Color My World

Adult Coloring.....a new trend I am quite fond of.  Each visit to Barnes and Noble brings more and more books on the subject.  On one visit before Christmas I snatched this one up from the magazine.  Happinessz.  I ripped the pages up and taped it to my stockroom wall at work.  I quickly wrote some things I am grateful to my co-workers for after Thanksgiving.  One has been colored in totally since the two months it has been up.  This was a very busy Christmas and inventory came very quickly and so did my vacation.   I am looking forward to the next couple of months so we can fill in some colors on these, and I will share a picture when we are done.
     When I went back to college and majored in Art, I was in my late 20's.  I know it was just what I needed.  I was having a conversation with my Sculpture professor and he was really digging into what brought me to college and why I was majoring in Art.  It became clear I wanted to create something.  I was trying to get pregnant and going through a lot of treatments.  I was working two part-time jobs, married and still cooking dinner, and taking 19 credits for two semesters to graduate that May.  I loved it!  But, the blank canvas thing really got to me.  I took Art Philosophy, drawing, painting, sculpture and loved them all.  But, most of all was taught how to get into the zone.  Using the right side of the brain to be creative.  The best was to explain the zone is to think when you are driving your car and you get from A to B.  Did you get in the car and really think.....or did you turn on the radio and sing and before you knew it you were at your destination.  There are probably many other times you get into the zone, but that is the best example I can think of right now.  So, now when you go to paint, draw, write music, take photos etc. it is hard to say I am going to get in the zone and do this.  If you can't and you have a deadline it can make or break you.  This is what makes something that can give you so much joy difficult.  But, if you do it for fun.....well then, now we are talking.  So, that is what coloring is all about.  It is fun and can bring you back to times when you were young and carefree.  Color alone can make you happy....what colors to use.....lots of blue representing a beautiful blue sky, or lots of yellow making your own sunshine.  It is good and positive and I hope more and more people do this to help with the stress we all endure.  I was planning on doing a blog post about this since I made the wall in my stockroom, but after a conversation with a co-worker I didn't realize how funny this subject was.  She said one of her co-workers (in her early twenties) exclaimed she was doing adult coloring to relieve stress.  And, her response put me in a long belly laugh.  It was: what is in those coloring books that makes them adult......meaning pornography?   I never thought of that, but it was funny.  Then I come home and open facebook and there are curseword coloring books all written in cursive with floral designs.....now, that is stress reliever!  I am just happy there is an escape from reality, besides the tabloids and a thousand other advertisement driven thing on tv or magazines.  It is also been fun seeing facebook friends have been coloring.  So, I hope this is not a quick fad, but something we can all do anytime to live a more stressfree lifestyle.

One Guitar

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

This is what Light of Day for me is.  Yes, I love all the shows and especially was excited my son played in five shows including the main event with the Smithereens.  There is a great write up in the Asbury Park press today! But, this is a picture of a customer of Greetings from Geralyn.  She bought a Darkness on the Edge of Town scrapbook and came back this summer and I made her a River scrapbook.   She now has some pretty awesome pictures to put in her scrapbook after this.  She signed up for first Open Mic at the Wonder Bar in Asbury Park.   I am so thrilled and excited she realized one of her dreams........talk about a dream and try to make it real!  That is what life is all about.  All the bands that play at Light of day also bring some kind of message of inspiration.  By sharing yourself with  the world through your creativity, talents or art takes a certain amount of courage, But it is so important to take that first step, to prove with a no surrender attitude It is a win win for you and others who get to be a witness.  One of my favorite songs is by Willie Nile called One Guitar: 

 It is the middle of the night right in the middle of the street 

It could be uptown, downtown but I can feel that beat 
There is a marchin' drum there is a song unsung 
It could be your dream, my dream it's not the only one 

I'm a soldier marchin' in an army 
Got no gun to shoot 
But what I got is one guitar 
I got this one guitar 

I see the risin' smoke I hear a heartbreak joke 
Hey all my brothers and sisters I think it's time we spoke 
I've only got six strings but like a bell they ring 
It's like a jet plane, insane crashin' in my brain...cause 


I'm a soldier marchin' in an army 
Got no gun to shoot 
But what I got is one guitar 
I got this one guitar 
And it goes...na, na, na 

So if you get knocked down you gotta take a stand 
For all the outcast, dead last who need a helping hand 
So get your tambourines and turn your amps up loud 
And raise your voices, voices up above this crowd...cause 

I'm a soldier marchin' in an army 
Got no gun to shoot 
But what I got is one guitar 
I got this one guitar 
And it goes...na, na, na

Curious?

I'mmmmmm   back!!!  I am taking my blog back as a place to write and share......not just about the business of Greetings from Geralyn....but, my life as I continue to search out what is the American Dream and achieve it successfully?  I will be sharing my thoughts on the pursuit of happiness in this ever changing world.  This picture ends up being my favorite picture I took last year.  It captures a day I ended up in New York City, by myself.  I went to the Stationery show at the Jacob Javits center where I was seeing what was new and exciting and ended up walking south through Greenwich Village and SoHo.  I came across this store and it answered all my questions.  Basically, this store told me to be myself. brand myself, have some kind of service available, have great fixturing, appeal to all of the senses upon entering the store, have something in the window to make you want to walk in, be colorful, have a continuity and flow in product choices, be friendly and inviting, be whimsical, well basically it was perfect in everything I want would want in a store.  As, I continued to walk I felt I would need a lot of money to make this happen.  But, as a store owner and listening to my customer I really felt confident I could do this with creativity and not a lot of money.  But, I still feel the environment of business, in general, is not ready to let the little guy win.  I still need a paycheck week to week to depend on and health insurance.  So, basically this is why we closed our location.  I still have the hope of having a place of my own again, it just won't be anytime soon.  Glen has basically come into his own as the maker of all the product and we think we can really take what he has started and bringing it  to different customers around the country.  We have an opportunity to sell his product in Arcade Radio, the store next to where our location was in Convention Hall.  This would allow us to see the country and enjoy music festivals and be able to do shows at the same time.  It will problably take about a year to start seeking out venues and opportunties before we actually start doing the shows. Our blog will be a great opportunity for you to share in our journey.   Looking forward and curious to see what is ahead for us.  Meanwhile, here is a great quote on curiousity:    I could not, at any age, be content to take my place by the fireside and simply look on. Life was meant to be lived. Curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.
Eleanor Roosevelt  

Greetings from Geralyn Hours

Greetings from Geralyn will be open weekends from noon-6pm until Christmas.

We love to hear when someone appreciates a gift from Greetings from Geralyn

Parking in the winter is free at the Wonder Bar parking lot across the street from Convention Hall.  There is still a lot going on in town.  Free movies in the Paramount on Friday nights.  Bonfires, weather permitting and of course, lots of music!  Hope to see you soon!  Wish you were here!

Summer of 2015 Hours Greetings from Geralyn

Summer of 2015 Hours for Greetings from Geralyn:  Sunday-Thursday 11am-7pm and Friday-Saturday 11am-9pm.   We are located in Convention Hall on the Asbury Park Boardwalk

Main Street Mission.......Staying Alive

 I met a nice customer who recently moved to Asbury Park from Greenwich Village.  He was looking for a card for family who live in Manasquan.  He picked out one of the handmade handbag cards that was all white for a Communion.  He was thrilled to have a greeting card store in the area.  He told me of a store called "House of Cards" in the village.  The name itself was intriguing.  I went to the Stationery show that was nearby and decided to check it out.  Well, wouldn't you know it after I looked it I up I found out it has been open for at least twenty years and it is closing THIS year at the end of May.  Then I walked down the street and saw this store: "House of Oldies". Love the signs, especially the one on the door that boasts they have the biggest selection of Xmas records in the city.  I can't help but, think how I love main street business, especially ones  that are iconic and stand still as the world whizzes by. Both of these stores you couldn't even move in because they were so full of inventory.

So, this time of year has

been challenging since we started our business.  I usually invest in some inventory we don't have to make.  We would eagerly buy record players from Crosley.   I would buy a lot of letterpress cards, journals, gift books and scrapbooks.  But, this year, like the last few since recovering from Sandy is different.  Since, it is a seasonal business the cash flow just isn't what it used to be like.  It is not what a business owner really wants to share.  But, to get to where we used to be we need to be optimistic and confident for our future.  This year it has been especially challenging.  So, I approached the Stationery Show to see what was out there and new.  I took catalogues in the hope some how I would have unlimited funds to buy product for the store.  So, this is where you come in.  Could you help us?  It is just a click of a button.  And for all of you Bruce Springsteen fans:  This is our Book Of Dreams.....we are Working on a Dream in Our Hometown...Please don't Bring more Death to this Hometown.....We Take Care of Our Own and we want to continue our Dream......baby dream.  Please HELP us and click the button on the right Mission Main Street and SHARE if you CARE.     THANK YOU!!!!   https://www.missionmainstreetgrants.com/b/21857

Paper Roses

April Showers brings May Flowers.  Wow....what a winter.  Mother's Day is here and it going to be sunny and in the 80's.  A beach day......Yay!  I have been working on these flowers for awhile.  Good thing I wanted to have them in the store for Mother's Day and I finally finished four.   They are flowers cut from record album covers and sleeves.  There is Carole King's Tapestry, Fleetwood Mac's Rumours, The Police's Synchronicity, and Bruce Springsteen page from the boxed live set.  They are one of a kind and available at the store only for $24.99 each.  Sorry no special orders, holding or shipping.  Come see us at Greetings from Geralyn open Thursdays, Fridays, Saturday and Sundays noon-5 until mid June when we will be open seven days a week.