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!

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!

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!

The Wren's Den

A long-time customer came in recently to purchase some of our handcrafted Wren's Den soaps. When he comes in he buys them in quantity for his wife, who just loves them. We've even made soap-filled gift baskets for him. When we were located downtown, some of our customers came in just to smell The Wren's Den soaps...that really made us smile! Seems as if it was a form of aromatherapy, and customers always left feeling better.

What and where exactly is The Wren's Den? New customers are usually surprised to hear that all of our bath and body products are made locally in Marcellus by our long-time friend Mary Carlic. (She is sometimes also assisted by her husband, whom she affectionately refers to as "The Soap Slave".) We've used Mary's products from the beginning, when her only product was soap. Her line has since expanded, and her products can be found in gift shops around the Northeast. While we've experimented with some nationally made bath lines in the past, we decided a few years ago to use The Wren's Den products exclusively. Why? Anyone who has received one of our pamper/spa gifts knows just how unique these products are. Carefully handcrafted with quality ingredients, The Wren's Den line is available in the most delicious scents...traditional lavender, cucumber, oatmeal and honey, and raspberry are our favorites, as well as Mary's original Yuzu and Day at the Beach. We tuck Mary's Tubby Time soap in our baby gifts, and offer her whimsical Tickle Toes foot care online and in our store. She also creates special seasonal soaps, which we include in some of our Syracuse-themed gifts for the holidays. Besides the fact that we prefer her products, we've always felt it was important to support fellow women entreprenuers.

The other great thing you may notice about Mary's products are the beautiful labels. Every design is an original piece of artwork, created expressly for each of her scents. Why would anyone be that fussy about labels? Mary believes as we do, that her products should always be something special. We LOVE that !!!

For gifts that feature Mary's products, you can click on our company link, then "Gifts for Her".