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The Lobsters Land Here!

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For 22 years Enea Bacci and his wife, Cathie have owned and operated Lobster Landing in Clinton, Connecticut. A nicer couple you won’t meet. the building in which they run their business is about 110 years old…this is New England alright at it’s best. They showed me articles written about their place and even a photo most don’t see of the building from 1927. Take a close look at that black and white photo and the cars around the building, how fun is that?DSCN1218

When you sit out on their deck you look at Cedar Island it is a peaceful lovely place near a boat yard so you see boats coming and going, get in the car and take the family. It’s BYOB, just so you know.

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Mommy’s Event BFF

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IMG_7899Ceylan Rowe, a former resident of Branford, Connecticut and a mother of two has something to say and the world needs to listen. Her message: Moms are important and they need to be celebrated and stick together to help each other.

In 1999 Rowe was in Turkey with her family when she was 18, they were there for a wedding and set to leave when a magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit. Twenty thousand were killed and there was destruction everywhere. Because she survived somehow she new she would spend her life helping others, she didn’t know then it would be Moms. This is the founder of Mommy’s Event BFF.

Facebook>> Mommy’s Event BFF

 

 

 

 

Still River Antiques

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Still River Antiques is the only authorized Hitchcock restorer and reseller. Their craftsmen have decades of experience in furniture restoration and repair, and specialize in Hitchcock Furniture, even working in the Hitchcock factory.
The company is the official restoration and restored furniture division of The Hitchcock Chair Co. Personnel are factory trained to restore Hitchcock furniture to like-new condition using the actual Hitchcock Chair Co. stencils, stains and finishes. Still River Antiques is the only restorer in the world authorized by The Hitchcock Chair Co. to refinish Hitchcock pieces.

They restore or refinish fine antiques.

Tail Waggers Of Litchfield

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Tailwaggers of Litchfield has everything you and your furry friends need to keep them happy, healthy, and looking great. Pet boarding, doggy daycare and grooming are available. Their family style business approach means a lot of contact with your pets.

Tail Waggers also offers a full suite of professional dog grooming services.

Located in the scenic town of Litchfield, their mission is to serve Litchfield and its neighboring communities with the highest standard of care for its pets and their owners.

 

 

Dreamscapes Design Group

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In the bucolic seaside town of Essex, Connecticut is a web design and development team who has helped NetworkConnecticut.com find new footing. Rachel Edwards and Ernie Lewis are the principles in Dreamscapes Design Group. Meeting after meeting we decided what should be added to the web site to better serve small businesses and innovators and entrepreneurs in the state. We are trying to be a part of the solution to small business through story telling as more and more bites are being taken out of Main Street U.S.A. Small town southern New England is something that we cherish. A big thank you goes out to dreamscapes for helping us find new and better ways to help folks move forward.

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Yvonne Oxley Is A Soap Artist

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I was first introduced to Yvonne Oxley of Bridgeport, Connecticut by my friend, Francine Piscitelli of Allusions Hair Salon and Boutique in Branford, Connecticut who has cut and colored my hair for ages. Yvonne’s soaps are works of art, truly they are, and she has toiled over each and every bar building her business and has just put up an e commerce website. The name of her company is Komfort ZoneHer bars look like pieces of cake with frosting on the top and she adds glitter sometimes too, glitter of course is my favorite color. My friend Lisa is throwing a bridal shower and needed soaps for her guests as favors and I knew just where to send her, to Yvonne. Yvonne, who has been making these soap and bath salts and such since 2009, will do custom soaps for you and that’s just what she has done for Lisa. Lisa wanted them in the scent of Japanese Cherry Blossom, and voila!

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Yvonne also beautifully packages each soap as well so they are all ready for you to carry home. Yvonne is a sweetheart and a prime example of women growing their small businesses these days one after another. There is so much talent in this state to uncover, and I’m glad I have this web site, Network Connecticut, in which to do that. To say I am proud of Yvonne and what she is accomplishing is an understatement. Go Yvonne!

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My Annie Mame Boutique in Madison

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For the last few years I have owned a boutique called Annie Mame. I took the name from my favorite 1956 movie, “Auntie Mame” starring Rosiland Russell who was a Waterbury, CT native.  I opened first in Westbrook, Connecticut in 2011 and then moved it down the shoreline a bit to Madison. On purpose, I am seeking out as many Connecticut-made items that fit my genre as I can to continue along my theme of networking Connecticut, to help push the small business owner ahead. We’re open every day except Monday, you’ll love the place, chocked full of affordable goodies.

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Lucian’s Creations In Hamden

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Lucian Addario, owner of Lucian’s Greenhouse & Florist in Hamden has been in business for more than 40 years, making the world a more beautiful place with his flowers and plants. From one of his greatest admirers we learn there is a lot going into what he creates for a special occasion or an event. Originally from New York he found a home in Connecticut. He has a background in theater and acting and in his early days he became the first professional “plantscaper” in the area. Lucian started with a self built “Geodome” on the property where his greenhouse still stands along with the flower shop/gift shop in front, an historic house that tells a story all in itself. In the new economy that we all experienced he expanded in his business and carries jewelry and gift ware. If you want unique flowers, he has them including tulips from Holland and exotic Orchids too. Now here’s a guy who can tell you what it takes to stay in business over his many decades in Hamden, Connecticut.

Native American Love In Connecticut

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IMG_1649Southern Exposure Celebrates 20th Anniversary on June 21st and 22nd with Four Native American Artists

My friends, Lu and les Lupovich are celebrating their Southern Exposure stores, they have been in business now for 20 years. I always love hearing about how businesses and morphed and changed and hung on for decades, it is a daunting task to do that.

Twenty years ago last Fall, Lu and Les were on vacation in Moab, Utah; the pristine setting for Arches and Canyonlands National Parks.  They had shared a common interest in Native American culture and Native American art for quite some time and their annual vacation generally meant a trip to somewhere in the Southwest.   This interest, and the desire to bring some of the culture and art to New England spawned the idea of their first Southern Exposure store which opened in Olde Mistick Village in 1994.   In the summer of 2005, they opened a second location on the shoreline now in Old Saybrook, Connecticut.

Their two Southern Exposure stores feature Native American Jewelry, Pottery, Rugs, Unique Home Décor, Fun Fashion Clothing, Cowboy Boots and Leather Goods.

Lu and Les love exchanging the culture and knowledge that comes when they host native artists in their stores several times a year for demonstrations of their craft.  When artists come to Southern Exposure, they stay with them in their home.

As part of their 20th Anniversary Celebration on June 21st and 22nd in their Mystic location, Southern Exposure will host four Northeastern Native American artists showcasing their individual art forms.  Narrangansett artist Allen Hazard and Pequot artist Joshua Carter will feature their Wampum Jewelry; Mohegan artist R.J. Russell will have his Gourd Art; and Abenaki noted author and artist Dale Carson will join us with her Leather Crafts and Jewelry.

Lu and Les have invited Native artists from the Northeast for this celebration – to be particularly grateful for the people of New England who have embraced what they do in their stores and focus on exceptional Native work done here in the Northeast.   The artists will be present and exhibiting their work on the porch at Southern Exposure’s Mystic, CT shop – not so different than Native Artists on the plaza in Santa Fe, New Mexico who set up tables and blankets regularly to offer their handmade work for sale.

There will also be a “trunk show” inside the Mystic Southern Exposure location for the 20th Anniversary celebration weekend.    Trading posts in the West that Lu and Les buy from are sending them boxes of special goods for the weekend including Native American Jewelry (new and old,  Zuni Fetishes and other Native artwork.

The 20th Anniversary Celebrations at Southern Exposure is free and open to the public.  The celebration will be at their Olde Mistick Village location on Saturday and Sunday June 21st and 22nd from 10 am to 6 pm with artists present from 11 am to 5 pm.

For more information contact Southern Exposure at (860) 572 1007, (860) 399 4445 or via email at info@shopsouthernexposure.com. dale IMG_0391 IMG_1649 IMG_7021 AllenandJosh2

A Tip Of The Hat In New Haven

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If you’ve been around long enough in Connecticut you know that Danbury was the nations’ “hat city.” But in New Haven there is a hat shop that has stood the test of time, it’s been around since 1908. They figured out how to reinvent over the years and went online. They now sell the most Stetson fedora dress hats in the country. They have thousands of different hats…just ask.
Learn all about the DelMonico Hatter. Oh, and if you’re loving that so-called  Moutain hat that singer, Pharell Williams of the wildly popular song “Happy” wears all the time, they have that too.

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SCORE! For Small Business In Connecticut

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If you are looking for business advice and ongoing mentoring to help you start-up a new business or improve the results of your current small business, make an appoint with one of the SCORE chapters around the state, it is FREE, why would you not take advantage of this?

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Bob Potter, the chairman of the southeastern chapter of SCORE came on NYBERG to talk about all the services they officer to small business owners in the state of Connecticut. Southeastern Connecticut SCORE® is a non-profit resource partner of the SBA, chartered by the US Congress in 1964 to offer free business counseling to the public.  All of our business mentors are volunteers and receive no compensation. They are working and retired business executives who bring a wealth of business experience and knowledge to weekly free mentoring sessions at 8 counseling sites in Southeastern, Connecticut covering from Madison to Essex in the west, Waterford to Mystic in the east, and north to Norwich and Middletown.

Education is also an important part of our focus. We offer over 30 workshops a year covering topics from business basics, managing your finances, internet marketing and social medial, to franchising, preparing business plans, and more.

Contact them for free face-to-face mentoring session. With eight different locations, we make it easy.  Sign up for any of their workshops with topics ranging from start-ups to advanced business issues. And browse through the website to find many SCORE resources for starting up or running your business.

Again this is all FREE!

Listen to all of this advice from Bob Potter and then get a hold of him!

 

Don’t Forget Small Business Saturday ~ Nov 29

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Make sure to shop your local this holiday season, it can make the difference as to whether that small little Connecticut shop will be around for the next holiday season.

A Shiny Tiny Diner Parked At A CT Home Depot

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What a swell idea this is, A tiny diner parked outside a Home Depot in Southington, Connecticut at Exit 26 off I-84. A portable diner on wheels. It’s called “Eat At Bernies.” It’s the brain child of Bernard Tabor. I met his wife Peggy the other day and she told me about her husband’s venture. I thought it was pretty cute. Bernie’s hours of operation, in case you’re out shopping at the “Depot,” are Monday thru Friday from 11:00 in the morning until 2:30 in the afternoon. That’s on the menu? Of course hot dogs,  hamburgers and sandwiches, you can get a kielbasa too. The prices are REALLY resonable. Bernie will cater too for you. All you have to do is give him a call 203-879-7755.

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Holiday Market in New Haven ~ Nov 9

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More than 20 Connecticut-based merchants will be selling their wares… everything from specialty food gift baskets to artisan jewelry.  You’ll find quality, unique gifts too. Hours: 11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

Parking:

Ample parking is available for the Chapel Street Historic District at the 255 Crown Street surface parking lot and Chapel-York Garage at 150 York St. Ample parking is available for the Broadway District at the 272 Elm Street surface lot and 53 Broadway Center Lot. On-street parking is also available and accepts credit and debit cards.

Holiday Trunk Show in Guilford ~ Nov 15th

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10612755_349324961919055_3660864118276046754_nThe Nutmeg Collective, a group of Connecticut Etsy Crafters, and Artists are having a TRUNK SHOW, Saturday November 15th 2~6pm @ The Bird Nest 118 Whitfield Street in Guilford… Support Local ART


Felted Trees, Snowballs, and Jenny’s Artisan Crisps

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IMG_3764Oh boy, you just never know what you’re going to find at a church bazaar in Connecticut. I saw some darling handmade Christmas trees made from repurposed wool made by my friend Kara. I bought three of them immediately to put in my Annie Mame Boutique in Madison. I snatched up the last four giant coconut snowballs made by Meriano’s Bake Shoppe in Madison, and drumroll here, please…I discovered Jenny’s Artisan Crisps made in Essex. Wow these are wonderful. These are so good I don’t even know where to start. Olive Oil and Sea Salt, Parmesan Rosemary, and Apple Pie. Jenny was serving the more savory crisps with hummus. I couldn’t stop eating these things. The Apple Pie crisps are made with locally grown apples and they have lemon rinds in them too, they really do taste like an Apple Pie without all the guilt. I don’t know where Jenny learned to make these, but the world needs to know about them, and she’s working on that. Jenny’s crisps should be in every Connecticut winery in the state and that’s just for starters.

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This Holiday Season Visit The Mom and Pop Stores In Glastonbury, CT

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This is an awesome example of what can happen when someone takes charge in a town to keep “Main Street” chugging along in this economy. Get a load of what is happening in Glastonbury, Connecticut for Small Business Saturday on November 29th. Melinda Kuzmak wrote to me to tell me what she has planned for shoppers, and this is exciting stuff. You can shop and win raffle tickets and the little shops are getting involved to get in on the fun of this. Really? Do we just want to order everything off line and talk to no one going forward? Not for me thanks. What about our Main Streets in Connecticut? You can help keep them strong and that is to get out there and support them.

Go to Melinda’s website for all the information and then head out to Glastonbury or wherever you shop in small towns all across Connecticut. Read HERE.

Shelton’s Handmade Holiday Market

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Shelton, Connecticut’s Downtown Handmade Market, is a 5-date vendor festival. It will be held at the Conti Building on 415 Howe Avenue, Shelton. A Black Friday Kick-Off celebration on Friday, November 28 from 6:00-9:00pm will be sponsored by Liquid Lunch and wine from Linda’s Liquors in Shelton. Celebration will include handmade artisan vendors, live music, hors d’oeuvres and a wine tasting. All vendors will feature a special offer during this kick-off event. Tickets are $5 at the door. Kids 14 & under are no cost. The market continues on Small Business Saturday, November 29 from 10am-5pm and on December 6, 13 and 20 from 10am-3pm. Over 45 handmade artisans will be highlighted throughout the market weeks, as well as a featured Kid’s Day on December 13. Admission is free.

“The Brothers Crisp,” A Connecticut Shoe Company

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 There’s a brand new shoe company based in Hartford called The Brothers Crisp. It’s named after the patron saints of cobblers. Who Knew? It’s been in business since March of 2013. The Cobbler in this case is 32-year old Josh Westbrook who learned his trade out on the west coast. He bumped into Trinity College grad, 25-year old Jeff Devereux, and the two young gents went into business. Their entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well. They use machines that date back to World War II and then of course there is hand stitching involved too. Their best customer so far, a Doctor in Singapore who saw their shoes on their Instagram pagehe’s ordered five or six pairs already at several hundreds bucks a pop. Here’s their story.

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http://www.thebrotherscrisp.com/   Hartford.

Hartford Prints! Loves Connecticut

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The three sisters behind the business of Hartford Prints! have an exclamation point at the end of their company’s name because they are excited about Hartford and about what they are building and that is pride in their city and in their state. Amen, sisters! Addy, Callie and Rory are third generation Hartfordians. Their Letterpress studio and stationery store are based there and they are bringing more start-up companies because they are there. They started first with letterpress items and have branched out to be everything Connecticut in t-shirts and beer glasses and ornaments and earrings, the sky is the limit for them when it come to items that are all about the “Nutmeg” state. Baby sister Rory came on “NYBERG” to talk about how they are building their business, her spirit is contagious.

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