2011 Gift Guide: For Him

We're back! And, today, we're talking about gifts for the fellas. Guys can be so tricky to buy for, so we've done the dirty work and sniffed out all the best gifts for the men in your life. From the entertainer to the artist to the man's man, we've found the perfect thing to brighten his holiday.

(click to enlarge photo)

1. "Quality cuts of meat" place mats - set of 4 different butcher diagram place mats ($45)
2. Letterpress printed correspondence set (various styles, $20)
3. "Good Grief" glass tumblers - set of 2 ($30)
4. Retro 1951 classic rollerball pens (various colors, $24)
5. Old Man Drinks book of recipes and lore ($14.95)
6. Pantone ceramic mugs (various colors, $16)
7. Denim laptop case by Thomas Paul ($68)
8. Print Workshop: Hand Printing Techniques book ($19.99)
9. Triple-milled, fragrance free oatmeal soaps & ceramic soap dishes (various styles, $20)
10. Cardboard animal busts by Cardboard Safari (various animals, $62-$65)

And, of course, there is so much more. We really did some serious hunting this year to make sure we had goodies for all our favorite guys in addition to our favorite gals. So, be sure to stop in soon to find the perfect goodie for the lad on your list!

2011 Gift Guide: For Her

Hello lovelies! Happy Monday.

Over the next few weeks, we'll be posting our fabulous Gift Guides to help you find the perfect present for all the friends and family on your shopping list.

To kick things off, let's talk about gifts for the women in your life! From wife or girlfriend to mother, daughter or lovely office-mate, these goodies are sure to delight the gals in your group. Better yet, ladies, help out your loved ones and send them in with some notes or directions to chat with us (we love to help with shopping needs!), and we'll be sure to point them in the right direction to fill all your Gus & Ruby desires.

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1. Sea Bags - totes and clutches made in Portland, ME from recycled sails (variety of sizes/styles $26 - $195)
2. Botanical wall calendar ($23)
3. Heirloom hand-turned wood recipe box with recipe cards ($130)
4. Rob Ryan cut-paper-inspired set of 4 plates ($44)
5. Aquiesse hand-poured soy candles (variety of sizes/scents $22 - $40)
6. Decorate: 1000 professional design ideas for every room in your home ($35)
7. Freya Art prints ($48-$76)

Of course, this is just a SMALL sampling of the many fabulous gifties we have in store; so, be sure to stop in soon for the full shopping experience! We are happy to take phone/email orders and ship product, too, so phone is fine :) Hope to see you soon and stay tuned for more gift guides and holiday ideas!

xoxo,
The Gus & Ruby gals

Thank You!!

So just a quick little post for today pals, because the shop has been busy busy!! But I wanted to give a HUGE SHOUT OUT to all of the vendors who participated in our Black Friday and Small Business Saturday giveaways! We had such a blast getting these giveaways pulled together, and I can't even explain how awesome it was to watch all of our lovely customers today win big!! Their smiles and laughter made the work (and the donations) feel so worth it.

We constantly rave about how great you all are (because you're the best!!) - but today, we send our amazing vendors a very special thanks for taking such incredible care of all of us! Without you, the shop would not be what it is, and without all of you, there would be a lot less beautiful stuff out there in the world! Keep doing what you do best - dreaming, creating, and inspiring! We love you from the bottom of our hearts!!

100% hand-poured soy candles from Aquiesse

Letterpress printed holiday greeting cards from Dee & Lala

Metallic holiday gift tags from Fig. 2 Designs

Page flags from Girl of All Work

Hand-printed red sparrow ornaments from Hammerpress

Orla Kiely notebooks and pencils from Libretto

Boxed holiday cards and letterpress coasters from Mr. Boddington's Studio

Gift tags and holiday greeting cards from Rifle Paper Company

Boxed, letterpress printed holiday cards from Smock

Letterpress printed holiday greeting cards from Sycamore Street Press

100% cotton twine from Whisker Graphics

Holiday greeting cards from Yellow Owl Workshop

We're trying to dream up how we could possibly top these giveaways next year :) it'll take some real brainstorming on our part, for sure!

Happy Friday - and here'e to the rest of this beautiful holiday weekend!

See you around,

xo Lizzy

So much to be thankful for.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love this holiday because it rings in the holiday season -my favorite time of the year, as most of you know! - and, more importantly, reminds me how much I have to be thankful for in my life. Also, it's all about food. And, I can really get behind a food-based holiday.

Whitney, Liz and I would like to take a moment today to say a truly heartfelt THANK YOU to all our dear customers, clients, fans, families and friends near and far. We are continuously humbled and inspired by your incredible friendship, creativity, and support. Thank you for giving us amazing ideas, for encouraging us and for continuing to shop local and supporting small businesses like ours. We are amazed at our incredible community who comes together for so many important causes throughout the year and who show what they are made of during trying times. It's pretty incredible what our community can do.

We are wishing you all a most joyous Thanksgiving full of comfort, coziness, delicious food, raucous laughter and lots to be thankful for. Thank you, again, for everything. We are so lucky to have you all in our lives and we truly appreciate your support and business.

Gobble, gobble!

Love,

Samantha, Whitney, Liz, Gus & Ruby

PS: We hope to see you this weekend for our Black Friday /Small Business Saturday Event (check out details HERE) and throughout the season!

poisonous leaves...

Just a little tidbit for you all - we just received our shipment from Set Editions, a new line of products by the lovely and talents Alison Riley. The company was founded in 2004, and offers letterpress printed cards, foil stamped postcards (which are DIVINE) and all sorts of other goodies! What we love about Set though, is how amenable Alison's designs are to the everyday snail-mail sender (because for us, that's what good stationery is all about!)

How can you not adore that foil stamping on chipboard?!

And who doesn't want to receive a quick and informational greeting card that demonstrates poisonous leaves found in the woods? :)

Set Editions also came up with these clever rocks glasses that we'll be carrying for the holidays. What a perfect gift match up with our Old Man Drinks and Art of the Bar (not that anyone is thinking about holiday shopping just yet ;)

Hope you guys are all gearing up for an awesome Thanksgiving! We're really excited about the upcoming week and have big plans for you on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for updates on our facebook page and blog!

Big hugs and loads of turkey-lurkey love!

Lizzy

Holiday Season Kick-Off: Black Friday & Small Business Saturday at Gus & Ruby!

(Photo courtesy of Mark Davidson Photography)

Join us the weekend after Thanksgiving as we kick-off the holiday season! Both days, we'll be giving away AMAZING, super-stuffed goodie bags to 15 lucky customers**. Trust us when we say that you will definitely want one of these goodie bags. Our favorite vendors went above and beyond in helping us fill these with incredible paper goodies!

Black Friday:
- We'll open early at 9am and will have coffee, donuts and holiday treats for you early-bird shoppers
- 10% OFF your entire purchase when you mention our email, Facebook, Twitter or blog posts about the event.*
- The chance to win one of 15 super, stocked goodie bags full of G&R favorites and holiday treats.**
- Receive a 15% off coupon to use throughout the season.
- Fabulous gifts, stocking stuffers, holiday cards and lots of good cheer!


Small Business Saturday:
- Use your AMEX card on Saturday, November 26 at any small business/local shop and AMEX will give you a $25 statement credit (that's FREE money!) Register your card and read details HERE: facebook.com/SmallBusinessSaturday and https://sync.americanexpress.com/sbs2011
- 10% off your entire purchase when you mention our email, Facebook, Twitter or blog posts about the event.*
- The chance to win one of 15 super, stocked goodie bags full of G&R favorites and holiday treats.**
- Receive a 15% off coupon to use throughout the season.
- Fabulous gifts, stocking stuffers, holiday cards and lots of good cheer!

We ho-ho-hope to see you there!!

Glad tidings,
The Gus & Ruby gals



*Excludes custom/special orders and gift certificates.
**1 chance to win per customer, per day with purchase.

cripsy crunchy...

So today was it folks - mother earth's reminder that the summer is officially gone. The wind was crisp and tunneled through town tossing all of the crunchy leaves around at people's feet. The sun poked through the clouds though, and reminded us that we still have a few bright days before winter really sets in. I love it - I live for this weather, for the turn to winter, and for the holidays. Something about the excuse to walk around the house in bulky wool sweaters and striped socks... my Minnetonka moccasins... the way the sun sets in the stark new england sky. Yup yup yup, it's my jam for sure!!

When this time of year rolls around though, I start to think about holiday plans and which of my friends and family I'll be seeing. What mom will be making for Thanksgiving dinner, and what little presents I can send to those who I love who won't be around Londonderry for the holidays. Lucky for me, the shop is an awesome place to collect those kind of goodies. Check it:

What mom or g-ma wouldn't love for you to bring placecards for the Turkey-Lurkey dinner table? These adorable designs from Mr. Boddington's Studio are some of my favorites (I especially love the chevron detail to the turkey's plumes!)

Of course there are also the sweet designs from Rifle Paper that could add a special touch to your feast too! My pops is probably getting the "Give Thanks" card because he's the best and deserves a thank you every day for always being such an incredible handy-man and role model. Plus, without his craftiness, the ladies would still have an un-wallpapered, epoxy covered back room :)

When it comes to hostess gifts though, I love to be practical about things. A beautiful card with a little note... of course! And a primly wrapped package with something delightful inside - like a candle they can burn that day, or a tea towel to help with the feasty clean-up. Or a flask to keep them going through the festivities!

Sydney Hale Co. candles

hand poured, 100% soy from Virigina

Letterform Foodie Tea Towels & Greeting Card sets

Izola Five and Three Ounce Flasks

So pull your thoughts together, get your plans arranged and come buy some gifties with us! We'll even wrap 'em up all pretty for you, it is holiday time after all!

Have a great weekend pals, and we'll see you around.

xo Lizzy