Surprisingly enough, there’s actually a business attached to this blog, despite the fact that we talk about it extremely rarely. When we started the blog, we figured that happenings and goings on at the business, or maybe shout outs to other indie businesses, would be the main focus. But, the thing is… There are so many blogs out there that talk about the cool stuff you can buy (whether it’s indie or not), and we didn’t want to compete with them. And as for chronicling the business thing, there just isn’t enough new and different to talk about. While owning a business is really super exciting (honestly, I’m not being sarcastic) and we love every bit of it, it’s actually just kind of like a regular job. In that, it’s not that exciting if you’re not the one doing the work, I guess. So, that’s why all of the posts have to do with movies and tv and books and stuff, because that stuff is interesting to us and, we think, interesting to the people that stumble onto our blog. Or, more interesting, anyway, than chronicling trips to the UPS store to drop off packages or ordering new yarn online or something.
But, the thing is, we do run a business, and we have been running it for the last almost four years now, and we love it possibly in an equal amount to how much we love pointing out gnarly clothes from old movies. So, anyway, since we hardly ever even mention Peep Accessories in any substantial way, I figured I would take you on a little tour of the factory and let you see how things work around here.
This way, to Peep Accessories…

(more…)

Because we want Peep to take over the world, we sell some of our stuff to shops all OVAH.
So, check it out. We had a wholesale order for a bunch of scarves, and here they are, just finished.

Isn’t my bedspread cute?

We also print and cut our own hangtags, mostly because we really enjoy using the paper cutter.

And then we pack everything up all nice and snug and get it ready to be shined up and shipped out all over the world (or shipped out, at any rate).

Aren’t my new sneakers cute?

That’s the kind of super great package you’d get from us if you opened a wholesale account. Want one? Huh? Huh?

Love.

Remember back when you were little and you’d go to birthday parties and they’d have a scavenger hunt, and you’d have to go running around the neighborhood finding clues taped to the backs of mailboxes and stuff and then at the end of it you ended up getting something kind of lame, but it was a birthday party giving out a prize IN ADDITION to a loot bag, so you thought it was kind of awesome? (When I was in 2nd grade, I got one of those – it was a giant medallion necklace in the shape of a peace sign. It was lame. Even then.)

And remember when you were in high school or college or whatever and you were bored and ended up doing some kind of elaborate scavenger hunt that involved running around the town finding a bunch of garbage and your reward would be, like, you got to pour yourself a drink before anyone else?

And even though scavenger hunts seem pretty lame considering the prizes that are involved, you still love to do them, because you know – you just KNOW – that you are going to find everything on that list, and probably in some kind of totally clever way (like the time we were supposed to find anti-war paraphanalia and then we ran out of time and said, “Well, we’re anti-war, so… We found ourselves.”), and just the thrill of the hunt is all that you need to keep you going despite the fact that there’s never any real reward in the whole act of scavenger hunting?

Okay, well, now you can do a scavenger hunt that has actual KICK ASS prizes. Seriously! Peep Accessories has teamed up with some other exceptional indie designers and business owners who have put together Seek Indie.com – an all new venture that affords you a chance to win some fabulous prizes while satisfying your long overdue craving for the scavenger hunts of youth. Check out the website for a look at the 12 amazing prizes you could win, just by snooping around the participating websites and hunting out these little hearts. Once you find at least five of them and their corresponding little numbers, head on over to the Seek Indie site, fill out the entry form, and cross your fingers, because a for real honest to goodness GREAT scavenger hunt reward could be yours in only a couple of weeks! The contest ends on February 6th, so get hunting!

(P.S. – This contest and the prize we have contributed are totally separate from the regular Peep Accessories bi-monthly newsletter subscribers’ prize. TWO Peep prizes can be won this month!)

Our last prize of 2006 was a first: our very first international contest winner. Congrats to Leslie from Nantes, France on snagging our Dazzle compact!
Well, that’s six prizes that we gave away this year, and we hope that all of our winners are very pleased with their Peep accessories. Don’t remember them all? Here’s a look back:

In February, we gave away the Be Mine Wallet to Violet.

In April, we gave away the Falling Petals earrings to Sandy (not our mom Sandy, because she works for us and employees don’t get to enter contests – just check The Christmas List for confirmation on that one).

In June, our Summer Summer Fruits keychain went to Sandra (a different Sandra).

Then, in August, Mom and I made a lightbox and the pictures started looking nicer. Oh, and the Summer Nights necklace was given away to Tobe.

Then, in October, Jane got a new camera (thanks Mom and Dad!) and the pictures started looking even better. And the Munchkin neckwarmer was won by Lorr (and if I were typing this on Word, it would’ve told me not to write that last phrase in passive voice).

And, finally this year, Leslie won the Dazzle compact and our year became complete.

Don’t worry Peepsters. Just ’cause 2005 is almost over doesn’t mean our contests are. Make sure you check back in the beginning of January to see what our first contest of 2006 will be. We guarantee it will be awesome.
Oh, and speaking of awesome. Have the Hallmark channel? See if they’re gonna play A Boyfriend for Christmas again and watch it. Because, not only does it have Charles Durning as Santa Claus going to a holiday party in a satin robe for absolutely no explicable reason (I almost just wrote raisin instead of reason), but it has Patrick Muldoon finally redeeming himself for when he two-timed Kelly at the Attic with some blonde chick from UCLA. That’s right. Patrick Muldoon – better known as Jeff from the three Saved by the Bell episode arc in which Kelly breaks up with Zach at the prom – almost loses his chick and cries. Cries!

Happy happy!

I know, I know, I know. We’ve been totally neglecting this blog. And really with no good reason, unfortunately. Our friend Anna set us straight and told us to update. So, here I am.
I was just outside for a while, working on putting up the Christmas decorations on the front porch with our Mom. She hates doing the outside decorations because it’s cold outside and there’s a lot of going up and down on the ladder (which I hate myself), but I love it because it means it’s almost Christmas. Yeah, I get a little worked up this time of year because I start thinking about all the fun Christmas stuff and you’ll often find me sitting by myself and smiling like an idiot because I’m getting all excited. But, anyway, the decorations look good (if I do say so myself) and, as usual, Mom got into it. She’s just as excited as I am, she’s just better at hiding it.
Oh, but here’s something super exciting. So, we did this designer’s market in New York last weekend and it was kind of slow going all day, and we were kind of bored out of our minds by about five o’clock, when who should walk into the joint but Elizabeth Berkley. ELIZABETH BERKLEY! Of Saved by the Bell and Showgirls fame! Yes, that Elizabeth Berkley! And she wanted to buy this scarf from us, but her friends/husband/whoever they were were all, “Elizabeth, we gotta go.” So, Elizabeth, if you’re reading this, listen. We will totally hook you up with Snow Bunny if you still want it. And, girl, don’t let your friends push you around. Jessie Spano wouldn’t put up with all that mess.
So, anyway, few sales, even less traffic, and barely decent chicken soup (but, I must say, kick ass fries) pretty much would have summed up our entire trip into New York for this show, but Elizabeth Berkley almost buying a scarf from us really put it over the top.
Oh, and speaking of liking our mother, if you’re looking for an awesome movie to watch, I have a recommendation. And no, it’s not Showgirls, unless you’re catching the edited-for-tv version on VH1 or LOGO where they CGI shirts and bras on all the topless ladies (and sometimes CGI thongs on them, too!) and the chick they got to dub in for E.B. sounds ABSOLUTLEY nothing like her. But, anyway, you should watch You’ll Like My Mother starring a very young Patty Duke as a pregnant widow who goes to stay with her creepy ass mother- and brother-in-law (or are they?) played John Boy Walton, who lock her in the attic and try to steal her baby, or something. I don’t really remember the plot all that well, but just rest assured that it’s awesome and you should definitely watch it. And then give a shout out to Elizabeth Berkley, our new best friend. What’s up, girl?

We were at the Red Bank Street Fair last Sunday. It was fairly uneventful, but here are some things that we learned:

1. Our booth was cute. What can we say?

2. So are Sally and me.

We were also really tired and this was before the official start of the street fair.

3. Our sister-in-law Dana was willing to dance around and try to coerce people into buying.

It didn’t work.

4. She was also stood behind the dress dummy and pretended that it was beckoning people into the booth.

That didn’t work, either. Neither did our dad saying, “Come on, come on, you know you want to buy something,” as people walked past. Neither did the fact that Dana wanted to auction off kisses from our brother Matt (her husband) if people bought stuff. Or, Matt’s (unused) suggestion that we yell, “You know, you could use a new bag!” as women walked past.

5. It’s nice to do a sale in your hometown, because, when you have to pee and you refuse to use a port-a-potty, you can actually run home.

6. People love to buy painted wooden signs, and big painted mesh pumpkins. They just love them so much.

7. Bruce Springsteen eats gyros. And he’s really dirty, but that’s not something we learned from the street fair. We already knew that from the time he was at the Acme buying a jar of relish (and, like, every other time we’ve seen him around lookin’ all grubby).

8. My favorite part of being in the street fair was wearing an apron.

9. We made some bucks, so that was good.

10. When your booth is across from the gryo stand and the band, and you’re inhaling smoke from a grill and shouting over music all day, you get a sore throat for a week.

The end. Love.

Has anyone ever tried to figure out which Color Me Badd member was the ugliest? ‘Cause it’s hard. Sorry if any former Color Me Badd members are reading this. Umm…

We have a winner for our Bring on the Spring prize! Sandy from Florida won our Falling Petals earrings. And she’s so excited! So, we’re excited, too! We didn’t use a hat this time to get our name. See, a winter hat wouldn’t work, and a bucket hat is too summery (that’ll be for next time). I have a cute newsboy cap, but that seems too fall. Damn, you know what would’ve been good? A baseball cap. (These are the things I agonize over.) Well, we used a bag this time. But, not just any bag! The cute bag that you would get your Peep*Accessory in if you bought something from us at a craft show! Now you’ll be hopping in your car to get to Jersey for the next one, huh?
Anyway, here we are, looking super unbelievable excited!

I almost had my hood on, but I figured… Maybe people would be reassured if they knew that I actually have a head.

Anyway, I know, I know, we promised new products on April 1st, but we got a teeny tiny bit behind. Check out the sneak peep of some of the things you’ll see by the end of this week. They’re so cute that we know you won’t totally mind the wait!

love.

Have we been neglecting the blog, or what? Well, we’ve been busy. We promise. Like, actually doing things that haven’t solely involved watching Nick GAS to compare Guts to Global Guts.
Friday, there’s a lot of whatnot happening: We’re picking the name for our Bring on the Spring prize, we are taking down the scarves to put into hiding until next fall, and we are putting up our sneak peek at the following most awesome things ever:
New Spring Jewelry and Bags.
Peep Gift Cards.
Peep’s Nest: the all new home accessories section of Peep.

Aren’t you excited??? Meanwhile, Sally and I need a new movie to watch, because there’s only so many times one can watch one’s tape of ABC Family romantic comedies before one wears that tape out.
And that.
Would be.
A tragedy.
Any suggestions? Anyone?

Happy Valentine’s Day to all our peepsters and a special v day congratulations to Violet from Colorado who won our first newsletter prize, the Be Mine wallet.
I hope you love it. Stay tuned for more prizes, new bags, and some changes to the pictures of all our products (let’s just say, Sally and I haven’t been working out for nothing, wink wink).
By the way, we’ve been doing pilates, which has been working out just fine (yeah, “working out” wasn’t intended to be a pun), but we’ve thought of an even better workout that you all might like to try. SoapNet has been airing episodes of Beverly Hills, which we couldn’t be more excited about, and since they’re on the first season still, we’ve been reliving how spasmodic David Silver was when he danced. So, we’ve been trying to dance like David Silver, and let me tell ya, it both looks ridiculous and gets you sweatin’.

What’s the deal with that? Andie in Pretty in Pink didn’t “have to” lie? Why, ’cause she’s poor? Sorry.
Sally and I did our name draw for the contest today. Look! That’s us! Picking a name out of an actual hat! And I still have a towel on my head! And we’re so excited!!!!

So, we have our winner. And Be Mine is now be gone. Maybe we’ll post a picture of how super adorable our packaging is when we ship it out. That’ll be exciting.
New contest and new prize coming in our springtime newsletter for March and April.

Love.