it is written in...

Amelia....

2010-10-05T11:25:00.000-07:00

made the wedding day of her parents such a treat. Here she shows off the bridal bouquet and look at those eyes! She has both of our hearts all wrapped up.

Congratulations to Dale and Marta!

I want....

2010-09-07T12:14:00.000-07:00

these beautiful ceramic containers with hand turned walnut closures. These were spied at the New York Show and might possibly be coming in for fall.

Speaking of fall, I know it's a little premature but we are very excited about all of the new merchandise that will start pouring in any day now. Lots of beautiful reds, browns, greens and a little orange to spice up the mix.

Black + White and.....

2010-09-01T11:27:00.000-07:00

I am back!

I needed some time off from something and the blog took one for the team.

Anyway, I am getting back into the swing of things and will be posting often.

In the picture above are some amazing new designs from a company we work with a lot. We got really excited about building fall around these ( and a few other styles ) and I think the shop will be wonderful come fall.

Oh you like me, you really like me......

2010-08-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

We are so happy to get this post on the New York Times T Magazine blog. I feel like Sally Field!!

Thanks Pilar!

http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/12/shop-n-run-cursive-new-york/

Shop ‘N’ Run | Cursive New York

DESIGN

By PILAR VILADAS

| AUGUST 12, 2010, 1:18 PM

M.K. WongCursive New York in Grand Central Terminal.

In theory, I love buying hostess gifts. It’s fun to think of the perfect thing to give someone who has invited you for lunch or a weekend in the country. But exactly where to go and when to get there are questions that invariably bring out the procrastinator in me. Therefore, even when no one has invited me anywhere, I breathe a sigh of relief whenever I pass by Cursive New York, a small but perfectly formed shop in Grand Central Terminal.

Courtesy of Cursive New YorkA decoupage paperweight by John Derian.

The shop, which opened last summer, is an offshoot of the five-year-old independent boutique of the same name at ABC Home. Its 424 square feet are stocked with a stylish, witty array of decorative accessories, jewelry, paper products and other things to snap up as you’re dashing for the train. Cursive has a nice selection of John Derian decoupage plates and paperweights (approximately $60 to $175), for example, and chic enclosure cards ($22) that are a different color on each side. I could not resist the red/hot-pink combo, and the first time I enclosed one with a gift, I heard more about the card than I did about the present. And there are sets of letterpress coasters — eight for $16 — that spell out, among other things, “cocktail” or “cheers!!”

Cursive’s transportation-adjacent location has resulted in “insane” business, says Michael Schultz, who co-owns both stores with Douglas Duncan. And the customers aren’t just guests like me. “We get a lot of commuters — husbands buying anniversary gifts for their wives on their way home,” Schultz says. He and Duncan are looking for a third location; stay tuned.

Happy Anniversary,

2010-06-01T13:25:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary!!!
Today Cursive at GCT turned ONE year old, oh my baby is growing up~
I have to say thank you to everyone we have worked with, the clients who support us and all of our friends and family who stood by us as we opened our new shop in the worst economic times in a decade.
The year has flown by and I am looking forward to what the future has in store.

Your ship....

2010-05-19T08:50:00.000-07:00

has come in! Well maybe a little wishful thinking on our part but good vibes are always a good thing.

I just spent the last 3 days shopping for new goodies at the Stationery Show, so I am a little exhausted and blurry eyed. The good news is that we will be receiving a lot of new items from existing vendors along with some very good new designers.

"It was like Island pricing...."

2010-05-05T05:56:00.000-07:00

no that that island.
The other day as I was walking up the steps from the subway I overheard two young women talking about the Brooklyn Flee. The one says to the other " I had a great time there but it was like Island pricing".. of course she was referring to the Island of Manhattan. I chuckled to myself at the irony of these two ladies carrying their Marc Jacobs bags and doing their best Olsen twin styling, complaining that Brooklyn Flee had the audacity to approximate Manhattan retail.
Listen up folks... Manhattan real estate is out of control expensive!!! So expect to pay top dollar any place you shop. It's a fact, so get over it and enjoy the island life!

Mommie Dearest??

2010-05-03T08:09:00.000-07:00

Douglas and I did a quick window in honor of all mothers... the good ( mother teresa ) the bad ( kate gosselin ) and the ugly ( dina lohan ). The black and white overall look of this window is something new for us and I am quite happy with the results.

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers, especially ours!!!

I love you Mom(s).

Happy birthday to...

2010-04-07T06:44:00.000-07:00

Douglas! You're never to old for a cake with a lion candle on top of it.
Thanks to Heath and Stephen for a wonderful weekend and for being such great friends.

Like a prayer....

2010-04-02T06:04:00.000-07:00

I am not the most religious person on this planet but I do love a good church. The one above is from a small lake side hamlet in Guatemala. That's Douglas and my dear friend Blake peering inside the open wooden doors. It may not look like much but it was by far the largest structure in the village and you could tell it is well used and loved. Faith, Hope, Devotion, all things it takes to make it in this world.
Keeping the faith.... no matter what that happens to be!

rain, rain...

2010-03-29T08:59:00.000-07:00

go away!

Up front and....

2010-03-20T13:27:00.000-07:00

personal. Having the front location inside of ABC is a privilege and something I take great pride in. The one drawback is that our shop is in front of the Broadway windows and in order for the visual team to install and un-install them we have to open the wall the constitutes the entire back of the shop. Usually that means I have to be there at 8 ish to remove all breakable items from the shelves and supervise the removal of the wall pieces. The one cool thing is the visual (above) of being able to see onto the street from inside the shop. Sometimes when I look out the hole in the wall and onto Broadway I can't believe we have a shop (2) in NYC! It's a long way from Idaho.

Bonanza!

2010-03-16T11:14:00.000-07:00

Wowza, look at all the new merch that arrived while we were gone. In all of these boxes are new greeting card collections, lacquered boxes with dots, o check journals, Japanese tape, k studio embroidered pouches, yellow owl workshop and Poketo...whew that's a lot of good stuff!
I'd better get to work!!!!

Welcome back....

2010-03-15T17:58:00.000-07:00

Carter? No just me!

This is a view from a small motorboat on lake Atitlan, Guatemala and yes, that is a volcano. We had the most relaxing and rejuvenating vacation we have ever experienced and it was in no small part to the shops staff. A big thank you for running the shops so well and not e mailing or texting for 10 days... a miracle!

Lot's more to come.

Into the GAP

2010-03-02T05:44:00.000-08:00

So last night on my way home from ABC something happened that hadn't happened in a long time. As I was walking down lower 5th I was overcome with a retail urge, in the window of the GAP I saw this shirt, a perfect shirt, could it be in a GAP? I hadn't been into a GAP in about 10 years but from what I saw I could of bought 4 or 5 shirts, a few pair of jeans and maybe a jacket or two.

Could it be that the GAP is back? I had read all about Patrick Robinson's make over of the line but the ads and the still hideous store designs hadn't lured me back in but the clothes certainly deserve a second look. A perfectly faded, crinkled and fitted chambray shirt for 49 bucks, just what the doctor ordered! I'll be wearing my new shirt in the evenings as i sit and contemplate the world in Guatemala later this week.

When it rains it snows...

2010-02-26T09:03:00.000-08:00

... woke up to this. Being from Idaho I love the snow but sometimes it would be nice to sleep in and watch it fall but when you're the owner of a small business a "snow day" is not in the cards! Fortunately though I can walk to the shops so our poor car (above) can have a "snow day" and I don't have to shovel and scrape to get to work.

When it rains....

2010-02-24T09:38:00.001-08:00

it pours and starts fires! Yes once again a little rain has caused the lighting tracks to burst into flames, sparks and lots of smoke!!! Everything is fine except for the fact that half of the shop is in the dark but no serious damage, thank goodness.
People, if you think that owning your own business is all cheery and wonderful you haven't been paying attention to this blog! You never get a rest, never get to take your mind off the business and hardly ever get to just check out. We are doing just that, checking out, next week as we will be in Guatemala and will have no cell or e mail access, oh a dream come true!!! I thank my lucky stars we have great employees who can manage without me! But, please if your listening oh benevolent one, don't let this happen again while I am away.... PLEASE!

Disappointing reading...

2010-02-10T06:36:00.000-08:00

So today since it's a blizzard outside and the shop is slow { see above picture of GCT at morning rush hour, it's NEVER this empty!} I decided to catch up on some blog reading.. and I wish I hadn't! You see I came across something that made me sad, not tears sad but sad non the less. I find it funny how people don't understand that it's all a collaborative effort and respecting everyone who has helped you to get you were you are today is a big part of the picture. Some people haven't the manners or self awareness to see the big picture and are only into self... it just makes me sad!!!

So I thought I'd acknowledge those who have helped me to get to were I am professionally today.

First: Pier One Imports for giving me a job during the worst recession that California had ever seen. I learned what I didn't want to do with my life!

Then: Lisa Graves for letting me intern to become a jeweler and then handing me the reins to her table top empire. It changed my life in more ways than one.

To: Douglas Duncan for believing in my talents and letting me run free.

To: 280 Design for letting me launch them and expand my horizons.

To: Frederic and Alan who pushed me to explore the world and led to, Jean Rouget, A.Purr.A, L' Atlier Des Tuilleries, Marie Papier and all the great years of collaboration and wonderful lunches.

To: Sesame Letterpress, together we changed the color pallet of greeting cards for the better.

To: ABC for believing in my retail talents even though they didn't exist in the real world.

And finally to the future creative and fearless people who will cross my path... here's to you!

2010-02-03T08:26:00.000-08:00

I know the I phone photos are not the best but I need some sort of visual in order to blog!

For those of you who don't know, Douglas and I have run our wholesale company, Motel Deluxe, together for almost 14 years now. This past fall we decided that the shops needed me full time and that I would be pulling back from my duties at Motel to focus on Cursive. Well, if you know anything about wholesale companies you know that trade shows are a huge part of the business, and this season is the first that I am not working in the booth! It was kinda weird not to have the interaction with our great customers that I have worked with and talked to for so many years but it has been wonderful to be able to focus on the buy for the shops... each shop is so different in temperament and each of our little monsters needs to be fed differently in order for them to grow...
I'll fill you in on the new collections later this week.

Common thread...

2010-01-29T10:00:00.000-08:00

So I was going to post this yesterday but got caught up in the business of running a business and forgot. Anyway, as it would happen we had an incident of shoplifting today and guess what she stole...? Yes, the thread in the picture! It was such an interesting thing to steal, mini spools of vintage thread, not exactly a classic shoplifting item, although I do understand it's sparkly allure!
One can see such incidents one of two ways, either it's a slap in the face and it ruins your day or you can take in stride and roll with the punches. Today I turned the other cheek and seemed to see the humanness in it all... boy, am I going soft?

Love is in the air...

2010-01-27T06:09:00.000-08:00

I know I've been out of the blogging loop lately but sometimes you just don't have anything to say...
This morning I came into the shop after not being here for 4 days and became overwhelmed by my wonderful staff. The shop was exactly the way it should be. I feel so lucky to have found great, talented and motivated people to share the shops with! Of course this isn't a new thing , from the first day of opening the ABC shop almost 5 years ago I have had the pleasure of being supported by wonderful people who LOVE the shops as much as I do.
I feel lucky!

2009-12-13T18:58:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things about living in New York is viewing the Bergdorf Goodman windows, especially at the Holidays. They are always so well crafted and imaginative , I would love to work in that craft room. Who else could make polar bears out of white fringe and crystals: Nanook of the North, sign me up!

This is one of the side windows so let me tell you the 5th Ave windows are AMAZING, I'll try and get a few more shots this week.

Oh and a little bit of gossip; my friend Heath and I went to see A Single Man at the Paris theatre and who was there standing in line but Carolina Herrera, she looked amazing and not at all fussy or pulled. See we are all just people!

2009-12-03T18:41:00.000-08:00

So I am back into a blogging frame of mind, so here we go.

Yesterday we received a new order of beautiful glass and we promptly remerched the center table. One of the fantastic pieces is a contour dish, it made THE most wonderful display for a collection of metallic leather travel accessories. Sometimes everything just comes together in the most amazingly easy way and I love my job.

2009-12-01T06:59:00.000-08:00

I know it's been quite a while since I have added to the blog but here we go again.

The pictures of the front window never come out looking that good but here is the Holiday window that went in last Tuesday.

Elena, who works at GCT, came up with the witty verse and it works wonderfully. I'll try and get better pictures but you get the gist.

2009-11-10T14:34:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the long delay in writing. Both of our moms visited this fall and I fell behind in my everyday life. Retail is never boring! If it's not one thing it's 40 thousand other things. Sometimes there is not enough time in the day to do everything that needs my eyeballs.
Anyway, Q4 is here and about to bust out. The theme is going to be black and white, because, well I that's the mood I am in... there is more white than black but the contrast should be striking especially at ABC were we just hung more amazing black and gold fixtures by Tom Dixon. These combined with the antiqued silver garlands streaming down from the ceiling should be quite something. Stop by and check it out next week.

2009-10-22T10:45:00.000-07:00

I am huge fan of hand blown glass. I personally have collected it for years and have spent many a flight holding onto my newest piece as to not have it broken in the overhead bin. The collection above is from an L.A. designer. They are sensitive, functional and not at all dated, even though they reference the 50's. Anyone who appreciates the special quality that real hand blown glass has would delight in one, or better yet three of these sitting on the credenza.

2009-10-16T09:29:00.000-07:00

I took this picture of Mom at the New York City Public Library. You may or may not know that the Lions in front are named Patience and Fortitude. I asked my Mom which one she wanted to be photographed with and she said " I already have Patience". It's funny because just last year a good friend of mine was in town and he asked me the same question and I answered " Fortitude I have, I need Patience".
Anyway, next week it's back to shop talk!

2009-10-08T10:58:00.000-07:00

photo courtesy of M.K.

So meet my Mom, Judy. Mom is here for her first visit in 10 years!!!! Needless to say she is not fond of traveling so having her here is a great treat. As you can see we are enjoying ourselves. I love my MOM!

2009-10-07T12:06:00.000-07:00

Humpty and Eggberta are hanging out in the window this fall.... It's really to bad that the window is so hard to photograph because this new one is really great! Douglas and I saw these wonderful handmade figures at the NY Gift and this window just popped into our heads. We love a double entendre!!

2009-10-06T11:51:00.000-07:00

A quick sneak peek at the new window...... more to come but I have to go to the airport and pick up my MOM!!!!!

2009-10-05T11:13:00.000-07:00

2010...
We just received my favorite new item from the Stationery Show. It's a beautiful letterpress calendar featuring what else but Birds! Each month is more beautiful than the next. The designers really know how to use the subject matter to a wonderful effect. The really cool thing is that the calendar part is perforated and can be torn off so the bird can be used as a card {they come with matching envelopes}, talk about a good value!
We sell a lot of calendars in Q4 and I know these will "fly" off the shelves.

2009-10-02T09:11:00.000-07:00

The road to...
I / we have been self employed for almost 15 years, now this is a double edged sword and I am by no means recommending to tackle this for yourself. Having spent the last umpteen years trying to avoid being stuck into the mold of the corporate world , so why now am I being suffocated under the weight of corporate American bull? I've been struggling to keep my head above water while the totally inefficient structure that rules my existence has been doing it's best to pull me under. I can't understand how anyone can flourish under a ridiculous amount of do nothing, cover your own back, lie, cheat and steel environment that pervades corporate America. No one takes responsibility in this culture and NO one has any sort of bedside manner or sense of customer service. What I don't get is that my whole work experience is trying to make everyone happy and do the right thing {now this isn't always possible mind you} but it's non existent in corporate culture... first dodge, then pass it off and when that doesn't work become a complete ***hole and harass until they back down. Sweet world isn't it! Well, I am OVER IT and am about to push back.
So the road? It's going my way!!!

2009-09-30T09:56:00.000-07:00

So we are back from the cabin and desperately trying to hold onto the relaxed vacation

attitude... so far so good.

As you can see from the above photo, the cabin is an inspiration inside. It's filled with posters from museum exhibitions dating back to the 60's. I love the mix, it's so personal and the juxtaposition between all of the different exhibits is visually stunning.

2009-09-21T12:02:00.000-07:00

Douglas, Noodle and I are leaving for a much needed and DESERVED vacation tomorrow. We will be in San Francisco for one fast paced day and then we head for the hills to our secluded mountain cabin. No phone, no Internet, barely any radio~ it's heaven !!!! Someday in my fantasy world we'll be spending 2-3 weeks every August here, how sweet would that be?!

See you again next Wednesday.

2009-09-21T07:58:00.000-07:00

So this last weekend was almost entirely devoted to Jewels! I finally got around to redesigning the Jeanine Payer case @ ABC and it looks beautiful. I covered the bottom of the vintage case with a natural silk lined from The Silk Trading Co. It took me about 2 hours to cover all of the different pieces with the linen {making sure to neatly fold over all corners}. The funny thing is that it took only about 15 minutes to install the linen risers and merchandise the case. The way I work is that I already know how it's going to go before I start, so the actual installation is a breeze.
On Sunday MK and I attended the D&A show and specifically focused on the Jewelery collection for GCT. I am sure all of you know that jewelry is a strong category and attention must be paid to the selection and point of view for the offering. We put a great new group of designers together with a strong focus of gemstones, this will compliment the existing collection of silver and gold but not compete with it.
Most of the new collections will be in the shop by the first week of October.

2009-09-18T08:14:00.000-07:00

So Fashion... For those of you who don't know I am a huge fashion fan, you might not be able to tell by the way I dress, but I LOVE fashion.

This picture was taken at the Peter Som presentation Douglas and I were invited to on Wednesday {Cursive donated cute little boxed papers for all of the models}. For those of you with really good eyes that is Brad from The Rachel Zoe Project looking over the spring lineup.

I am a strong believer that most things follow fashion's direction and I most certainly use it for the shop buys, IE: Silver metallic jackets = silver metallic crackle journals and albums.
The easiest way to stay relevant and a head of the curve is to keep your eyes peeled to what the people on the streets are styling, read odd little foreign magazines (and by read I mean look at the photos) and travel as much as you can.
I feel lucky to live in the city that encourages personal style and experimentation.... if you didn't already know the 80's are very back!!!

2009-09-15T12:18:00.000-07:00

We just received the samples of our new shoppers, they are essentially the same but different. We decided to update the look of the bags to something more modern. I am loving the built in handle, so much cleaner.
It's hard to believe we went through 2500 small handled bags in 3 months. Crazy!

2009-09-09T10:38:00.000-07:00

We added these florescent lights behind the JD Étagère, it looks really cool and ads a interesting effect to the all glass cabinet. This picture doesn't do it justice but I never professed to be a great photographer.

2009-09-04T10:34:00.000-07:00

So here is something cute {noodle} before I talk about something and little ugly.

In reading my daily blogs I came across something that has been on my mind for a while. You see, there is a certain couple who have an on line shop, they and the shop are blogesphire darlings at the moment, but to me they represent a dastardly trend {when you own a shop (of any kind) you CAN NOT shop other peoples shops, especially brick and mortar, to curate your own}.This happened with the above mentioned couple. They came into the shop, made small talk but didn't introduce themselves and preceded to shop the shop, ie: turn over and look for brands, ask about certain items provenance and generally pick our brains under the guise of being potential customers. Now I have no problem with sharing information on lines with other owners/ buyers and in fact I do all the time, but when I enter another shop I always try and identify myself {as an owner of Cursive} to the owner or manager~ seeing another owner or buyer come into the shop and SHOP the shop is nothing but irritating and disrespectful.
Oh and please do not try and take sneaky pictures, we are not stupid and can see your little camera or phone being aimed at the stack of handmade journals we sourced in Belgium!
Now maybe they (and maybe you) didn't know the decorum of being an owner/ buyer but now it's out there and so no more excuses!!

2009-09-03T09:38:00.000-07:00

Photo courtesy of M.K.

Here is another picture from the opening.
The guy talking to Douglas is our business coach extraordinaire, Jim Deak. A few years ago he was recommended to us by our CPA and the work we did with him really prepared us for the turbulence we all have experienced lately.
I can't tell you how many times he talked us off the ledge when we were ready to pull the plug on GCT. " Remember it isn't personal" he would tell us and he was right, business is business!

Thank you , Jim!

2009-09-02T08:19:00.000-07:00

The big question is: what the {blank} is this Holiday Season going to be like?
I have spent the last few weeks deep in the throws of what to buy and more importantly how much to buy for Q4. After last year's disappointing turnout of holiday shoppers I am cautious about the selection and delivery dates to fill our stockings.
My optimistic self says " this year is going to be great". My beaten down self says " be prepared to be let down" who do I listen to? Well I don't know. All I can say is that I am stocking both shops with the coolest, high quality goodies I can find. Q4 will be visually exciting and if you can crack open your wallet you will find the most delicious treats to give to your nearest and dearest!

2009-08-25T13:42:00.000-07:00

Photo courtesy of M.K.

So the Grand Opening was a huge success. As you can see our little shop couldn't hold the crowd, so we took over Lexington Passage.

2009-08-11T08:48:00.000-07:00

This is a new design from Jeanine Payer's 20th Anniversary collection. I am crazy about the pieces she has designed to celebrate this milestone in her career... so thoughtful, organic and really what she does best. A special preview will be shown in the shop on the evening of August 17th.

2009-08-10T15:42:00.000-07:00

It's funny how one person's bright idea can be an other's dim thought.... as long as I live I will never understand herd mentality and how when someone gets what they think they want, it's suddenly too much for them.

Anyway, here is the cool new window that Douglas installed this weekend... I think it's brilliant!

2009-08-04T11:00:00.000-07:00

A sneak peak..... more to come!

2009-07-31T10:05:00.000-07:00

So we had a little water damage in the shop... well it was more than just a little but I am trying not to be overly dramatic! I must say that until you are a shop owner you have no idea what they/ we go through. As you know the shop was fully gutted and rebuilt and it's more than a little disheartening to see it slumped and dripping. The good news? (even though the shop is badly lite because of the shorted out tracks and there are buckets sitting on the floor collecting water) we had a very good day yesterday. You gotta love New Yorkers~ nothing will slow them down!

2009-07-31T10:01:00.000-07:00

So my new Cherub bowl is in the shop and filled with "Stop Talking" cards. I must admit it looks great, it is just hideous enough to spark my interest.

2009-07-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

I goofed up and didn't take a picture of this before it's makeover but use your imagination as to the colorful detail that was adorning this vessel. It's amazing what a can of white spray paint can yield.... Next post I'll show it in it's new place of honor!

2009-07-23T07:21:00.000-07:00

In last Tuesday's NY Times there was an article detailing the amount of small businesses going out of business in NYC. The article made me so sad. We are loosing our specialness, not only NYC but the U.S. as a whole. How many chain stores can the world handle? who shops in them? I don't and quite frankly I don't know anyone who does. When was the last time you popped into a Pottery Barn, Gap, or.... (ad your own chain here)? as far as I am concerned there is nothing in them that is special enough for me to take out my wallet. And lets not forget the VAST amount of banks and T Mobile shops that have scavenged the carcases of the fallen small entrepreneurs.
I know I am biased, I do own 2 specialty shops and my wholesale business's survival depends on small shops, but really what makes NY special? Certainly not a shop you can find in Baltimore/ Boise/ Baton Rouge , ect....
Wake up landlords, you are cutting your own throats by undercutting the value of the city to line your own greedy pockets.. it will come back to bite you in the you know what!!!!!

2009-07-16T15:04:00.000-07:00

Back from Atlanta and am happy about that. The good thing about the Atlanta show is that it's Holiday merch heaven. We were excited to formulate what the vision will be for Q4 and it should be interesting. It seems so weird to do Holiday when I am sweating and looking forward to some pool time this weekend.
Anyway I am back and getting into the groove~

What the.....

2009-07-07T10:37:00.000-07:00

We installed a new window last night. This time there is more in the window and it took a lot longer to get it just so. People are always asking " what's with all the birds?" Well, it's just in the air, what's not to like? (except for pigeons) So come on in and see " what the flock is going on in here!"

2009-07-06T07:51:00.000-07:00

So we had a great 4th out in the country and now back to work. We leave for a trade show this week with a duel mission, sell wholesale and buy for Q4. Having a wholesale business and 2 retail shops to nurture has really added an extra layer to our lives. Our eyes are always pealed for the new thing, the unexpected and saleable~ not always compatible traits! Any suggestions?

2009-07-01T07:05:00.000-07:00

Update. Noodle is going to be fine, they still don't know what was wrong but he is doing much better and should be able to come home tonight.
This has made me think about how much we depend on him for our sanity. We work and work and without that little nose poking me on the calf to get a hug or go for a walk, I am afraid we would just keep on working. It poses the question; when is enough?

2009-06-30T12:10:00.000-07:00

Our poor little Noodle had to be taken to the vet this morning and will be spending the night there. They don't know what's wrong with him but he was dehydrated and had a very high temperature. I am sure he'll be fine but it's a bummer!
Just a piece of advice to you everyone who has pets, GET PET INSURANCE WHEN THEY ARE YOUNG!!!!! We chose not to take this advice and just this little stay overnight will set us back 1200 bucks! Can you say "OUCH"

To reorder or not to reorder...

2009-06-24T09:36:00.000-07:00

that is the question. So you sold 6 grapefruit diffusers in a week, do you reorder them? and if so how many? 6, 12? I know it's a great problem to have but this is occupying my time at the moment.
This is harder one. So you sold almost all of the hand blown glass vases you brought in from a great glass blower in Oregon, do you reorder them in the same colors? change the palette? and what about that expensive piece that sold the first day, what about getting more of those? was it a lucky sale? or is that going to be the way it goes?
There are so many questions so I am open to hearing any suggestions you might have.

2009-06-22T13:43:00.000-07:00

So we took a long weekend to the east end and had a relaxing time. On rainy Saturday, will it ever stop raining!, we took a ride out on HWY 27 to the Clam Bar and had delicious lobster salad piled high on a potato bun. I chose to accompany mine with a nice glass of local white wine, it was just what the doctor ordered. I read many, many magazines and laughed a lot with our friends, it had been way too long.

2009-06-15T13:16:00.000-07:00

Today I am looking back at how far we have come. This was the scene in the shop a little more than 2 weeks ago. I still can't believe that they got it all finished and we were able not only to open on time but to be "done". I have said it before but the space was a total transformation, ever inch was worked over.
This was the first weekend in quite some time that I didn't have to work either in the shop or for the shop. This is the way it should be!

2009-06-12T07:38:00.000-07:00

This isn't the best photo but I thought it was so cute I had to post it. Noodle was helping us to merchandise the shop before we opened but he spent most of the time peeking out between the papered windows, he was fascinated by all of the legs passing by.
On this train of thought (no pun intended), you would not believe the sea of humanity that flows by the shop. They say over 500,000 people commute through GCT a day and I think that doesn't include all of the tourists. Everyone is in such a hurry. My advice, slow down and smell the Pamplemousse!

New York Times

2009-06-11T10:55:00.000-07:00

Howdy.... well here it is! Follow the link for the full Monty.

You would not believe the amount of folks who came in this morning because of seeing the article. I want to give a big shout out to Rima Suqi, a friend and a fantastic writer who freelances for all the best publications, for landing this for us. "Thank you"!

2009-06-10T10:01:00.000-07:00

Because there is so much glass used in the displays and all of the windows it is really hard to get good pictures.... it's prettier in person!

2009-06-10T08:42:00.000-07:00

The differences between the two shoppes is palpable.....
One is a living, breathing entity within a larger beast and the other is it's own little oasis inside an even more gigantic universe. I have to say that so far the customers at GCT are so much more polite, interested and willing to partake in a little retail therapy than their downtown counterparts. I haven't abandoned my first love but this new affair is mighty tempting.

2009-06-09T07:27:00.000-07:00

New York Times photographer using Douglas as a prop for a Horse Chestnut.... maybe Doug's hand will be in the Times!

2009-06-08T07:39:00.000-07:00

So a lot has happened in the past week.
By all accounts it's a success... On Saturday the Times came to photograph it for this Thursdays Currents section, we are very happy about this.
On Wednesday we had one of our vintage British telephones stolen from right under our noses... professional shoplifters are out and in force in GCT. Well at least they have good taste.
More photos to come.

2009-06-08T07:36:00.000-07:00

For Ed and Steve.... the finished cash wrap, before all of the merch.

2009-06-01T19:29:00.000-07:00

Simon has nothing on Douglas.. This is our first window, designed by Douglas, and it's a show stopper~ I love the double entrendre of it. HELLO, it is for you!

2009-06-01T19:18:00.000-07:00

Well here it is, finished and ready for action. Today was opening day and I am so happy to report that at 7:45 we had to open the shop early to accommodate the awaiting public. After 12 hours in the shop I am beat and ready for bed, I'll post more tomorrow. Goodnight!

2009-06-01T05:31:00.000-07:00

Cursive New York in Grand Central Terminal is now open for business!!!!!
I'll have tons of pictures up tonight..... stay tuned, it looks fantastic!

2009-05-30T05:15:00.000-07:00

The new and improved front door view.

2009-05-30T05:07:00.000-07:00

MK and I scraped all of the front windows yesterday. You would not believe what an emotional moment it was to finally see into our new baby. Here MK is Windexing for her life!

2009-05-28T19:57:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder of how HIDEOUS the place was before we got out hands on it..... we start to merchandise tomorrow evening, so you'll see a drastic change sometime late tomorrow evening. Stay tuned!

2009-05-28T08:22:00.000-07:00

The floor to ceiling window shelving units were installed yesterday. I can't wait to see them with all of the glass shelves installed and full of merch!

2009-05-27T17:57:00.001-07:00

Live blogging from the new shop.... computer, register and Internet all up and running. What a feeling!
Everything is covered in dust, yuck, will it ever come clean?

2009-05-26T20:24:00.000-07:00

We just got home form GCT, it's 11:30pm, and the doors behind the cash wrap are installed and lookin' fine. It's so weird to see it progressing almost hour by hour now. WE OPEN ON MONDAY! it's crazy!!!!!!! We have a lot of work to do.

Domes...

2009-05-25T15:47:00.000-07:00

I know , I know, domes are played out but they work so well. I made this today and I am thinking there will be more of these little babies to come. A wax seal and antique (1920's) silver metal ribbon, what's not to like!

2009-05-25T15:42:00.000-07:00

Here is the finished truck. They turned out fantastic and that's thanks to Douglas's sweet paint job. I bet you didn't know that Douglas painted cars in high school... well he did and it shows here.

2009-05-25T14:56:00.000-07:00

The lights are on! All of the lighting is done and the chandelier worked exactly as we had thought. In fact it looks even better. I can't wait for the the windows to be scraped so we can get a clear visual, now we have to imagine what it's going to look like in full view. It's a good thing we both have faith and creative minds.

2009-05-25T07:04:00.000-07:00

This was last year (bottom).... and on top, is this year. Boy what a difference a year can make.

We are working non stop to put all of the finishing touches on the new shop. Displays are being finalized, products are being priced and the workmen are coming in the morning to finish installing the doors, window units and baseboards in preparation for the opening.

It's getting very exciting around here!

2009-05-24T16:50:00.000-07:00

The three of us took a trip to Toys R' Us in Queens today to buy 3 of these Tonka dump trucks. Douglas worked his magic on them and I'll show you tomorrow how they will be transformed into fantastic displays for our children's collection.

Transformation

2009-05-24T16:41:00.000-07:00

This was the floor... and this is the floor now. What a difference a little tile and a lot of hard work can do.

Mud Job...

2009-05-21T10:38:00.000-07:00

This may seem like a boring picture but to Doug and I it was the most exciting thing we had seen in a long time. This is the "mud job" that is basically a sub floor before they lay the tile. The floor was in terrible shape with many elevation changes to deal with and it had caused a GREAT deal of stress in our lives. The good news is that the floor guy was able to do a wonderful job of leveling it out... Next the tile!

Busy, Busy....

2009-05-18T18:38:00.000-07:00

This about says it all. I will post more later in the week because things are rocking now!

2009-05-14T08:38:00.000-07:00

The cash wrap is look'n good. This is a little gift for MK, since she has dreamed of a proper place to store her menagerie of tape, pens, scissors and paperclips along with a wrapping station. The French oak finish is stunning in person!

2009-05-13T11:08:00.000-07:00

Today I wanted to share the most important person in the GCT project (plus all of our other ventures) and that is the "blackjack dealer" and my partner Douglas.

Douglas is the one who works tirelessly on the finances. As you can imagine it's not the most fun and for the most part it's THE most stressful piece of the pie. Douglas works very, very hard to make sure Noodle and I, along with all of our employees and vendors are taken care of. It's been a very difficult time lately and he has done a fantastic job juggling everything to ensure a smooth opening of GCT.

The picture is my two guys relaxing in Mexico last year. Please raise a big 'ol margarita glass to Douglas... he is the best!

2009-05-12T10:22:00.000-07:00

These are the French Oak doors in the workshop. They have yet to be finished but I can already see that they are going to be beautiful.

2009-05-11T07:35:00.000-07:00

So after a very relaxing weekend in the country we stopped by GCT to see the new ceiling. Of course it hasn't been taped and finished yet but you get the picture.
Douglas and I are getting very excited because we can finally start to see what it's going to look like finished!

2009-05-08T10:53:00.000-07:00

Good news, kinda... We passed the ceiling inspection so it can be enclosed next week but (and here comes a big NYC but), in order to have a usable closet it's going to cost another 3200$. This closet is the size of a double door refrigerator. Why so much you ask? Well, it has to have it's own sprinkler head and emergency lighting system.

Is it worth it?

2009-05-08T08:06:00.000-07:00

I hear all the time "people don't use journals anymore", well I am here to tell you that's not true. Cursive sells more journals than I ever would of thought possible. Everything from these lovely, limited edition, scene printed beauties to crackled leather from England. I believe all creative people carry a journal in one form or another. I do not go anywhere with out mine and sometimes I have 2 or 3 going at the same time. GCT will be well stocked on journlas!

2009-05-07T11:32:00.000-07:00

We visited our cabinet maker yesterday, he is conveniently located in our building, to check in on the custom fixtures. This is a 3'x5' table with storage on both sides, when you have limited space as we all do in NYC you have to use ever available square inch. The venetian is going over this table.

2009-05-06T10:07:00.000-07:00

BAGS!!!!!!! I am so excited to finally have our own shopping bags. Nothing is more chic in my opinion than Kraft combined with white gloss` TRES!

2009-05-06T08:40:00.000-07:00

Here you see our fantastic Architect and friend, Ward, and our Contractor extraordinaire, Pat, discussing the multitude of ceiling issues. Keep your fingers crossed but I think we are passing the ceiling inspection this week, so that means we can install the new ceiling and I can stop thinking about all of those pipes and wires. Out of site and out of mind!

2009-05-05T07:28:00.000-07:00

Here is a sneak peek at the plans for the shop... we had to make a few changes to accommodate Union labor issues but this is pretty much what GCT will look like.

2009-05-05T07:01:00.000-07:00

Because we are in Grand Central Terminal, (yes Terminal, don't refer to it as Station or you will get a sideways look form those in the know~ which happened to me!) this is in our ceiling. Why so many pipes you ask? well no one really knows. It kind of freaks me out to see all of this above my head and I can't wait to get the new ceiling up so I can forget about all of this.

2009-05-04T08:20:00.000-07:00

This pretty much sums up the state of GCT at the moment!

2009-05-04T07:54:00.000-07:00

This beautiful Venetian chandelier is soon to be rehung in Cursive. It's a fantastic opalescent blue/ white that is going to make a statement!

Figuring out the lighting budget for the renovation has been one of the biggest challenges. Thank god for Lighting by Gregory which is the best resource for lighting in NYC, although this beauty didn't come from them, all of the other lighting did.

2009-04-30T07:21:00.000-07:00

Here is a view of the shop that occupied the space before we got our little hands on it. You will see a BIG change soon.

2009-04-25T11:47:00.000-07:00

Here is a first look at our newest addition to the Cursive family. We are very excited to announce that we are under construction on a space in Grand Central Terminal!

2009-04-23T11:43:00.000-07:00

This is the long, furry dog, Noodle. You could say that everything we do is for him. Our couch, carpets, bedding and even the interior of our car is color coordinated to compliment (read hide) Noodle's golden locks. Noodle works at Cursive sometimes and when he does he sure makes the day go faster.

2009-04-23T11:35:00.000-07:00

After growing up in a small town in rural Idaho I can not stop myself from filling my environments with nature, in any form. Living in NYC has only deepened my need to be connected to the natural wonders of the world.