Dirty Coast is one of the most recognizable local t-shirt companies around town. Infamous for their New Orleans inspired tees, such as "Be a New Orleanian. Wherever you are." and "Where's Nagin?", the company got started shortly before Katrina, but things really took off as displaced New Orleanians began snatching up these tshirts as a way of showing hometown pride.
Dirty Coast is hosting an End of Summer Party tonight at Tipitina's uptown. Rotary Downs and The Other Planets will be playing and doors open at 9pm. It's only 8 bucks to get in and sounds like it will be a lot of fun. (The Dirty Coast folks usually know how to throw a pretty good party.) Dirty Coast also recently opened their new retail location at 5704 Magazine Street. I haven't had a chance to drop by and check it out, as I'm rarely uptown these days, but I'll have to make a special visit soon.
B-Native is a great online source for NOLA-inspired and NOLA-made gifts and other merchandise. The site features everything from books and unique paper goods to fashionable accessories for your home and body (you can even book yoga classes here!).
B-Native carries a range of designs by talented local artists, including designer Alexa Pulitzer (her work can also be seen on quite a few Dirty Coast t-shirts), hat artisan Tracy Thomson, recycled art crafters Unique Products and one of my favorites, Gogo Borgerding, who owns a shop at 4212 Magazine Street where she sells her handcrafted modern jewelry. I love this two-toned cuff she's created, made from sterling silver and anodized aluminum. The day I stumbled into her shop on Magazine Street, I had to pull myself away quickly, before I made any rash purchases. Her work is just so funky but elegant, all at the same time.
I love shopping venues like this, that collect the work of multiple talented artisans all in one place. B-Native is constantly adding new products and artists, so there's always something fresh from New Orleans to check out.
Did you know Sav-a-Center is pulling out of the New Orleans market? Once they leave there will be no full service super market in Orleans Parish on the park side of Mid City, unless someone comes in and takes over. According to City Business, the super market change is looking to sell their 21 stores in the New Orleans area as a group. Unfortunately this is going to make is hard for any of the locally owned stores (Dorignac's, Breaux Mart, Zuppardo's, Rouse's) to swoop in on the Sav-a-Center turf. All of these stores are to small to be able to afford to buy all 21 sites, but a number of them are interested in purchasing a few of the stores.
It would be nice it the locals could parse the group into prime locations, but I understand Sav-a-Center's need to sell in bulk in order to completely leave. Plus if only a few stores were taken then some may be left to close up and abandon their neighborhoods. Mid-City and New Orleans East and the edge of Gentilly could see the end of nearby grocery stores. Just look and the current locations on Carrollton (the Mid-City location near me) and Franklin Blvd (the only supermarket for all of the colleges on the lake, like UNO and SUNO). Both of these stores already have experiences that are much worse than the Veterans store in Metairie. Both have poor product choice and hours (though the Carrollton one has a better self serve policy than the Metairie one). At least the one on Carrollton seems to have higher prices than the Metairie one. I can only wonder what will happen after the sale. Will the stores close up further? Will prices get worse? Or, will that famous UK market, Tesco, decide to move into New Orleans in addition to their new Stateside stores in L.A.?
I was browsing around on Etsy.com and decided to pop in a quick search for "New Orleans" to see what kind of handcrafted items turned up. Quite a lot, in fact! Many of the artists with New Orleans inspired products either live in New Orleans or the surrounding areas or are from New Orleans originally. However, quite a few of the cool products I found were made by people who just love the city.
I decided to make a list of some of my favorites that are all priced under $15 (and most are under $10!). Many of these NOLA-inspired creations are totally one of a kind, so if you click and see something you can't live without, my advice to you is act fast! In no particular order, some of my faves:
FYI, if you are like me and have a couple semi-large purchases to make (under $2500) today and tomorrow are the days to do it. Apparently there is a state sales tax holiday in effect and everyone in Louisiana will not have to pay the normal 4% sales tax on all purchases they make between 12:01 AM CST August 3, 2007 and midnight Saturday night August 4, 2007. So you have 48 hours to go out a save a bunch of cash, up to a hundred bucks. Yes you could save $100 (read is really annoying standard commercial voice loudly). Of course you might be able to save even more if you just wait til Labor Day weekend, but if you needed to buy the stuff anyway, and soon, then why not take advantage. I need to get a crib for a new addition and had planned on buying it this month anyway, so I guess I'll just push up the purchase to Saturday.
The Louisiana Sales Tax Holiday provides an exemption from state sales tax on the first $2,500 of the purchase price of most individual items of tangible personal property for non-business use. The state sales tax is payable on the portion of the purchase price of any individual item in excess of $2,500.
The holiday will apply to the 4 percent state sales tax, but will not apply to the sales taxes levied by parishes, municipalities, school boards, and other political subdivisions of the state.
They also go on to say the store is responsible for filling out the paperwork to not have to pay the taxes. So far I've seen numerous commercials for this for furniture stores and more. I even got my normal CompUSA mailing with a special sale announcement including the Tax Free Holiday details.
I'm not much of a kid person myself, but lately it seems like everyone know is having babies. And I know that a bunch of these kids are going to be future Saints fans in the making. So get them started early with a custom made Who Dat Saints dress or jon jon by NOLA-based shop PolkaDotTots.
Like I said, I'm really not a kid person, but now that approximately half the women of child-bearing age I know in town are pregnant, I've been on the hunt for the perfect handmade baby gear. And the clothes by PolkaDotTots pretty much fit the bill. Not only are they made by hand by a local independent artist, much of it is New Orleans themed! You've got to instill some civic pride in these future citizens early, you know?
I love pretty much everything by Algiers-based artist Kerry Fitts, but my favorite things that she makes are her cuff bracelets crafted from recycled fabrics and notions. Like this one for instance. Take some scraps of vintage pleather, an old quilt and a vintage key and you've got a one-of-a-kind rock and roll style cuff. I've got two of her cuff bracelets already, but there are a few more I still have my eye on.
Kerry has been selling her work at art markets around town for sometime now, but it wasn't until after Katrina that she was forced to branch out into online sales as well, since so many of her local customers had moved on. In the past two years she's opened up two online shops (bayousalvage and rustchic), where she offers her handmade cuffs, bags and more. She and her partner Heather Mattingly also create some pretty cool shotgun house wall sculptures made from recycled debris found around the city.
Kerry is pretty passionate about making her work 100% recycled whenever possible. For her, Katrina kind of drove home the importance of knowing what you consume, where it comes from and how it's made. You can find out more about Kerry at her blog.
On Friday I was walking down a very familiar stretch of Royal Street in the Quarter (between CC's and Royal Mail) when I decided to stop into a fairly new shop for the first time. Royal Sundries (927 Royal Street) had caught my eye a few times as I'd walked past it during the two months or so since it first opened, but I'd never taken the time to stop in. It looked like a pretty cool assortment of stuff from the window... art and jewelry and handmade cards, plus some snacks and cold drinks. And apparently a small DVD rental selection as well.
I chatted with the owner Karen Landry for awhile. She was super nice and enthusiastic, and she spoke about how she really wants her shop to be a place that's inviting for both locals and tourists alike. The one thing in the shop that really caught my attention was a display of some artwork by children, ages 3 to 12, from around the world. Acquired through a non-profit called the Global Children's Art Gallery, some of these pieces were pretty impressive considering the ages of the children who had created them. This got Karen talking about how she hopes to soon set up some art workshops for children and adults, featuring a different resident artist each month or so. Eventually she plans to have even more community resources and activities available in the shop.
I hope this so-much-more-than-just-a-gift-shop really takes off. Karen seems like such a kind and giving, down to earth person, and her store could be a very welcome addition to the French Quarter landscape.
Dirty Coast is one of the most recognizable local t-shirt companies around town. Infamous for their New Orleans inspired tees, such as "Be a New Orleanian. Wherever you are." and "Where's Nagin?", the company got started shortly before Katrina, but things really took off as displaced New Orleanians began snatching up these tshirts as a way of showing hometown pride.
Did you know 
I was browsing around on 
FYI, if you are like me and have a couple semi-large purchases to make (under $2500) today and tomorrow are the days to do it. Apparently there is a state sales tax holiday in effect and everyone in Louisiana will not have to pay the normal 4% sales tax on all purchases they make between 12:01 AM CST August 3, 2007 and midnight Saturday night August 4, 2007. So you have 48 hours to go out a save a bunch of cash, up to a hundred bucks. Yes you could save $100 (read is really annoying standard commercial voice loudly). Of course you might be able to save even more if you just wait til Labor Day weekend, but if you needed to buy the stuff anyway, and soon, then why not take advantage. I need to get a crib for a new addition and had planned on buying it this month anyway, so I guess I'll just push up the purchase to Saturday.
I'm not much of a kid person myself, but lately it seems like everyone know is having babies. And I know that a bunch of these kids are going to be future Saints fans in the making. So get them started early with 
I love pretty much everything by Algiers-based artist Kerry Fitts, but my favorite things that she makes are her cuff bracelets crafted from recycled fabrics and notions. Like 
On Friday I was walking down a very familiar stretch of Royal Street in the Quarter (between CC's and Royal Mail) when I decided to stop into a fairly new shop for the first time. Royal Sundries (927 Royal Street) had caught my eye a few times as I'd walked past it during the two months or so since it first opened, but I'd never taken the time to stop in. It looked like a pretty cool assortment of stuff from the window... art and jewelry and handmade cards, plus some snacks and cold drinks. And apparently a small DVD rental selection as well.
