Go Green! Moerman Drying Solutions

Go Green - Let the Sun and the Breeze do the work! We are so excited to offer the complete line, by Moerman, of natural indoor and outdoor drying solutions. The Moerman Laundry Drying System helps protect our environment by using the sun and breeze to dry your laundry. Plus these products are fun, they are colorful, even a little sassy! Hang you clothes on pink clothes line, or use your outdoor dryer that is powder coated blue with a yellow clothesline. After all who says that laundry has to be boring?

Laundry is, by far, not our favorite subject but it is a necessity to deal with. When done the result is clean and dry clothes ready for the next go around. However, did you know that a typical electric dryer is one of the biggest energy consumers in your house, using up to 5 kilowatt-hours of energy? This energy hog puts an extra burden on the environment and on your budget. Moerman has provided us with an alternative, a complete range of indoor and outdoor dryers that are not only attractive, and state-of-the-art design but that are also affordable and environmentally wise.

Moerman is an industry leader, with their products being number one in Canada and Europe. The Legacy Outdoor Dryer is the best selling dryer in Canada. With their entry into the USA, you now have he opportunity to purchase these wonderfully designed, top-quality dryer products. Please enjoy!

She Said YES!

Boy did we run into a snag with Ed's order and had to jump into action to make a marriage happen! (Bet you did not know we offered those services?) The cheese board that he ordered was out of stock. He had this romantic proposal dinner planned and we just had to get him a cheese board. Without a thought, we upgraded him to the gorgeous Mariposa Cheese Board from Picnic Time and made sure it arrived before the weekend. And guess what?

"I just wanted to let you know that it is official! I proposed and she accepted! We had a very nice picnic at the beach in Los Angeles, and she loved the the NEW cheese board. As I went to "pull" the wine out of the basket, I gave her the ring and proposed. Thank You So Much for sending me that new board."

Let the Sunshine In

Here is a great picture from Mindi. She purchased a large sun by Regal Art & Gift. In her words, "I absolutely love it. It's fantastic. Thank you. I've a attached a photo for you. Now I can have sunshine all year long. "

It is one of the 100's of stunning and whimsical hand-painted metal wall hangings, standing sculptures, hanging hooks and key hooks we offer by Regal. Our customers, including Mindi, rave about how nice these items are. Of course we agree. We have suns, geckos, American flags, dolphins, cactus, kokopellis and more.

Meet Lucy

Meet Lucy . . . one of our most popular Shop At Clares team members! Folks visit our retail store just to see her. Barb even made a sign for the window, showing whether Lucy was in or out.

But Lucy is not all that innocent. She claimed one of our gorgeous sheepskin rugs as her own. And she decided that one of our beautiful picnic baskets from Picnic Time was her own personal chew toy. Janet's mean and nasty German Shepard, Teya, was sent in to teach this problem employee a lesson. Gosh, that worked real well! Teya and Lucy instantly bonded and now go for long walks together.

Janet had to put her financial foot down and Lucy is now working extra hours to pay for these items. Help Lucy get out of debt. For every Shop At Clares order made, we will apply 1 penny to Lucy!

Cow Sorting Anyone?

We had a customer call today inquiring about using one of our digital timers for scoring and timing cow sorting contests. I did everything I could to not laugh . . . but cow sorting? We are country folk here in PA and have lots of cows and are very aware of some events like cow tipping (which we do not at all endorse) but have never heard of cow sorting. Well, Janet does sort her"Cows On Parade" figurines, but we don't think that counts.

So after a few chuckles on my part (luckily our customer had a sense of humor), the customer explained that it was an extremely popular event. There are 10 cows, each with a number on their back and the purpose is to get the cows from one pen to the another, in order from 1 -10 within 30 seconds. So I googled cow sorting and found a great U-Tube video of just this very sport. If you are interested check it out.

Need a New Trashcan?

So how about needing a new trashcan. One of our customers ordered a top of the line, Polder outdoor trashcan from us because her son used the old one as a mode of transportation. He decided to curl up inside and tried to do a barrel roll. He's the one sitting in the picture, but check-out the 18 month old. Oh boy is she in trouble!!

She says she has 4 boys and just takes it all in stride. Kudos to her! She did share a bit of wisdom with us and we think the quote is worth repeating:

"If this is the worst thing that happens to me today...it's still a really good day!" You've just got to figure out ...how big a deal things are. How much...in the big picture...it really matters!

On the Road Again

This customer's story is not as funny as it is cool. A customer called and ordered one of our wide Whitney Design ironing board covers for his wife. He was particularly concerned about how long it would take to deliver, so I was thinking it was a present. However, that was not the case. They have no permanent home, but instead live in a travel trailer and he needed to determine where to tell us to ship it to. Gives new meaning to the phrase travel iron.

They are not retired. His job used to keep him traveling in airplanes and hotels almost all of the time. So they pulled up roots and moved into a travel trailer. No more planes and hotels. He takes his home and his wife with him as he travels around the country on business.

Happy to say we shipped the cover and they will receive it before they pack up and moves to next location. Just can't wait to get on the road again . . .

St. Patrick's Day - one of our Favorites

Ahh the month of March. March has one of our favorite holidays, St. Patrick's Day. Clare is about as Irish as you can get. After all, County Clare is one of the great counties in Ireland. St Patty's Day is such a nice holiday because you really do not have to decorate or purchase gifts (but feel free to purchase gifts at our store) or make a big dinner. You do get to drink green beer and act silly, watch parades and pretend you are Irish, even if you are not.

Saint Patrick's day, March 17, is in honor of the Patron Saint of Ireland, who brought Christianity to the Emerald Isles, as Ireland is known. It is truly a day of celebrating Irish history, ancestry, traditions and customs. Did You Know? Over 34 million Americans are of Irish descent. That's almost nine times the population of Ireland!

We do not offer anything that is made in Ireland, but we do have many customers who live there. Our Irish friends purchase all sorts of items from Hollywood Fashion Tape to Day-Timer Planners. We would love to offer things that are made in Ireland, but it is not that easy to make an Irish connection.

Janet's daughter, Michelle, and Michelle's significant other are traveling to Ireland in April. They are mixing business with pleasure, lucky souls. Janet has asked Michelle to see what is interesting to resell here in the USA. You never know? Maybe soon we will have that Irish connection, so check back in our store periodically.