Window shoppers, door stoppers, face smudgers and spies!

Window shopping is a great way to check out a store you like and see if you would like the merchandise. 

If you own a shop in a downtown area, you will get a lot of people just casually taking a glance at your window displays as they are walking by.  I think everyone does it, I know I have. 

As a store owner, you hope your windows are enough of a teaser to entice potential sales. 

There are the window shoppers who linger and then come inside and just tell you:  "I'm just browsing today."

That's fine - I welcome browsers.  My theory is if you can get them in the door, they will most likely find something they like.  I will watch them walk around and if they linger on an item just a little longer than usual that is my queue to engage a conversation about that item.  If you can talk to them, you can usually sell to them!

It's also very gratifying to have someone come in and ask about an item in the window.

Ha ha!  Gotcha!

One type of window shopper is "The Door Stopper".  They stand right in your doorway, take 2 - 3 seconds to look in and then walk away. 

Door stoppers can be interesting.  They aren't hidden by the objects in the window so you can't see their face as they scan your shop.  Door stoppers also have a filter problem.  They seem to always blurt out the most insulting things:

"Oh, it's one of those ARTSY stores."

"No, no, no..uh uh...no, no."

"Ew, it smells in there!"

"It's all handmade stuff...you won't like it in there." 

"Oh no...no...no.  I don't like that store."

They seem to forget that they are standing in my doorway.

I happened to be in the front of the store when a "Door Stopper" came by.  "It's OK...you can come inside!"  I said to her cheerfully.

A look of shock and terror came across her face and she ran down the street. 

I didn't mean to scare the poor thing.

Maybe she's not a people person.  

During the hot summer I will put items outside my door and close the door so that I can keep the shop nice and cool with the air conditioning.

This brings out the "Face Smudgers".

Face smudgers walk right up to your door, they look around and leave. 

I often here them say:  "I don't think they are open." 

No we are closed and I just always leave merchandise outside.

???

I guess they didn't see the big "Come on in we're OPEN" sign they are standing right in front of either.

Sometimes when they catch you looking back at them they quickly turn around and pretend they were never there.

Oh yeah, it's OK you weird stalker person.  I didn't just see you standing there.

Freak

Face smudgers also live up to their name and at the end of the day I will see different shaped hand prints, nose prints and lip prints on my front door. 

Nasty.  They aren't full on window lickers, but they are close. 

I go through a lot of window cleaner.

Spies are usually people who own or work at other stores in your area that are checking out your merchandise. 

The good spy does their work discreetly. You can hardly tell why they are there.  Looking at the price tag of everything usually gives them away.

The obvious spy is another shop owner who walks into your store and chats you up like you are their best friend in the whole world.  They pop their heads in about once every 3 months to see what is going on. 

"Hi!  How are you?  How's everything going?"  Picks up item looks at it, puts it down.

"Oh business has been horrible this year hasn't it?"  Picks up another item, puts it down.

"You have such unique items here!  Can I take a picture of this?  My friend will just LOVE it!  I will so send her over to buy it!"  Takes a picture of the tag and not the item. 

Seriously?

"I am SO pissed, the shop down the street is carrying the same items that we have.  I am going to call the company and give them a piece of my mind.  How can they do such a thing?"  Picks up another item examines it closely and puts it down.

"Well, I better get back...I have to get coffee for the girls! Great talking to you!"

One spy even asked me as she was leaving:  "What was your name again?" 

Yeaaaaaah...ok...buh bye now.
















 

Crazy as a loon!

Retail is extremely unpredictable.  I've only been in this for 4 years, but other folks along the avenue have been here longer, some over 25 years and they all tell me the same thing: "Just when you think you've got it figured out, it all changes!"

In a seaside town, cloudy or rainy days are GREAT days.  Sometimes.

Today was a bit cooler and overcast all day.  I was pretty sure I'd be busy all day, but I had a rush in the morning, a lull in the afternoon and then another rush in the late afternoon.

During one of my lulls, a woman rushes in and asks:  "Do you have any flip flops?"

She was a bit unkept and both of her knees were bandaged.  The bandage on her right knee was falling off revealing a nasty scab.

"No, I am sorry I don't."  I answered.

"Oh, ok.  Do you know where I can find some?"

I named a shop down the street that I know carries specialty flip flops, but she was looking for simple flip flops so I told her there was a dollar store down the street that I am sure carries them.

She picked up one of the handmade stuffed animals that one of my artists made and said: "Oh, he's cute!  Do you have any stuffed cats?  I'm into cats."

Hmmmmm...really?  I never would have guessed.

Unfortunately I was out of the stuffed cats, but I showed her some other little "cat" items I have in the shop.  She picked out one and then said:  "I was an fine art major with a strong focus on art history."

"Oh wow, very nice!" I replied.

"Guess who my favorite artist is?  I bet you can't guess."

Well gosh, how many artist have there been through the ages...yeah, you're right I probably can't guess.

"Picasso."  I said.

"No...guess again!  He's an amazing artist and heeeee's Flemish."  She held her hands up and wiggled her fingers in my face.

Oh boy...this is fun.

"Van Eyck?" I guessed because it was the only Flemish painter I could remember.

"Ha, ha....NOPE!"  She widened her eyes and flashed me a creepy smile.  "It's Bruegel!  I just love him and that painting "Hunters in the Snow" beautifully painted."

I was busy trying to recall my Art History that I took years ago and came up with nothing so I just nodded and smiled.

"Who is your favorite painter?" She asked me.

"Hieronymus Bosch."  I answered.

"Ohhh..."The Garden of Earthly Delights", yeah, yeah that's a good one.  You know what it's about don't you?"

"Sin!" I said back to her.

"That's right...and you can name them right?  All of those sins." and she wiggled her fingers in front of my face again.

"Did you see that movie with Brad Pitt about sins?"  She asked me.

"Yes." I said.

"You know what happens to the wife right." 

"Yes, I know." 

"That's what happens when you sin." and wiggled her fingers in my face yet again.

She pointed to her knees and said: "Do you know how this happened?" 

I just shook my head because the guessing games were starting to get on my nerves.

"I was trying to cross a busy 4 lane highway and I ran and fell.  One time it took me 30 minutes to cross that highway." 

"Ouch!" I replied to her and thinking to myself please leave now. 

"Yeah, hurt pretty bad but "The Fireman" in the car patched me up good."  She pointed outside and I half expected to see a fireman.

"I brought my paints with me so I can paint the BIG MOON from the beach."  and once again I got the finger wiggling.

"I don't think you'll see a moon tonight, it's a bit cloudy." 

"Well next month is a big moon and then you know what happens in September right?" 

Ugh...another freakin' question. 

"The harvest moon right?" I asked.

"Right you are!  It's gonna be really big too!"

I was spared the finger wiggling this time thank goodness.

"Well I better go, "The Fireman" is waiting for me out in the car and he gets very impatient."

"Ok...take care." I said.

After she went out the door I wiggled my fingers at her.

The Girl with the Butterfly Eyes

She walked into the shop with a little boy on her hip.  He was about 2, sporting a little Mohawk. 

Her eyes went directly to the art that is currently on display.  The artist Patricia Arroyo from Asbury Park, NJ does a whole series on the The Palace Amusements and Tillie.

Tillie - by Patricia Arroyo

 

Along with Tillie, Patricia's also paints various clowns and the woman was just staring at them.

 

"Are you enjoying the art?" I asked her.

 

She walked over to me, sort of in a daze...she kept looking at the clowns.  I thought perhaps that she is one of those people who are afraid of clowns, but they don't usually stare at them.

 

"My father was in the circus all of his life", she told me.  "He just passed away recently.  When I was a little girl I used to dress up as one of the clowns and paint ....butterflies.....around....my.....eyyyyyyyyyyyesssssssssss."  She drew out the words like she was in a trance.

 

"I'm so sorry to hear about your Dad, but how cool that you got to be a clown!"  I said trying to snap her out of her trance.

 

She snapped her head around to look at me in the eye and said: "After he died, I looked everywhere for a little girl clown with butterfly eyes.  I looked....and I looked and then one day....there it was!!!"

 

 

All of a sudden she became very animated!

 

"I was so excited!  I couldn't wait to get it!  Do you want to see it?"  She asked me in a rather manic manner.

 

Now, I'm thinking it's on her back or shoulder...maybe her stomach so I said "Sure!" 

 

She maneuvered the little boy to the opposite hip and then she reached down and unbuttoned her shorts and pulled them down to her knees exposing not only a little girl clown with butterfly eyes on her thigh, but also a black thong and more flesh than I cared to see from a complete stranger.

 

"Oh wow, how about that.  Very nice!"  I replied...what the hell am I supposed to say to someone who just strips in front of you?

 

"It's not finished yet", she said as she struggled one handed to pull up her shorts while still holding the boy on the other hip.  "I still have some more coloring to do."

 

"Oh...OK.  It will look great when it's all done."  I replied slowly back to her as I watched her struggling to pull up her shorts that were a bit tight.

 

It was obvious that she was going to need two hands to accomplish this task.  She put the little boy down and before she could say anything to him, he darted towards the front door.  She followed him with her shorts down to her knees where I was treated to more flesh and a thong that disappeared into it. 

 

She managed to snag him about 10 feet from my front door, but every time she let go and tried to pull her shorts up he would run again. 

 

I'm thinking this woman is about to run out my door, chasing her son with her shorts down to her ankles and people are going to start wondering what kind of store I have here!!!

 

Finally she gave him a stern warning and he stayed put long enough to put herself back together again. 

 

You can't make this stuff up! 

 

 

 

Oh no she didn't!

There are times when people say or do things that stop you dead in your tracks and make you question humans as a species.

An older, very well dressed woman came into our shop last week and was interested in something to hang outside in her shore home. 

She was checking out the different suns that we have hanging around.

 

 

This sun is made from recycled steel oil drums in Haiti. They are created from using very simple hand tools and are a labor of love.  Haiti is an extremely poor country, and they use whatever resources they can to make/sell things to support themselves. 

 

The woman carefully looked at this sun and others made in a similar fashion and she was bothered by it.

 

"Oh no....look at the nose!  No, this won't do at all."  She said as she shook her head slowly. 

 

"I don't know", I thought to myself, "I think the nose is kinda cute, but then I'm partial." and moved the woman onto some other suns that are terra cotta and made in Mexico similar to this:

 

 

"No, these suns are grumpy, I don't want a grumpy sun." remarked the woman.

 

She went back to the Haitian steel drum suns again and said that she liked these better, but asked me if there were any that had different noses?

 

"What do you mean by different?" I asked her.

 

"Well, you know, ones that don't look like a black person's nose." she replied. "I want to hang this up in my shore home and I don't want to confuse the grandchildren with black people artifacts."

 

My jaw dropped to the floor. 

 

"You know" she added, "I come from "Main Line Philadelphia" and the shops around there cater to what white people want to buy."

 

At this point I am looking to see if there is a hidden camera set up somewhere or if I am being punk'd.

 

It was very obvious that this woman was serious and what I managed to say to her was:  "We feature a lot of different items from all over the world and they represent each culture that they are made in."

 

The woman walked out and it took me a while to recover from her remarks.  I wish I was quick witted and clever enough to say any number of things I thought of AFTER she left, but I am not and I was really just so in shock that people still have this mind set. 

 

 

To see how the steel drum art from Haiti is made, please watch this video:

 

 

 

 

 





Amorous Alcove

The front door of my shop is set back about 8 feet from the sidewalk and there is a nice little alcove where I can put out various items during the nice weather. 

Occasionally people will stop and have conversations on their cell phones or with other people.  Men who accompany their wives while shopping will usually hang out, smoke a cigarette. 

When it rains it's the first place people run to because it's covered so they can dry off a little before dashing back out into the rain again.

Yesterday, a young lady came up and was looking at some of the summer wear I have on a rack outside.  She was there for a few minutes when her boyfriend came up behind her and startled her. 

She gave out a shriek which got my attention.

Next thing I know boy and girl are playing tonsil hockey in my alcove.

I am not a prude and I think a small amount of PDA is fine, but these two were really getting into it.

It was not a romantic little kiss...this was full on snogging. 

Bow chicka Bow wow.

People were walking by, staring.

I think he grabbed her ass and she shrieked again and they walked away.

Nuthin' butt class. 

Dare to be different

I have a special place in my heart for kids who don't fit into the mold of  "normal". 

Whatever that means anyway.

Having been a bit of an odd kid myself I think I have a little more empathy to what they are going through. 

A young girl came into the shop today...skinny little thing. She reminded me a Arya from Game of Thrones.  Her hair was buzzed all around except for a long patch on the left side of her head that swooped down over her eyes.  A little tomboyish.  She wore a patterned orange and red sleeveless top that was way too big for her, and a green shirt under that.  Her black jeans were all frayed at the ends.  The tongues of her lime green and orange sneakers were pulled all the way forward, no laces.  Her backpack looked like it weighed more than she did.  In one hand she held a can of soda and in the other she perched a blue umbrella over her shoulder and had a fistful of change. 

She walked in and said a little "Hi!".

I said "Hi!" back.

Normally when I get kids in the shop I watch them very closely.  I've had a few mini-shoplifters over the years...so I just like to let them know that I am watching them in case they get tempted.

"School will be out for summer soon.  Are you excited?"  I asked her.

"Yeah...next week.  I am kinda excited."  She replied.

I asked her what she will be doing during the summer time and she told me that she loves to read books, and she's obsessed with You Tube video's on how to make things with clay.  She loves art and likes to do all kinds of different art things but right now she is mostly working on making lots of little things out of clay.

Her name is Lucy and she is quite talkative!

Lucy told me that she was in my store before..."Like a couple of years ago when we first moved here" she said.  "I remember because I liked the art you have in here.  Actually I like everything you have in here."

"Well thank you very much Lucy, I appreciate that!" 

I think it's fair to say at this point that Lucy is a really cool kid!

I asked her what grade was she going into next year.  She said she hoped it would be sixth, but her grades weren't that good so she may get held back. 

Trying to be positive I told her that being held back may not be too bad because next year you'll know everything you did this year so it should be easier for you.

"Do you like school?"  I asked her.

"I like some parts of it" she told me, "at least I don't get made fun of as bad in this school as I did in my other school before I moved here." 

"Well don't let them get to you Lucy because in the long run it doesn't matter what other kids say to you or if they tease you."

"Yeah, I know that's what my Mom says, but sometimes it does." 

Ugh...of course it does.

I wish at that moment I had some great moment of adult words of wisdom to tell Lucy, but what can you say?   "It's just words, ignore them."  "Don't worry this won't last forever."  "Sorry you have to go through this, kids can be cruel."  As an adult we can look back at childhood and realize what a short period of time it really was, but when you are a kid going through it...it seems like an eternity.

My sense is that Lucy is that kind of kid that likes being different and unique and I think that will carry her through the tough years.

We talked about art in school and she really likes it.  I asked her if there was an art club in her school and she said Yes, but she didn't like it.  Apparently they were making a paper mural to be hung in the school and she painted a little bunny because she is "obsessed with bunnies and all kinds of animals but mostly bunnies right now" and the next time art club met, the bunny she painted was painted over with a tree because it didn't fit the theme of the mural.  

"So I hate art club now." 

My adult brain was busy trying to process what kind of art club would paint over something a child made. 

Lucy meanwhile moved on to the next subject:  elephants

"You have a lot of elephants in your store."

"Yes, I do!  Elephants are good luck and a lot of people seem to like them."

Lucy nodded and seemed to contemplate this.  She told me she tried to make one out of clay one time but her brother squished it.

"Brother's happen" I told her.

"Mine happen a lot", she said.

I like Lucy. 

We chatted a bit more and then she said to me:  "Thank you.  I really like your shop."

"Thank you Lucy, I've enjoyed talking to you today and I hope you come back and visit me again soon!"

Lucy smiled and said she would.

I really hope she does.

Kids and shopping

 

Shopping with children is not always a fun thing.

Unless you are buying them something, they really don't want to be dragged around from shop to shop.

It's kind of like Russian Roulette when you think about it. 

How many stores can you fit in before your kid blows a gasket and has a melt-down?

With babies and infants you shop in between feedings and hope that they will nap while you browse.

Toddlers are little ticking time bombs...you can only say:  "Don't touch that."  "I said NO!"  "Just one more shop honey and then we'll go home I promise,"  or "Just one more shop and we'll get that ice cream/toy I promised you two hours ago.."

I am usually sympathetic to parents who shop with kids and generally speaking most kids are fairly well behaved. 

Then there are the parents who are so self absorbed that they don't pay attention to this loaded gun that they are dragging around with them. 

One slip and BAM! 

I had one Mom come in with her daughter who was about 6-7 years old.  Mom loved jewelry and she was looking for something new. 

Daughter scuffed behind Mom as they walked in.  She looked up and leered at me.  I looked down and gave her my best:  "I'm watching you kid"  looks.

She was not phased by my look. 

I actually think she took it as a challenge.

Oh shit.

Mom got busy right away checking out different necklaces that caught her eye.  Completely ignoring her daughter who would fall back about 3 or 4 feet away from Mom.

This is generally NOT a good sign - to me this says:  "I'm done with this and I will soon make it be known I will not do this anymore."

Luckily for me though, something in one of my display cases caught her eye and she kind of parked herself in front of it staring.

Still...I kept her in my sights.

Mom called me over to ask a question.  I went over to assist her and when I looked back over at her daughter she was smooshing her little face on the glass of the display case.

Ugh...thanks kid.  I just cleaned that glass. 

Mom wanted to see more jewelry and was trying to decide between two necklaces...a minute or two passed by and I checked on the kid again.

Now she is licking my glass display cases.

But she's not just licking...she is full out French kissing my display counter and creating a two foot long slobbery spit dripping mess all over the glass!!!

I took a breath and said as politely as I could:  "Sweetie, please don't do that." 

Mom finally snapped out of her jewelry induced haze, looked over at her daughter...dropped the necklace she was holding and in three big steps reached out and grabbed her daughter by the arm and started screaming at her:  "I told you NOT to do that...what is wrong with you?"

Meltdown to begin in 5...4...3...2...1

Daughter threw herself on the floor screaming.

Mother standing over daughter screaming.

Me wishing I was anywhere else by in my own shop at this point.

As the mother struggled to pick up the screaming kicking child off the floor, her pocketbook swung off her shoulder and smacked her in the face and her designer sunglasses went flying across the floor which made her even angrier. 

Daughter was reaching critical mass and started to sob uncontrollably making sounds like..."eee...aaaa...eeee...aaaa...ohhh...eeee...aaaa...eeee.....eeee."

Mother finally managed to pick the daughter up off the floor while I went over and got her sunglasses for her. 

"I just wanted to do a little shopping for myself...is that too much to ask for?"  She half screamed at the ceiling.

They left my shop and I grabbed the windex and cleaned off my display case thanking my lucky stars that I wasn't her.