I AM BACK....HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I am back!!  Happy New Year!!!  We've got some great ideas for 2019 and we hope that you will be with us throughout the entire year.

Valentine's Day was very fine this year.  Sour Petite Hearts were back and those of you who came early to get yours were doing the right thing.  We do have a few left....in case you want some more.

Easter is Sunday April 21 and we are planning our popular Build a Basket program, where you can pick from our goodies for a basket and we will give you the basket, the cellophane wrap and shred, as well as the bow FREE!.  Starting April 1 (No Fooling!!), order your baskets.

We are totally excited about bringing Rachel, the Trollbeads jewelry artisan back to our store to create beautiful glass beads for our Trollbeads fans.  Mark yourr calendar....April 5, 6, and 7 and call Janet for an appointment to get your FREE bead, as well as the various special promotions we will have in the store.  Also meet Eric, Trollbeads Brand Specialist and get the latest news from him.

For those attending Proms this year we are working on some yummy and fun promotions.  Bring your date or even better, your date's mother a box of truffles when you pick up your date for Prom.  Match your Prom dress with some gorgeous earrings, necklaces and bracelets from our various jewelry lines.

Moms, Dads and Grads:  we are planning for you as well.  I am especially excited about the gifts for Dads.  As you know, it is always a bit challenging to shop for Dads....too many ties, sox, t-shirts and nothing really fun and functional.  Well, we've got those kind of gifts coming to Sweet Tooth.

If you haven't signed up for our email newsletter, you better!!  It is full of pictures and news about the store and comes out 2 times a week.  If you love jewelry, sign up for our Wednesday email newsletters showing what unique jewelry we have in the store.

Chala bags and tote lovers:  Mid-March some new merchandise will arrive....remember it is all vegan...no animals harmed in the making of this fabulous line and the price is just right.

OK.  Enough for now.  I promise not to neglect my blog this year, so watch for more news and come shop at Sweet Tooth....your Happy Place!!!

The Real Meaning of the Season!!

Each Christmas season we have a number of great signs pertaining to the holiday.  Here is my favorite sign EVER!

It is a drawing of a traditional snowman, with black hat, carrot nose, coal eyes and mouth,  What the sign says makes it my favorite:

WHAT WE LEARN FROM SNOWMEN

STAY COOL.

HONOR YOUR MAKER.

DRESS FOR THE WEATHER.

STAND TALL...YOU CAN RELAX IN THE SPRING.

WE'RE ALL A LITTLE FLAKY.

Today we have Santa in our store, taking free photos with kids and adults.  We've been doing this for a few years, with the best and kindest Santa EVER.

I just heard him say something to one of our visitors, as meaningful as the Snowman sign:

"If you mess up, I will give you a do over!  And if you are really good, you can give that do over to a friend."

Between Santa and the Snowman sign, we can really learn the real meaning of this holiday season.

More to come................

Here's My Testimonial

Some of us know that at a certain time in life brown spots begin to appear on your arms, hands, sometimes your legs.  If you have pale skin, those brown spots are really noticeable.  The drug stores sell all sorts of creams to fade them, however, let's face it, those creams don't work one bit!!

So now I am going to provide a testimony on brown spots.  I've got them...I'm not too happy about it and I'd like to wish them away.  

But here is my testimony and it is really true!!  Years ago we were at the Gift Market in a showroom where a company was introducing a hand, body and foot lotion which was endorsed by Meredith Baxter.  Remember her on the t.v. show with Michael J. Fox...she played his mom.

We listened to the spiel and bought the line.  It is called Caren.  One of the other appealing aspects of Caren is that part of the sales are donated to Cancer Research.

But here's the deal:  I have been faithfully using Caren body lotion on a daily basis.  After my morning shower, I spread it on my arms and my legs.  It is my ritual and I hadn't been paying too much attention to any results from the lotion...I just knew that it felt good and the scent was not overpowering.

Recently I noticed that those awful brown spots had been fading.  What? I asked myself.  Could it really be that the Caren lotion was working and fading those spots?

I remember talking to one of Caren's spokespeople who had been a skater....professionally, I think.  He had decided to try the foot cream on his crusty old feet and he experimented by putting the cream on one foot, but not on the other.

I was skeptical about that story when he told me that the skin on the foot with the cream had softened and was showing great improvement.

So shame on me for doubting his story, cuz now I have a similiar story of my own.  Of course Caren has its 2 shelves at Sweet Tooth.  I no longer look at Caren as a pretty after-the-shower lotion.  I look on it as a product which actually does what it says.

Stay tuned for more testimonials and come try Caren lotions!!

The Jingle Bells Are Ringing!!

We can hear the Jingle Bells ringing.  It is that time of the year when the store is full of wonderful gifts and candies and the time goes by so fast we can hardly believe it when we close the door on December 24.

You might want to know what it takes to prepare for the Holiday season. In January, 2018 we began ordering Holiday items for the store.  At the January Gift Market we had the opportunity to see what companies were promising for the 4th quarter.  By June Gift Market, a great deal of those items were already committed.

We tell our customers that if the item or the candy is seasonal, it is best to buy it when you see it.  I have already had the experience of attempting to re-ordering some Holiday merchandise in August and found it was sold out.  This is definitely the case for food items.  No manufacturer wants to have left over holiday food items and no retailer wants that problem either.

This year we have a number of new things to offer.  For us, after 26 years, that is really a BIG DEAL.  Patience Brewster ornaments are back and we are the only Tulsa store carrying them.  Our new artisan hand-crafted silver and gold jewelry is also a wonderful new line for us and once again, we are the only store to have it.  EarthGrace is the name and beauty is the game!!  We are already ordering a second delivery for the 2nd week of December.

When new candy becomes available, we are over the moon with excitement.  Our Awesome Fudge, our Pumpkin shaped Truffles (already sold out), our cups filled with hot chocolate mix and marshmellows are just a few of the delightful new food items for our store.

Now what does it take to get all this going?  Keep marching and don't look back.  Realize that there will be little time for recreational activities, dinners out, family get togethers, etc.  However, we still love this work. 

Watch for the Exclusive Christmas Ornament created by the Tulsa Glassblowers Studio for Sweet Tooth. Only 25 will be available for sale, although we will carry many of the ornaments this very talented group is making as I am writing this piece.

Watch for our Open House, Photos with Santa, Christmas music with Gyan and Scott, 3 booksignings in December, Black Friday specials and so much more.

Watch this space.

Hey!! Good News!!

Here's something to brighten your day.

Spangler candy company has purchased the rights to manufacture NECCOS and those cute little Sweetheart candies we love at Valentines Day.  Now that ought to comfort those who were a little upset about NECCOS no longer available.

I don't know when the new company will begin production, but you can be certain that we will have them at Sweet Tooth.  In fact, we have some NECCOS right now....get over and get some.

Thursday evening October 11 from 5-7:30 pm we are hosting the Glasssblowers from the Tulsa Glassblowers Studio who are bringing approximately 300 glass pumpkins of all sizes and prices to sell.  Since this summer, the Glassblowers have been creating 1000 glass pumpkins and this is the final group now available.  If you can't make it to Sweet Tooth, be certain that we will have some of the pumpkins in our store through the end of October or until they sell out!!

That's good news, right?

We have also been able to re-order some of our Patience Brewster ornaments which have begun to sell out for the season.  The ornaments should be in the store very soon....check them out.

How about those people who annually wonder why they can't buy the Cinnamon Candy Corn by itself...why it has to be in an assortment instead of by itself?  Well, great news!!  This year the Cinnamon Candy Corn IS by itself and you can get it without having to have the chocolate and the regular candy corn in the assortment!!

Fudge!!  We now have Awesome Fudge in packages at Sweet Tooth....and there is Sugar Free Fudge as well.  Hey, we listen to our customers and really work hard to have what you are asking for.  We have peanut butter and chocolate, pumpkin and chocolate, as well as Sugar Free chocolate and walnut. 

I don't want to over do the good news., I will save some of that news for a later blog.

Hope to see you really soon at Sweet Tooth.

NECCO,-- Closed Its Doors and Gone!!

Here's what I know about the oldest American Candy Maker, known to all for manufacturing NECCO candies and those Sweetheart Hearts we have all consumed for Valentine's Day.

NECCO, founded in 1847, is now gone.  Doors shut, 400 employees laid off and no website to check out NECCO's products.  Although there are rumors about an unknown company buying NECCO, there is no real hope that the products we have loved will return to store shelves someday.

And there is no insider information as to what happened that caused the company to close its doors.

So, a brief pause for the passing of the oldest candy company in America.

However, Black Jack, Beeman's and Clove gum are returning in November.  As Mary Engelbreit says in her Engeldark cards: 

WHEN LIFE SHUTS A DOOR, OPEN IT AGAIN.  IT'S A DOOR...THAT'S HOW IT WORKS!!

Stay tuned.

Tariffs. What They Mean For You And Us.

National retail organizations are beginning to comment on the effect which President Trump's tariffs on goods coming into the U.S. will have on retail and its employees.

I have read that these tariffs, if enacted, will up the cost of goods and affect the employment of people who have retail jobs.  Naturally this is an area of concern for us as we continue to order for our store.

The products and candy which we have on order at this point were not effected by any future tariffs.  They were ordered, produced and shipped prior to the Administration's new policies on tariffs.  What we are looking for is the effect it might have on 2019 goods.

Retailers continually face the question of what to do about increasing costs both in product and in shipping costs.  These increases have to be added to the bottom line of what consumers are paying both at local stores and online, and retailers ability to hire staff.   I have written about this situation at least once before, hoping that we can all be prepared for any changes in pricing or ability to have goods arrive on time.

We will keep you posted as to these matters and what retailers will be able to do to adjust pricing as minimally as possible.

Stay tuned.