Christmas Gift Ideas 2009

Alright. We at Mary's Of Course have always felt that the more you shop locally, the more stable our city's economy will be. It's not always practical, true; but we thought it might help to at least make a few suggestions.

Inside our cafe we have some impulse items that might help you find the perfect gift for that special someone.

Here, we see Mary modeling one of Connie Buterbaugh's Twisted Stitch creations. Connie specializes in the quilted arts and mainly sells purses at Mary's on the purse tree by the door. If you need a specialty item, try contacting her at 336-936-9012.

Next up, we have Claudia's Creations; which is handmade jewelry, available at Mary's. Claudia's main focus is on braclets, earrings and an occasional necklace; oh sparkly baubles.

More knitted creations can be found in a basket of Koozies and Wristbands near the counter. Wild creatures, medallions, and pop iconography decorate these hand-dandy huggers.

Then, there's a basket of handmade Christmas ornaments from Bangladesh. Hey wait a minute; are we in India? No, but Mary's mother has been there a number of times to visit the Heart House, where castaway women are given a home and employed, making dolls for the Art-o-mat® and many other items. There's no corporate involvement here, just people helping people. (A cool advent calendar is also available in the window.)

The last, but not the least of our knitted accoutrements, are Loily's Knitted Purses. These hang in a side window, and are easy to mistake for decorations in our wacky atmosphere, but they are earth-toned knit bags with flowers or felted birds on the flap.

Now, we've already mentioned the Art-o-mat® once, but it wouldn't be right not to remind you that these babies make great stocking stuffers! The Art-o-mat® is a local phenomenon, that has spread world-wide in the last dozen years and we happen to have the first machine Clark Whittington designed, right here in our cafe! These may be some of the smallest art you can find, but we've found they're often a big hit. There are a number of other machines around town too, so check out the Art-O-Mat website for more details.

Then there's the annual Krankies Craft Fair, where we often score a bunch of great items! The Craft Fair only sells handmade items, and usually fills the entire performance space and adjacent Electric Moustache Gallery there are so many vendors! If you need an application, we have some here at Mary's, but if you need presents just show up! It's a two day event, but I wouldn't waste any time, cause their hands can only make so much, so fast; so when it's gone...it's probably gone.

There are also plenty of other places that have way more retail space than Mary's to explore for your gift giving needs. Here are a few that we're fond of:

We hope we've given you a few new ideas for presents this holiday, or at least inspired you to explore our fair city and find locally made items sold by locally owned businesses. We at Mary's Of Course wish you a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!