September 24, 2009
A big day today- two events in one day. Bromberg’s was started on 1836 and is still family run. They have been selling Annieglass very well since 1993 as one of my first customers in the South. www.brombergs.com
I visited the Summit store in Homewood and the nearby store in Mountain Brook, a lovely English village created in 1929 with winding scenic roads and bridle paths. The village houses a delightful assortment of independently owned shops (thank goodness for the originality and lack of chain stores, it is hard to find anyplace without them) of high quality antiques, home furnishings, clothing and more. A mountain brook separates it from the cozy neighborhoods of beautifully crafted homes and towering oaks. The Birmingham Zoo and Botanical Garden is nearby.
First stop was the TV show “Wakeup Alabama!” at 6 am, which went well despite the hour. Interior designer, Christopher Lowell followed me, plugging his new line of fabric for Joann’s Fabrics.
We re-met in the only coffee shop nearby that was open at that hour. I thought it was great that he was redecorating the Ronald MacDonald House and promoting handcraft for school children, something missing in our high tech world. www.christopherlowell.com
I enjoy Coastal Living magazine. It is unfussy, casual and more reflective of the way I live than fancier shelter mags are. Some of those magazines are NOT inspiring. I ran into the executive editor Sara Anderson in a meeting with her editor and had to thank them for all they have done to promote Annieglass in the magazine’s pages. I promised to send them my Hanalei and Big Sur blogs asap. www.coastalliving.com
First up was an appearance at the Summit store with cake and desserts by local favorite Edgar’s Bakery. The praline squares were like a concentrated candy, they were so good. I was happy to see a gentleman come by to choose a gift for his wife. It was their 4th wedding anniversary and he ordered a personalized engraving for it. They started collecting Annieglass for their wedding.
Next stop was the Bromberg’s store in Mountain Brook. The area is beautiful. I see why people love it here so much; beautiful homes, a great sense of community surrounded by nature and nice people. Wikipedia says it is one of the wealthiest places in the U.S.
There is an area nearby called Hollywood that was developed in the 40”s with homes in the Spanish Mission style, mimicking what was being built in Hollywood, Ca. at the same time. These homes have undergone recent well done remodeling. My favorite had an attached china and glass cupboard with great big windows on 3 sides that showed off all their tableware and is as large as a lot of kitchens.
Chef Ben Kirk from a new restaurants across the street from Bromberg’s, called Avo brought over some Annieglass platters loaded down with crostinis, deviled eggs and his own pimento cheese (a Southern favorite, I’ve learned to like it). Unfortunately, I missed a lively group of women who rented a limo from an hour away for one of their birthdays to come to the Annieglass event. Sounds like there was drinking involved….. and a lot of fun. It’s a good thing they had a limo sized trunk to get all their purchases home. I sent the birthday girl a card thanks to Julia Glass, the Bromberg’s buyer organizer of both events.
One minute I was innocently looking at the John Hardy jewelry when my old buddy Swan showed me a 22 carat diamond he said I needed. He even “proposed” for the camera. I sure do enjoy visiting my customers that sell jewelry. Sometimes they “insist” I wear their jewelry while in the store- I love that rule.
No trip to Birmingham would be complete without a visitor to my other customer, Table Matters. Patricia consistently puts together fabulous tables with well thought out combinations of hard to find china, glass and linens. I confess my weakness for her napkin ring choices. I always get another set whenever I am in town. www.tablematters.com
Both events were very successfully and it was a relief to see a return to better times. Seeing all the fall tables makes me want to host a dinner party as soon as I get home and use some of my new Copper Leaves for salad plates, just like the Bromberg’s display.
Shopping