Our First Sidewalk Sale

What an awesome weekend!  We were part of our first Sidewalk Sale in Upper Montclair.  Not sure what to expect, we just got up early Saturday morning, lugged a lot of our product from our boutique down the stairs (because we're located on the second floor) and created a beautiful, fun display out in front of our shop.  What did we have.  We had handmade harvest wreaths and gifts, jewelry, accessories, hostess gifts and makeup.  Something for everyone.  It was all happy gifts:)  The day was gorgeous!  Everyone was in such a good mood :)  There were tons of vendors in Anderson Park.  So many entrepreneurs and so many people with such passion and creativity.  We were like kids in a candy store.  Our eyes were like brand new baby's eyes when they open them for the first time.  I have to admit...I was a little nervous because I didn't know how people were going to perceive our shop or if they were going to take to our style at all.  But like I said in my last Blog "It's Been A While", you'll never know until you try and sometimes you have to get out of your comfort zone to be successful".  Turns out we got such amazing feedback and love that we couldn't be more proud of our boutique.  

It's Been A While

Here's Us:)  That' Christina up front and me in the back.  If you would have asked me to post a picture of myself I would've said "Not a chance"!  But, I'm learning that if you want to be successful in the world of business you have to get out of your comfort zone.  Well, taking selfies is definitely not in my comfort zone.  Lol!!  

Ok...so it's been quite a while since I've blogged.  So sorry for that.  I've held off on blogging because I wasn't sure what I was blogging about.  When your new to the small business world, social media is a MUST!  Scary if you're not use to it and exciting at the same time.  I didn't want to mess up or worry that people won't like what I have to say or have.  Then you read some horror stories of what not to do and I began to freak out more.  What I hear the most when it comes to blogging is to just be yourself, authentic and genuine, almost like writing in a diary.  I think I can do that.  But I would never want anyone to read my diary.  You see what I'm saying and thus the dilemma with blogging.  Ever since we opened our shop I've been racking my brain on how we could appeal to our customers.  The problem is, as girls, we LOVE everything!  I LOVE EVERYTHING!  My husband Ryan says, "You need to have tunnel vision.  Your all over the place".  This is so true.  This is my strength and my weakness.  I don't know how to narrow things down.   C&B has clothes, jewelry, accessories, makeup, flowers, cookies...everything that makes us smile and happy but our main business is "Flowers, Flowers and more beautiful Flowers".  Let me clarify...we are not a flowers shop.  You can't come in off the street and just buy a bunch of flowers.  You can come into our shop and buy a lovely boutique gift.  We use our shop as our work studio.  We create beautiful florals for weddings, parties and intimate affairs.  Anything handmade we make here too.  We have our "Distinct Floral Collection" which will be coming out Mid-September.  You'll be able to see this on our website.  Here you can order flowers to be delivered but we do require a 3 day window. We are now incorporating Classes, Workshops and Events.  All motivating, empowering and fun.  Always keeping the "Flowers" in mind, we want to bring our customer into our world of pretty things.  I guess that's what it comes down to.  If we have the space to do it, we want you all to enjoy the space as well.  I will blog about our weddings, new things at our shop and anything flower related.  Never loosing sight of my passion, I will bring you all the things that make mine and my sisters soul bloom as promised!!    

Have the prettiest day ever!

DIY Gifts for Our Guests

Here's a little simple DIY project I did for our "Manifesting Love and Money" Seminar we hosted at C & B on Saturday, Jan. 30.  I knew I wanted to give our guests a complimentary gift for attending so I created these little votives that held a shiny, happy message... "Enjoy Today".  Each one had a flameless candle inside with some heart chocolates...perfect for a pre-Valentine treat.  In total, I made 25 votives and it took me about 2 hours.  It's the drying times in-between steps that made it a little longer.  All the material was purchased at AC Moore.  

Although, the project itself was very easy and inexpensive, the outcome made such a special impact when they were given as gifts.    Loved this project, especially because it sent a positive, happy message.  Hope you like it too <3  

1.  I printed "Enjoy Today" from my computer small enough to cut out & place on each votive.

2.  Once I cut "Enjoy Today" out, I put decoupage glue on the back of each paper and placed it on each votive.

3.  I placed the votives in a box and decoupaged the front of the message.

4.  While the glue was fresh, I sprinkled diamond dust right on top and watched
"Enjoy Today" shine.  Sooo pretty! 

5.  The glue needs to dry.  The good thing is, decoupage glue dries rather quickly.
Here's the final result before putting them in little pretty bags.
Yes...those are my feet.  Lol!

6.  Finally, I added some chocolates, our business cards and a special thank you note for being our guests.  Of course I added our signature black and white striped ribbon to finish the look.
I LUV THESE!!  

COCO & BAILEY Website is Finally Here!!

I am so excited to say that I finally finished our website!!  Woohoo! Please check it out.  Here is the link.  www.cocoandbailey.com.  You can see our portfolio of events and flowers on there, our future goals, what's trending, our boutique information and very soon shop online.

I can't believe it.  I'm still in shock but so very proud :)

To be honest with you, it has been a year in the making.  

What took me so long?  Well for one thing, I was scared that it wasn't going to be good enough or professional enough or perfect enough or even better..."No one is going to look at my site".  That voice kept creeping up on me every time I would attempt to try it.  You know...that "Voice".  Well, guess what?  I conquered that voice. I realized that voice was my own fears and insecurities.  Everyone keeps asking if we have a website.  How many times can I say it's under construction.  "Under Construction" meant not ready, which I thought led people to believe I was working on it but in fact it bought me time.  Procrastination seems to be more like it.  I need deadlines and when there aren't any and no one is putting pressure on you, well, you tend to put things on the back burner.  We all know when you procrastinate, you miss the opportunity.  In November, when we opened our first store front, that was the match that lit the fire in me.  I finally bit the bullet.  Finally, I was ready to have a website for my business.  So I started by browsing thru so many different templates and web designers.  I was so excited to see so many beautiful ideas and so many talented designers.  Of course the ones I liked were quite costly.  Go figure.  Because of this, I was too nervous to pick anything.  Until, I decided to try it on my own and give it a whirl.  There are so many websites out there that offer simple ways to create your own site and a lot of them are free.  It can't get any simpler than that.  I knew what I liked and what I was looking for.  So, why not try.  After all this time, I told that little voice in my head to shut up and stop making me so nervous and just try.  Try I did!  Guess what?  I had soooooo much fun creating the site!  So much!  I couldn't believe my eyes as it was starting to unfold.  Each page made sense and every thing I looked at became inspiration rather than, "I can't do that"!  It may not be full of bells and whistles but it's exactly how it should be.  Happy, elegant, natural and informative.  There is one thing still missing and that's 

our online shop. I swear it's coming. 

Still working on that.  I won't say "Under Construction".  Lol!  

You're probably wondering what the point to this story is.  Well, here it goes.  You will never know if you don't try and when you do you will be so happy and amazed that you did because there's a whole other world out there to explore and it's not as scary as it seems. In fact, it's better and more beautiful than we could ever imagine. 

We hope you enjoy our site!

Blessings, Love and Sparkles,

Happy New Year!

Hi guys!  Sorry for the delay in our blog.  We've been so busy getting our new shop up and running that we kind of slacked a little.  We promise we will make it up to you.  

C & B opened up shop in Upper Montclair in November and we haven't looked back since.  "It's a little piece of heaven" ...so we hear.  Yey!  That's exactly what we want.  We want people to come in and feel welcomed, loved, relaxed and happy.  We want you to find that special something for that special person.  If you want to talk, we listen.  If you want to browse, we let you.  If you want to shop, we help you.  We love our little space.  It's a little loft boutique with a whole lot to offer.  Our prized passion is our Florals and Events which is showcased beautifully on our center table in our shop.  We change the design monthly.  This is where we meet our clients as well.  

We also offer clothing, accessories, gifts, beauty and unique finds.  We're always adding new things.  

For 2016 we have so much to offer and can't wait to start sharing with you.  Just to give you some hints...The Gift Box Subscription, Bridal, Men's and "From Our Closet to Yours".  Oh, and we did just finally finish our website :)  Soon you will be able to shop online as well.  So so much to offer!  

Check out our website, cocoandbailey.com and sign up for our newsletter to stay in the loop!  


Before I forget, this is our shop address:
260 Bellevue Avenue, Upper Montclair, NJ 07043
973.746.1225

Love, Blessings and Sparkles,

SO EXCITED TO SHARE WITH YOU BIG NEWS!

We are so excited to be announcing that COCO & BAILEY will be opening it's first shop in Upper Montclair in October!!!  We are currently working on getting the space ready and we can't wait to show you.  It is in the Loft of a beautiful building and it will be our home base for our events.  We will also be selling fashion, decor, unique finds and pretty things( all things that make a girl smile).  Once we know more, we will be sure to fill you in.  

Blessings, Love & Sparkles!

Featured in "The Knot New York Wedding Magazine" Fall/Winter 2015

I couldn't believe my eyes today when I saw my phone light up with my Instagram feed.  I clicked on it and saw that Michelle Lang from Michelle Lange Photography had Instagrammed a picture of her beautiful photography work she had done for Nicole and Matt's wedding back in October 2014 at Brotherhood Winery.  Her amazing work was featured in The Knot New York Wedding Magazine Fall/Winter 2015 issue along with the bride and groom, the invites and the florals.  My florals!  There they were.  Proud and beautiful as can be.  The Brides vision on a full spread. Michelle had tagged Coco and Bailey when she posted it to Instagram.  It was as if my name was in lights.  My heart skipped a beat, my arms had goose bumps and my smile was as big as the sun.  I had no idea that it was coming which made this moment an incredibly special one.  I couldn't be more happy and more proud to say I was a part of such an amazing couples day and I thank Michelle for her outstanding talent that showcased them beyond all expectations!!  

Congratulations Michelle on a job well done!!!