Shop Local. Happy Birthday Shop Peppermint!!! & Wants v. Don't Needs.

Happy Birthday ShopPeppermint!!!

Shop Peppermint.
Emma/Model. Tanvi/Owner/Designer. Cooper/Cuddly.

I wanted earrings. Bow earrings. Anchor earrings. Stud earrings. Sunglass earrings. Not all of the above, but some combination therein. And I wanted rings. Dainty rings. Edgy rings. Rings with character. Finally, I wanted bangles. Bangles that bang. Bangles that bling. But I did not--most definitely did not--want all of these things, all at once. What am I to do with 13 new pairs of earrings?? 

Lacquer Bow Set

Faceted Pyramid Studs

Bead, Heart, &Anchor Set

Wants v. Don't Needs

We all know the concept of: Needs v. Wants. I surmise, we all loathe it. Buy only what you need. Eat only what you need. Blablabla. It implies that what you want, what you desire, matters not. It is unimportant. Inane. What you want is unnecessary. Needs v. Wants. Pfft. We all need the same basic things. What we want is what makes you, you. I say, think not in terms of Needs v. Wants. Think in terms of Wants v. Don't Needs. 

Wayfarer Sunglasses Stud

Matte Rose Stud

Faux Stone Dome Stud

Shop Local. A Lesson.

Shop Local & Know Why. Why do we #ShopLocal?? If you remember Go Buy Rochester, you'll remember that:

Studies prove every dollar spent with a locally-owned merchant has three times the impact of a dollar spent at a big box store.

To #ShopLocal is to make a direct investment in your local community and to buy items that have a story. Often times, the goods we buy in our local shops are made & assembled solely in America. Did you know that a large number of the items in Tanvi Asher's Shop Peppermint is jewelry from local artists and dresses, blouses, and skirts from her own clothing line, designed by Tanvi & made in NYC?? True fact. In order to appreciate the concept of don't needs, you must appreciate the value of quality over quantity. I much rather have 1 quality, cute, ring than 2 of the same assembly-line carbon copies made out of who-knows-what-material in who-knows-where-working conditions.

Shop Peppermint. #ShopLocal.
Top: Local Artisan Ring. Pretzel-Heart Bangle
Bottom: Glasses Frames Earrings.

Know What You Want. 

(And How Many.)

I'm on a budget. At one point I realized that if I didn't sign-up for 10 work-out classes (which is in addition to yoga), I had $100 extra for shopping. ...

On Saturday, April 13, ShopPeppermint celebrated their 1st Birthday. Who doesn't love a minty birthday?? Honestly. ... Obviously, this "extra" hundo-was going straight to the candy bowl. More specifically, it was getting dropped on some jewels. As noted, Shop Peppermint boasts a lovely selection of local artisans' work--double #ShopLocal!--as well as kitschy trunk-show products. From geometric necklaces and earrings, in mediums ranging from wood to mixed-metals and textures, and whimsical earrings, like ampersands and glasses frames, to bangle bracelets in silver and gold, with rose buds & pretzel hearts: never before had I partook in these delicacies. Birthday weekend was my shot.

Taken from My Bedroom.
Locally Made Chevron Necklace.

Truly, I wanted only 1 of each: earring, bracelet, ring, necklace. So I did an experiment. I tested myself.

Forever21. 

The Test.

Everyone knows that you can buy a cute pair of neon orange matte rose studs at Forever21 for a-buck-80. It's absurd. And 4 lacquered bow studs in a set for just $3 more. Ridiculous. Because shipping is free once you spend $50+ and because I budgeted $100, I decided to do it make a wish list. (That I titled Summertime Sassiness.) I wanted to test myself. BarbaraEllen, the #ShopLocal purveyor & self-proclaimed RocOPhile herself: would she succumb to the allure of rock bottom prices & quantity inexcess?? Or would she be won by her true love, local buys & quality character?

Nautical Stud Set

13 - pairs of earrings (set of 3 anchors for Nicole Jaclyn)

Mixed Metal Heart Ring

Double Cross Ring

2 - rings

0 - bangles

Bicycle Print

1 - T (Don't really need. Just needed to get to $50.)

Denim Shorts

1 - denim short (Samesies.)

2 - totes (1 for a work friend who really didn't want it & another for a photographer friend who is an artist and a genius wherein this bag wouldn't do justice as a gift to thank her for her art of me!!)

Smile Camera Tote

Sunglasses Clad Tote

In order to spend $50 & get my free shipping, I had to buy all of this. Thirteen pairs of earrings!? Even if I did give away 3 of them, what am I to do with 10 extra pairs?? Where am I even to put them around my bedroom??? How on earth do I decide which pair to wear during the day. I'm late enough as it is getting out of the door each morning. I mean really. We know what would have ended up to most of that haul, don't we?? ...Don't we.

Don't Needs.

Waste & Excess.

Bonus Buy!!
Sleeveless Sheer Blouse.

That's the point. We don't. We do not use it. It lies around, maybe gets 1 use probably not even for 1 full season. Qualifier: I will say this. If I knew that 3 other of my friends really wanted bow earrings as well, well then yes, I would buy that 4 pack. And we could split them and be best friends forever. Aw. But so far as I know, none of my friends want the left overs of a bonus pack of earrings that I buy for myself from Forever21. So there goes that. Truly, I can not handle having all of that meaningless jewelry around me. And so, when I spend just about 10x as much money on a meaningful ring because it is made from a local artist and sold at locally owned shop, because I can afford not to buy so much crap, well, I feel pretty great.

Wants.
#ShopLocal.

Dave "Bippy" Boyer the Caricaturist.
Right: From Left - Nicole, Danielle, BarbaraEllen.

I am stoked about my haul from Shop Peppermint during its Birthday Weekend. First, let me say, I went twice in 1 day. Let me also say that Tanvi served vegan cake pops & red velvet cupcakes, on cake platters covered in mint (get it?) colored fondant, with honey-mustard pretzels and champagne, freshly followed-up by any amount of mint you could ever savor. All beneath a swirl of red and white balloons. My first trip began around 1pm, just as the caricaturist, a jovial and personable artist who goes by Bippy--Yes. Tanvi hired a caricaturist. Yes. We were the first to partake.--arrived and slews of patrons made Peppermint abuzz. My second trip, around 6pm and just an hour or so before Shop Peppermint closed, was greeted with just the same amount of red velvet cupcakes and champagne as when I arrived 5 hours earlier. ...Not because no one ate nor drank. Because Tanvi's a shop owner, a designer, a party planner, and a host. 

Birthday Cake & Champagne!!
Vegan Cake Pops. Red Velvet Cake Cups.

Minty Fresh Party.
Guess how many Peppermints.

Complementary Beach Grab-Bag!!

Truly, a Happy Birthday to Shop Peppermint, one of the most locally minded #ShopLocal boutiques in town. Love the clothes. Love the jewels. Love the bag. Love the boutique. Love getting what I want & what I need. And Love that I'm going VIP to Peppermint Origins: Sewn Seeds Fashion Show!!! 

Happy 1st Birthday to ShopPeppermint!!
(And be on the look out for the new blogazine #Rocstache.)

xo.