Sunday, March 24, 2013
The Washington Post explores Kensington as a charming shopping destination.
What treasures have you uncovered while shopping in Kensington's warehouse district? The area has been in a state of flux the past few years, The Washington Post reports, with fewer antique dealers and a wider diversity of small businesses. The Post picks the antique “trogs” (breadmaking bowls) at the Great British Pine Mine as its favorite shopping find. What's yours? Tell us in the comments. Read the full story on The Washington Post.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Hoamgar and women's shop Free People will take over the former American Apparel space in May.
A women's fashion boutique chain based in Asia is set to open its doors at the Westfield Montgomery Mall in May. Hoamgar, which sells women's apparel in cities including Beijing, China, and Singapore, Taiwan, will take over the space formerly occupied by the recently-closed American Apparel near the mall's Nordstrom entrance. While it's not clear why the hipster fashion hub closed its doors, Hoamgar will likely be a more sophisticated replacement. The line doesn't appear to have a US-based website, but the Marina Bay Sands shopping center in Singapore describes the clothing as "fresh, elegant yet casual style, ideal for the professional woman." An announcement at its future Westfield location calls the line "exclusive high fashion." Next …
Friday, January 4, 2013
One of Chevy Chase's newest businesses brings a sporty edge to Friendship Heights' lineup of elite boutiques.
Chevy Chase's lineup of luxury clothing shops has a new, sporty arrival: DJ Bennett, an appointment-only, high-end sportswear boutique. Located in the newly renovated Chevy Chase Pavilion, the store, "which opened its doors in September, specializes in luxury athletic wear and equipment ranging from snowboarding goggles with built-in GPS capabilities ($450) to neoprene surf suits ($650)," The Washington Post reported. Owner Dawn Bennett, a former competitive swimmer, "has assembled a roster of sporting experts and professional athletes to help guide shoppers through the company’s inventory, which includes items from such brands as Ghurka, Louis Vuitton and Beretta," The Post added. "My whole life I’ve actually been shopping for something …
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
How many of these Christmas gift mistakes did you make this year?
Christmas is my favorite holiday of all the holidays. I love the lights and the family time and the cookies. I love getting cards with photos of happy families and I love decorating Christmas trees by reliving the history behind each ornament. If I'm being honest here, I have to admit that I love the presents too. It used to be that I loved getting presents—and don't get me wrong, I still enjoy unwrapping thoughtful gifts—but now that I'm a parent, most of my excitement about presents involves sitting back and watching my kids' joy on Christmas morning. I've worked hard to teach my kids about gratitude and looking at gifts as an expression of love from the giver. I've also worked to help my kids understand how to give gifts themselves by …
Friday, November 30, 2012
The Bethesda Lane storefront served as a temporary location for the menswear guideshop, which will re-locate to Washington, DC after the holidays.
As quickly as it came, Bethesda Row’s newest menswear store Bonobos is on its way out. Bonobos opened its guideshop in early November, taking the spot of the recently departed Urban Chic on Bethesda Lane. When it opened, the company intended for the Bethesda Lane storefront to serve as a temporary location for the shop before relocating it to Washington, DC, according to the store’s senior public relations manager, Gina DiPietro. The guideshop will remain in that location for one more month -- until Dec. 25 -- before moving to its new location in DC. “The Bethesda Guideshop will be open through the holidays -- end of December -- and then will relocate to a DC location in January,” DiPietro told Patch in an email. “Exact location is to be …
Friday, November 23, 2012
Could you go cold turkey on consumerism for 24 hours?
Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Holiday Weekend Sales, Pre-Christmas Sales, Post-Hanukah Clearance Sales, and Kwanzaa Clearance Events—it’s enough to make you go crazy as a consumer. One organization, AdBusters, has a solution to help you retain your sanity—“Buy Nothing Day.” The group’s website touts that “the journey towards a sane sustainable future begins with a single step” and sees capping your consumption for an entire day as that step. AdBusters, which also publishes a monthly anti-consumerist magazine, is also a proponent of the Occupy movement, and offers online and printable ads to help spread the word. The website also features guides to organized protests like a Credit Card Cut Up, Zombie Walk and Whirl-Mart. AdBusters claims …
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Since when did finding clothes for my kids get so hard?
You know how there are those things about parenting that you assumed would be totally easy, but turned out to be anything but? Dressing three boys, who would presumably not much care what they wear, is one of those things. I bought my oldest son pants last week and he actually agreed to wear them. It was practically family newsletter-worthy information. The secret is that I took him to the store and let him pick out his own pants. Who would have guessed that would work? Also, I would never in a million years have chosen the pants that he did. It turns out that for that kid, age 10 is the magic number for when I had to stop buying pants I think are fun, comfy, and perfectly good pants and start taking him with me to let him pick out his own…
Employees of the retail giant hope to take advantage of one of the year's busiest shopping days.
Employees of DC-area Walmart and Sam's Club locations are joining a national strike effort this Black Friday to protest what they view as low wages, poor scheduling practices, and worker intimidation on the part of the retail giant. The campaign, organized by Making Change at Walmart and linked with the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, is planning demonstrations outside dozens of stores nationwide on one of the busiest shopping days of the year. In the DC area, Nov. 23 protests are scheduled for Walmart and Sam's Club locations in Laurel, Hyattsville, Bowie, Gaithersburg, Woodlawn, Severn, Clinton, Abingdon, Alexandria, and Fairfax. (Both chains are owned by parent company Walmart Stores, Inc.) The strike action …
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
With the incoming Costco and the recently arrived Dick's Sporting Goods, Westfield Wheaton is attracting new retail and restaurants--like Chipotle.
Have you been to the mall in Wheaton recently? Step inside the new Costco wing around the back, and you'll find lots of "coming soon" signs. Patch spoke with Westfield Wheaton's marketing director, Sidney Woods, about when these stores and restaurants are expected to open. Woods said that those expected to open later this year include Mayorga Coffee, All Cell and Classic Diamond Jewelers. Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt, Choice Beer and Wine, and Chipotle are anticipated to open in 2013, he said. [Get daily email updates about business news in Wheaton by signing up for free newsletters from Wheaton Patch.] What drew in business like Mayorga and Chipotle? A new anchor store in the mall: Costco. However, Costco's scheduled Oct. 18 opening was …
Friday, September 21, 2012
How well do you know Kensington? Put that knowledge to test and guess where this photo was taken.
Put your Kensington knowledge to the test. Patch wants you to guess where this photo was taken. The answer will be revealed next Wednesday. Leave your guess in the comments.
Karen Garber
10:17 pm on Wednesday, April 10, 2013
American Apparel opened in what I think is the old Penn Camera store. I was there last week more ›