green for 15 years

Dear Friends,

A new year has just began, and as I catch my breath, I realize M·Brann & Co. opened its doors in May of 1993. Our 15^th year anniversary is coming up! I am amazed at how many changes in our store, in our lives and in the world have taken place. I have seen a lot of babies grow into young adults and you have all seen my family grow, and my granddaughter go from an infant to ringing the register and remerchandising the store at seven! (lots of changes). Now, I look forward to who we have become and what lies ahead.

One thing that strikes my mind is how we as a society are constantly hearing about “being green, eco-friendly and fair-wage conscience”. This is so important in our world today. We at M·Brann have always embraced these issues throughout the store with the products we carry even including our eco-friendly packaging. We’ve never really been very preachy about our commitment to being green, we have have just embraced it as our way of doing business. I have always been drawn to repurposed and recycled items.

One of the first lines I carried when I opened my doors, 15 years ago was “yardbirds”; the funky birds that live outside our doors all year long are made from recycled tool parts. I have always been fascinated with the vision of finding new lives for discarded items. As many of you may remember, I recycled and repainted furniture, did reverse painting on old windows, and featured Vintage finds and have constantly brought in items that tickled my repurposing, recycling green bone! What I really love is tickling your funny bones and curiosity with my choices. We will start to label our “green choices”. Now that it has become mainstream, you can become green, eco-friendly shoppers along with us and have as much fun as we have had doing this for years.

From the very beginning we have searched out and supported small artisans and companies that created sustainable lives for artisans around the world. We will begin to point these out to you. However, more importantly, we’ll continue to remind you that life is too short to be taken too seriously. We can all mix whimsy and tradition, humor and sophistication and fun with good deeds. Please join M·Brann & Co., as we continue to be a fun, sophisticated shopping experience that allows you to always, “gift outside the box”! Thank you for supporting us and laughing with us during the past 15 wonderful years, and we look forward to sharing many more years with you.

Sincerely & with gratitude,

Maria B. and all of us at M·Brann