Saturday, December 20, 2008
Gift Certificates
Just in time for the holidays, I now have online gift certificates available. They're a perfect last minute gift - email them at any time. You'll always find a link for gift certificates on this blog (just look to the right), or you can find them on my website http://www.goodleaftea.com/shophome.html
Friday, December 19, 2008
Bad Weather
Just a heads up - with today's bad weather, we're closing early, but will be open every day from 12-7 tomorrow until Christmas Eve.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Where to find us this Holiday Season
For those of you afraid of the Lark, Joe will be representing The Good Leaf at a couple of different venues over the next week.
Tomorrow, he'll be at Joy's Deli and Cafe at 80 Wolf Road. It's in the back of an office building on Wolf Road. He'll have tins of some of our more popular teas, teaware, gift packages, and he'll be taking orders for holiday gifts. Any orders placed will be delivered to Joy's Cafe later on this week. We did this last year and it was very successful and very convenient for those who work in the Wolf Road area. He'll be there from about 8:30am through early afternoon.
Joe will also be At the Warehouse this coming weekend. He was there this past weekend and it was a great respite from our cold and dark house (our power was restored last night, thanks NIMO!). While we don't have our old teahouse available, we had a great spot near Bees on Earth and Sistah's. Don't know where we'll be set up this coming weekend, but wherever it is, we'll have our most popular teas and tea gifts. It was great to be back At the Warehouse, enjoying the creative energy and seeing how the market has evolved over time. It's filled to the brim with interesting salvage items, and if you want to shop local, unique and independent - At the Warehouse is local, unique, and independent up the wazoo.
On another note - for those afraid of the Lark (Lark Street, that is) - don't be. Lark Street is also bustling with creative energy, yummy goodies, and independently owned interesting shops. Finding parking is really not that difficult at all. During the day, there are almost always a couple of available spots right across the street from my shop, and although parking is more of a challenge later on, you can usually still find a spot within a block of The Good Leaf at any hour.
Tomorrow, he'll be at Joy's Deli and Cafe at 80 Wolf Road. It's in the back of an office building on Wolf Road. He'll have tins of some of our more popular teas, teaware, gift packages, and he'll be taking orders for holiday gifts. Any orders placed will be delivered to Joy's Cafe later on this week. We did this last year and it was very successful and very convenient for those who work in the Wolf Road area. He'll be there from about 8:30am through early afternoon.
Joe will also be At the Warehouse this coming weekend. He was there this past weekend and it was a great respite from our cold and dark house (our power was restored last night, thanks NIMO!). While we don't have our old teahouse available, we had a great spot near Bees on Earth and Sistah's. Don't know where we'll be set up this coming weekend, but wherever it is, we'll have our most popular teas and tea gifts. It was great to be back At the Warehouse, enjoying the creative energy and seeing how the market has evolved over time. It's filled to the brim with interesting salvage items, and if you want to shop local, unique and independent - At the Warehouse is local, unique, and independent up the wazoo.
On another note - for those afraid of the Lark (Lark Street, that is) - don't be. Lark Street is also bustling with creative energy, yummy goodies, and independently owned interesting shops. Finding parking is really not that difficult at all. During the day, there are almost always a couple of available spots right across the street from my shop, and although parking is more of a challenge later on, you can usually still find a spot within a block of The Good Leaf at any hour.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Winter Hours and Holiday Break
While it's cold and dark, The Good Leaf will be open Tuesday - Sunday from noon to 7 and will be closed on Monday. Please join us for a relaxing Sunday sipping tea by the faux yet surprisingly cozy fire.
On First Friday's, I'll be open later, and when the days get longer again, I plan to begin staying open later again.
I'll also be closed from Christmas thru New Years, reopening January 6th (or maybe sooner).
Sunday, December 7, 2008
GIFTEAS
Apologies for the tea pun; they're so hard to resist and I must occasionally indulge.
The Good Leaf is offering gift packages this season at every price point. Our sample tins make great stocking stuffers for as low as $2 each. You can check out some gift ideas on our website, http://www.goodleaftea.com/shopforgifts.html and even more options are available in the shop.
When you visit the shop, mention reading this blogpost and receive a free sample tin of one our our new blends with your $30 gift purchase. If I don't offer it to you, just remind me.
Tea makes a great holiday gift; it's practical, healthy, tasty, unique, consumable, and affordable. Consider gourmet tea for your family, friends, co-workers, teachers, employees, or that secret santa.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Shop Local Holiday Initiative
Capital District Local First and Metroland have teamed up to help support local shopping this holiday season. The idea is to pledge to spend at least $100 of your holiday budget at local, independently owned businesses. These businesses will offer you a pledge card, where you can log in your purchases. When you reach $100 - it happens pretty quickly, doesn't it? - send your pledge card into Metroland to become eligible for a drawing where you can win gift certificates to some of these local merchants. When you visit the Local First website, http://www.capitaldistrictlocalfirst.com/, you can find a listing of Local First members. The Good Leaf is a member and you can pick up your pledge card at our shop.
Local First recognizes that it may not be possible to do all your shopping locally, and I'm glad to hear that because I'm kind of really into Amazon, and would hate to feel like I should give it up. This is a guilt-free initiative.
Now I will proceed to my soapbox. If you can't stand that kind of stuff, stop reading now, and just drop by the shop and pick up your pledge card while you buy some really nice holiday tea gifts and warm up with a nice, smoky Lapsang Souchong. Click here to check out some of our gift package ideas.
Why shop local?
First, (I pulled this from the Local First website): One study showed that $68 out of every $100 dollars that is spent at a local business stays in the community versus $43 of every $100 spent at a chain. Any little part that we can play to help our economy is very important.
I think there are other reasons to shop locally as well. Local business owners are often willing to go the extra mile both to earn, and to keep your business. While you may find good customer service at your local box store, you're unlikely to find the dedication to exceptional service you'll experience at many independent businesses. It's nice to get to know your local merchants - there's a sense of community that you can feel a part of, and it's a powerful antidote to the anonymity that we experience sitting on the internet, closed off in our cubicles, texting and IMing, and being carried like cattle through the crowds at the mega-malls.
Sometimes it does cost more to shop local - not always, though. And in tough economic times like this, it can truly be a difficult choice. But I think we have to believe that the small choices we make each day will make a difference, and we all can't just continue to always take the easy way and wait for better times. Most of us are probably not part of the problem, but we can take small steps to be part of the solution. Change may be coming, but it's not coming without our help.
Finally, I've noticed that although I frequently struggle when faced with a choice between the "easier" path and the "better" path, I always feel pretty good about myself when I choose the "better" path. I can make the comparison because I haven't always taken the "better" path. It may not sound noble, but at the end of the day, it's all about feeling good about ourselves.
Oh, and one more thing - you can get really nice, interesting, unique and meaningful stuff from your local independent businesses, and that's just good clean fun.
Local First recognizes that it may not be possible to do all your shopping locally, and I'm glad to hear that because I'm kind of really into Amazon, and would hate to feel like I should give it up. This is a guilt-free initiative.
Now I will proceed to my soapbox. If you can't stand that kind of stuff, stop reading now, and just drop by the shop and pick up your pledge card while you buy some really nice holiday tea gifts and warm up with a nice, smoky Lapsang Souchong. Click here to check out some of our gift package ideas.
Why shop local?
First, (I pulled this from the Local First website): One study showed that $68 out of every $100 dollars that is spent at a local business stays in the community versus $43 of every $100 spent at a chain. Any little part that we can play to help our economy is very important.
I think there are other reasons to shop locally as well. Local business owners are often willing to go the extra mile both to earn, and to keep your business. While you may find good customer service at your local box store, you're unlikely to find the dedication to exceptional service you'll experience at many independent businesses. It's nice to get to know your local merchants - there's a sense of community that you can feel a part of, and it's a powerful antidote to the anonymity that we experience sitting on the internet, closed off in our cubicles, texting and IMing, and being carried like cattle through the crowds at the mega-malls.
Sometimes it does cost more to shop local - not always, though. And in tough economic times like this, it can truly be a difficult choice. But I think we have to believe that the small choices we make each day will make a difference, and we all can't just continue to always take the easy way and wait for better times. Most of us are probably not part of the problem, but we can take small steps to be part of the solution. Change may be coming, but it's not coming without our help.
Finally, I've noticed that although I frequently struggle when faced with a choice between the "easier" path and the "better" path, I always feel pretty good about myself when I choose the "better" path. I can make the comparison because I haven't always taken the "better" path. It may not sound noble, but at the end of the day, it's all about feeling good about ourselves.
Oh, and one more thing - you can get really nice, interesting, unique and meaningful stuff from your local independent businesses, and that's just good clean fun.
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