ArtsWestchester wants to let you know about an exciting celebration of art coming this October in the City of White Plains.
The 5-day Serious Fun Arts Festival will feature 15 new artworks, a Gallery Hop, Live painting demos, free concerts, a Headliner Concert Celebration, an Art Fair, plus DJs and pop-up dance performances. The full 5-day Schedule of events is here: https://artswestchester.org/serious-fun-arts-fest/.
We all deserve some ‘Serious Fun’ and there’s no better way than to party with more than 200 artists during this festival next month!
The Serious Fun Arts Festival will brighten the City of White Plains this fall with art activities ranging from concerts to live mural painting, a public art walking tour to dancing in the streets. There will be sculpture, performance art, massive public art unveilings by renowned artists, fun family art-making, and more throughout the downtown. Don’t miss Sunday’s headliner concert with Sammy Rae and the Friends. And reserve your spot for Saturday’s FREE Serious Fun Block Party, with an eclectic mix of six-inspired performances!
#seriousfunartsfest!
Image Credit: StockSnap from Pixabay.
Starting a retail store is still an attractive proposition, even with countless online competitors being set up regularly. The trick to this is knowing how to compete, and that all starts before you even open your doors. You’ll need to know how to make starting a retail store successful.
As obvious as that is, it can be difficult to get right. While you’ll naturally put a significant amount of effort into this, sometimes you mightn’t know what to focus on. Using a few retail startup tips could be more than enough to help with this. Three could be more than useful and should have an impact from the start.
How To Make Starting A Retail Store More Successful: 3 Top Tips
1. Get The Basics Right
For any retail store to be successful, it needs to get the basics right. From the best credit card terminals to having a business plan and sales strategy, quite a bit could fall into this. By making sure you get these perfected early, you can make opening your retail store as successful as possible.
Starting on these months before you plan on opening your retail store is recommended. It’ll make sure the opening and subsequent months go as successfully as possible. While that means spending an almost exhaustive amount of time on planning, you’ll reap the rewards when it’s finally open.
Even software plays a large role in this.
2. Get The Right Suppliers
You’ll naturally need suppliers when you’re starting your retail store. You shouldn’t simply settle for the first ones you come across, however. Make sure you find the right suppliers for your business, as they’ll end up offering much better terms and conditions.
That’s especially true over the long term, as you can build up trust and a track record with them. Make sure they’re able to meet your needs as you grow to prevent any problems in the future. By doing your due diligence, you shouldn’t have any supply chain issues as you grow and expand.
3. Think Online
Starting a retail store doesn’t have to mean choosing between brick-and-mortar stores and their online counterparts. It could be worth having somewhat of a hybrid. Having online offerings for your store could be enough to draw in more customers, as well as to cater to existing customers better.
You don’t even need to develop a full eCommerce store to take advantage of this. Even something as simple as an online catalog can be enough to gain some interest and foot traffic. Making your website actually work for you makes sure you’ll find and attract more customers.
How To Make Starting A Retail Store Successful: Wrapping Up
Figuring out how to make starting a retail store successful seems complicated and overwhelming. While there’s naturally some work involved, it shouldn’t be overwhelming. A few simple retail startup tips will more than help with making it easier.
Nailing the basics, getting the right suppliers, and even thinking online can all help more than you’d expect. You’ll see them pay off dividends in the long term, making them worth focusing on.
The New York–based brand is expanding into Connecticut with a Greenwich scoop shop, marking the debut of its first suburban location.
Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, the nationally beloved brand known for its made-from-scratch dairy and vegan ice creams, will debut its first Connecticut location on October 1. Located on the iconic Greenwich Avenue in Greenwich, the store is the brand’s first suburban scoop shop. The launch also marks a return to its roots for co-founders Ben and Pete Van Leeuwen who are Greenwich natives and whose ice cream journey began in town twenty years ago.
Ben and Pete became ice cream entrepreneurs back in 2002. The brothers rented a Good Humor truck and drove it all around Greenwich for two summers. With the money he made, Ben went backpacking around Asia and Europe and found himself most excited by the food he discovered and the revelation that good food was more accessible in other parts of the world. His travels inspired the idea for an ice cream truck serving good ice cream. Not long after, Van Leeuwen was born in the form of a yellow scoop truck on the streets of NYC in 2008. Its French-style ice cream (made with more than double the amount of egg yolks as standard ice cream) quickly gained a loyal following, and Van Leeuwen has since expanded into storefronts in New York, California, Colorado, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Texas, as well as grocery stores across the country, including Stop & Shop and Whole Foods. Van Leeuwen’s goal — to make good ice cream that makes you feel good — also extends to its dairy-free options, which are made with simple recipes and choice ingredients.
The expansive menu features more than 30 signature flavors including Honeycomb, Pistachio (made with Pistachios sourced from Mount Etna in Sicily), Marionberry Cheesecake (made with vine-ripened berries from Oregon farm partner Stahlbush Island Farms), and Earl Grey Tea (made with Rishi Tea), in addition to custom sundaes, handmade ice cream sandwiches, root beer floats, milkshakes and pints to-go. The company is also known for its extensive selection of vegan flavors made with oat and cashew milk, including Churros & Fudge and Strawberry Shortcake.
“We are so excited to bring Van Leeuwen to our hometown,” said Ben Van Leeuwen, co-founder and CEO. “It’s really special that our first suburban location takes us full circle to the place where we first brought smiles to people’s faces through ice cream back in 2002 before the brand existed. We look forward to sharing good ice cream, made with good ingredients, with the community where we grew up.”
Known nationally for creative seasonal and limited-edition collaboration flavors such as Kraft Macaroni & Cheese and BIGFACE Coffee Affogato in partnership with NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler, Van Leeuwen will also serve an exclusive limited-edition flavor at its Greenwich location. The brand has teamed up with local French bakery Raphaël’s to create a flavor inspired by their Canelé pastry – a brown sugar ice cream with vanilla and rum notes with pieces of Canelé from Raphaël’s. In addition, Van Leeuwen’s Fall seasonal specials, Pumpkin Cheesecake and Dark Chocolate Vegan Pumpkin Pie, will be available until December 1.
Opening day hours on October 1 are 12pm-11pm. In celebration of the launch, the shop will offer $1 scoops of all ice cream on opening day from 12pm-4pm.
Van Leeuwen’s Greenwich scoop shop is located at 375 Greenwich Avenue and will be open Monday through Friday from 12 p.m. to 11 p.m and from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Guests can enjoy their treats at the scoop shop or order pints for takeout or delivery.
ABOUT VAN LEEUWEN ICE CREAM Founded in 2008, Van Leeuwen Ice Cream started out of a yellow scoop truck on the streets of NYC by Ben Van Leeuwen, Pete Van Leeuwen and Laura O’Neill. With a mission to make good ice cream from good ingredients that makes you feel good, Van Leeuwen Ice Cream has innovated beyond the original dairy recipe with vegan ice cream and ice cream bars, unique and eclectic flavors, and more. With 33 scoop shops across the country, Van Leeuwen ice cream is also available for purchase in grocery stores and nationwide shipping. To keep up with everything Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, follow the brand on Instagram @vanleeuwenicecream or visit www.vanleeuwenicecream.com.
Hey Westchester and Greenwich Peeps- Rent the Runway is coming to your area! Shop pre-loved designer clothing, handbags, jewelry, and accessories up to 90% OFF* original retail price.
Click HERE to enter to win $100 at the Greenwich Sale!
With over 12,000 units to choose from, there is something for everyone on your list–plus don’t forget to treat yourself to this amazing assortment of designer products.
- Shop hundreds of pre-loved designer clothing, handbags, and accessories for up to 90% off retail.
- Think top designers like: Saylor, Ronny Kobo, ba&sh, AllSaints, Iro, Parker, Nicole Miller, GANNI, Sea New York, and more!
Dates:
September 17th–October 9th
Hours:
Monday – Saturday: 11AM – 7PM
Sunday: 12PM – 6PM
The Shops at Northbridge:
200 Greenwich Avenue, Suite B
Greenwich, CT 068031
*All sales are final.
This week’s book club Monday choice is one that you will not be able to put down at all. The Godmothers by Camille Aubray is a suspenseful novel. Here is the story….
Meet the Godmothers: Filomena is a clever and resourceful war refugee with a childhood secret. Amie, a beautiful and dreamy French girl from upstate New York, escapes an abusive husband for a new life. Lucy, a tough-as-nails Irish lass, runs away from a strict girls’ home to become a nurse. And the glamorous Petrina, the family’s only daughter, graduates with honors from Barnard College despite a past trauma that nearly caused a family scandal.
All four women become godmothers to one another’s children, finding hope and shelter in this prosperous family and their sumptuous Greenwich Village home.
But the women’s secret pasts lead to unforeseen consequences and betrayals that threaten to unravel all their carefully laid plans. And when they must unexpectedly contend with notorious gangsters like Frank Costello and Lucky Luciano, the four Godmothers learn to put aside their differences so that they can work together to protect their loved ones and find their own unique paths to the futures they’ve always dreamed of. – Amazon.com
For more information or to purchase this book, click HERE.
Just in time for a little Sunday Shopping! Here are new picks for fall fashion. I have included some dresses, a great pair of pants, and even a few fab tops. I also added ways to wear everything by showing outfit ideas for some of the pieces highlighted below. Click the descriptions for more information on each item. Happy Shopping!!!
- These sneakers were a best seller for months in a row..Here is a new style and color. They are selling fast!
- Love this dress for Fall.
- Looking for a great pair of black jeans/pants…This is IT!!!!
- Such a great top. Love the green.
- Looking for a cute fall dress…..check this out.
- You can never go wrong with a black dress.
- This leather dress is perfection.
- A peplum top dresses up any outfit. Love the color.
- Also, love this leather accent sweater! Very Chic.
- Such a cute PJ set.
- You know I love a chic looking flat.
- You cannot go wrong with these. A great fall shoe.