October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Salutations is Putting on the Pink!  All month long, we will be offering pink ribbon cards for sale for $5.  In Chapel Hill, we are tickled pink to be a part of the Tickled Pink 2009 Community Partners Program, benefiting the Patient & Family Resource Center at the new NC Cancer Hospital.  In Charlotte, all money from the sale of pink ribbon cards will go to Ann’s Fund in support of The Carolinas Breast Cancer Fund, which allows indigent women to receive mammograms.  The cards can be written on with the name of a loved one who is fighting or who has fought the battle against breast cancer, and will be displayed in our stores.

What’s more, every person who buys a pink ribbon will be able to spin the wheel to win 1 of 6 fabulous savings from 20 to 75% off their purchase that day.  But wait . . . there’s more!  For every pink ribbon card purchased, an entry will be made for a chance to win a Filofax Pink Ribbon planner {valued at $50} .

Our window displays are decked out in pink ribbons and we’re hoping to border the windows completely with purchased pink ribbon cards.  In the meantime, think pink . . . .

{Images via Style Me Pretty}

Would you like a way to make your holiday season a bit less stressful?  Well, we can’t make dear Aunt Fannie refrain from critiquing your turkey or hang your Christmas lights for you, but we can make pulling together your holiday photo card a quick and painless process.

We are so excited to announce the new Salutations Holiday Photo Shoot!  On Saturday, October 10, 2009, you can have a session with a professional photographer and save on your holiday photo cards all in one stop.  We have teamed up with two fantastic local photographers who specialize in environmental portraiture of children and families ~ Jennifer Gaston of Jennifer Gaston Photography in Charlotte and Nancy Ray of Nancy Ray Photography in Chapel Hill and the Triangle Area.

For $20, you will receive a 15-minute photo session and a link to view your photos online.  You will then be able to order prints and, if you’d like your photo printed right on your holiday card, a digital image of the picture(s) of your choice will be sent to Salutations for use in ordering your printed photo cards.  In addition, you will receive a certificate for 15% off your holiday photo cards purchased by October 31, 2009.

Only 15 slots will be available from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on October 10^th.  Appointments will be taken on a first come, first served basis and will fill fast, so you’ll want to book yours quickly!  Feel free to pass this along to your friends.

How great will it feel to have your holiday card photo taken and your holiday cards ordered {at a discount, even} by Halloween?!

Thank you!  Thank you!  We are thrilled to have been voted the Best Gift & Stationery Store in Charlotte in the Best of Citysearch 2009 polls!  We love what we do, especially since we get to work with such fabulous customers who we consider friends.  A huge thank you to everyone who voted and posted comments.  Your support is very much appreciated.

Guess what!  We have been nominated for the best gift and stationery store in Charlotte in the Best of Citysearch Shopping polls!  We have been so fortunate to have received wonderful reviews on Citysearch by you, our fabulous customers.  This type of virtual “word of mouth” is really the best way for us to get the word out about Salutations and our services.  The voting ends on September 9th and we’d really appreciate your vote.

Best of Citysearch is a nationwide competition that lets businesses compete for local votes — and win the ultimate honor of being named best in the city! Various campaigns run throughout the year, including Best Restaurants, Best Nightlife, Best Spa & Beauty, Best Shopping, Best Hotels, Best Local Services and others.  For more information on what polls are open, visit www.citysearch.com/bestof/about.

Are you feeling the urge to organize?  Every year, around back-to-school time, I am overcome with a compelling need to organize my life.  The end of summer for me means the beginning of middle school, high school, soccer carpools, soccer matches, swim team carpools, swim meets, and {oh yeah} work-related events.  To keep from having heart palpitations over the need to be three people, I begin to organize my home office and work space and to write everything in my momAgenda family planner, my Filofax personal planner, and my wall calendar.

We know that you like to have your own style of calendar and/or planner that works for you, but are often too busy to get out and get your new one before it’s gone.  To help you get organized this Fall, and to ensure that you get your favorite style, we are thrilled to announce our new Calendar & Planner Program at Salutations.

All we need is your name, email address, phone number, and favorite style of planner and/or calendar.  We will enter this information into our records and contact you each year with a gentle reminder in plenty of time for you to pre-order your favorite style for the following year!   And, if you register for our program and pre-order your new calendar, planner, refill and/or accessories by September 12th, you can enjoy either 15% off or, for momAgendas and myAgendas, free personalization!

For calendars, select from the beautiful Italian archival images of the Cavallini wall calendars or desktop calendars, the gorgeous graphic design of Snow & Graham wall calendars, desktop calendars or mini calendars.  For planners and organizers, as well as refills and accessories, select from the hugely popular momAgenda and myAgenda planners, the classic Filofax planners, and the stylish Kate Spade planners.  Any way you go, you will be uber-organized and ready to tackle the challenges of a new school year and a new calendar year with grace and style!  Email us today {helpatsalutationsdotcom} to register for the program and get started!

{If ordering online, just note the requested information in the order notes and we’ll apply the 15% discount or free personalization to your order.}

Can you believe that, for all intents and purposes, the summer is over?!  The older I get, the more I sound like a cliché {”Where does the time go?”}.  However, the turning of a calendar page does have its perks.  For instance, it’s now time to take advantage of the annual holiday promotions offered by our vendors on custom holiday items ~ greeting cards, photo cards, and invitations.  Your favorites like Crane {including Martha Stewart and kate spade for Crane}, William Arthur, Whitney English, and many others are offering 10-20% off their custom orders.  But don’t wait too long ~ most of these promotions expire at the end of September.  {Be careful ~ if you’re like me, it will be October before you know it!}

We’re simply blushing.  We just learned we were voted by the readers of Metro Magazine, a Raleigh, NC-based magazine, as one of the best stationery stores in the Triangle {Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill} in their annual Metro Bravo reader poll.  Thank you for the Honorable Mention, Metro Magazine readers!

Don’t forget ~ our Christmas in July sale event starts tomorrow!  The forecast for North Carolina is calling for rain, but there will be a blizzard of savings going on at Salutations!

The sale starts Thursday, July 16th and goes through Saturday, July 18th.  See all the details here!  Spread the word . . . bring a friend . . . the more the merrier!

Have you seen the new issue of Martha Stewart Weddings™ yet?  Salutations is listed as a featured retailer in two ads in the Summer 2009 issue!  The first is by Dauphine Press, showing off their popular Peony design letterpressed in shades of purple {this season’s hot color}.  The second is by Envelopments, featuring a custom layered invitation that will make you want to hop on a plane bound for Fiji!  Let us know what you think!

Oh, the weather outside IS frightful, but our Christmas in July sale is going to be delightful!  We are celebrating our store anniversaries {7 years in Chapel Hill and 3 years in Charlotte!} with a blizzard of holiday savings from Thursday, July 16th through Saturday, July 18th.

All holiday items in stock from last year will be offered at unbelievable savings.  Take advantage of this great opportunity to stock up on holiday greeting cards, photo cards, invitations, and decor and have that checked off your list before the kids are even back in school!

On Thursday, all holiday items in stock will be priced at 40% off the regular price; on Friday, the savings will jump to 50% off the regular price; and, on Saturday, the savings will skyrocket to 60% off the regular price.  But don’t wait too long ~ Santa’s elves may scamper off with the best items early!

You can also order your custom holiday cards and invitations at 20% off during our Christmas in July sale.  And, since we’re really feeling the holiday spirit, our Christmas in July gift to you is a savings of 20% off all non-holiday merchandise in stock throughout the sale when you mention the Christmas in July sale.  You can even take the 20% off already-reduced sale items.  For online orders, we will calculate the savings and let you know your new total before processing your order or charging your credit card.  {Just mention the Christmas in July sale in the order notes.}

The more the merrier . . . please pass this along to your friends!