We love those holiday gift guides that you find in the December issues of fun magazines. We love them so much that we decided it would be a great idea to ask a few of our customers to make their very own Spruce & Gussy gift guides that we could share with you. 

Our first list was written by Kirsten Hardy. Kirsten has lived in Maine for the majority of her life, and on MDI for the past ten years. She got her BFA in ceramics but has since started a small sewing business, making clothing and accessories for babies, kids, adults and an eco-friendly home. She lives with her husband and two daughters in a house they built here in Bar Harbor. Here at Spruce & Gussy we carry a number of Kirsten's products; her colorful and festive picnic napkins are one of our most popular items. Here are some of Kirsten's favorite things:

Justin Rothshank's Poppy Mug

Photo by Jennifer Booher

"Having received my BFA in ceramics, I still always have my eyes open for amazing handmade pottery. I love the fluid lines of the mug as well as the bold image of the poppy. And it would hold plenty of coffee. I'd probably have to keep this for myself. "

Birthstone & Initial Charm Necklaces by posy studio

"This is a gorgeous gift for any woman on your list. There are so many ways to customize this with spouse's initials, children's birthstones, and your choice of chain."

Canvas & Organic Cotton Storage Totes by 3 Sprouts

"My kids need these. We never seem to have enough storage containers for doll clothes, tights, Legos, laundry, etc. These would be totally functional and still look really cute."

Fringed Mohair Throw by Merben

"These are simple, beautiful, and versatile. One of these would be beautiful on the foot of a bed or hung on the back of a favorite chair. Super snuggly and cozy, with amazing colors. I would love to get this for a sister or close friend. Someone who would appreciate the softness and warmth."

Business Card Holder by InBlue

Photo by Jennifer Booher

"This one is for my hubby the architect. I like the simplicity of the stitched leather and monochromatic stamped image. My husband always has business cards with him and this is an easy way to keep them separate and intact."

Isla Leaf Jewelry by Tegan Curry

"I have a few pairs of Tegan's earrings that I wear all the time. I need a necklace to wear with scoopy tanks in the summer, or a ring to wear in the winter. Her elegant designs instantly dress up a simple outfit."

"Early Morning" framed print by Jennifer Judd-Mcgee

"Any Mainer would appreciate the quaintness of this image. The frame adds rustic charm and makes it ready to be hung. I love the way the sky, ocean, and land all have their own pattern details." 

Many thanks to Kirsten for taking the time to make this list for us. Stay tuned for more gift lists by local friends of Spruce & Gussy.

In the meantime, don't forget to head downtown for the Village Holiday Celebration & Midnight Madness, which happens this Friday night, December 2, beginning at 5 p.m. when Santa arrives at the Village Green to light the tree in the gazebo. From 5:30 until 7 at the YMCA there will be lots of fun activities for kids, including horse & carriage rides, pictures with Santa, and craft projects. We'll be there with a Spruce & Gussy table, making gift tag bookmarks with the kids, so stop by and have some cocoa and say hi! From 8 p.m. until midnight is the town-wide Midnight Madness sale for those of us who might think 6 a.m. an uncivilized time for a sale. Here at Spruce & Gussy we'll be offering 10-50% off most of the store, festive Champagne punch, and snacks both sweet and savory, including Michelle's fantastic smoked salmon dip and Patti's homemade gluten free brownies. Very civilized, indeed.

We've got most of the plans in place for the Bizarre Bazaar, which we'll tell you about this weekend. Keep an eye on our Facebook page for more info about the event. 

Happy Holiday season!

–Patti

Spruce & Gussy was open before 6 a.m. this past Saturday for the 17th Annual Early Bird Sale. To be honest, I hadn't attended this event before last year, when I had to work at it. How much fun can wandering around town in your pajamas before 9 a.m. possibly be? Turns out it's a great time!

We had coffee and homemade breakfast treats, and a storewide sale of 25% off. Michelle, Abby and I were all in our pjs, and so were most of the people who came through the door, such as these lovely ladies in their bright and cheerful robes. 

So cheerful! They must be morning people…

The bed races were exceptionally spirited this year. Though our next-door neighbor Leary's Landing didn't win, I admired the their no-nonsense bed. 

The practical Irish approach to a bed race

Michelle hadn't really slept the night before, so by 10 a.m. she was a little goofy. Well, actually, she was pretty goofy at 5 a.m., too. Here she is modeling one of our new Christmas decorations.

Our own Spruce & Gussy holiday gnome

If you missed all the fun this time around, be sure to join us for one of our other events in the next few weeks that will be both fun and economical. The first is Small Business Saturday, which happens on November 26, Thanksgiving weekend. If you are an American Express cardholder, register on their site, and spend $25 at a small business on that Saturday, they will give you a $25 statement credit. Free money! We accept Amex at Spruce & Gussy, so a purchase of at least $25 here on that day will get you that $25 back. In addition, the Bar Harbor Merchant Association is doing a drawing for another $25, this one a gift certificate that can be used at any participating BHMA member business, which is most of the town at this point in the year. All you have to do is stop by a participating business and make a purchase on Small Business Saturday, and you'll be entered in the drawing. Another chance at free money! We'll have an in-store giveaway that day, too, so make a point of stopping by to enter for your chance to win something fun.

Soon after Small Business Saturday is the Annual Village Holidays and Midnight Madness celebration in Bar Harbor. Santa arrives around 5 p.m. on Friday, December 2nd to light the tree in the Village Green, and then there are bunches of fun events for kids down at the YMCA starting at 5:30. At 8 p.m., Midnight Madness starts, another town-wide sale event where you can get great deals on gifts and holiday accessories. Here at Spruce & Gussy we'll have 10-50% off, with most of the store discounted by 25%. Add in our holiday Champagne punch and some tasty snacks, and you really can't beat it. 

Stay tuned for information about the Bizarre Bazaar, our own in-store artisan fair that we host with Danielle over at Macey's. For more info about any of these events, please give us a call at 288.2454. Looking forward to seeing you soon!

–Patti

Wowza. No matter how many years I live and work in this town (I'm mid-way through number 23), it is always stunning to me how quickly it goes from bustling tourist destination to ghost town. Okay, perhaps it's not quite that extreme, but there isn't much of a transition period, not nearly so much gradual dwindling as you'd expect. Main Street still sees a fair amount of traffic from the last few cruise ships. For us over here on Mt. Desert Street, it's more like there's a switch. Yesterday it was on. Today it is off.

Autumn in Bar Harbor through the window at Spruce & Gussy

I remember writing a bit about this phenomenon last year. Michelle and I weren't really prepared for just how drastic the change would be in our little shop, nor for how abrupt. So we spent a good deal of time in late October and early November staring out the window, twiddling our thumbs, and worrying. This year we vowed to cut that time down to two days each, tops. I don't know about Michelle, but I'm going to spread my allotment out over the next few days, focus in the morning and stare vacantly into space in the afternoon. Or vice versa. Take my sweet time getting out of my own way.

To that end, I have spent a fair number of hours clicking mindlessly around Facebook. Nobody seems to be up to much of anything at all, or perhaps I'm just projecting. And then I've made myself step away from the computer, and I have gotten busy. I've knit a scarf using a pattern I wrote to give out with the purchase of a skein of Manos yarn, and I've started knitting another that will be for sale. I've finished setting a couple of stones, including an opal in a pendant and an amazonite in a ring. And I've started the metalwork for an order I'll be shipping off to the Portland Museum of Art gift shop. Yep, I've got to admit that this last one is pretty exciting. 

Scarf, opal pendant, and amazonite ring, a few of my fall projects

So we've got a couple weeks of down time, but we both have projects to work on. And before we know it, the holiday season will be upon us. The date for the town-wide Early Bird Sale has been moved up a week, so it will be on November 12 this year. That's less than 2 weeks away! We'll have plenty to do to get ready for the sale, and for Midnight Madness and the Bizarre Bazaar shortly afterward. You know we don't like to go too long without a party, so thank goodness for these events and the chance they give us to bring out the yummy and festive Champagne punch we debuted on Fashion Night Out. 

A little less craziness in the day to day operation of the store means that I should have a little more time to write and let you know what's going on in the world of Spruce & Gussy. But I've said that before and been wrong, so I won't make any promises.

Oh, by the way, we're closed Mondays now. We'll be open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am to 6 pm from now until Christmas. 

–Patti

Wow! What a month it has been, and we're only halfway through. Bar Harbor's first Fashion Night Out happened on September 8, and it was a fabulous event. Merchants all over town participated, and there were drink specials and dance lessons and art openings and Santa(!) and plenty of libations. It was really, really fun. So much fun that I didn't manage to get any photos. So you'll just have to take my word for it when I say that here at Spruce & Gussy, we all looked fancy and had a blast. Many thanks to Tegan Curry for bringing extra sparkle to our store. 

Life has been so full of events like these, and the beginning of school with the mayhem that tends to bring, that I haven't been farther from the shop than Cottage Street in weeks. So imagine my surprise when I found myself with a free half hour one afternoon this week and wandered down Main to see this. 

Like everyone in town, I knew this was happening. But there is something about actually seeing it that makes it much more real. Bye bye Quarterdeck, hello hotel. Odd. And then I turned from that spectacle and walked the shore path to see this one. Again, I am well aware that there are cruise ships in our harbor almost every day in September and October. And I know that they are big. But holy moly! That thing is the same size as the Porcupine Islands! Wow.

Well, back to Spruce & Gussy. We are gearing up for another event, this time starring the incomparable Susan Fleming. As you probably know, we've been carrying Sue's work since we opened. Primarily her chiyogami work, which is her simple and elegant silver settings with Japanese silk-screened paper and resin. Colorful and classic, it is a very popular line.

We also carry her newer work, which features fine silver, sterling and gold, mixed together and sometimes sprinkled with tiny diamonds. Like Sue's other work, the effect is modern yet classic. Sue was an MDI resident for many years. She and I worked together slinging drinks til all hours of the night (and into the morning) at the Lompoc, and she also worked for Sam Shaw in Northeast Harbor. She moved her sweet self and her talent out to Jackson, Wyoming a while ago now, and those of us on the island who know her have been missing her ever since. So this show is extra special for Spruce & Gussy, because it will be a reunion of sorts as well. And this might be a secret, so shhhh! But Sue will also celebrate a special birthday here this week, so stop by to wish her a happy one. 

As always, there will be beverages, sparkly and non, alcoholic and non. There will be snacks and fun music and lots of wonderful people. It all happens Saturday, September 17, from 3-9 pm. Please stop by and join us. 

–Patti

Well, so much for that commitment I made back in May to write at least once a week. Good thing I didn't tell you about that, you'd think I was a real loser. The road to August is paved with good intentions…

Yes, here we are. August. For most of the US population it is a month of downtime; closed schools and offices, barbeque parties and beaches to attend, the lazy hazy days of summer. For those of us who live in Bar Harbor, it is a time of heightened chaos. Even those of us who don't rely on the tourist trade for our income cannot avoid the long lines on the roads and in the grocery store, the crowded sidewalks and the slightly frantic feeling that pervades the air.

Ah, August. Operating on the principle that if you can't beat it, you should join it, we've decided to throw a party! Shocking, I know. Seems like I'm always telling you about another reason we've come up with to eat, drink and make merry. This time we've invited a couple of our favorite artists here for a special show. One of the wonderful things about living in Maine is that it is a state full of talented artisans. Two of them will be here at Spruce & Gussy this weekend.

Autumn Soares of Four Little Owls sews up the prettiest handbags, totes and messenger bags you ever did see. With inspired combinations of silky, soft leather and fun, bright fabrics, every bag is one-of-a-kind, which to me seems priceless in this cookie-cutter world. And you can have one of your own at a very reasonable price. Autumn lives right here on MDI with her four little owls, aged 1 to 8, and her husband.

Jennifer Atkins Lisa of Quench Metalworks is an extremely talented jeweler. She works with sterling silver, gold, gemstones and vintage buttons to create unique and extraordinary heirloom quality pieces. She is sure to be bringing a fabulous selection from her multi-faceted collection. Jen lives near Augusta with her daughter, husband, dog and chickens.

This month's party happens Saturday, August 20^th, between 3 and 9 pm. Please stop by to say hi, have a sip and a snack, and to support your local artisans. Fabulous personal accessories that support your local economy and free wine. What could be better?

–Patti