So with the help of the lovely Allison this week, Kanibal Home started to assemble it's stellar holiday assortment. And the slightly frightening / totally exciting part is that this is just the beginning of what we'll be offering this season!
(Ornament tree and table setting display)
(Detail of the table setting: Feather placement + melamine doily plate + glass goblet = FESTIVE)
(Knit cupcake ornaments on a noir cake pedestal plate)
(Extreme close up of the very glittery bird ornaments)
(This one looks a bit confused ... or drugged)
(Hello, how cute are these owl coin purses?!)
(New peacock bags, frames and candy dishes)
(Where are my fellow art history nerds? Doesn't this remind you of "This is not a pipe"? It's totally why I bought it for the shop ... for everyone else, an awesome coin or tobacco pouch)
(Back by popular demand -- with a new owl style -- are the handmade felt kids scarves. Peace Sign and Owl design pictured above.)
(Kids Scarves: Blue and Pink Skull pictured above)
Just a peak at the new brand we just got in the shop ... totally loving it up!
In addition to the above, we also got vintage skeleton key necklaces back in stock as well as some brand spanking new jackets, flirty dresses and tops.
We love Halloween at Kanibal Home. So what better time to announce a sale? Seriously. So join us this weekend (starting tonight) as we unveil a rack of really great sale items. That means coats, shirts, skirts and dresses are all going to be discounted!
OK, OK we may be using Halloween as a little bit of an excuse. The truth? We just want more room to put out all the amazing holiday items we've been hoarding! So come by, help us clear out some great items and let's make room for a ton of very special surprises.
Out of all the annual holidays, I'm always torn: do I like Halloween or Thanksgiving better? Thanksgiving sometimes pushes into the lead when I think about my aunt's pineapple bread or cranberry sauce and pumpkin cheesecake, but there's just something special about Halloween. Little kids dressed up in creepy costumes, gangs of women dressed as skimpy bunnies and cats, copious amounts of sugar ... Ok, I can pass on the bunnies and cats. But still.
Halloween is great, but it just got a little better. Check out these images from the Halloween in the Time of Cholera Flickr account. All these photos date from the early 1900's and -- let me just say -- on the creepy meter, these kids put our modern day ghouls to shame.
In connection with yesterday's radio interview, check out the linked WNYC article:October 23, 2009
By Jenna Flanagan
Wall Street — Main Street. It’s been a constant refrain since the economy began to tumble months ago. As the first bank bailouts hit, one big question was what does this mean for Main Street? WNYC is following five blocks over the next year to see how the economic downturn is being experienced on the street level.
Grove Street’s popular Beechwood café is a popular weekend hangout. It’s just two blocks from the PATH train and across the street from City Hall. On a sunny day, outdoor tables seem to fill up first and stragglers must sit inside.
Several of the boutiques on Grove Street have sidewalk signs enticing customers to come in. Owner Kristen Scalia often uses puns on the store’s name. The other side reads, “Kanibal Home. Come in, we don’t bite.”
Like many Grove Street treasures, stores are small and if you’re not paying attention you could miss them. But what’s inside is always a delightful surprise.
Skin Organix, is another store which has been bruised but not beaten down by the economy. Owner Michelle Williams says she’s got more than enough fight in her and is encouraged by her loyal customer base.
The entrance is downstairs but the store is nothing but class. Owner Michelle Williams hopes to expand upstairs to the former real estate shop so she can offer more natural beauty services.
Skin Organix has a very calming and serene feel, which is perfect for the new personal services that will be provided. Owner Michelle Williams is also in talks to expand her store into a chain at the new retail center that will be in the old Limelight church.
Even if you’re not shopping, although ALL of the business owners would like you to by something while you’re there, Grove Street is still a great neighborhood to stroll through.
NEW YORK, NY October 26, 2009 —Walking down Jersey City’s Grove Street you could forget there's an economic crisis. On any given weekend, people happily mingle in the Grove Point courtyard at Grove Street’s Path Station, and crowd the sidewalks as they move in and out of local stores.
And if you want an outdoor table at any of the café’s, get there before 11 or you'll have to wait. As part of our Main Street series, WNYC’s Jenna Flanagan takes us back to New Jersey.
REPORTER: Less than two miles long, Grove Street feels like a dividing line between Jersey City’s old and new downtown neighborhood. Grove crosses Newark Ave--with its uneven pavement, empty store fronts, distressed awnings and dollar stores.
Neighborhood foot traffic tends to stay on Grove, where new high rise luxury developments and 19th brownstones attract a consistent number of consumers who still feel they have a little bit of extra money in their pockets to go shopping. And when they step into one of the small businesses that have defined this area since the late 1990's, its likely they'll find the owner behind the counter.
SCALIA: Jersey City’s really special, because we are kind of a small little community, so you see a lot of shoppers who are very loyal to the small business’ here.
REPORTER: That’s Kristen Scalia, owner of Kanibal Home, the hip clothing and home goods store on the end of the Grove Street shopping strip. She moved her online business to real life during the height of the recession in April of 2009. Scalia says her personal touch and attention to details has helped attract customers in and kept them coming back.
SCALIA: I have people coming in buying sweaters, people buying coats, in preparation for the fall, where I think last year what I heard from some of the other retailers is, people were waiting until November to start making those purchases. So people are buying you know hundred dollar bags, they are spoiling themselves on a couple of really nice ticket items.
REPORTER: She says her landlord a fellow business owner on Grove has also helped her store thrive. Scalia rented the space on the corner of corner of Grove and Montgomery, her landlord gave her below market rate for her 650 square foot store. Scalia says she knows she’s lucky.
SCALIA: Some businesses fail because their landlords aren’t being flexible and allowing them the growth and the, probably the time it takes to kind of establish yourself here.
REPORTER: One landlord who is trying to make sure Grove remains vital is developer Eric Silverman of Exeter Property Company. He and his brother have been developing and rehabilitating historic buildings for almost 30 years. They own five on Grove Street.
Silverman says for a neighbourhood to thrive it needs to have the unique feeling that creative independent retailers bring. As a landlord, his company is willing to rent below market rate which can run as high as $40 a sq foot. Silverman says he'll go as low as $25 a sq foot for the right tenant.
SILVERMAN: So it was really just finding people we liked, sitting them down and saying what can you afford? And making a deal with them.
REPORTER: Silverman says if you go to any ‘happening’ city in the world, it's the neighborhood businesses that create the buzz on the street.
SILVERMAN: It’s the quality of the merchants that’s key. You know Starbucks is great, but you know, every Starbucks is the same. So if you can find a unique experience, I think that’s what will attract people here and it makes residents feel good about their neighbourhood.
REPORTER: But it's not as if the economic downturn hasn't hit the Grove St. Blogger Ian MacAllen, who edits, publishes "New York’s 6th", a blog about Jersey City says the nearby Newport Mall has felt much more of the major volatility of the recession.
MACALLEN: The national chains have looked to their bottom line and immediately started cutting down on low performing stores. The independent businesses are a little more flexible, with lower profit margins to begin with.
REPORTER: Back on Grove Street, Skin Organix owner Michelle Williams says customer support has been keeping her business going through the recession. But she says her landlord doesn't seem interested in keeping her small business on Grove.
WILLIAMS: He approached me recently to find out if I would be willing to give up my lease. And I’m like, ‘is that what you want?’ You know yeah things are tough, and I’ve struggled with the rent. But for the past four years, I’ve been the perfect tenant. Has he stepped up to the plate and said let’s work this out, let’s see what we can do? Nothing.
REPORTER: Williams refuses to be shaken.
WILLIAMS: This is my business and I’m gonna make it work.
REPORTER: She says surviving the tough economic climate means re-assessing her approach to business. Her organic beauty and grooming supply store has started offering new services like facials, waxing and massages. She's rearranged her basement level store to make room for these new services. Williams says small changes like those don’t cost her much, but for her customer relations, they're priceless.
WILLIAMS: That’s the value of us being here. YOu know, I could go out of business and a Sephora could move in or some other big chain something or another, but ho-hum. That’s just like any other neighborhood. And when the customers walk through the door of Sephora, is the owner gonna know their names? Know what vacation they’re just returning from? I don’t think so.
REPORTER: City officials are hoping they can expand Grove Street’s customer driven success on to Newark Ave. John Reichert, President of the Downtown Special Improvement District says plans are already underway to make Newark Ave more welcoming to shoppers.
REICHERT: We've redone almost all the sidewalks on Newark Avenue, There's new street lights going in, street furniture, trash cans.
REPORTER: Grove Street’s success is partially due to it’s growing consumer base. Nearly two years ago, Grove Pointe towers introduced nearly 2,000 new residents to the Grove Street and it will soon be bookended as constructions workers are putting the finishing touches on another luxury development, Liberty Towers.
It is set to open this spring, and attract another 3,000-4,000 people who eventually will all need to shop. For WNYC, I’m Jenna Flanagan.
REPORTER: Federal stimulus funds are also helping the neighborhood. Downtown Jersey City received more then $600,000 in stimulus funds to clean up a contaminated lot near the waterfront, support the Jersey City Museum, and a small dry cleaning business.
We are a home furnishings and lifestyle store rooted in the belief that history is the heart of the home. Kanibal Home’s offerings include redesigned and reupholstered salvaged furniture, one-of-a-kind jewelry, limited edition pillows, wall art, found objects and vintage dishware, among others. “Pretty things” can make life better, but they can also be better for life. Kanibal Home repurposes goods, devouring the old and creating something new.
(Ornament tree and table setting display)
(Detail of the table setting: Feather placement + melamine doily plate + glass goblet = FESTIVE)
(Knit cupcake ornaments on a noir cake pedestal plate)
(Extreme close up of the very glittery bird ornaments)
(This one looks a bit confused ... or drugged)
(Hello, how cute are these owl coin purses?!)
(New peacock bags, frames and candy dishes)
(Where are my fellow art history nerds? Doesn't this remind you of "This is not a pipe"? It's totally why I bought it for the shop ... for everyone else, an awesome coin or tobacco pouch)
(Back by popular demand -- with a new owl style -- are the handmade felt kids scarves. Peace Sign and Owl design pictured above.)
(Kids Scarves: Blue and Pink Skull pictured above)
(The End. For today ...)
