Friday, May 31, 2013

Friday Fun Days: An Update from Vegas!

Our two jewelry gurus, Vickie and Leslie, have been tirelessly scouring the showrooms of the largest jewelry show in the world this week, looking for the best product to bring home to Austin.

Vickie just sent us this fun pic from Vegas, and we wanted to share:


The word from Vegas is that: "Anything goes!  Mix gold with wood, diamonds with wood, yellow metal with white metal...."  You name it, they're seeing it this year.  We can't wait until they get home - we'll be sure to let you know when all the new jewelry has arrived!

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Wedding Wednesdays: Give Her a Gift She'll Never Forget

Whether you exchange gifts at the Rehearsal Dinner, the day of the wedding, or on your wedding night, be sure to choose a gift that is as special as she is.  Here's one of our favorites: the diamond huggie earring.  Classic, timeless, small enough to wear every day but sparkly enough to make an impression, the diamond huggie will become one of her favorites too!

Diamond Huggie Earrings shown in White Gold, 1/2" long x 1/16" wide

Call or stop by to view a beautiful selection.

Tabletop Tuesday: What's New

Perfect for Iced Tea or Summer Lemonade, by the pool or at the table, the Federica Pitcher is one of our new favorites:


Having family to visit this summer?  Planning large parties by the pool or on the deck?  Make sure you have enough flatware on hand with this 45 piece place setting of Italian-made stainless steel flatware by Ricci:


Order online or call The Menagerie to order today.


Monday, May 27, 2013

Memorial Day

“When our perils are past, shall our gratitude sleep?”
-          George Canning


Thank you to all of the men and women who have kept us free throughout history.  It is your sacrifice which makes this country such a wonderful place to live.  Thank you.

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Sparkling Saturdays: Look What's Coming

While we don't normally use our "Sparkling Saturdays" series to focus on the jewelry industry, this week we want to make sure y'all know about what's coming: the largest jewelry market in the world!

At the end of this month, The Menagerie's owner, Vickie Roan, will travel to Las Vegas to meet with old and new vendors, diamond dealers, and other industry insiders to learn about product trends, the state of the diamond industry, and more.  She'll attend JCK, Luxury, and the Antique Show.

With her focus on customer service, Vickie always loves to shop for specific, hard-to-find items for customers when she's at Market.  She can frequently be heard in the store or on the phone: "I'm going to Market; what do you want me to bring back?"  No focus groups for Miss Vickie!  She just opens the door each morning, asks her customers for their feedback, and builds her success on meeting their needs.

Looking for something special?  Give her a call at the shop to let her know about your heart's desire!

Friday, May 17, 2013

Friday Fun Days: Initialize

You've probably (hopefully) seen them around...the new monogram necklaces gracing the necks of everyone from starlets to suburbanites.  Well, we have them (of course!  We're always on trend like that at The Menagerie), and we're pleased to present them to you for today's installment of Friday Fun Days.  Behold, the monogram necklace:


Super cute for tweens, bridesmaids' gifts, or just because, we love these for gifts and gifts-to-self alike!




Thursday, May 16, 2013

Lifestyle Thursdays: Get Your Juices Flowing

We're a fine jewelry, tabletop, and gift store, but that doesn't mean that we don't have to (and like to) focus on things beyond our own little world of retail.

Today we'd like to recommend something called The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron.  It's a how-to book and workbook for artists of all types, but we've found it useful for life in general, whether you consider yourself an artist or not.

In retail you have to make decisions every day: do I bring that product in?  Should I display these products in the window?  Do I phase out that line in favor of another one, since floor space is limited?  All of these decisions are, inherently, about creativity.  It helps to have a mind whose creative juices are flowing before you come to work to tackle whatever will show up each day.

One of Julia Cameron's suggestions is called Morning Pages.  Essentially, she instructs us to 'unclog' our minds each morning by writing three pages of stream-of-consciousness thought first thing in the morning.  She has had lawyers adopt this practice to great effect - seeing more productivity and efficiency in their law practices because they bring clearer minds with them to work each day.

So, for today's Lifestyle Thursday post, we thought we'd point you toward Ms. Cameron and her Morning Pages, in the hopes that you will find the practice as useful as we have.

Happy writing!