The Aloha Spirit Comes to Max's

A bit of Hawaii arrived at Max's yesterday just time time to warm us all up as the mercury takes a dip. Malie Kai Chocolates are made in Honolulu and are made with beans grown on the North Shore of Oahu. This is really special (and, of course, delicious) chocolate, as the cacao that is used is considered to be one of the rarest in the world as only 15,000 pounds are produced each year (not a lot if you're trying to make a lot of chocolate!). And here's another interesting factoid: Hawaii is the only state in the U.S. where cacao can grow. I first tasted Malie Kai 2 years ago at The Fancy Food Show, and I was so happy to receive word recently that it was ready for distribution on the mainland. I have a trip to Hawaii planned for next year, but I am so glad to be able to experience just a little bit of The Spirit of Aloha here and now!

Sarah Graham is Coming to Max's This Weekend!

You've made Sarah Graham one of your favorite jewelry designers here at Max's with her signature blackened steel pieces that are adorned with gold and diamonds, and we're looking forward to her trunk show this weekend! The inspiration for her work is grounded in nature as you can tell by the names of her collections, including Coral, Pebbles, Stepping Stones, Conifer and Bamboo. The trunk show runs Saturday, October 10 from 10am - 6pm and Sunday, October 11 from noon - 5pm. In addition to her wonderful jewelry for women, Sarah will introduce our customers to Mr. Graham, a new grouping of men’s jewelry. It's going to be cold outside this weekend, so why not head on over and join us for an afternoon of fun with this award-winning designer. And who knows...we may even break out the hot chocolate!

A Little Piece of Heaven Arrives at Max's!

Oh, how I love this! I have been admiring Jacob Albee's work since I first saw it a couple of years ago at the St. Paul American Craft Council Show, and I am really, really thrilled that he has agreed to have Max's represent him in the Twin Cities. Talk about unique....how does some meteorite (yep, you read that right...meteorite, as in the stuff that falls out of the sky and hits the earth every once in a while) sound? If that's not enough, when the meteorite is sprinkled with diamonds, it has the effect of looking like stars, as a customer pointed out to me the other day. Not all of Jacob's work involves meteorites though. The ring pictured here is one his collection that he calls "free diamonds" , and is made of oxidized silver, 18k gold and diamonds that are loose or "free" under the ring's crystal. We're happy to welcome Jacob to Max's collection of great artists, and truly believe that his work is something that is out of this world.

It's Time for the Janis Kerman Trunk Show!

I am a huge fan of Janis' work! Her designs are recognized for their extraordinary combination of colors and geometric shapes and sizes, and I particular love her “mismatched” earrings (in fact, I love them so much that I have a couple of pair in my personal collection!). In addition to her collection, Janis likes to work with a customer’s own jewelry pieces to completely remodel them by using existing elements of the jewelry to create a new design. This includes pearls, in which she often incorporates geometric shapes of gold with precious stones. If you have some jewelry at home that you’re not wearing because it’s not your style or you think it’s a bit outdated (don't we all have some...or a lot....of that?!?!), you can bring it in to Max’s during the trunk show and have Janis sketch some designs for. If you’re interested in spending some time with Janis and having her develop some designs for you, please give us a call so that we can schedule an appointment. I hope that you'll stop in this weekend and take a look...Janis will be in the store Jewelry artist on Friday, September 11 from 11am - 7pm and on Saturday, September 12 from 10am - 6pm.

Go Back to School With Max's!

If you're anything like me, back-to-school season was an exciting time, especially when my mom took me shopping for new clothes and school supplies. The biggest question I had to answer was what pattern I was going to pick for my notebooks...was it going to be the year of flowers, birds or bright colors? Unfortunately, many children today face much bigger and more difficult questions at this time of year, wondering where and how they will find the resources for necessities like backpacks and school supplies.

Richard Moody, founder of IamMoody (www.iammoody.com), a modeling, production, event planning and branding company, and all-around terrific human being, is coordinating Minneapolis Backpacks 4 Kids In Need, a grassroots effort to gather basic school supplies for kids who won’t have any at the start of this school year. Max's wants to help and we hope that you will join in the effort with us. We are donating 100% of the proceeds (pre-tax) of all of our sale chocolates and 5% of the proceeds (pre-tax) from regularly-priced chocolates sold between August 12 - August 30 to Minneapolis Backpacks 4 Kids in Need. I hope that you will be inspired to join us in support of this great cause, as we just don't think it's right for any child to begin the school year without the basic tools necessary for success.

Very Honored

Every year, NICHE magazine presents awards to retailers of American craft. Max's was fortunate to win an award in 2008, and I am honored, thrilled and humbled to be able to announce that we have won a Top Retailer Award again for 2009. The annual Top Retailer Awards program recognizes craft retailers who are committed to fair business practices and to growing and strengthening the North American craft community. “This awards program honors galleries and retailers for their commitment to supporting craft artists and the craft community,” said Wendy Rosen, publisher of NICHE magazine. “It’s not about the biggest sellers or fanciest shops. The ‘Top Retailers’ are often mentors who work hard to build and maintain good relationships with emerging and established artists.”

I have long believed that the relationships one has with its customers, suppliers and employees are critical to the long-term success of the business....ANY business. With that said, it is tremendously rewarding to be recognized within the industry for building and maintaining strong relationships with our artists. Thank you so much to all who recognized this core value from Max's and enabled us to be recognized so publicly for it.

It's Time for Another Trunk Show at Max's!

Yep, that's right. We're just keeping the trunk shows coming this year as we think it's such a fun way to get to see the full collection from a jewelry designer. This weekend, we're welcoming Dana David to Max's. Actually, we're welcoming both jewelry artist Dana Melnick and her business partner/husband David...thus the name of the jewelry line! Dana was a graphic artist prior to becoming a jewelry designer, and she has melded the 2 together with her scribble and graffiti pieces done in 18k gold and sprinkled with diamonds, as well as her icon necklaces and earrings including peace signs, hearts, the sun and moon and daisies finished with pave diamonds. I know that a necklace isn't going to bring about world peace, but I have both the pave peace sign necklace as well as the 18k gold peace sign necklace in my personal collection, and I find myself wearing one or the other many days of the week. Dana has been hard at work at some new designs...come in and take a look! The show is this weekend....Saturday, August 1 from 10am - 6pm and Sunday, August 2 from noon - 5pm. Hope to see you here!