Recent Outlet Purchase
Steven Salario --Tampa
As a business person, the pie that is being fought over is relatively small. Jack Roger posted sales of $1.2 million (I believe US tennis shoe sales are 14.5 billion) and I believe Jack Rogers is the largest seller of these shoes. Jack Rogers seems to be marketing to medium to large retail and Internet stores and is very successful. Dividing 1.2 million by an estimated cost of $20 per shoe, that is 60,000 shoes. There was a great video of with the current president of Jack Rogers Shoes that is great to see (JACK ROGERS INTERVIEW) Based on this video, Jack Roger shoes are produced in the US.
On a recent visit to Tampa, I stopped by the Steven Salario outlet store in Tampa near Hyde Park and had a a lot of fun. Some 8 pairs of shoes later, I am a happy camper. My 11 year old daughter snagged several pairs of $5 dollar sandals and a few pairs of of discounted Navajo patterns as well. Of course I spent full dollar to replace my pink and green Navajo loves. This was such a fun store and a great place to visit. Steven Salario is heading down the retail sales route too and is working on updating their website. I purchased the most adorable pair of hot pink driving moccasin that I think I need to get in every color. Steven Salario is a shoe wholesale company and can be seen in better stores throughout the country including Best Dressed Child.
The Address is:
2810 Long St
Tampa, FL 33605
Stephen Bonanno seems to be the love of the Palm Beach and the blog world, and guess what..... they work hard at it. They have a great website, a fun blog, and a nice store in Palm Beach. They also offer creative ideas for personalization which this is really their specialty. This maker has a boutique, personal feel to selling their shoes.
In spite of the small market size, there is a passion by all these manufacturers and customers to really find out who made the originals. I would like to care about this, but I do not think we will ever know the truth nor am I interested in reading any more debate on the subject. To put this in perspective, we are also not talking about cheap imitations here..the quality is "fairly" consistent across companies and it is purely a matter of personal taste and brand preference.
I just order baby blue patent personalized shoes from Stephen Bonanno. Since I have all three shoe brands I am in good shape.
My husband's Crocs look kind of like LL Bean Boots (ok, not really, but closer than mine) which makes him feel a little better. He wears them to water the flower and herb garden, and in the morning when he runs out across the wet lawn to get the Financial Times and Wallstreet Journal.
Well, we had dinner with a former US Ambassador and his wife at our club on Saturday night. We were discussing how drawn out this political race has been and we were looking forward to the election and hopefully the Inauguration. We have already purchased our Black Tie and Boots Tickets from the Texas Society by the deadline of March 31st. If our candidate looses, we will sell them on eBay. If he or she wins, we are heading for a fun few days in DC.
Even thought the election is rather ugly, that does not mean we have to dress that way. Some of our favorite vendors will make sure we look good.
For high-heel relief under your
Inaugural gown so you can run to the after-parties
For the keys to the Country (that's USA)....
Vineyard Vines
Wear these because they are just plain CUTE!
To wash the candidates, their spouses, their staff or supporter's mouths out-with-soap! Maybe a few news people would benefit from this too.
And something for those independents... so you may have some neutral options too.
In summary, the author of Freakonomics (great book) had a contest to come up with new slogan for the USA (a more current option). The winner was:
"EVEN OUR WORST CRITICS CHOOSE TO STAY"
Freakonomics [Revised and Expanded]: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
When I am entertaining at our home, I am a little picky about the look of my beverage table.Several ways to entertain groups of 12 or more:
1. Servers provide drinks and all drinks are filled in a private area (unseen area)
2. Drinks are passed on silver trays
3. Bar area with servers (guest come to the bar area)
4. Bar area that is self -serve (servers clean up only)
When I usually have a large party, regardless if there is a beverage helper or not, I like to have my beverage area look nice. I purchase soft drinks, sparkling and non-sparkling water in glass bottles. Coke, Diet Coke, Spirte and french lemonade, etc. all come in glass bottles. In terms of water, I definitely provide sparkling water in glass bottles and I go back and forth on crystal pitchers of still water or still water in glass bottles. For a dinner party, I definitely serve water in a pitcher.
These Evian bottles are really incredible. I think they are mostly for commerical use but lovely non the less.
If you have any other thoughts to share on your beverage area, please let me know.
My little sis and mother-in-law were born today. Happy Birthday!I picked out a cake for each of you!
Park Avenue Potluck: Recipes from New York's Savviest Hostesses
Our public elementary school loves potlucks...one in the fall and one in the winter. Three hundred kitchens with 300 different standards. When we go the a school function that are potlucks, my children always eat first and I tell them to not eat the food..it never works though.
On the hand, potlucks with close friends are fine. A friend of mine gave me this book for Christmas and I love it. I thought I would share it with you.
