Petticoat Row

Brand Identity: Reasons Why You Need Brand Identity for Your Business

Jessica Gage — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:53:32 +0000

By Jimmy Vanderlay (Link to the full article, click here)

Operating a business has changed drastically over the last decade or two. There have been a lot of changes made to the traditional ways to market and promote a business. Back in the day, all you had to do to gain business was to open up a shop in your community and you could be on your way to become a business mogul. Nowadays, running a successful business requires a lot more marketing and having a generous amount of brand identity to get your business noticed among customers. Now any business, no matter what the size is, can compete in the global market. Even if you run a grocery store, your customers can find your place of business through the use of the internet. This is exactly why having a positive image and identity is so important.

A brand is far different from a logo design. Having the perfect logo design is just step one to get your business running. The brand, however, is the representation of what your business really is and what makes it unique. Brand identity should be vast and comprehensive and promote your business. There should be a majority of methods for promoting your business including websites or advertisements on anything that is worth associating your business with. Even if you are an online company, it is still just as important to have a brand identity. Your business will need a permanent and unswerving image, whatever it may be.

Ponder on this fact for a second; there are so many names for business’ all around the world. Even if you use your own name or a very creative and distinct name for your company, there could be duplication of ideas. There could be a possibility that someone out there, in some corner of the world is operating a business with the same exact name or something similar. When customers search for a particular product online, they should be able to identify who they are about to do business transactions with. This is where brand plays a major role. When you have a strong brand identity, it will be a clear statement about whom, and what your business is.

You will need to set a trend all on your own to promote your business. Your identity and logo design should be creative and attention grabbing. When conducting business online, it will be your responsibility as a business owner to persuade your customer to stay on your page. Let them feel at ease about the quality of products and services you offer and that they are exactly what you have promised. It is as simple as that.

Developing a brand identity is not a time consuming effort. All you have to do is to keep your logo design and corporate identity consistent and trustworthy. Consistency of a logo design is crucial for your business, no one will remember your company if you frequently change the image. It is the same as changing the brand identity.

Why Brand Matters

Jessica Gage — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 13:52:04 +0000

By Laura Pasternak (For full article, click here)

Whether you realize it or not, every business has a brand. How you develop it is the difference between creating your point of distinction or blending in with the crowd; projecting a positive image or eliciting a negative one; growing your business or merely existing; successfully reaching your target audience or missing the mark altogether. Brand does matter. Those who build their brand and manage it successfully can profit mightily. Here are six principles for creating and building brand as well as real-world examples of why it matters.

Strong brands trigger hot buttons in the consumer.

We buy for emotional reasons and then rationalize those purchases. Know what triggers your target audience. For Volvo buyers, it’s safety. In fact, Volvo and safety have become synonymous. Volvo has taken this emotional connection and strategically built its brand around safety. The company’s web site says, “Explore the beauty of safety with 2006 Volvos”. The site even has a “Volvo Saved My Life Club” section with stories of real people who were protected by their Volvos in car accidents. These stories are emotional, but also underscore how the Volvo brand is associated with safety. As a result, the company has developed a very loyal customer base.

Brand isn’t just a smart logo and tagline.

These are merely applications of the true brand – a concept that exists in the mind of your consumer. Your brand is an experience for the customer. Nobody delivers this idea better than MasterCard® with their “Priceless” advertising campaign. Although they rely on consumers to purchase items with their MasterCard® credit cards, they know that buyers want to feel good about their purchases. What will make them feel that way? The experience tied to that purchase. “There are some things money can’t buy. For everything else there’s MasterCard®.” Although they acknowledge that there are some experiences you can’t buy, they also elude to the fact that there are many more experiences that you can buy. In other words, they make the consumer feel as though MasterCard® can give them the experiences they desire. Experiences are reinforced through the company’s regular promotions in which cardholders can win trips, cars, cash and in a recent promotion, a house.

A brilliant ad campaign: Thousands of dollars. A 60 second television commercial: Hundreds of thousand of dollars. Building a brand that makes customers feel good about their purchases and results in double-digit revenue growth for MasterCard® [1]: Priceless.

Know what customers associate with your brand and how to capitalize on it.

You know that brand taps into emotion. Since customers buy for emotional reasons, their perceptions color your brand. Take Martha Stewart. She is well aware that living well appeals to consumers on an emotional level. Her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSLO), has branded itself accordingly, stating on the web site that “…Martha Stewart shares the creative principles and practical ideas that have made her America’s most trusted guide to stylish living.”

Even when Martha was charged with insider trading, she continued to reinforce — even capitalize on — the “stylish living” brand from behind bars: making delicious meals in the prison microwave, collecting apples from the prison grounds to make applesauce, entering Christmas decorating contests, etc. In the process, she won the admiration of her fellow inmates and the continued brand loyalty of her customers. The MSLO brand remained strong in spite of the challenges the company faced. Today, it is a nearly $500 million empire with television shows, books, a magazine, house wares merchandised through Kmart, a catalog business and a furniture line with Bernhardt. MSLO has deftly mastered the art of convincing consumers that they can live the good life. Reinforcing, capitalizing and continuing to build on that brand has worked and “it’s a good thing” for MSLO.

Brand is part art, part science.

The balance is a delicate one. Creativity strengthens and enlivens brand. But the science of branding is equally important. You can’t build a successful brand without both. You must understand your target audience’s likes and dislikes as well as their hot buttons. A brand campaign can be artistically presented, but if the consumer doesn’t know what you’re selling or can’t identify with it, your campaign has failed. The Disney Company has done a masterful job of creating a brand that blends art and science. Visit the company’s overview section on their web site and you will understand why this approach has created a powerful brand worldwide. “The Walt Disney Company has remained faithful in its commitment to producing unparalleled entertainment experiences based on its rich legacy of quality creative content and exceptional storytelling. Today, Disney is divided into four major business segments: Studio Entertainment, Parks and Resorts, Consumer Products, and Media Networks. Each segment consists of integrated, well-connected businesses that operate in concert to maximize exposure and growth worldwide.”

Careful market research, focus groups, maximizing brand exposure, continual education and advanced technologies are all part of Disney’s brand science. The organization is in tune with what their target audience wants: wholesome, family entertainment in a world of imagination. And, they are constantly measuring, evaluating and adjusting their efforts to maintain this brand. The artistic component of their brand obviously can be found in the creativity and quality of amusement parks, movies, merchandise and media channels (i.e.-television, web, magazines) that have represented the Disney brand since 1923. Together, art and science have built the world’s largest entertainment company.

Successful brands are the sum of all of its parts.

As illustrated above, Disney has been able to address all aspects of the branding process to create a powerful brand and an organization that has continued to grow in size, offerings and sales over the last 83 years. Likewise, multiple aspects of your business must integrate to drive the effectiveness of your brand. Some of these aspects include:

Understanding your market and your customer. Brands should be customer-driven. What does the customer want or need? What kind of experience does the customer want to have with my brand? How does my product/service make the customer feel? You cannot affect brand perceptions of your business without understanding your customers.

Ensuring that brand is reinforced within the corporation as well as externally. A strong brand is represented in every customer touch point including customer service, direct sales, call center interactions, product/service delivery and all other direct and indirect contact with your customers and/or the media. Marketing alone cannot carry a brand. Moreover, your brand is built on customer experience and perception. The best marketing and advertising means nothing if your brand isn’t carried beyond it or the promises don’t ring true.

Reflecting your business values and goals through your brand. It is one thing to imply that your brand reflects these philosophies or values; however, it is quite another to back up those assertions with specific actions. In doing so, you will strengthen your brand as well as customer loyalty. Disney presents a great example. The company has a worldwide outreach program, which supports public service initiatives, community outreach and volunteer programs helping families, children and the arts, as well as a program that supports environmental efforts. Disney’s environmental beliefs have led the company to create The Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund. The fund has distributed more than $6 million among 200 environmental conservation projects in more than two dozen countries. Their worldwide outreach program has donated more than $190 million in cash, public service announcements and volunteerism globally. Disney employees volunteer their time and talents in their communities, contributing more than 402,000 hours of service to outreach projects. These actions are deliberate and help project a community-focused and environmentally conscious image. In turn, this concept drives customers’ perceptions of the Disney brand as a magical kingdom where all is good.

Crafting external communications, both oral and written, to properly represent your brand. The message and tone in these communications should align with your brand. Every opportunity in front of your customer is an opportunity to reinforce brand. A visit to any of the Disney properties reinforces the importance of consistently representing your brand. Cast members (as they call their employees) adhere to strict brand guidelines – from meticulous detail about their appearance to how they communicate with park guests. Park cast members and characters are warm, friendly and helpful. Their interactions with customers convey the notion that they truly care about children and families. Moreover, Disney’s career site states, “Yes, there really are dream jobs. Here, the bottom line is imagination, our culture is magic and wonder, and required previous work experience: childhood dreams.” When employees feel that they are living out a dream, they will perform better and customer interactions will be stronger. As a result, guests will walk away with a “feel good” impression and the notion that they really did live out a dream.

Representing your brand through your products and services. McDonald’s golden arches represent more than hamburgers. They reflect the company’s commitment to quality across the board – quality in its food products as well as quality in its employees, franchises and community outreach programs. To reinforce their brand, the company maintains high standards throughout the organization. Franchise operations are held to rigorous quality assurance requirements. The company’s recognizes how crucial these franchises are to representing the McDonald’s brand. As founder Ray Kroc once said, “McDonald’s doesn’t confer success on anyone. It takes guts and staying power to make it with one of our restaurants.” It is that commitment to superior service that consistently has made McDonald’s the premier franchising company around the world. This same philosophy extends to its community outreach programs like the Ronald McDonald House. Since its inception in 1974, more than 10 million families have benefited from the company’s dedication to this program throughout the world.

Brands gain value over time…if they are consistently built and reinforced.

It worked for Nike. Less than 15 years after their entrance into the marketplace, the athletic shoe giant became a global brand. Their success came from an intimate understanding of their consumers’ needs and desires; continuously introducing innovative products; establishing good management practices and, of course, great branding.

To build brand value over time, you must give careful attention to ongoing assessment and management of your brand, exploring questions such as: Does my brand have a substantial and positive impact on sales? On growing market share? Can my customer relate to my brand? Are we building brand loyalty with every customer interaction? Building your brand is an evolving process that should be a constant driver for your business. You can’t wait until something goes wrong or sales start to plummet. You must be proactive in building on your brand thoughtfully and consistently. Follow Nike’s lead on building brand: “Just Do It.” You won’t be sorry.

Ultimately, brand matters. And not just for the big consumer product giants like Coca-cola, Nike and Disney. For service companies, it is all about brand. Your company’s success is determined by the perception your customers have about your services. In short, your brand must grow with your business. You need to continuously reevaluate what is and isn’t working with your brand in your customer’s mind. Brand is not static. It needs to evolve in order to thrive. It must also reflect philosophical and operational changes within the company.

It is easy to implement a brand strategy and then leave it to its own devices. However, if you seek to build strength and longevity in business, then your brand must be tended to carefully and regularly.

[1] As reported for the third quarter of 2005

Laura Pasternak is President of MarketPoint, LLC, a brand management firm that helps businesses improve results by identifying, integrating and managing customer-driven brand equities and strategies. Visit http://www.yourmarketpoint.com or call 1.866.21POINT toll-free to learn more.

25 Ways to Make LinkedIn Work for You

Jessica Gage — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:49:05 +0000

LinkedIn offers several features free of charge, but many job seekers barely scratch the surface when using the site to build their profile

By Liz Ryan (from www.businessweek.com)

LinkedIn is a networker’s dream: an easy way to learn about, and reach out to, millions of businesspeople and thousands of employers. Yet many LinkedIn users don’t take advantage of the site’s features even though the vast majority are free.

Here are my top 25 recommendations for getting past “Well, I’ve got a login” and making the site really work for you, whether you’re job hunting, hiring, growing your entrepreneurial business, or just seeing and being seen in the online branding arena.

You’ll start by creating your LinkedIn profile and adding connections. Then you’ll use LinkedIn’s fancier features to do such things as reach out to friends of friends, join a Group or a LinkedIn Answers conversation, or enhance your profile with apps.

Our first 13 LinkedIn tips focus on your profile:

Name: Use your “business” name. My given name is Elizabeth but no one calls me that, so I use Liz in my profile and on my business card. Don’t add extraneous information in the Name field (like “5,000+ connections”) unless you want to brand the size of your Rolodex rather than yourself.

Headline: Your LinkedIn headline, just below your name, is a huge branding opportunity. When another user searches the LinkedIn user database, your name and headline are the only things they’ll see before deciding whether to click on your full profile. Make your headline count. “Marketing Manager” isn’t much of a branding statement, but “Marketer Specializing in Social/Content Marketing for Hospitals” separates you from the pack.

Photo: Don’t leave your LinkedIn profile photoless. Upload any decent-looking, digital head-and-shoulders photo. You don’t need business attire for this shot. Just use a photo that sends the message, “This is a business or professional person,” meaning (as you may have guessed) last year’s beach vacation shots might not be your best pick. (Then again, it all depends on your brand.)

URL: Make sure your LinkedIn profile bears your own stamp in the form of a personalized URL, like http://www.linkedin.com/in/lizryan. Once you’ve got that customized URL, you can use it on your résumé, in your e-mail signature, and on your business card.

Summary: Here’s where you can tell your story. “Results-oriented Finance professional” makes you sound like a robot or a zombie. “I started out in Accounting before morphing into a Sales Operations guy” gives us a feel for your path and your personality. Have fun with your LinkedIn summary—it’s the one free-form (and long!) field on LinkedIn where you can speak to the reader (the person viewing your profile) in a human voice.

Specialties: The Specialties section of your LinkedIn profile is another great field. You can use terms like “Supply Chain Management” and “Safety Training,” but you can also talk about your Irish wolfhounds and salsa dancing in this field. Prospective clients and employers want real, live, entangled, interesting people on their teams. Business is personal these days, and your outside-of-work interests (the ones you care to share, anyway) are part of your professional persona.

Add Sections: A powerful new LinkedIn feature is Add Sections, which lets you amplify your profile with additional information about past jobs, projects, organization memberships, and more. Click on the Add Sections link to preview the various enhancements you can make to your profile just by providing a bit more background.

Work History: It takes only a few seconds to upload your text résumé to LinkedIn, and it will save you time creating the Work History section of your profile. You can amplify this field with your proudest accomplishments or particular responsibilities you want readers to know about. It’s important to include the dates (and employer names) for each past assignment so LinkedIn can match you up with colleagues who have worked alongside you.

Additional Information: Your profile’s Additional Information field lets you round out the “Story of You” with the URL for your website and/or blog, your Twitter account, honors and awards you’ve won, and your interests (the books you read, the sports you play or follow, or anything else you want to share).

Personal Information: You can list as little or as much personal information as you want on your profile. It’s your choice.

Education: Including accurate dates in the Education section of your profile will make it easy for the LinkedIn database elves to match you up with classmates who may be on LinkedIn now, waiting for you to reach out and refresh the connection.

Contact: The “Contact [Person X] for:” section toward the bottom of your profile is another great field because it forces you to think about what you want from LinkedIn and from your networking in general. This is where you get to decide which types of contacts you want and don’t want. Which conversations are you willing to have, and which ones are a waste of your time?

Applications: You can attach Box.net files to your profile in order to showcase events you’ve produced, articles you’ve written, or photos you’ve taken, or to append a full-text résumé to your profile (for instance, if you’re a graphic designer and want to show off what you can do). I could write multiple articles about LinkedIn Applications, but for now I’ll just say check them out.

BUILD YOUR NETWORK

Your LinkedIn profile is in great shape. Now all you need is a network. Here are four tips for bringing your crew back into reach or converting 3D friends and contacts into LinkedIn connections.

Connections: Look for the green Add Connections bar on nearly every page of LinkedIn. Use this link to invite folks to join your first-degree network. In most cases you’ll need their e-mail addresses. If LinkedIn gives you the opportunity (some invitation channels do, and some inexplicably don’t), change the standard boilerplate invitation language to sound more like your own voice. Be wary of sending invitations to people who aren’t expecting them—you could lose your invitation privileges that way.

Colleagues: The Colleagues feature lets you quickly see which LinkedIn members have worked with you during your career. That’s incredibly handy because we can easily forget people, and we often don’t have current e-mail addresses for our long-ago workmates.

Address Book: If you have an address book on Gmail, Hotmail, Outlook, or another popular e-mail application, you can download your entire contact list into LinkedIn. Don’t panic—LinkedIn won’t send spam; it will just tell you which of these contacts are already using LinkedIn.

Classmates: Just as the Colleagues feature does, Classmates lets you reconnect with people from your past. Invite people to join your network via the Classmates channel with caution, because this is where LinkedIn invitation spam tends to congregate. A helpful reminder in the body of your invitation (“I remember how much fun it was traveling to Tel Aviv with you in 1993.”) can help refresh the memory of classmates you haven’t been in touch with for a while.

NOW FOR THE GOOD STUFF

My last eight LinkedIn tips will get you using the site actively rather than sitting around waiting for people to reach out to you. Try one a day and build up your LinkedIn chops from “novice” to “cocky” status by next weekend.

People Search: Use the People Search link in the upper righthand corner of nearly every LinkedIn page. (I’ve had no luck whatsoever with the quick-search feature; I use Advanced People Search, however, several times a day.) You can search the LinkedIn database on every imaginable field, from a person’s name or industry to his or her virtual proximity to you. Searching LinkedIn is a free and easy way to build up your business-intelligence acumen and data warehouse. Try it!

Companies: LinkedIn’s Companies database is another treasure trove of useful information for job seekers, business developers, headhunters, and everyone else. When you find a company that interests you, click once to “Follow” that company and receive updates on its hires and other news.

Connections: When you’re ready to use LinkedIn as a networking tool, browse your first-degree connections’ connections to find someone you’d like to talk to. Make sure you appeal to the recipient and aren’t just asking a favor. You can make contact with the one-hop-away networker using the Get Introduced Through function.

Answers: LinkedIn Answers is a feature that lets you ask and answer questions among the massive LinkedIn user community. I use Answers about once a month to inquire about research studies or to get opinions on issues I’m thinking or writing about. And I respond to queries posted by others on topics ranging from HR policies to breast-feeding at work. Answering and posting your own LinkedIn questions adds to your understanding of business topics and increases your networking visibility and credibility.

Groups: LinkedIn Groups are magnificent idea-sharing and networking tools because they bring together subsets of the overall LinkedIn population, making it easy to converse and view one another’s profiles. Some Groups require approval from the moderator to join.

Jobs: LinkedIn includes job openings, but most of the time when I ask job seekers, “Where are you focusing your search?” they mention Monster, Craigslist, and jobs aggregators Simply Hired and Indeed. Those are all great sites, but let’s not overlook LinkedIn, which is unique because it links job openings to actual LinkedIn profiles. In an era when Black Hole recruiting abounds, it’s nice to be able to view a job listing AND the profile of the person who posted it.

Updates: Just like Twitter and Facebook, LinkedIn updates keep your network current on what’s new in your life and work. You can update your status on the LinkedIn site or with a multiple-updates application like Hellotxt (which will update your Twitter feed, Facebook status, and LinkedIn status all at once).

Endorsements: LinkedIn endorsements, also called Recommendations, are an essential piece of the online networking-and-branding puzzle, but we’ve saved them for last because they require a bit more thought and care. It’s possible to ask people to endorse you on LinkedIn, but I recommend endorsing others first and letting them return the favor for you (LinkedIn prompts them to endorse you once you’ve completed a Recommendation for them).

You must have a first-degree connection with someone in order to endorse them. Make sure your endorsements are pithy and specific. The presence of Recommendations on your LinkedIn profile improves your results in database searches … and LinkedIn endorsements have their own power, especially if they’re well-written.

To give you an idea of how robust LinkedIn’s features are, we’ve barely scratched the surface here. Try some of our 25 tips this week and grow your online networking mojo in the process.

Liz Ryan is an expert on the new-millennium workplace and a former Fortune 500 HR executive. To visit her full article, please follow this link.

DIY Apps Save Small Businesses Time, Money

Jessica Gage — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:32:03 +0000

A study estimates that small companies have cut 725.3 million annual employee hours by using mobile apps, equaling $17.6 billion in savings

By Rachael King (from BusinessWeek.com)

Realtor Nick Galiano wanted to create a downloadable application that would let clients browse his firm’s home listings from mobile phones. Professional software developers wanted him to cough up $30,000 for a trio of apps for Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone, Research In Motion’s (RIMM) BlackBerry, and devices using Google’s (GOOG) Android operating system. Then he found Appsbar, a Deerfield Beach (Fla.)-based company that builds apps at no charge, seeking instead to make money from advertising placed inside the apps.

“It’s amazing how you can create something in a couple of hours that would have taken a company $10,000 and six to eight weeks to develop,” says Galiano, who built the app for his Metairie (La.)-based company using the Appsbar website.

Small business owners eager to create mobile apps—whether to market services to customers or improve internal productivity—are finding a growing array of alternatives to hiring professional programmers. Aside from Appsbar, the list also features such companies as MyAppBuilder, AppBreeder, AppsGeyser, Mobile Roadie, and Socialize, which makes the AppMakr tool.

Appsbar Founder Scott Hirsch says he got the idea to start his company while running another business, when he was shocked to discover how expensive apps were and how long they took to develop. “I thought, ‘this is ridiculous,’” he says. To have a custom app developed could cost anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000 and take six weeks to 12 weeks, he says.

Appsbar mainly caters to small and midsized businesses such as bars, gyms, banks, event planners, and accounting firms. The service has amassed 60,000 users since it began in April 2011. While Appsbar doesn’t charge fees, clients must agree to let the company place ads inside apps available through online bazaars, such as Apple’s App Store. “Apps are the fastest growing thing in the history of consumer products,” Hirsch says. “Everyone is impressed by how fast it’s growing and I think it’s just starting.”

Apps Become Indispensable

Small business owners are becoming increasingly dependent on mobile apps. In 2011, about 70 percent of small businesses used mobile apps for operations and almost 40 percent said it would be difficult to survive without them, according to a survey that AT&T (T) released in March.

Mobile apps can help small business owners save time—about 5.6 hours a week, according to a report published by the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council in June. The study estimated that small business owners are annually saving 373.8 million hours of their own time and 725.3 million employee hours by using mobile apps. The employee hours alone translate to about $17.6 billion a year, according to study co-author and SBE Council Chief Economist Raymond Keating.

Lauren Kay says her New York child-care business SmartSitting saved itself about 30 hours of work monthly when she discovered she could create her own app, using tools made by Zoho to automatically convert the time sheets submitted by her 215 sitters into invoices. These time savings roughly translate to from $500 to $600 a month, she says. “The day we discovered we could create that app was one of our best business days,” says Kay. Zoho Web apps can be viewed from a mobile phone’s browser.

Do-it-yourself apps can also be used to create more complex applications for businesses. Greg Taylor, who runs an investment advisory firm called Powerline Advisors, has created an app that brings together a wide range of data from five different online sources that couldn’t be found in a single location. These include easily accessible sources such as Yahoo! Finance (YHOO), as well as harder-to-find information that includes company balance sheets and cash flow statements. He paid programmers about $700 to help him get the app up and running and put in about 100 to 200 hours of his own “sweat equity” into it. Taylor updates the data in his app every night and pays a provider called Xignite about $300 quarterly for corporate financial data. “I’m able to do things I wouldn’t have been able to do five years ago cost-effectively,” he says.

To view article, please visit this link.

February Networking Event!

Jessica Gage — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:38:08 +0000

Arlene O’Reilly of Digital Footprint 02554 & Mind’s Eye Productions and Lisa Frey of Nantucket Event Media will discuss marketing & branding your island business! Petticoat Row hosts on Wednesday, February 22nd, from 6:30 – 8:30 PM at the Miacomet Golf Club. $5 at the door. All are welcome!

The Nantucket Gift Basket Company

Petticoat Row — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:25:47 +0000

Nantucket’s only Gift Basket Company. Owned and Run by Year-Round Residents of the Island since 2008. The Nantucket Gift Basket Company offers a large selection of quality gourmet gift baskets filled with Nantucket favorites and charm for all occasions.

Visit The Nantucket Gift Basket Company’s Website

Swain’s Travel

Petticoat Row — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:19:34 +0000

A full-service travel agency located on Nantucket Island, established in 1981. Swain’s Travel, Inc. is open year-round and is available to serve island residents and visitors with their personal and business travel needs.

Swain’s Travel, Inc., a Vacation.com member, offers a wide range of travel services and products, the most up-to-date airline, car, and hotel rates, and schedules. Through our advanced computer system, airline tickets and boarding passes are issued on-site for most airlines, and electronic ticketing may be used where available.

Cruises are our specialty! With selections that cover the globe. Exotic luxury cruises, cruising for families, yacht and sailboat charters, European river and barge cruises. We have cruises to fit every taste and budget!

Independent, Hosted, and Escorted tour packages are available to every destination, Disney World, Hawaii, Central and South America, the Caribbean, the Pacific, Asia, and Europe. We are sure we have a special destination for you at prices you can afford. Also, train tickets and rail passes, trip cancellation insurance, foreign currency, and luggage selections are all available through our preferred suppliers.

For those of you who like a more active, out-of-the-ordinary vacation, Swain’s Travel also has a wonderful selection of specialty travel and adventure travel brochures, from such renowned suppliers as Abercrombie & Kent and Butterfield & Robinson. These suppliers and many more handle anything from African safaris, hiking and bicycle tours to white-water rafting, horseback riding, and hot-air balloon rides.

Swain’s Travel also has a video library and brochures to help in your vacation planning.

Stop by our office and our well-trained, helpful staff will be more than happy to answer your questions and assist you in your decision-making.

Swain’s Travel Inc.
35 Old South Road – Key Post Corner
Nantucket Island, Massachusetts 02554
Phone (508)228-3201 Fax (508)228-3279
Monday-Friday 9a-5:30p Saturday 9a-2p
Email: travel@nantucket.net

Visit Swain’s Website

Nantucket Bookworks

Petticoat Row — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:15:19 +0000

Open 7 Days a Week, Year-Round!

January through May:

Monday-Thursday 10:00 am – 7:00 pm

Friday-Saturday 10:00 am – 9:00 pm

Sunday 10:00 am – 7:00 pm

SELECTION:

We are a full-service, general interest bookstore selling new books, with a small selection of out-of-print Nantucket titles.

We have an extensive children’s room, card room, Young Adult section, and Nantucket Book section. Also, you never know what kind of eclectic sidelines might wind up in the store. Our mission is to surprise and delight our visitors on a daily basis!

PAYMENT:

We accept cash, checks, and all major credit cards.

We are also pleased to sell and accept ABA GIFT CARDS, good for use at more than 200 participating independent bookstores across the country.

KEY CONTACT INFO:

Phone: 508-228-4000; Fax: 508-228-2380

email: nantucketbookworks@gmail.com

Visit Nantucket Bookwork’s Website

little miss drama

Petticoat Row — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:08:44 +0000

little miss drama jewelry was started out of a love of all things dramatic. owner and designer Pamela Diem Willis started in ny as an actress with a BFA in acting from Tisch school of the arts and then went on to receive her MFA in acting from the American repertory theater at Harvard university.

While studying and performing at Harvard she met friend and colleague Deb Knox who inspired her to make jewelry while pursuing her career in the theatre. in 2005 little miss drama was born, and at the helm were Pam, Deb and their close friend and Director Molly Martin.

In 2008 Pam opened her first store on Old South Wharf on Nantucket Island. The store continues to thrive with Pams fantastic ability to create totally one of a kind masterpieces. Each necklace, bracelet, or pair of earrings is handmade by Pam herself, with a tremendous amount of care. Once you put a on a piece of little miss drama jewelry you immediately feel like the most fantastic woman in the room.

Visit Little Miss Drama’s Website

Le Cherche Midi- Nantucket

Petticoat Row — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:03:46 +0000

At Le Cherche Midi- Nantucket we “Embrace the Art of Living”…..
We believe that “Life is Art” , therefore the Quality products we carry are functional as well as beautiful works of art…. We also believe in bringing a bit of the whimsical into our product line……after all, what would life be without quality , craftsmanship, beauty, attention to detail…and a bit of whimsy!

Our little shop on the Island of Nantucket is reminiscent of the small quaint shops we have visited in Provence, France….we carry many of the unique handcrafted products from this region……We have an extensive collection of tabletop products including dishware, glassware , flatware and French linens.

In addition to our French lines we have an equally extensive collection of unique, elegant gifts from all over the world that reflect a similar beauty and quality craftsmanship…..

It is certain that at Le Cherche Midi – Nantucket you will find a unique, elegant gift for every occasion.

……….Stop in and enjoy the Experience…….!