'em all" (with apologies to Renoir) but memorable faces are quite astonishing...and much, much harder to paint. Ben is a master.

You are all invited to join us to meet the delightful Ben Roman right here at our charming little place on Friday, November 13th at 7pm and see 12 other amazing watercolor paintings as well as the new Albert Einstein wall (and, of course, partake of our yummy offerings...possibly even "The Cheesecake"!)

*****

And now for a spectacular announcement:

As many of you know, the young woman below is our own Arianna Cummings, who, today, received the highly coveted Nordstrom Scholarship. Arianna is a senior in Union City High School and has worked here since the day we opened. She is one of FIVE students from NJ to receive the scholarship which will contribute $10,000 (10,000 dollars!!!!!) to her college of choice. Although Arianna wants to study English, History & Drama, she is also a wonderful artist and the chief "stylist" of our famous mannequins. So a huge congratulations to this extraordinary young woman (who is, by the way, dressed all in ArtsEcho in this photo...you knew I had to get that in somewhere...)

Warm regards to all, have a terrific week,

Sandra and the marvelous ArtsEcho Galleria team: Lil, Jackie, Arianna smiling above (...and she really has what to smile about...), Crystal, Judy, Ben, and our intern/volunteers, Karina, Lina and Dina (and no, we did not ask them to work here because their names rhyme...)

PS: Get-out-the-calendar-time: In addition to Friday, Nov 13th at 7pm for the "Meet the Artist" reception with Ben Roman, please mark down Wednesday, Dec 9th, 7pm, for our concert/exhibition, THE VIEW FROM HERE/THE SOUNDS FROM HERE featuring the huge photo-ramas of Dexter Lane and an original take on well-known New Jersey music by singer Jennifer Lampert.

PPS: This week, get 50% off one fabulous item from our clothing collection when you mention the secret words which are "Congratulations, Arianna!" You can say it to any of us...we'll pass it on!

PPPS: Hours are M-W 11-7, Th-F 11-8, Sat 10-6; you can reach us at 201-617-1110; and for those of you who have asked, we do take credit/debit cards, (hey, we're a modern shop!) but only Visa and MC.

HUGE Rings & ENORMOUS Bags...don't you just love fashion?

Dear Friends:

As I write this, Lil and Jackie are moving things around in the Galleria. Lil is putting our new and HUMONGOUSLY LARGE handbags on top of our antique Chinese tree trunk. Jackie is artfully placing GIGANTICALLY COLOSSAL rings in the wonderful walnut bookcase (the original from 1938) that we inherited when the Weehawken HS science lab was remodeled last year.

I love fashion. I love how hems go up and down...sometimes waaay up and waaay down. (Did your English teacher tell you that essays should be like a woman's skirt...long enough to cover the subject but short enough to be interesting?) I love how in some years women carry miniscule bags (but manage to squeeze in all of the essentials); and then the winds of fashion change and...voila! Here is the traditional 1 photo/1000 word proof (except here are 2 photos, modeled by Jackie):

And rings! Forget delicate. Refined? Pshaw! And most of all, forget SUBTLE! Want to see what I mean?

Wow! Now that's what I call BLING! And it's not even sparkly!

(Don't worry, we still have our lovely and elegant silver-gemstone rings and our exquisite (and petite!) beaded antique, vintage and designer handbags, but please don't tell the fashion police...)

Warm regards,

Sandra and the magnificent ArtsEcho Galleria team: Lil, Judy, Crystal, Ben, Arianna, Jackie and Karina, Dina and Lina (and Toni, knitter-extraordinaire).

PS: SAVE THE DATE!!!! WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9th, 7pm!

We will be having great music, wonderful art, a mini-fashion show and, of course, superb food (cheesecake lovers, do you even have to ask??) More soon...

PPS: We're open 'til 7 M-T-W and 'til 8 on Th and F! 'Til 6 on Saturday, but we open at 10am! Weekdays we open at 11am. Got that?

PPPS: You can call us at 201-617-1110 and visit our website at www.artsechogalleria.com if you want to read all about us! Our wonderful web designer, Tamara, is revising the site to make it very trendy and just a little edgy, just like us!

PPPPS: OK, just one more: Since you all love the "BOGOHO" sales (BUYONEGETONEHALFOFF), we will be having surprise BOGOHO days...but you can still mention this email and get 50% off one wonderful item of clothing (including our fabulous new winter scarves, sweaters and lacy berets...baby, it's cold outside!)

On Top of Mountains and Deep Underground

Dear Friends:

Back at our charming little galleria after a short but fantastic trip. I must say I missed the shop, the wonderful people who work here, and all of you. In my brief absence, Lil, Arianna & Jackie rearranged the entire store as a surprise! Wow. It's so good to move things around as you see them with a new perspective. It's good to move yourself around occasionally as well for the same reason and that's what my friend Shosha and I did this week.

As I mentioned in my last email, we met Warren May, the last traditional Kentucky dulcimer maker and here he is (with me)! He sends dulcimers all over the world from his little shop in Berea. And here is a photo of one of the deer antler baskets that we found in the Kentucky Center for the Arts made by Janet Northern. It's quite amazing.

We met artists and musicians everywhere and lots of friendly Southerners who really do say things like "y'all come back now!" But most of all, we saw incredible sights like the huge Luray Caverns in Virginia and the view from the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina (that's Shosha on top of the mountain).

Still, it's always good to come back home. We brought lovely new jewelry, some great vintage square dancing dresses (what else?), amazing fossils and lots of great ideas.

Warm regards, have a great week, stop by and say hello,

Sandra and the ArtsEcho Galleria team, Lil, Judy, Crystal, Ben, Arianna, Jackie, our volunteers, Dina and Lina and Karina, our intern.

PS: Knitting, anyone? Tomorrow with Toni...

PPS: Look below for the coupon!

PPPS: Lil asked me to tell you all that our furniture and antiques are ON SALE for the first time as we need more room in the shop. Yay!