BBQ season is here!

While the Dinosaur might be the most well-known BBQ joint around here, they are definitely not the only game in town when it comes to sensational sauces and seasonings to add to your grill this summer.

Local entrepreneurs have created all kinds of yummy things - Tom's Bootleg BBQ, Juanita's Soul Classics and Yellow Dog are a few great sauces, and Yellow Dog also makes a wing sauce and a dry rub. If you want a change of pace, try Mare-o-Lin's Chili sauce or Salamida's Spiedie sauce.

I've been a die-hard Dinosaur fan for years, but I have to admit - I LOVE the Yellow Dog.

They say variety is the spice of life....and that's especially true on the grill. ;-)

Pics....continued

New store pics...interior

Not that different from our old showroom....the difference is in the "behind the scenes" parts of the store.

New Closeout Gifts!

When you relocate your business, a funny thing happens...all sorts of odd bits and pieces turn up. Containers left over from big projects, off-season inventory that got lost in the shuffle and things we just plain bought too much of (6 cases of stuffed gorillas? Really? What was I thinking????). And often, our vendors will discontinue an item in one of our standard gifts, which forces us to redesign it - which in turn leaves us with orphan inventory.

Now that things are getting back to normal, we had time to create some fun, creative gifts using up some of that inventory - and we've added them to our "Closeout Gifts" section at deep discounts...at or below cost.

We've added some beautiful new gifts to our regular catalog as well - take a look!

Signs

...and we finally have a number on the building. We appreciate everyone's patience in tracking us down at our new location.

Our new signs are up!

Absolute Sign and Awning did a TERRIFIC job on our new signage! Thanks Corinna!

Landscaping

As we wind down the last of our projects inside the building (and the last of the frost warnings...hopefully), we're starting to tackle the outside. I spent last weekend pulling up 2 foot tall weeds, lugging in soil, and planting new shrubs and perennials in the front of the store. This weekends project: start working on the area that runs the whole length of the building along our parking lot.

May Gift Basket Winner - Christine Praino

Congratulations to Christine Praino!

Once a month we draw a gift basket winner from our email newsletter subscriber list. It's easy to subscribe - just enter your email address in the "Join our mailing list" box at the bottom of every page of our website, and click "GO".

We promise we won't flood your inbox - we send newsletters out 4-6 times a year, and it's super-easy to unsubscribe if you change you mind.

10 Things I Love About Our New Store (and counting!)

1. We have the whole building. It's Syracuse Gift Basket world!
2. The bathrooms, and the shower! No more sharing and running out of TP and paper towels.
3. Lots of padded carpeting...so much easier on the feet and back.
4. It looks like us, inside and out. The owner allowed us to paint, and use our corporate colors. And there is a place to put in landscaping.
5. Windows everywhere!
6. It feels really cozy.
7. More space and a basement.
8. Only minutes from everything in the city.
9. Easy to get in and out of the parking area.
10. And, less expensive...how can you beat that?

It's beginning to feel like home...

Today was definitely bettter. It might have been LOTS better if the illustrious cable company had actually changed our service over! Julie called in MARCH and set up the change for the Friday before our move. Now, however, the company insists that it can't be done until May 1st. The logistics of this whole scenario are daunting. The phones and computers are still in the old store on Teall, so that's where everything is coming in. Consequently, several times over the day one of us runs back to the old store to check e-mails, and the business calls are being forwarded temporarily to Julie's cell. (And we need this while we try to finish unpacking and set up our business???) Trying to keep the flow going with things going every which way is a little insane, but we are hanging tough... just like we always do. ( I believe I mentioned before that we are gritty.) But, two more days of this? It boggles the mind!

On the positive side, our showroom is put together and looking fab! "Mr. Scott" laid the great-looking new floor in the entranceway this morning, we hung the new window treatments, and Julie is arranging the finishing decor on the walls. Somehow we have even managed to have the shelves full of GIFTS! The production room is put together and adequately functioning, the inventory room and basket/box rooms are organized and stocked (much thanks to Laura) and the breakroom is set up. Shipping is a bit haphazard yet, and we still have a small amount of painting and rehab to complete in the back. It has been a little mind-bending going from the high-ceilinged pie shape of our old space to our new squared and compartmentalized layout. But we're managing to rethink everything, and overall we've accomplished miracles!

But best of all, our new space is really starting to feel great. It's cozier and feels like a place we really want to be. It's beginning to feel like home!

What have we gotten ourselves into????

We made the big move over the weekend - we are officially open at 1015 Erie Blvd East. This is what the space looked like when we we got everything over there - yikes! We've got our work cut out for us.

We've got the important parts of the building functional - but just barely. There are a few remodeling projects still left to do, and we haven't touched the landscaping or settled on permanant signage. We have a paver coming today to look at sealing and striping the parking lot; also, someone was kind enough to dump a load of garbage and construction debris in our parking lot last night (because we don't enough of our own stuff to handle right now....seriously???).

But, we sent our first few gifts out from the new location this morning, and we're looking foward to making ourselves at home in our new space.

Coming up for air

Whew.....it's been a crazy couple of weeks. We've been working our butts off to get the inside of our new building ready for the big move this weekend. Like any big project, things popped up that we hadn't expected - plumbing issues, replacing the hot water heater, and a leaky roof. Luckily, our new landlords have been fantastic partners in resolving the problems.

We've gotten most of the interior painting done (17 gallons of paint later), with the exception of some trim touch up and a couple of the bathrooms. The carpets have been steam cleaned, the kitchenette installed, and we're almost ready to go!

In the midst of all this, we had a large corporate order (118 pieces) to get out on Monday, and Administrative Professional's Day to get through (usually our biggest holiday next to Christmas). As the day winds down and the last minute gifts go out, we're turning our focus to packing up the store and making our move.

So Excited!!!

Short bulletin from The Paint Pit: We've finished the inside painting and cleaning, and Mr. Scott has finished most of his repair work. On Sunday Scott painted the exterior of the new store our own lovely shade of sage green. He calls it "pea soup green", but no matter..... we LOVE it! The finishing plum trim will happen on the next dry day, and will finish the look.

We are SO EXCITED! The results of our month of hard work is so very gratifying, and we're ready to move...in only a few more days. Our large order has gone out the door, and we're really scrambling to do Secretary's Day. But after tomorrow, we can begin moving in the direction of our new "home" at 1051 Erie Boulevard East. We are SO ready! After another long weekend of work, we will open our newly painted doors on Monday, April 27. We look forward to seeing friends and customers there!

The Paint Pit

It sounded like a good idea when we started...after all it was wide open space. How hard could it really be to paint the interior of the new store ourselves??? Armed with gallons and gallons of paint in our signature colors, new brushes, rollers, drop clothes, and miles of bright blue tape, we attacked our newly acquired 2300 square foot facility with determination and boundless enthusiasm. Working around both of our full-time jobs and the rest of our lives, and painting in our "spare time" wouldn't be easy, but we had no doubt that we would be able to do it. Bring it on!



Okay....three weeks and counting later, I have to tell you that the paint thing is getting old, REALLY OLD! Yes, we've made great progress, and the end is in sight. And yes, the space IS transformed. BUT, there are 9 rooms, 3 bathrooms, a kitchenette, several closets, and various other nooks and crannies we keep discovering. Every room has needed 2 coats of paint, and some 3. And we won't even mention the BIG MISTAKE room (the largest room, of course) which on the first try came out an unfortunate shade of chartreuse or butter cup yellow, depending on the light. It really was NOT okay.




So as we approach the finish line in the "paint pit", with Secretary's Day, a large corporate project, AND moving day all happening within the next 2 weeks...we just look at each other and say, "please God, just let us be finished!"




And then there is the EXTERIOR....

Weekend Progress Report

We spent the weekend at the new store, painting and cleaning the inside - made very good progress. 2 rooms are completely done, and a good chunk of the showroom and main hallway are in various stages of completion. The kids came in for a few hours and raked the glass and other debris out of the future flower beds and cleaned many, many years worth of grime off the windows. That's my son Nick, being a goofball. :-)

Let the fun begin!

Well, we signed the lease for our new building earlier in the week and got the key. Whoo-hoooo!

We can't wait to get in and start cleaning and painting, but the first order of business was getting the water turned back on. Sounds simple, right? Unfortunately, since the building has been vacant for years we had some issues.

This space has 3 bathrooms (1 was hidden in a closet and we didn't know about it until we took possesion!), inluding 1 with a shower (not sure what we'll do with that, but I bet it will come in handy during the Christmas season). All 3 sinks were leaking; 1 toilet was stuck in a continuous flush mode; 1 wouldn't flush at all. So, we were forced to turn the water back off and wait for the plumber today. 6 hours later, we're good to go.

This building was actually scheduled to be demolished, because the owners were unable to find a long term tenant until we came along at the 11th hour. Because of this, they had to test all surfaces for asbestos. Now, the building is not in bad shape at all - but in each room there is 1 or 2 missing ceiling tiles, a corner of carpet is pulled up, and floor tiles are missing. There are also some vintage flourescent lights that are not very pretty, plus several years worth of dirt. I have to admit, I had more than a few "What have we gotten ourselves into????" moments this week.

But - the weekend is here, and we've got our paint and supplies, and my favorite handyman "Mr. Scott" is meeting us there tomorrow to get started. We can't wait!

Custom Gift Basket - The Zoo Basket

This super-cute custom gift was ordered by one of our regular corporate clients to be donated to the Boys and Girls Club for their 2009 Bids for Kids Auction.

New Building - After

This is our Photoshop version of our building with the addition of a new color scheme and some landscaping. We should be getting started this weekend!

New building - Before

This is our new building! It's in a fantastic location for us - closer to SU, downtown and the hospitals and as a bonus has good visibility from 690. It has a lot more square footage and is significantly less expensive than our current space....you can't hate that, right?

It might not look like much now (we like to think of it as a blank slate), but we'll be working our magic - and documenting the progress here - over the next 6 weeks while we prepare for the big move.

We found Chris Dardano!

Our January gift basket winner finally came in and claimed his gift (we were getting worried about him). Congratulations to Chris Dardano of Eldan Homes!

Anyone who signs up for our email newsletter is eligable, and we'll be drawing our February winner later today.

We're moving!

It's official....we're moving! Stay tuned for details....

Our (almost) movie

After 2 1/2 years of waiting and wondering, we finally got to see "The Great Buck Howard" ("The Craziest Story", July 2006). It's due to be released in theatres on March 20, but you can watch it on VOD right now.

We knew it was a long shot - we didn't pay for the product placement in the movie, so we knew that the gifts could be cut; we knew that it was a struggle to find a distributer for the movie and get it released, and we knew that our contact at Walden Media wasn't involved in the final editing.

As it turns out, a couple of our baskets are in the movie - but they are not identified in any way. The part with the delivery person wearing our apron did not make the final cut. The gifts are in the background of a couple scenes, but nobody but us would know they came from our company.

We're not really as disappointed as we thought we would be....there was such a lag between when we did this project and seeing the end results, that it's just not a big deal anymore - kind of anticlimactic. We were chatting about it after we watched it, and we realized that a lot of really positive things came out the experience:

1. We developed a much better way to ship our gifts - they arrive in better condition than they used to, and we eliminated the use of styrofoam packing peanuts (which we hated - and I'm sure everyone else did too)

2. We started rethinking our gift designs, and it sparked new ideas for our standard website gifts
3. We streamlined our operations and worked on becoming more efficient. It started us on a path of continuous improvement.

4. It got us through some dark times. We went through a phase a couple of years ago where we both got really burned out and lost a lot of the passion we have for this business. Knowing that we had a possible "big break" coming up kept us going.

5. It prompted us to start this blog

6. When I flew out to California so that I could hand deliver the gifts to Premier Entertainment in L.A., I stayed with my uncle' and his family, who I don't get to see very often, and I spent some really good one on one time with my aunt Leslie. Within a year of my visit Leslie was diagnosed with cancer and passed away. If not for this unusual opportunity, it would have been years since I had seen her; I'm incredibly grateful for that time.

Was it a mistake? I don't think so...it was a really interesting experience. If you don't take a risk once in while, you don't get a chance to reap the rewards. No regrets!

And now? Well, we have some really good things cooking with the business.

Last year I hired 2 employees to help out with the day to day operations of the store, in preparation for me beginning another career. I just wasn't interested in doing this anymore. But a funny thing happened....

In training my new employees how to do everything I do, I began creating an operations manual, something I've been putting off for years. It was really important to me that customers who were used to dealing with me got the same consistant experience when talking to one of the girls. I came up with training exercises and quizes. I was forced to think about exactly how I wanted every task performed and to document it - which is a very good thing.

Once Jenny and Laura became a little more self sufficient, I was able to tackle some nagging projects that I just hadn't had the time to deal with before, and it felt good. One thing led to another, and pretty soon I realized that I was really enjoying my business again. Freeing myself up from performing every single task myself allowed me to focus on big picture planning, which is what, as the owner, I SHOULD be doing. I read "E-Myth" years ago (work ON your business not IN it), but it took preparing to leave my business for me to really do it.

That other career I was planning? On hold indefinitely. The enthusiasm I had for this in the beginning is back, plus some.

We have some big changes coming up in the next few months - stay tuned, we'll be announcing the details very soon!

Quote of the Week

"Never underestimate the power of a woman."

Featured Product - BP Callahans Firehouse Sauce

This pasta sauce is outstanding!

I really like to cook, so I NEVER use pasta sauce from the jar (my own is so much better), but BP Callahan's has become a favorite at our house.

It's something like a spicier, chunkier version of a classic vodka sauce (without the vodka) - tomatoes and cream, fresh basil and peppers. You can use it as a dipping sauce, over pasta, or with chicken or seafood.

My only complaint about this sauce (from a vendor standpoint) is that it isn't obvious from the label what to do with it - but it's been delicious on everything I've tried it with. Our current favorite is over cheese ravioli with grilled chicken - and don't forget some fresh Italian bread for dipping!

SGB is on Facebook!

We've created a Facebook page for Syracuse Gift Basket - become a fan!

Valentine's Day

The team at SGB has been very busy this week getting ready for Valentine's Day - here is a peek at the first wave of gifts going out tomorrow morning.

New trailer for The Great Buck Howard

We just found a new, longer trailer for the "The Great Buck Howard" (see "The Craziest Story", July 2006) - take a look:

http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/the-great-buck-howard/trailer-b

January Gift Basket Winner - Chris Dardano

A few weeks ago we announced that we would be drawing a winner each month from our list of subscribers to the SGB email newsletter. Our very first winner is Chris Dardano, who is a new home specialist at Eldan Homes.

Congratulations Chris!

St. Baldrick's - March 22 at Kitty Hoyne's

This is my sister, Jenna. Her entire life she's had beautiful, very long, thick dark blonde hair - and on March 22 at Kitty Hoyne's Irish Pub in Armory Square, she will be getting her head shaved - yes, SHAVED - to help raise money for the St. Baldrick's foundation.

I've been to a couple of St. Baldrick's events, and the scene is absolutely wild - Kitty Hoyne's is packed to the rafters with volunteer barbers and hairdressers, people lined up to have their heads shaved, and friends and family supporting the cause. It's like St. Patrick's day all over again (except people are bald when they leave the bar).

To date, St. Baldrick's has raised 50 million dollars to help fund childhood cancer research. To find out more or sponsor any of the "shavees", go to http://www.stbaldricks.org/.

10,000 visitors - whooo-hooooo!

Webucator

One of our most regular, ongoing corporate projects doesn't have anything to do with gift baskets.

Webucator is a Syracuse based company that offers online computer training. When a client signs up for a class, they are imediately sent the necessary materials - usually a computer headset, and sometimes a training manual, and some complementary goodies - a cup, pen and highlighter with their logo on it and some candy. When they approached us a couple of years ago, they were just putting the candy in a zip-lock bag, boxing it all and sending everything to the client. It worked, but the presentation wasn't great and they were getting too busy to keep up on it (it's a good problem to have!).

We came up with an easy, more attractive way to present the items: we put the pen and highlighter in the cup, filled the cup with assorted candy, dropped it in a cellophane bag and tied it up with orange and blue raffia (and the salesperson's business card) to coordinate with their corporate identity. They loved it! And best of all, they didn't have to worry about it anymore.

Now we have a separate area in our workroom devoted to Webucator, and we keep all their materials on hand to be shipped out at a moments notice.

Featured Product - DipStix

DipStix is another one of our favorite local products. I met the owner, Mindy, a few years at a WBOC meeting when she was just getting started. In our business, the products we carry have to not only taste wonderful, but look great in our gifts too - and DipStix fit the bill perfectly.

DipStix are thick pretzel rods dipped in chocolate and rolled in yummy toppings like mini M&Ms, toffee, cashews, almonds or colored sprinkles. It's that salty-sweet combination again....you can't beat it.

We'll have samples in our store all this week. Stop by and try some - we guarantee you'll be hooked!

Quote of the Day

"In the depth of winter, I finally found there was within me an invincible summer."



Albert Camus

About that movie...

Obviously, with the release date of "The Great Buck Howard" coming up in less that 2 months, we're beyond anxious to find out about our basket placement in the film. While googling for information, I've come across several reviews...mostly good, some bad, some on the fence. One of the reviews I read (a good one) was written by a Las Vegas reviewer. I noticed at the bottom of her page that she "answers all e-mails". My curiousity got the best of me, and I e-mailed her, explaining our connection with the film. I was pleasantly surprised when she actually sent a reply. She said she wished I had contacted her sooner, since some time had passed since she saw the "The Great Buck Howard". Unfortunately she didn't remember that detail of the movie, but said it made sense since "Buck always liked his celebrity gifts". She wished us the best of luck, and wanted me to let her know how it all turned out. She also said she would try to find the director's e-mail, and shortly after that she did send it to me.

I hesitated for a few days, thinking that I really didn't have enough nerve to bother the director of the movie about our silly baskets. But in the end, I fired off an e-mail asking him our big question. Curiosity got the best of me, and after all, what do we have to lose? The worst that could happen is that he will ignore me.

I haven't received a response as yet, and really don't expect to, but at least I can say I tried. You know, it just shouldn't be this hard!!!

Monthly Basket Give Away at SGB

You may have noticed that we recently added a "Join our Subscriber List" box to our main website - it's at the bottom of every page. If you sign up, you'll receive our email newsletter featuring new gifts, closeouts and private sales for subscribers only. We promise not clog up your inbox with these - we send them out just 5-10 times per year, and it's easy to opt-out at any time.

For added incentive, we'll be giving away a gift basket to one lucky person from our subscriber list each month. The basket will be a minimum $50 value, and the winner will be chosen at random. If you're already on our subscriber list you don't have to do a thing - you're all set. If not, just enter your email address and click "GO". We'll be drawing our first winner at the end of this week - Good luck!

Quote of the week

"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. '

Herm Albright(1876 - 1944)

10,000

We're amazed to note that we are fast-approaching the 10,000 mark on our visitor site-meter. Who-da thunk it when we started blogging about our "maybe movie" 2 1/2 years ago?

It's been fascinating to monitor our site-meter along the way, to see who's been on the blog, and when, from where, and how long they have stayed. Occasionally someone stopping in our shop tells us that they follow our blog, and we're always surprised. As we have recently picked up the pace again here, we're trying hard to keep it varied. Our primary focus is to write about anything interesting, funny, or newsworthy thats happening within our company....a peek behind the scenes.

But as we approach that 10,000 mark, we'd really like to hear from some of our visitors...especially those who stop by frequently. We welcome comments and questions.

Featured Product - NY Cherry Bliss

I mentioned in a recent post that we picked up a lot of new locally made products; our best resource turned out to be Nelson Farms marketing group, which is a program of Morrisville College. If you have a family recipe you're interested in bringing to market, Nelson Farms will help you with packaging and production, and their newly formed marketing group helps distribute the products to businesses like ours. We were able to add about a dozen new local products to our inventory with one visit to their shop in Cazenovia.

One of the more unique items is NY Cherry Bliss. It's a trail mix, and includes NY grown cherries marinated in Brotherhood Spiced Wine (Brotherhood winery is located in Washingtonville, NY and is the oldest winery in the United States), almonds, pecans and white chocolate chips. The flavor is sweet, but not overly so. It's turned out to be a big hit with our customers!

Donation - On Point for College

This basket was a recent donation we did for On Point for College. The rich brown magazine rack is filled with all kinds of decadent chocolate and will be used for their upcoming 10th Anniversary dinner and silent auction.

I met the founder of On Point for College a few years ago when we were working on forming the original WISE Advisory Board. When Ginny Donohue stood up and explained what On Point does for local kids, I swear I got goosebumps.

This is what they do:

* They begin with One-on-one counseling - choosing a college, financial aid, and college applications

* Take students on College Visits
* Connect them with Mentors
* Help with clothing, bedding, backpacks and college supplies
* Offer Transportation to college
* Provide an Orientation workshop before the first day of college.
* To help bridge the intimidating gap between financial aid and college costs, they offer students “last dollar” grants for expenses such as enrollment deposits, textbooks, fees, housing etc. Since 1999, more than 1,242 “last dollar” grants, totaling more than $168,372, have helped On Point for College students get to college or stay in college.
* Follow up with Advocacy and support for students on college campuses (i.e. financial aid, diversity issues, tutoring services, getting along with roommates, etc.)
* Offer Transportation to and from college on vacations

This is the impact that On Point has had:

* 1,710 students were actively involved with On Point for College, more than 1,070 were enrolled in 140 colleges and universities, and 125 had earned college degrees.
* A total of 2,040 young adults, age 17-25 had received one-on-one admission counseling from the On Point for College staff. An additional 160 volunteers support the program on all levels, from mentoring to transportation to fundraising.
* More than 84 percent of On Point for College students remain in college from their freshman to sophomore years. This is well above the national average retention rate of 75 percent – and a phenomenal achievement for an at-risk student population.
* More than 85 percent of all funds raised go directly to student services.
* For every dollar in aid awarded to its students, On Point for College leverages an additional $33 in aid from federal, state and private sources.

It's really an amazing organization - you can stop by their website at http://www.onpointforcollege.org/ for more information.

The Delivery Zone

Meet Sue - she's been our delivery person for several years now. She and her partner TJ own The Delivery Zone, an on-call courier service. Without them, we could never do what we do.

When we have a delivery (or 2 or 10) ready to go, we give Sue a call and she's there - usually within minutes. The thing we love most about Sue is how tenacious she is about making sure the gifts get to their intended recipient. Residential deliveries are often tricky - it sometimes takes a few visits and phone call or two to catch someone home to accept the gift, but she never gives up and always has a smile and a positive attitude. She treats the gifts as if she made them herself, and never misses an opportunity to help promote our business. She is definitely one of the keys to our success. Thank you Sue!!!!

Inauguration Day!

God bless President Barack Obama.

The White House has it's own blog!

Can you believe it???????

Go to: www.whitehouse.gov/blog

Times they are a changin'.......

Good News! (maybe....)

As I mentioned in a recent post, the movie that MIGHT include our gift baskets is due to be released soon (read "The Craziest Story" from July 2006). We've been trying to track down some still shots of our gifts in the movie for a while now, and I finally found Jeff Gross (formerly of Walden Media) online.

I asked him if our gifts actually made it into the film, and according to him they definitely made it onto the set, and were used in the original filming. BUT - the distributor of the movie requested that some scenes be re-shot, and Jeff never saw the final version. Sounds promising, but who knows?

Funny....

Found this on Twitter this morning, via Janet Lee Johnson:

Loved the button I saw yesterday on the web: "I refuse to participate in a recession."

:-)

Featured Product - Speach's I'll Be Dipped chocolate covered potato chips

A few months ago we decided to increase our selection of locally made products. We've always done really well with Syracuse and CNY themed gifts and decided to see what else might be out there that we could use in our baskets. We'll be featuring some of our new favorites in upcoming blog posts.

One of the goodies we picked up is Speach's chocolate covered potato chips. I have to admit, these didn't even sound good to me at first, but one of my friends insisted that they were absolutely yummy and addicting - and was she ever right! Something about the salty-sweet combination....once you start eating them you can't stop.

We carry the 1/2 lb tub of milk chocolate covered chips (which we feature in some of our standard gifts), but you can also visit their store on Syracuse's north side to check out other varieties and sizes.

R.I.P.

We are saddened to report the recent death of our beloved company van, Old Red, at the ripe age of 14. She was a good old girl, a once-pretty shade of candy apple red, who worked hard and always went the extra mile for us.



Old Red made us both van-believers. We acquired her a few years ago for $1200 from a friend of mine, and she was worth her weight in Lindt Trufffles. She delivered gifts, and hauled supplies and furniture with ease. She even travelled down the Thruway to Batavia, through cold and snow at Christmas time for emergency boxes of shred. Sure, we had to patch her up a few times, but she always rallied and kept on going.


Last week we had to make the tough decision to put Old Red down. Julie's mechanic, Tony Masello told us that her prognosis was very poor...she was just too tired to go on. So regretfully we let her go. We sure will miss having her around.


Rest in peace, Old Red!

Still Alive!

Over the past 6 months our regular customers have asked Julie about my whereabouts and about what I've been up to. I actually am still alive and kicking, and wanted to jump in for a couple of paragraphs and do a little catching up.


The previously mentioned pesky knee was replaced last June, and since then I've enjoyed being semi-retired from the basket business (and being able to walk!) I'm still a full-time nurse at University Hospital, but at age 60, I am dead-set on taking some time for me.


Julie and I still "talk business" frequently, and confer on major business decisions, but she has been running the day-to-day show alone since June and I might add, doing a FABULOUS job! And this is as it should be...the business was originally Julie's creation. I jumped in early on to help back in 2001, and together we built up the business to where it is today. Since I've been out of the picture, she has taken the bull by the horns, so to speak, and fine-tuned our operation in many positive ways. We have 2 well-trained permanent staff whom we trust to handle things when Julie is busy or unavailable. As a result, she has more time to work on the things that improve and strenghthen our business, such as marketing, customer service, website operation....basically, all of the nuts and bolts of things.


All in all we're in a very good place business-wise, with many positive things happening, and the possible movie appearance is just frosting on the cake! It's an exciting time for both of us.


Do I miss the business? Of course I do! I really miss the everyday time I had with my daughter. And when I jumped in to help out over the holidays, there were lots of hugs from old friends and customers.


The Syracuse Gift Basket Company will always be my retirement job of choice, but in the meantime, I am kicking back and living a little. And marveling at the great things Julie is doing with our business!

New pics coming soon!

We had photo shoot this morning with our favorite photographer, Laura Brazak. Valentine's Day gifts and lots of other new designs will be up on the website soon.....stay tuned.

Custom Gift Basket - Bridal Show Give Away

One of our long time corporate clients, The Genesee Grande Hotel, recently brought in some beautiful items (wine, wine glasses, chocolates, a hotel gift certificate, an inspirational plaque, and a handsome chocolate brown chest) for us to create a gift to raffle off at a recent bridal show.

Don't be one of the sheeple

At SGB we always comment on how different our busy holiday season is from year to year. Some years everyone orders early, some years we're hit with an avalanche of orders at the last minute. Sometimes we sell tons of gift baskets with a local theme, and others hardly at all. I was really encouraged that this holiday season Central New York products were far and away what we sold the most of. It seemed like everyone was acutely aware of the difficult economic situation and decided to circle the wagons and support local businesses. It IS important, and as a small business owner nobody understands this better than me.

I am always baffled (and I've posted on this topic before) that with all the outstanding local businesses we have in this area that people are still lined up like sheep at national chain restaurants and stores to spend their hard earned money on a mediocre product and ambivalant service. Stella's vs. Denny's, Boom Babies vs. H & M, Joey's vs. Olive Garden, Sweet on Chocolate vs. Fanny Farmer, Sound Garden vs. Best Buy.....the list goes on. I guess it's because you really have to think about what you're doing if you want to break those habits. The mall, the chain restaurants - they are the easy, default answer. You don't have to think too hard. And I admit, sometimes I really don't want to think too hard.

Since becoming a small business owner myself, I have made a real effort to think about my choices and the impact they make. Recently I took it one step further - I switched from my big, impersonal regional bank (to whom I was paying a fortune in bank fees, BTW) to a very small, grassroots, Syracuse based (okay, Syracuse ONLY) credit union - Cooperative Federal. Now, it doesn't look look like any bank you've ever seen before. It's teeny-tiny. It has no drive through and no parking. But - they are super friendly, very accomodating and guess what? All the money really stays in Syracuse. They help people buy their first houses and local businesses get off the ground. With my old bank, I felt like whenever I asked something of them the answer was "no" or "it's going to cost you $30". At the credit union, the attitude is, "What can we do to help you?" Refreshing.