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!

ArtsEcho Galleria and President Obama

Dear Friends: It's been a lovely, warm and productive week here at ArtsEcho Galleria. For those of you who are "Prairie Home Companion" fans, I almost said Lake Wobegon...actually, here it's more like Lake Weebehawken.

Many of our friends are back from vacation and summer travels and have stopped in to say hello and enjoy our gorgeous new clothing and jewelry. We're working hard...finding more and more amazing things from all over the world, not to mention lots of designer items. I hate to be a name-dropper (yeah, right...I love it...) but Kate Spade, Ms. Prada, Mr. L. Vuitton, and Ms. Pucci are all visiting the Galleria right now together with many of their colleagues...

Ben Roman, the wonderful watercolor portrait painter who exhibits here at the Galleria, is back from his first trip to the Dominican Republic. This week Ben brought in his easel and paints and started painting right in the Galleria! He (like us and many of you) loves the warm and friendly atmosphere here (and possibly the chocolates...)

Just after Barack Obama was elected President, I begged Ben to paint his portrait. He chose a thoughtful and introspective view of President Obama and finished the painting this week. Never satisfied, now I want a painting of our stunning First Lady, too. (Artistically speaking, I am so spoiled...)

We are in the planning stages of our new "season". One of our soirees will be a (hopefully rather wild) fashion show....and all of our models are customers of the Galleria! We're also working on an evening of the glorious music and art of Mexico. And a Winter Photo contest is coming up as well.

Hope you are all well and enjoying the cooler weather.

Warm regards,

Sandra and the ArtsEcho Galleria team; Lil, Judy, Crystal, Jackie & Arianna

We Are Springing Into Fall (...or The Summer That Never Was...)

Dear Friends:

Usually by this time of year everyone is saying: "What, summer's already over?" But summer 2009 seems like the summer-that-never-really-got-started and here it is almost autumn. At least all of my plants and flowers (like the magnificent mandevillas in prolific pink in front of ArtsEcho Galleria) are very happy.

I'm happy, too (although not prolifically pink).

We had our best day EVER on Labor Day. Not only did we break our previous one day $$$ record but we met the most wonderful people who wandered in all day long. Everyone always tells us that they have been meaning to stop in and see just exactly what goes on here (we sometimes wonder ourselves), and last Monday was one of those days. And the weather was glorious! (And naturally, everyone loved my secret-recipe cheesecake...)

Several couples walked in and the male halves always asked me if we only sell things for women (meaning, of course, our lovely jewelry and clothing like the gorgeous black velvet gown on our stunning Lil) and I was delighted to show off our "new" collection of 800-year-old-arrowheads from Western Canada and our Roman coins that are about 2000 years old (really). We have these displayed with a sign over them saying "A GIFT FOR THE PERSON WHO HAS EVERYTHING"... so watch out, guys.

Speaking of gifts, we do have spectacular things. We keep enlarging our jewelry section since everyone loves our one-of-a-kind-never-seen-anything-like-it collection of amazing (and very reasonably priced) jewelry. And we're almost sold out of our handknit bags and scarves...

Which reminds me, tomorrow is KNITTING DAY at ArtsEcho Galleria(we call it Knitty Gritty in Union City) with the amazing Toni Figaro. Toni charges a small set fee to teach someone to knit and that includes coming back again & again to learn new stitches and how to read patterns and even to get help with that sweater that you started 8 1/2 years ago (and that has made you feel guilty for the last 8 1/4 years). And since we believe it's so important to learn to do something creative with your hands, ArtsEcho provides beautiful FREE WOOL & KNITTING NEEDLES! And then you'll be able to make your own presents!

Have a lovely week, come visit us...warm regards,

Sandra and the valiant and hard-working ArtsEcho Galleria team: Lil, Judy, Crystal, Ben, Arianna and Jackie

Cheesecake and Labor Day

Dear Friends:

Where will you be on Labor Day?

After the bar-b-que or the sunbath, (or the 14 hour trip home from the Jersey shore), stop by and visit us here at ArtsEcho Galleria! We will be celebrating Labor Day with baked goodies, especially my famous SECRET-RECIPE CHEESECAKE! (Some of you...you know who you are...have been trying to bribe me for the recipe and all I can say is "fuggedaboudit"!)

We have recently passed our one year anniversary here at our charming little shop and we are so thrilled to be a vibrant part of the Park Ave neighborhood that we are having a BIG SALE!

Our adorable summer tops and dresses will be...gasp...70% off!!! (and that's well below cost...). Our luscious new arrivals for fall will be 30% off (but just on Monday...hey, have a heart...)

And here's the big news: Our exquisite, totally unique, you've-never-seen-anything-like-it-anywhere-else-ever JEWELRY (all of it!) will be on a BUY ONE GET ONE HALF OFF sale (also known as BOGOHO...honestly)...

And there's more! For everyone who spends over $50, we will give you a $10 ArtsEcho FunnyMoney GiftCard that you can spend on your next visit! And you all know that $50 goes much faaaarrrrrther at ArtsEcho Galleria than anywhere else!

And another thing: On Labor Day we will be RAFFLING OFF one of our gorgeous necklaces (yes...one of the sterling silver and gemstone ones) to one lucky Labor Day Visitor (even if you don't buy anything but just come for the cheesecake!) (How sweet is that?) (Not the cheesecake...us!)

With warm regards,

Sandra and the ArtsEcho team, Lil, Crystal, Judy, Ben, Arianna & Jackie

PS: Due to enormous pressure and huge demand, we will be open on Sundays(!!) from 1 - 6 and you are all invited!