Hello, Summer!

Even though it's still a few days away, it seems like summer is finally here. It seems like it's been raining forever, and although I know that we need it, it makes everything seem so dreary!

The good thing about rain, though, is how amazing our gardens look. I took recently took these photos of the gardens around the shop because I couldn't get over how beautifully in bloom everything was! I hope that you like these photos...and that you make your way to us soon to see them for yourself!

The shop is now open daily from 10 am - 5 pm. The store is busy with people checking our new merchandise and the 2010 Collection...life is good, but we miss you! Stop in for some coffee and cake sometime. :)

New Arrival

Happy day today! May 20th my first little grandchild was born, Avelynn Starr, 9 lbs. 4 oz. She's a beauty. Hope you won't mind future gushing and photos...typical grandmother! Life is good.

It's Spring...and we wish you were here!

As I write this blog, it's an absolutely beautiful day in Door County -- the gardens at Pipka's and around the county are filled with blooming daffodils and tulips, visitors are up for the weekend (the third-annual Door County Half Marathon is this weekend, which will bring over 1,800 runners and their families and friends to the peninsula), and plenty 0f Door County businesses are in the midst of spring cleaning, getting ready for May and the busy season ahead.

We at Pipka's are doing a bit of spring cleaning ourselves -- actually, more of a "reinventing." We've been bringing in new merchandise by the boxful -- new necklaces, bracelets (as pictured at left), and other precious adornments created by Pipka and Cynthia Wolfe; Toyko Milk soaps, lotions, and perfumes; many new original collage pieces; a variety of new cards and stationary (the Papaya Art line is my favorite!), home decor, new books...and of course, Santas!

To help us celebrate the spring season and all that it has to offer, we're inviting you to enter our Wishing Well Santa contest! This is my favorite Santa of the 2010 Collection, and I am giving one away (signed, of course! to one very lucky winner. To enter, just send us $2.00 as well as your name and address to:

Pipka's of Door County
Attention: Wishing Well Santa
PO Box 348
Sister Bay, WI 54234

If you're wondering what the $2.00 is for, it's for a special Habitat for Humanity donation that I'd like to make to the organization at the end of May. Door County's Habitat for Humanity chapter is a wonderful organization that I have supported over the years, and I would love to be able to help provide a home for a Door County resident that is in need of one -- with your help!

We'll draw a winner for the Wishing Well Santa on Friday, May 21 -- which means all entries need to be postmarked by Friday, May 14. After the drawing, we'll reveal the lucky winner in another e-newsletter, and send the personalized and autographed Pipka Santa off to its new owner! It's just our way of saying that we miss you...and we wish you were here!

Pipka's is open Friday and Saturday from 10 am - 5pm for the next few weekends and will open full-time in mid-May. Stop by -- we have MANY new and exciting things to show you!

Love,
Pipka

PS -- After a bit of a hiatus, I am back at my blog and hope to be posting to it frequently, even during the busy summer months! Be sure to check my blog for special sales, events, drawings, and more...it's a great way to keep connected to Pipka's all year-round!

For my wonderful customers...Free Shipping Days!

Pipka's 3rd Annual

ST. NICHOLAS FREE SHIPPING DAYS

Order December 1 through December 6

and receive free shipping*

with beautiful free gift wrapping available upon request

I will also sign each piece for you!

Order online (www.pipkasofdoorcounty.com), by phone (toll-free: 800-829-9235) or in the shop...order December 1 through December 6 to help us celebrate St. Nicholas Day (Dec. 6)...we'll ship your order FREE*. If you want, I can personalize my signature to your recipient, and my elves will gift-wrap if you'd like!

Shipping is by UPS ground, so you'll receive your purchases
in plenty of time for Christmas giving!

Thank you for your loyalty...enjoy the holidays!
Love, Pipka

*Free shipping to a single address only, please.

Christmas Present to Myself....Itzy and BJ!

You all know how much I love my Tigger. He's a wonderful companion, but I began to wonder if he wouldn't like some company! I'm at the studio or shop a lot of the day, and he's left to snooze or look at the window all alone.

Recently, someone brought in a young mother-to-be cat to my veterinarian...the cat was almost a kitten herself, no more than 7 or 8 months old, and she gave birth to four adorable kittens! Of course, they had to stay with their mother until they were weaned, but two of them captured my heart the moment I saw them.

This is my first picture with Itzy (a female calico) and BJ (orange male) the day I brought them home! I kept them secluded for a couple of days, but Tigger was eager to see what was behind the door. Gradually, I introduced them to each other, and Tigger got to see the newest members of our family (when they would slow down long enough!). Now they lay next to each other on the couch and there has been some brotherly licking, so I know they'll be the best of friends!

If you can offer a "forever home" to a shelter kitten or older cat, isn't Christmas the time to give yourself and that little creature the best gift of all?

Love, Pipka

How to Run a Kiosk

This year, I wanted to try something that I've always enjoyed seeing: having a kiosk at a mall! I love the way they look at holiday times because they're all themed for the season and have the perfect gifts all ready to go.

My son Jon lives in Milwaukee, which is famous for the Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa (upper west city of the city), so I drove down to check it out. The mall itself is beautiful and has the perfect clientele for my figurines...and they had a kiosk available right by Santa! How perfect is that? I can't be down there all of November and December, of course, so my son and his fiance are going to run the kiosk and oversee some other who will be helping customers.

However, I am planning to be there on November 27 and 28 (Thanksgiving weekend) as well as December 19 and 20, so I hope my friends and collectors will come by and say "hello."

Putting the kiosk together, as you'll see, is quite a production. Here's a photo of Jon and Deb - my sister-in-law who also works at the Door County store - with boxes towering over them! All the merchandise we needed was delivered at the same time, which is how we planned it.

But I must say that I'm very pleased with the kiosk. It's tasteful and showcases the Santas well. Here I am at the cash register just after we finished setting up. We had quite a few people come by this past weekend, including some little ones dressed for Halloween! Santa hasn't set up at the mall yet, but I'm sure he will help bring a lot of attention to Pipka's little kiosk, too.

The mall is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the address is 2500 North Mayfair Road in Wauwatosa, just off State Hwy 45 at Cty Hwy 100. To find my kiosk, go in the Crate & Barrel entrance and Santa and I will be right there!

I did meet some of Santa's helpers, and we posed for this photo. Shopping at a mall at Christmas with the holiday music, the decorations, Santa, and buying gifts for people you love. What could be better than that?

Love,
Pipka

Fall Fest in Sister Bay!

The weekend of October 16-18 was special...as it is every year...because Sister Bay where my little shop is located has a huge festival! All the artists line up their booths on Mill Road, right in front of Pipka's, and there's a steady stream of people in the shop all weekend long.

I made a variety of cakes with aspecial Rehrucken pan (see "Pipka's Kitchen" on my website, pipkasofdoorcounty.com), and here are some happy shoppers with my Elves Deanne (right) and Donette (center) by the tableful of cakes and cookies. An hour later, there were nothing but crumbs! (Luckily, I had many more in the freezer.)

By the end of the weekend, we're all tired...even though we've seen old friends and met new ones. Deanne's husband, Ed, always comes by with a special libation known as a Scarlett O'Hara, (he and Deanne mix them here), and we all toast our success and welcome fall in Door County (from left, Debbie, me, Amy, Deanne, Deanne's granddaughter Ashley, Donette, and Marj).

Love, Pipka