The first big snowstorm of the year is hitting us, and we will be closed today, Saturday the 21st of January.

January  21, 2012

Yelp Reviews

Wow, two new reviews, and both with 5 stars!!!

Esther from Rockport wrote:
"This is one of my favorite stores in Rockport. Always has new stuff...and a lot of great toys. We shopped there on Christmas for my son and found everything we needed and the prices are fair, not inflated as in other stores. I highly recommend that friends and visitors go in!"

Greg from Boston:
"This place kicks ass!   Well, it kicks ass as much as a stationary store can actually kick ass. great selection of paper and the such!  some cute stuff!  Definitely worth checking it out if you're in town!"

Thank you so much to Greg and  Esther, to see all reviews go to Yelp, Paper Mermaid

Happy New Year to all of you! 

December 30, 2011

All our Calendars and Holiday Items are now 40% OFF

 

January & February

Open Fridays and Saturdays

11:00 am to 4:00 pm

December 30th

Shopping small, shopping local

 In this Sunday's Boston Globe travel section the writer Jonathan Levitt writes about a shop in another New England town, Portland Maine: "...it is the realization of a philosophy and a sensibility. To shop here is to be guided by a specialist, somebody who can make sense of all of that would otherwise be just out of reach. This is true of any great shop. The best of them can feel like a cabinet of curiosities with shopkeepers refining and curating, editing through the seemingly infinite so that we have a head start."

While people often talk about the benefits of shopping from independent retailers in terms of more personal service, or greater economic benefit to the community, they rarely speak of what Mr Levitt has so accurately described. Small shops are mini cosmos, each entirely unique because each is curated and cared for by one or two individuals whose goal it is to select and present the best (by whatever standards they choose) of what they find out there. 

A successful store is like a good collage, where each item is as interesting as the experience as a whole. And each store offers a different atmosphere or tone.  One may evoke a seaside cottage, while another transports you to Tuscany, one may smell of musty old treasures, while another is crisp with fresh lavender. We enjoy shopping because we travel into these little worlds, discovering our own taste and interest as we experience those of the shopkeepers we visit.

I applaud Mr Levitt for recognizing the uniqueness of shopping in Portland Maine, I would venture that Cape Ann offers it's own set of characters and treasures. And to support them is not just good for the local economy, it's fun!

November 1st, 2011