shop local

December 18, 2020

Beer Delivery to My Door? Supporting Local This Holiday

Supporting Local Omaha was the theme I chose for department gifts this year. Omaha is home to an incredible amount of locally owned and operated businesses, so what better way to celebrate the end of an exceptionally challenging year by gifting staff with some locally made treats all the while supporting our local businesses. If there is one thing that really fills my bucket, it’s the gift of giving to others, and also giving back. I had so much fun researching shops in Omaha which actually created a challenge when narrowing down. I certainly had a lot of fun filling Holiday bags with items made with love.

The carefully created and oh so cute variety of sugar cookies by the talented Erika of Erika.Ashlee Cookies and the Hot Chocolate Bombs by Zen Coffee.

I found the cutest notepads, coined Charmpads, from female owned and operated Inclosed Letterpress Co. and the perfect sticker pairing from The Anastasia Co. reminding the gals in my office that

1. You can do hard things

2. Your kindness can change the world

3. The world needs what you got

And come on… who doesn’t like, need, want, deserve a beer at this point? Infusion Brewing Co. hooked me UP with delivery service to my front door. Come on now, that’s what we call spreading Christmas Cheer!

I told the gals delivering it that they must be having fun. I am pretty sure my exact words were “You are literally spreading effing Cheer, man!”

Ya get what ya get with me sometimes…

Might I add I am LIIIIVVVIINNNGGGG for this Gingerbread Vanilla Bean. Ohmygoshneeditall.

And let’s talk about Orsi’s Italian Pizza & Bakery. Not only are they Omaha’s oldest Italian bakery, they also serve up some of the best pizza around. I couldn’t exactly stuff a pizza in each of their giftbags but I could fit in some fresh made bread. Orsi’s also makes their bread fresh in-house and with no preservatives, milk and no added sugars which makes them basically the best.

Huskerland Popcorn hooked me up with bags of yummy cheese, butter and caramel goodness. Huskerland also hosts a local baker, Lady T., every other Thursday and she just happened to be there when I stopped in to pick up my pre-ordered bags of popcorn. On my way out the door, Lady T’s middle school aged kiddo won me over with his smooth selling skills and eagerness to help show off all his momma’s yummy creations. Kid, you just got yourself a sale. I’ll take 10 of those cupcakes, and you choose the flavors for me.

Thanks, Huskerland Popcorn and Lady T’s Gourmet Creations for making those 10 minutes in your store extra extra special. ❤

Due to our campus operating remote, I gave the team the option of a personal delivery to their front door or a timeframe to meet me in our office parking lot.

What a joy to see some of these folks today.

Jacquie, Sarah, Pat, Theresa, Taylor & Angela… so good to see you. Jermaine and Anthony – thanks for letting me experience what it’s like to be a Door Dasher today! And Chuck, Brad and Amber – I will see you Monday.

Happy Everything, Merry Always.

Merry Christmas

October 16, 2017

We Grow As One: The Courtyard Ink

Feature #1 in the We Grow As One series comes from Courtyard Ink.

Courtyard Ink came to my rescue this last summer when I fell into an unfortunate predicament that left me with an order that needed to be placed ASAP.   Several frantic emails went out to local screen printing shops in the metro area and of the responses I received, Courtyard Ink stood out as the BEST possible solution for me in multiple ways:

  1.  The no-nonsense response
  2.  The politeness and eagerness to accommodate
  3.  The competitive pricing
  4.  The impressive turnaround time
  5.  The flexibility to add a few extra orders within said turnaround time
  6.  The payment structure (I didn’t have to place 100% down prior to the order being processed)
  7.  Their logo was simply badass

Brad and Steve pulled through on my order and even placed an EMERGENCY order with a 24 hour turnaround time when I had a few extras the last second.

Talk about customer service! 

These guys get it.

Courtyard Ink was established from a variety of unique circumstances: college entrepreneurship class, a buddy’s basement, a heat press, a final project and a first customer.   From 2008 to now, Courtyard Ink has seen a move from a basement to a few storefronts to where they currently reside on 1415 North Saddle Creek Road.

Courtyard Ink has built a solid reputation by simply being one of the best in the screenprinting and embroidery business.  Through word of mouth, old school networking and advertising and repeat customers, Brad and Steve have created a solid foundation to which business will continue to grow.  I am a prime example of a first time customer turned repeat.

1) They pulled through on my down to the wire order for my annual biker chick run:

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2) And in return, I went back to them for a large shirt order I needed for my program at work:

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Courtyard Ink specializes in screen-printed or embroidered apparel, so if you are in the market, I encourage you to go see them for your next order.

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You can find one or both of the guys there Monday -Thursday from 9-5 or Friday from 9-4.   They value their time with family and friends so weekends are locked tight to personal downtime.  I commend them for that decision as I strongly believe that in order to have a successful business, you have to remember to take care of yourself as well.  It’s nice to see these entrepreneurs figured that out early on.

What’s next for you and your connection with Courtyard Ink?

 

Thanks, Courtyard Ink for the stellar customer service and great product.   We look forward to seeing continued success and growth.

 

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This post is part of the We Grow As One series highlighting our community, small businesses and the people behind them.  First National Bank of Omaha is sponsoring this series of posts, but all words are mine.