Fall

It’s the most wonderful time of the year . . . no I don’t mean Christmas, I mean Fall of course.  Living in the Southwest, it’s easy to overlook Fall because it’s still in the triple digits, (that’s code for in the 100’s for non AZ readers) however, it’s the beginning of the holiday season.  You see it everywhere, the stores have Halloween decorations AND Christmas decorations out at the same time.  There are so many decorating options that it can almost be overwhelming to the design challenged.  COTS advice is to use what makes you happy.  WHAT?  you may say, what kind of advice is that?  Let me show you what I’m talking about.  I decorated my buffet and there’s a little bit of shabby chic with the white pumpkins, glam with the glittery silver pumpkins, country chic with the burlap prints, the hurricane glass pedestal brings in some Tuscan flavor and hiding in the back is the large glass vase filled with mini pumpkins, gourds and tall twigs which in a natural kind-of-way, brings it all together.  My point is, mixing the different styles in your home makes the overall design look effortless, and most importantly makes me happy.  Effortless styles is what COTS is all about!

It's All About Trial & Error

We didn’t forget you, we’re just busy making this venture official that the tedious steps barely seem blog worthy.  During all of this, we still keep our creative hats on and have worked on a few new tea towel designs and other creations for the upcoming holidays.

I think we gave you a little hint in our last entry about a new tea towel design that hit us when we were at the Sourcing at Magic convention in Las Vegas.  Let us know what you think?  Our tea towels are a huge hit and living in the Southwest, this seemed just perfect.

As we enter the last quarter of the year, we’re getting ready for the holidays.  WAKE UP PEOPLE, yes, we are approaching that time of year and it looks like you and 3 thousand of our best friends can find us at the Central Farmers Market for the Fall Crafters event in October. We have been asked to set up our fab little shop 3 Saturdays in a row; (October 13^th, 20^th, & 27^th). We’ll take the month of November off to recover (while eating turkey and pie), and gear up again for the first three Saturdays in December (12/1, 12/8, 12/15).  Mark your calendars, plan to visit and get some (or all) of your holiday shopping done. There will also be a gift wrap station at the market to make your life easier!

Here are a couple of Halloween costumes we have available.

Wait, I think I kind of drifted away from the theme of the entry before I even started chatting about it.  What was the topic again, oh yes . . . Trial and Error.  Here at COTS it’s so important to us that we bring to you unique, top quality products.  Our most recent trial and error has been working with freezer paper.  Oh that darn freezer paper!  Brenda was brave enough to tackle the freezer paper and the 18 steps it takes to get a less than acceptable finished product. Earlier last month, I took a different approach with the freezer paper, and unfortunately…..not acceptable.  The moral of the story is that some ideas take time.  After all, it’s not called Chanel No. 1, it took five attempts before Chanel No. 5 was what it is today!

What happens in Vegas . . .

On Monday, we took our “show on the road” to where else…Vegas, baby!  Okay, maybe COTS is not really a road show but we did attend the annual Sourcing at Magic tradeshow.  Let me tell you, it was an eye-opening experience.  If you are a designer and/or buyer in the fashion industry, this tradeshow is for you!  At times, we felt like fish out of water but we learned a lot and found some potential suppliers for items like ribbon, bags and hats.  Although we may have been able to find the suppliers online, we are hands-on, 100% involved so we can see and touch everything, and besides, this particular portion of the tradeshow was free (who doesn’t like free), and we were excited to receive complimentary Square readers (again with the free), we got ideas for tea towel designs, and got to share some laughs on the flight home. We cannot wait to share our new ideas and designs with you, and if you’re local to the southwest, we have one you’ll LOVE!  As with any growing business, we want to learn from our experiences and I learned to ALWAYS bring a cloth napkin everywhere I go (it’s just one of my things), and beware of the cab driver that will rip you off…correction, try to rip you off.  COTS may be a new venture, and always learning but we will do our best to not be taken advantage of so we can pass all of our deals onto the best part of this ride, you, our customers.

Just a reminder, our next Central Farmers Market appearance will be Saturday, September 1^st from 8:00 to Noon.  As we are working towards launching our internet boutique soon, we are starting to narrow down our regular product line.  If there’s anything you want us to start carrying, let us know. 

Until next time, enjoy the rest of your week!

Lady Lanie Lou

   

     At this past weekend's Farmers Market, we were formally greeted by royalty in the form of a princess . . . enter, Lady Lanie Lou, the cutest little girl.  She was dressed in her proper Farmers Market attire consisting of what else, but a tutu and tiara!  Lady Lou was full of energy, definitely more than the average 3 year old princess.  Her bubbling personality had enough mischief to keep her Farmers Market subjects entertained.  Lady Lou had us all wanting to walk around wearing tiaras and tutus (come on you know you have at least one of them collecting dust in your closet).  Imagine how much fun the laundry, house cleaning and grocery shopping would be if we wore our princess gear as well as Lady Lanie Lou. Until next time, have a great week and let's take a cue from Lady Lou by wearing our tiara while we Stay Calm and Carry On!

Design Inspiration

     It has been awhile since we last posted but Brenda and I have been busy traveling and visiting family. Brenda spent time in Chicago visiting the in-laws and I had fun visiting my sisters and baby niece who happened to be born on my birthday (I know what you're thinking and yes, I am the best auntie ever!). No matter where we are, we constantly keep our eyes open for design ideas. Many COTS designs are original such as our burp cloths, tutus, tea towels, jute bags, flower clips, pillow bands and onesies; however, we're just like you.  We get A LOT of our ideas from Pinterest. Pinterest has quickly become our favorite website and our biggest down-time obsession (I prefer to use the term "researching".)! I'm constantly telling friends that Pinterest is a life changer. I don't think, I'll ever have to buy shampoo, laundry soap, cooking and/or bug spray ever again! We realize and are betting that a fair amount of you pin a lot of ideas but rarely get around to doing them. You're not alone in the "I can do that" department. There are so many ideas running through our heads as we pin idea after idea onto our boards imagining how we can make it by using a certain material, style or color we're drawn to. Some Pinterest ideas that we've put our own twist on are: picture frame dry erase boards, metal tray chalk boards, and wine corks. We're currently working on tile coasters, dry erase menu boards, monogram canvas bags, and about 113 other ideas, all in our heads of course. We also believe once we figure out what to do with freezer paper (another Pinterest pin), the design potential will be endless. So as we try to master the next "I can do that" thing, happy pinning!

The Many Purposes of a Tea Towel

One of COTS most popular item is our “oh-so-fab” tea towel.  Why so popular one might ask?  We believe our tea towels make the PERFECT hostess gifts and kitchen accessories. They go even better when delivering baked goods to your friends or neighbors. Yes, people still do that, and then your kind gesture turns into an extra special treat delivered.



Fourth of July and Team USA Towels




Giada De Laurentiis has a COTS towel.



Here at COTS, we strongly believe that life’s accessories should not be expensive so we priced our tea towels at $10.  Perhaps I should go back to the basics and explain the history of the tea towel.  Traditionally tea towels were used to cover warm scones or tea pots to prevent heat loss.  I’m sensing that is where the name came from.  A dictionary definition of a tea towel is a towel used to dry dishes and/or utensils.  Hhhmmm, All-righty then….. how about I just share what we like to do with tea towels.  Like the dictionary definition, I tend to grab a tea towel when I dry any silver, glasses and plates.  They leave what I’m drying completely spot and lint free.  Brenda recently taught me that because our towels are made from 100% cotton 28”x29” flour-sack material, they are perfect to use when rolling out pie crust, cookies or pizza dough.  Simply lay our towel on the counter, sprinkle some flour on it and then proceed to roll out the dough.  Once done, just pick-up the towel containing the loose flour and shake it outside.  However you decide to use your COTS tea towels, we are confident that there is a design that best suits your personality, or your friends, since you’ll soon realize it’s the perfect, affordable gift to give for any occasion or simply because they are oh-so-fab!



Central Farmers Market

Once a month COTS is invited to participate as a guest vendor at the Valley's fastest growing Farmers Market in Central Phoenix, (we're certain the growth and success is due to our presence).  This Farmers Market has quickly become a fun family ritual where on Saturday mornings, the locals will walk to the market pushing strollers or pulling wagons while drinking their morning coffee and walking the dog.  It's wonderful to be a part of the neighborhood and see everyone supporting local businesses,  taking an interest in fresh produce and purchasing the latest unique treasure.  To say thank you and contribute to the community, we donate a percentage of our day's proceeds to the church.  For all you locals reading this, the Centeral Farmers Market is conveniently located on the southest corner of Central and Northern at the Crossroads Church with special summer hours from 8:00 a.m. to noon (regular hours are from 9:00 to 2:00 p.m.) and runs year round.  That's right, this Farmers Market is open rain, snow or shine.  Okay, maybe it is a stretch to say "snow" when referring to weather in the Valley of the Sun, but Brenda and I have braved the April winds and drizzle to most recently enjoying the 110 degree heat.  We promise that you'll find something (or 3 things) that you won't be able to live without.  The Vendor's quarterly schedule will be out any day, so check back and we'll let you know our upcoming Market dates.  Until then enjoy the photos.  UPDATE:  Our next Farmers Market dates are 8/4 and 9/1, we hope to see you there.