Shhh... don't tell!

 

We love it when Santa pops in!

For those of us who like to give (and receive!) gifts, owning a store is like having Santa pop in  every day — which must be the reason that we do it, because it sure is a lot of work! But the rewards are plentiful too, and perhaps none as great as unpacking a brand new shipment, pulling out the product that we bought sometimes months before, and seeing the reaction it gets from our most critical and vocal front line, our “Huffington Heroes.”

 Hilarious Huffingtons…we love these ladies (and watch out for Sam, who’s hiding behind Scurry)

For the most part, our lovely employees are (actually!) a polite and supportive group who tend to oooh and aaah over most of the purchases, with a couple of vocal exceptions leading to the not-so-subtle question of “what were they drinking when they bought this?”   But of course those are few and far between!

So this is the season when the Huffingtons’ grateful and appreciative bosses, in the form of a Secret Santa, will be deciphering those vocal ooh and aah’s to pick out the most fitting gifts for these same wonderful  and well deserving employees.  Because they’re worth it!

So what will it be?

The easiest person to buy for (and possibly the most opinionated!) is Sammy, because she loves books more than anything.

 Sam

 She has a wonderful eye, is a fabulous designer and editor, and some may even say she has quite a bit of character, so we know she will LOVE the new book Diana Vreeland:

Next year:  Memos by Sam Jones!

Next easiest is Alva, because she loves jewelry – and wears it so well.

 Alva

We know that she was jumping up and down when we brought in Grace George, a jeweler out of Louisiana whose gorgeous baubles have been flying out of our store.  And we know that she loves crosses, beads and anything gold.

 The perfect bauble for our adorable Alva

Allison is pretty easy to buy for too, because she loves anything French, and is partial to art and objets that come from her native Louisiana.

 Allison

We know she’s had her eye on an Amy Dixon painting, which may stretch our budget a little (even though she’s worth every penny!) so we’ll need to beg Mark to weigh in a little too.

 An Amy Dixon chandy is high on Allison’s list …

 … but we know she’d also be happy with one of these fabulous crosses!

Colleen is a cinch.

 Colleen

She looks fabulous in all of our new vests and has never worn a piece of jewelry that didn’t make her already gorgeous face sing.

Her taste is a little edgier, so we’re probably looking at a fabulous piece by our newest jewelry designer, Gypsy.

 

A gorgeous piece of Gypsy jewelry for our gorgeous gypsy, Colleen.

(Although we know she also has been eyeing our favorite new fur benches.  Hint, hint … Peter?)

The perfect mongolian wool bench, that will make Colleen’s heart sing!

Colleen’s mother, Babs, will probably ask us for a donation to JDRF in her name, as she is a most philanthropic and committed champion of that wonderful cause.

 

Babs

We’ll happily do that, but we’re going to surprise her with something too, which will either be a cashmere tunic, or one of our newest feather weight cashmere scarves.

She wants cashmere…

And maybe more cashmere!

Our tall, thin and elegant Barbara looks good in everything, so we can’t really go wrong with clothing.

Barbara

In fact, we’d love to see her in one of our new Claridge & King cashmere tunics, because they would look so fabulous on her, along with one of our cool belts from Wimberly.

 

 And more cashmere…

Emily, who is our darling social media and marketing guru, often hidden in the back conjuring headlines and writing brilliant copy, looks amazing in everything too.

Emily

But she also loves her pretty home and we know would be inspired by her favorite designer’s brand new book …

 One of our nicest clients and Emily’s favorite designer, Suzanne Kasler.

… and this gorgeous white lacquer table for it to sit on!  (Oh dear … there goes that budget again!)

 Our gorgeous white laquer desk may stretch our budget a little, even for darling Emily!

Mackenzie, our newest employee at Huff Harrington Fine Art, politely oohs and aahs over everything at the store, when she stops by for painting swaps.

 

Mackenzie

We’re thinking she travels a lot and loves our roller bags, and also likes the wallets from Hobo … but a little birdy has told us that what she really has her eye on are our newest, ever so hip leather key rings!

Maybe this …

Or a Hobo wallet …. or …

 We hear she really has her eye on a cute leather o-ring!

And what do you get the woman who has it all and can pull it off with more style and aplomb than just about anyone we know?

 

 Lovely Linda, who has it all!

We think our darling Linda may need dear old Dan to weigh in with us (again this year!), and go for that fabulous new painting that she can’t seem to get out of her mind:

A painting by Liz Barber that has been haunting Linda since we got it …

… And pair it, as she does so well, with a gilded Louis mirror, that will make everything glow!

 A Louis for our Linda, again this year!

There really is nothing more fun than surprising someone with the perfect gift … even if that surprise might have been leaked a little in advance, to just a few hundred people.  Oops!  Well, isn’t it the thought that counts?

Ta ta, with lots of holiday cheer,

SS (Secret Santa)

Ho! Ho! Ho! Huffington Hunks at Home for the Holidays

‘Tis the season – and we’re on full alert at Huff Harrington Home.  People are out and about and shopping till they drop.  It’s so much fun and we love the festive vibe at the store.

We’re covered head-to-toe in glitter from our pretty wreaths and holiday decorations – and we’re happily spending our days fluffing the store, wrapping little and large gifts, unpacking last-minute arrivals and helping our lovely clients find the perfect something for under the tree.

We adore our sparkly glitter wreaths.

 This time of year is all about family -  and we love (and brag constantly) about our little Huffington family.  Our team of lively ladies is the most dedicated, hardworking and professional group we’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. And boy, do they keep us in line.

Hilarious Huffingtons…we love these ladies (and watch out for Sam, who’s hiding behind Scurry)

Sometimes we get extra help from other family members:  the teens are well-represented with Molly and Lily.  The smart, adorable 20-somethings have Christie and Katie (and Alex when we can get her). Eric is our favorite (and best-mannered) handy and delivery guy.  And Allison’s sister, Heather, also helps us out with wrapping, expert merchandising and saving the day when we’re three deep at the register.

Huffington Mini-Me’s: Molly and Lily.

Katie helps out when she’s home from college.

 

Heather helps us out when the sales are piling up.

Eric: our favorite handy guy. He moves furniture, does deliveries and has the best best manners.

We don’t see Alex much but we love it when we do.

Ann, Bill and Christie help the hunks out last year.

And it doesn’t stop there.  Last year at this time, when we (truthfully) were all a little exhausted and overwhelmed with the holiday madness, we had a funny idea to have our cute hubbies help us out at the store. We picked the Sunday before Christmas and imagined a blissful afternoon: putting our feet up, taking it easy, sipping a glass of champagne and maybe nibbling on some bonbons (or our delectable toffee.)  Completely motivated, we rallied our monsieurs and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

Ho, ho, ho:  Some Hunks at Home: Scott Harrington, Bill Huff (seated) and Dan Mohan

The Huffington Hunks came, poured, served and charmed.  They jauntily wore their Santa hats and proved most helpful on our floor where they gave sage advice to both the ladies and gents.

More Huffington Hunks: (l to r) Dan Mohan, Mark Wagasky, Bill Huff, Scott Harrington and Peter Strickland.

And, oh happy day, they’re coming back to Huff Harrington Home this coming Sunday, December 15th from 2 to 4 p.m. We can hardly wait.

We can expect lots of these kinds of conversations:  to the lovely and elegant client in a cute jeans and heels:  ”Looking for your monsieur?” (okay, none of them will really say that.) “Is he a golfer? Fly-fisherman? Whiz in the kitchen?  Wine lover? Travel nut?  Does he love good socks? Here’s what I’d suggest…”

 

For the perfect bar set-up: a chic shaker engraved with appropriate and clever toasts.

For the natty dresser.

 

The perfect little shoeshine kit.  A little something for your Monsieur’s stocking, as suggested by a Huffington Hunk.

The Huffington Hunks give their seal of approval: a guide no gentleman should be without.

 To the ever-so-slightly-bewildered husband with kids in tow: “Kids, have some food. Dad, come with me. Here’s what your wife wants under the tree: jewelry, cashmere and cool stuff for the house that the girls found in France…”

 She wants cashmere…

 Advice from the Hunks? Wrap this elegantly and put it neatly at the very bottom of her stocking.

 

 She wants art.
(Lorraine Christie, Life Imitating Art, 30 x 40, oil on canvas, $8,350.00)

 And did we mention she loves cashmere?

 

 Not sure how this would get down the chimney, but the Hunks agree this heavenly 18th century Louis mirror would be a big hit.

 

Important advice from the Hunks: never underestimate the power of travel. This stylish and elegant little book will win you points, especially when you pair it with a trip to France.

We love the way their personalities shine at HHH.  Bill is always happy, genial and will go the extra mile to find that special something for the client he’s helping.  Scott loves organizing the food (gourmet grilled sausages and other manly nibbles) and expertly manning the bar.

 Bill’s always got a smile for everyone.

Dan Mohan gets pulled into the fray by the lovely Linda who is our gallery manager at Huff Harrington Fine Art.   Dan is ever so cool, collected and analytical but you’ll fall for the twinkle in his eyes every time.  And Mark Wagasky could honestly sell croissants to a Frenchman and is the undisputed life of the party.  Peter Strickland, Colleen’s adorable and young hubbie, is charming and never without a smile.

Mark, Dan and Scott man their posts.

 

 This guy can do it all. Mark helps Katie and Christie take care of business behind the register.

This year, we’re also hoping for guest appearances by Colleen’s delightful father (and husband of our darling Babs), Dr. Byron Williams – as well as a couple other Huffington significant others.  We’re promising a fun afternoon with plenty of repartee, grilled goodies and a delicious artisan beer or two.

It’s a rollicking day when the guys are here – and they’re always full of opinions and wonderful ideas about how to run our little business.  They’re insisting that we do a fun something at the register on Sunday, so we’re obliging and taking them up on their idea of a Bucket o’ Bucks. (Ann and I suggested “Un Petit Cadeau Pour Vous” but the Men shot that one down.)  You’ll be able to reach in and grab a little surprise of $5, $10, $15 or $25 off your purchase of $100 or more.

And what about us?  If last year is any indication, we girls will be happily run ragged! We’ll be ringing up gifts galore, wrapping like crazy and zipping all over the store like we usually do. We’re thrilled to let the Hunks do their thing – and goodness knows, we don’t want to get in their way.

And, okay…maybe we’ll have a glass of bubbly (and some of that toffee, too.)

 

 We’ll be running around like crazy but hopefully we’ll get a sip of bubbly in some pretty glasses.

 Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays…and ta ta.