Creative Den

I visited a local businesses recently and I wanted to make sure people are more aware it exists and what they do there. I didn't know what they do there and my own store is just down the street. Granted, I don't get out much, but still.
E was asked to play guitar and sing for some kind of "1st Friday" thing someone organized. Honestly, I really have no idea what the story is, who is in charge, etc. I think it's something like music and specials at downtown businesses the first Friday of the month.

E's spot to play was in front of the new-ish storefront, Creative Den. I met Tara McKee, the owner (with her husband), who is lovely and had her explain to me what goes on there. I knew it had something to do with art but I had no idea what.

They actually do a few things. They sell local artisans work. From soap to jewelry to oil & vinegar to actual wall art, pottery, metalwork, stationary and more. It's really cool. I have seen stores like this in Red Bank and Nyack, so it's pretty neat to have one in a downtown like ours, which isn't typically "bohemian" like those places.

What's really cool is they have space in the back to do classes, for people to work on their own creative endeavors independently or with a group, AND they have a commercial kitchen that can be rented out. I guess if you wanted to have a cooking class or if you are making large scale orders you can't or aren't legally allowed to make in your house.

I love flavored balsamic vinegar and they had a local person's there for taste testing the night I was there. Now, I have another one I know of and like in my arsenal. I used to try to chase around this one brand I'd found at a local street fair, but most of the time I'd have to order it from California and the shipping was a killer. Plus, I like to buy local if I can!

Creative Den is just a really interesting place where you can get a wide range of unique gifts too. I like a gift card myself most of the time, but other people like to give and receive something more personal and unique. This is the place to find something, especially for the person in your life who has everything.

These are all locally made items in the store area. So don't think you're going in, checking out the stuff, and then trying to get it cheaper online, made in China. Like in my store, it's all about the quality, and that's not how it works. You want the stuff in there, you buy it IN there and shop local. 

If you have questions, just go see Tara. She's extremely friendly and welcoming. 

Creative Den
216 Rock Road
Glen Rock, NJ 07452

Store Hours:

Tuesday-Friday 10am-6pm

Saturday 10am-5pm

Tel (201) 882-1422

Branding Time

I'd like to shout out a local business. It is Branding Time in Midland Park. For the past six months or so, I'd been gathering all the clothing E is going to need for seven weeks of sleepaway camp. It's a lot of stuff. Whether or not he opts to wear the same clothes every day, there is still a packing list, and a certain number of camp logo clothes they need. They have to wear them on "field trips" and they just like to wear them for camp spirit. It's like college gear. The killer is, for "official" camp stuff, there is one company that seems to have the monopoly on it. AND IT'S HELLA EXPENSIVE. At least for me. I can't pay $25 a piece for four pair of shorts. I bought half the stuff I needed from the contracted company, but still needed the other things.

I get that chances are, if you're sending your kid to sleepaway for seven weeks, that in itself prices people out. So if you can send your kid, you can probably afford all the logo gear. Yeah, I'm not one of those people. I am working a second job and every penny goes to the tuition for camp. And it's not just clothes, there are other things to buy. It's like sending a kid to college. Even the "soft trunk" is anywhere from $70-$130. It adds up.

I thought, what if I just buy plain, no logo clothes, little buy little, on Facebook marketplace, or other secondhand venues, and see if someone could put a simple logo on for me. Not any of the complicated designs, but just the name. The shorts I got from the real company just have the name on the bottom of one leg.

I managed to eventually amass all items I need from here and there. Every week when I'd go to drive one of E's friends home to Ridgewood after a class, I'd pass Branding Time in Midland Park. One day I went in and spoke to the owner.

He's a small operation doing big jobs. It looks like he does a ton of sporting uniforms, company logo items, and whatever else I guess you'd need. He does the thermal printing and embroidery. I needed the thermal.

I explained to him what I needed, and explained why. That I was trying to save money. I'd need him to take my own clothes and add a logo. I showed him what I needed and told me it was no problem. I just couldn't have it in like a day or two because he didn't have the colors I needed. He was waiting on more. I didn't even know such a fast turn around was possible. Apparently, if he had the colors there, it would've been. Instead they were done in like a week or so. It's not like I needed them quicker so it was fine by me.

What he charged me saved me a lot of money and now I have all the required items. It's a relief for me, and now E's stuff will be a little unique because all the items aren't the brands they use at camp. I like this because my son is prone to losing things. This way, we'd know immediately if something was his or not and I'm assuming another parent would too if it ended up with their kid. 

I highly recommend them for your personalization needs.

Branding Time
251 Godwin Ave
Midland Park, NJ 07432
(201) 689-0700

No website. 

War On Women

I know people who read this blog expect me to write about what's going on in the country. You know, the war on women. Also, woman on woman crime- I'm looking at you Kay Ivey. Maybe I'm expected to start yelling in here. Start crying. Begging. I just can't. I don't have it in me to go into a whole thing. I'm only posting this because I feel like I have to say SOMETHING. Otherwise, it's seems like I don't care or I don't have an opinion. I have plenty of opinions. I have a hate cape with a mile long train. I already had to mute The View, which I had on at work, because Meghan McCain's big mouth on abortion was about to have me chucking the whole tv right out the front door. However, that would only hurt me, since small tv's are a rarity and Meghan's ultra annoying, ultra privileged, ultra WRONG commentary is only a small portion of my day.

I don't know what to say. I assume the people who read me, like what I have to say. I'm not Howard Stern- no one is hate-reading to see if I have anything shocking to put out there. I have to think that what I say is preaching to the choir. You can't seem to change people's minds about abortion. Except of course, if you're a GOP politician with a pregnant mistress. Or, if something tragic in that realm happens to you or someone you love, where abortion seems like the only logical answer.

I've heard the response, "If my daughter was raped, I'd raise the baby!". I'm confused and really saddened by that though. While that's a nice sentiment, what if the daughter is a tween? Like, the eleven year old that is a victim of rape and maybe with a side of incest. Or fourteen, fifteen... You'd raise the baby, sure. But you're going to also force your daughter to go through the trauma of child birth? I wonder if that entered her mind. I birthed a human. It was a "picture perfect, textbook birth". Yet, it was still traumatic AF on my thirty-four year old body. Just ask my husband who had to hear about it and deal with it for months after. How are we supposed to expect old white men to advocate for women when we're not willing to do it for ourselves and our daughters??

I can't imagine making a raped kid also go through pregnancy and then child birth. And then have their mom raise their baby. To me, that sounds like a giant punishment for something they didn't do or choose. Women are still dying in child birth in this country. I wonder if an eleven or twelve year old even makes it out of a birth alive.

Not to mention how traumatic it would be to have this baby in your home as a reminder, being raised by someone other than them. They get their whole first baby thing taken away from them. So add that to list of traumatic parts to an already traumatic situation. 

And you all know this isn't even about abortion. It's about women being vessels of childbirth. It's about keeping women barefoot and pregnant, and in the kitchen (for good measure). It's about control. Keeping women out of the work force. Keeping women from having autonomy over their own bodies.

Just know, the word or term "pro-life" doesn't exist. It's anti-abortion. Anti-women. Most of all, it's PRO-BIRTH. None of these people care what happens to the fetus once it's an outside baby. None of them want to fund programs to help kids born to mothers who didn't want to be or didn't choose to be mothers. If you think adoption is the be-all, end-all of answers just means that you come from a place of extreme privilege that allows you to think that. Just look at the completely broken foster care system in this country, PACKED with unwanted, abused, neglected, and delinquent kids. Kids were not adopted. When pro-birthers figure out what to do with and about them, and actually put those ideas into play with success, then come talk to me about criminalizing abortion.

Until then, looking at you Ms McCain, shut it. "Late term abortion" isn't "black and white", like you barked at Amy Klobuchar on The View today. For someone who is so damned loud and a bigger know it all than me, I'd think you'd educate yourself on how these archaic and extreme laws affect people in all shades of gray.

I encourage everyone to watch the documentary Foster if you're curious how it's going in the Foster care system.