Detroit News Feature 9.3.10

Nifty designs rely on ABC's and 1-2-3's

berkley turns TEN!

It's hard to believe that it's been 10 years since Steve & I signed our very first commercial lease in downtown Berkley. It was scary & exciting all at the same time… the rent was double our house mortgage, we just hired 5 people to help us produce our line of paper goods & we were opening our very first retail store!

Remember these days?

No pretty purple awning, only 500 square feet of shopping space (the rest was used as our design studio) and our 2 cats, Tuesday & Piper kept an eye on the customers & counter while we worked in the back.

Despite our humble beginnings, the lovely people around Berkley supported our little venture & we were able to grow in size and hire a fantastic manager in just a few years.

Even though I'm the virtual voice of catching fireflies,  Danielle is the gal who creates the shopping environment you have all enjoyed & appreciated over the years.  And even though our store kitty, Piper still holds the title of "First Furry Manager" she agrees that Danielle does a pretty swell job of running the place…especially since she allows her take numerous cat naps on the clock:)

We'll also we donating 5% of all our sales from the day to Alternatives for Girls.

Alternatives For Girls helps homeless and high-risk girls and young
women avoid violence, teen pregnancy and exploitation, and helps them
to explore and access the support, resources and opportunities
necessary to be safe, to grow strong and to make positive choices in
their lives.

We look forward to making days brighter for our firefly fans as well as those in need around Metro Detroit for many more years to come.

Cheers to 10 fabulous firefly years!

networking witches giveaway feature

Whimsical gifts that smell good too. Well, not all of them but some of
them. Catching Fireflies offer so many adorable gifts that you won’t be
able to choose just one. My daughter and I have had a great time
looking at their site and going over the goodies they have to offer.
They have a variety of gifts and goodies that are fun for everyone. The site itself is just happy.

A set of 5 erasers,
packaged in their own cute little “juice containers”, ready to go as a
gift. Scented to match their cartons, as good as they smell, resist the
temptation to take a bite, they are not edible!

• Mixed Fruit Juice
• Grape
• Milk
• Chocolate
• Strawberry

One of my sneaky kind of Mom things to do is to leave my kids a note
somewhere that they’ll find it another day. Usually it’s something
like: “You left your notebook on the table, Mom wuz here! Love, Mom!”
And I’ll date it. I might use the eraser cartons and drop them in with
a note attached, or an always needed pencil
with a note that says “knew you’d need this, Love Mom!” I like to leave
them guessing on what I might do when they aren’t around. I feel like I’m leaving them a random smile to be found when they aren’t looking.

Each set of fuzzy wuzzy pencils come in a set of 24, and are cute as a button!

Thanks Rose for reviewing our fun back to school items!  Click HERE to enter this giveaway (ends 9.15.10)

bringing back-to-school smiles

WOW!  Have I mentioned how fabulous our firefly fans are?  Because of your generosity, we were able to donate lots-0-school supplies for kids in need.  And Thank YOU Judson Center for being such a light in our community.

Cheers to a great start of another school year!

Like to see how you can help us make days brighter for those in need? Stay in the loop by signing up to receive these inspiring updates in your email inbox!

join us for the 5th annual mega march!

Here at catching fireflies, we believe it's important to give back to our community and are big fans of furry friends of all shapes and sizes.

We
originally adopted our first cat, Tuesday, twelve years ago from a local
humane society and she has given us great joy, amusement and love
throughout the years. Not long after we added Piper- our oh-so-loved store cat & more recently a rescued Basset Hound, Gus to our four-legged family.

If you have a furry family member you know nothing beats coming home
to find your pooch eagerly waiting your entrance like you were a famous
rock star.  Or having your kitty climb in your lap as you're surfing
the web  (which is Tuesday's favorite pastime besides begging for food).

These kinds of moments make everyday life a little extra special. 
That's why we love supporting the Humane Society because they help well
deserving animals find good loving homes.

We invite you and your friends to support us in this year's Mega March on Sunday, October 3rd.

You can get involved two different ways:

1. You can join our team, collect donations and walk with us.

Some of the benefits of joining our team include receiving a
pampered pet swag bag from catching fireflies, a free catching
fireflies tee and you'll get to meet GUS… not to mention support a GREAT cause.  What's not to love? 

Still on the fence?  Here are some fun photos from last years march.

2.  You can securely donate to our team right online.

We really appreciate your support and to show our thanks, we're
offering free magnetic salt & pepper shaker set of your choice when you bring in your $30 or more donation confirmation printed email to our Berkley or Rochester store before October 31, 2009. (no purchase necessary to receive your free item)

If you're not located near one
of our physical stores, but would still like to donate and get a free salt & pepper set… Simply purchase something from www.catchingfireflies.com before October 3, 2010, forward your donation confirmation to service@catchingfireflies.com stating what free item you'd like us to ship with your order.  (purchase is necessary because of shipping logistics)

 

The funds you raise will help MHS…

• Provide shelter, vaccinations and medical care to animals in need
• Find loving homes for thousands of dogs, cats and other animals
• Investigate over 5,000 cases of abuse and neglect and bring abusers to justice.
• Educate pet guardians, children, the media and general public about animal issues
• Expand MHS' low-cost feline sterilization programs to help stem the flow of unwanted animals
• Reach additional homeless animals who are hungry, lonely, neglected or abandoned

It all adds up to care for more than 100,000 animals each year! 

While the needs of every animal the Michigan Humane Society cares for are different, on average, it costs $120 for MHS to care for one animal.

Thank you so much for supporting this wonderful cause and maybe we'll be seeing you and your pooch very soon!

Fox 2 Back to School Segment 9.29.10

Find some of the goodies we talked about…

Detroit tote bag $17.95, insulated lunch bags $14.95, retro lunch boxes $13.95,  bottle freakers $8.95, resnackit bags $10.95, bobble water bottle $9.95, smencils $15.95, scented pens $10.95, scented erasers $3.95, firefly reflectors $4.95, school years book $16.95 and latop sleeves $18.95

We'll also be accepting school supply donations for Judson Center at our Berkley & Rochester locations through the end of August.

meet meaghan smith

Dust off your record player…

A review reads, "Meaghan Smith's Sire Records debut, The Cricket's Quartet may, at first listen, remind folks of old timey jazz vocalists or newer
singer-songwriters like Norah Jones, but her musical sensibilities call
together a slew of other disparate Americana elements. This four-song
EP showcases Smith on vocals and keys, while clarinet solos, whistling
and well-timed horns and strings round out the sound.

Like to be whisked away to another time & place sometimes?  Simply subscribe to this blog and we'll email you our latest and greatest music finds that can do just that.

vanity plates like no other

Meet Fred & Donna Kostrick.  This young spirited couple have been married over 50 years & spend their extra time transforming old license plates into recycled hip signs.

We had a chance to ask Fred & Donna about their inventive signs…

What
inspired you to start creating your art work & how did you turn it into a
business?

We started collecting license plates as a hobby.  We got so many
plates we needed to do something with them.  Then I went shopping for my wife’s
birthday and found a journal made out of plates.  I knew I could make them
much cheaper.  I started with journals and then went on to making signs
& state maps and then decided to make the whole USA.  I started giving
them as gifts.  Most people loved them so I started selling them at the
Warren Farmers Market on Sunday in the summer time.

What do
you most love about the creative process?

marvelous michigan etsy artists

So… one reason why I haven’t been blogging as much lately is because of our latest retail adventure, Yellow Door Art Market.  I’m having a blast seeking out new talent on etsy & have found some gems to bring to downtown Berkley this November.

Unfortunately not all artists can commit to selling their wares at Yellow Door, but that won’t stop me from sharing some of my favorite etsy gals who make a living craftin’ in the mitten.

Deid Goods ( Steve are you reading this? :)

Linkel Designs

Gorno Couture

de de etsy shop

White Owl

shixie

Alicia Bock

B Winks

Coffee Lady

Isadora

Makena Lei Creations

Lillianna Marie Designs

Melissa Happy Stuff

Rebecca’s Art Closet

I could go on…. but isn’t it fantastic all these things are made in Michigan?  Maybe someday these gals will be ready to sell their wonderful wares at our Yellow Door Art Market.
Love to see what creative people are making everyday?  Then sign up to receive these colorful blog posts in your email inbox…. and you’ll discover many talented souls!

Oakland Press Feature 8.16.10

Gift shop pitches in to equip kids for school

BERKLEY — As the laid back summer days come to an end, many families worry about finding the funds to purchase school supplies.

Inspired
to ease their woes, gift shop owner April McCrumb is offering a chance
for her customers and the public to donate school supplies for
low-income kids.

The gift gallery is giving out gourmet scented
pencils in exchange for new school supplies, which will be distributed
to local families in need. Anyone who wants to donate can put their
paper, pencils, pens, facial tissues, scissors, tape, glue, etc. into
the drop box at Catching Fireflies.

 

Danielle Delong holds some of the supplies collected so far at Catching Fireflies.

Remembering how fun it was to go shopping for new school supplies,
McCrumb thought it would be great to encourage kids to help pick out an
extra backpack or notebook for families that don’t have the luxury of
filling up a shopping cart of goods.

“Most of the school goods
we carry at our store are fun, but not essential, and we feel it’s
important to keep that in perspective,” McCrumb says. “We hope to fill
up over 10 of these boxes by the end of August.”

Catching
Fireflies will be collecting new backpacks, pencils, pens, markers,
highlighters, kid scissors, notebooks, folders, binders, rulers, thumb
drives, index cards, tissues, hand sanitizer, planners and pencil
pouches from the community during the month of August and will turn
them over to the Judson Center for distribution.

“Kids love our line of scented pencils, erasers and pens,” McCrumb said.

For more information, visit www.catchingfireflies.com, or stop by either store at 3117 W. 12 Mile in Berkley or 203 E. University Drive in downtown Rochester.

Store hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, until 8 p.m. Thursdays and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.