GIFT SHOP Magazine Circulation Offer

For some small-business owners, the terrible economy holds an unexpected silver lining: It's a lot easier to get more space.

As hosts of businesses close their doors, vacancy rates are soaring and rents are plummeting. So, small companies that are still on their feet—and looking to expand—suddenly have lots of leverage with landlords. And they're making the most of the chance, snaring prime locations and larger spaces, often at a fraction of the regular asking price. Read more...

Valentine's Day is nearly upon us. With it come roses, greeting cards … and candy. Every year I can look forward to a box of chocolates from my husband on Valentine's Day, and I don't mean the kind of candy that may have been sitting on the shelf for a long, long time.

I'm talking about the real thing: handmade chocolates in a variety of tasty fillings sitting snugly in the candy box just waiting to give up their flavor in that first bite. My husband knows only one kind of candy is really acceptable for a Valentine's Day gift: Kellerhaus candy. Read more...

There’s a simple reason for the clothes-wearing mannequin on the landing outside of AliKat on Bearskin Neck.

“We’ll put a $180 ladies’ jacket on the mannequin and sell four or five of those on a Saturday,’’ said Arthur Merry, who owns the upscale women’s boutique with his wife, Sherry. Read more...

After working for 14 years as a designer in flower shops in Mt. Pleasant and Weidman, Sue Chapman decided to go into business for herself.

She always wanted to open a gift shop, and her experience in floral design prompted her to open Buds and Blossoms Gift Shop in Lake Isabella. Read more...

Can you envision yourself as the next great chocolatier or candy artist showing your skills on a Food Network challenge? Or maybe you’d just like to be able to decorate a cake for your child’s birthday or give a delicious gift you know will be truly appreciated.

Where do you start? A good place would be Penny’s Sweet Supplies at 4276 Beverly Hills Drive in Brunswick (that’s just off Pearl Road across from Mapleside). This 1,200-square-foot store is packed with all you’ll ever need to make life sweeter for yourself or someone else. Read more...

Southeast Valley cities are in a cordial but high-stakes battle for residents' spending money.

Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert and Tempe have started or intensified their "shop local" campaigns in recent months, some offering cloth bags, stickers, magnets, e-mailed sale notices and shopping search engines. The inspiration to step up the promotions comes from a more than two-year downward slide of municipal sales tax revenues - money that municipalities need to pay for services. Read more...

The 3.3% increase over the previous year cheers merchants but shoppers are still exercising restraint. Nordstrom and TJX post double-digit gains. Read more...

Washington — The Treasury Department will invest up to $1 billion from the federal bank bailout fund in small banks and credit unions that make loans to small businesses in some of the communities most ravaged by the economic downturn, officials announced on Wednesday.

About 210 institutions will be eligible for low-cost capital under the Troubled Asset Relief Program, created in 2008 to buy assets from troubled banks, Treasury officials said. The eligible institutions are 60 banks and thrifts with a total of $21 billion in assets and 150 credit unions with a combined $5 billion in assets. Read more...

The Little Flower School in Brooklyn teaches people how to make their own arrangements. Sarah Ryhanen and Nicolette Owen discovered each other the way everyone does these days: online. Ryhanen owns Saipua, a flower shop in Red Hook, Brooklyn, where she also sells beautifully packaged soap made by her mother. (“Saipua” is Finnish for “soap.”) Owen runs her own Williamsburg-based flower biz focusing on private events. They are kindred spirits, who make stunning flower arrangements in the style of “Oh, these wild things I just cut out back?” Of course, the flowers are particularly chosen and arranged — and not cheap. Read more...

Salem, MA — Fewer people visited Salem attractions in 2009, and they spent less money while they were here — a reflection of the overall economy. But there were unexpected highlights, too.

Some businesses say they were braced for worse and were relieved to find they did better than expected. Others saw surprise successes, like the Peabody Essex Museum, which reported a 5 percent increase in attendance from 2008 to 2009 and record sales at the museum gift shop. Read more...