As summer comes to a close, schools are revving up for another year of knowledge! I fondly miss the days of shopping for new clothes and dorm decor. Even if you won’t be hitting the books this semester, don’t feel like you can’t get into the back to school spirit. Spice up your desk at work or school with a spitball dartpad and these super awesome Tetris sticky notes…they’re a sure-fire way to keep you procrastinating for hours. And when you do finally get around to starting that paper [at 4 am, probably] you’ll be needing copious amounts of coffee, so fill up your Rubik’s Cube mug with your favorite beverage and get to work! And if you just so happen to spill said beverage on your notes, there’s no need to fear if you have a Rite in the Rain journal ’cause they’re water resistant! Hooray! Of course you’ll eventually need more excuses to put off work, so try making a Scrabble bulletin board and photo frame; they’re super cute and customizable! You can even carry all your supplies in one of our Cambridge or Charlottesville totes while simultaneously showing off some school pride!
Good luck with the new school year everyone!
It’s that time of year again: trade show season! From August 14th-18th Maptote will be at New York International Gift Fair (booth 8139) and then on to Pool in Vegas from August 22nd-24th (booth 313). If you’ll be at the show(s), be sure to stop by our booth, say hello, and see all the new and exciting products we’ve just released.
Don’t let our simple cotton totes fool you, a lot of work goes into each and every one of our Maptotes. We personally source our fabric. All our totes are made with US cotton. The fabric is cut, sewn and printed local to us here in Brooklyn, NY. We love visiting our factories so that we can watch our products being made and know exactly who is making them. We’re very hands on through the entire process, even if it makes us crazy sometimes but we wouldn’t have it any other way. The above images are a sneak peek of the journey a Maptote takes (design, cutting, sewing, printing and shipping) to make it onto your shoulder. Enjoy!
For our next Store Spotlight, we head to Noon Designs in San Diego, California! Since opening in 2009, Noon Designs has been crafting its own beautiful array of hand-made jewelry and paper goods while also carrying other amazing products. Owners Nora Alexander and Maie Webb serve as Noon’s jewelry designer and graphic designer, respectively. We first met Nora and Maie at a big trade show in Las Vegas. Their booth was across from ours and we quickly became friends. To our delight, they even purchased our items for their store.
A big thanks to Jessica Madore for taking the time to answer our questionnaire!
Q: How would you describe your store’s aesthetic?
A: Whimsical, hand-made, DIY, nature inspired with an east coast vibe.
Q: Any fun or interesting facts?
A: A lot of our in-store customers don’t realize that we wholesale our jewels to over 75 shops across the country!
Q: What’s your neighborhood like? Why do you love it?
A: Being east coast natives, we just love the weather here in Southern California. San Diego’s laid back Ocean Beach neighborhood is unlike any other place in the states, plus working hard isn’t so bad when you live in such a beautiful place!
Q: When not in your store, where is the next most likely place you’d be?
A: Beach, Bar, or Bed.
Q: What’s your favorite restaurant in the area?
A: Sessions Public, Point Loma/Ocean Beach.
Q: What’s the one thing someone “must do” when they visit your area?
A: Watch the sunset at Sunset Cliffs in Ocean Beach.
Q: Whats next for you/your store…. any upcoming sales/events?
A: We try to have a party every other month or so – catered, cocktails, discounts…the whole deal. We just had a soiree at both our Ocean Beach and Solana Beach locations so nothing is planned at this time, but you can join our email list to learn about any in store or online promotions.
Q: What blogs/magazines do you follow?
A: Design*Sponge, Real Simple, Green Wedding Shoes, San Diego Magazine.
Q: Where do you find all of your products?
A: We make a lot of our products (jewelry, paper goods, glassware, perfumes, pillows) and try to carry mostly local artist, friends, friends-of-friends. We stick to all hand-made goods. We also use Etsy to find help find new products we love.
You can visit one of Noon Designs’ retail stores in San Diego or SoLa. Also, find them online at their website, Facebook, and Twitter!
Photos courtesy of John McCauley
