Urban Life

Hot Deals In Downtown Phoenix for Memorial Day Weekend

We wish all our Urban Life readers a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. We hope you take a few minutes to honor those who are not with any more. Some of you will be out shopping for deals this weekend as Memorial Weekend is known for its deals. We called a few merchants to see what they were offering and here are the details;

Bellas Artes de Mexico
2137 East Indian School Road
(602) 957-8078

The are having a 50% off sale this weekend. If you've never been there, they have some very cool stuff... not all from Mexico.

Passport Imports:
1206 E Indian School
(602) 327-3271

They are selling their bookshelves at 15% off. There are not your ordinary bookshelves... more like words of art.

The French Bee
2324 East Indian School Road
(602) 954-2024

They begin their summer mark down specials this weekend as well as selling off some of the floor samples.

Peaceful Soul is closing this Saturday... a sad day.

Bunky Boutique
1437 N 1st St.

Rachel has finished moving into the new location just south of McDowell next to Giant Coffee. She has changed her hours and will be open earlier than before.

Make sure and stop by for a look and grab a coffee at Matt & Ereina's new place.

We hope you enjoy your memorial day weekend. Gene will be heading up to the Rim but Ron will be here if you have a real estate question.

Best to you...

Gene Urban & Ron Urban
The Urban Team at Realty Executives
602-234-5777

connecting you to the community and great living spaces too.

Frances To Celebrate 4th Anniversary

I love locally owned business success stories and Frances is one. They have made it though the initial hurdles and will be celebrating their 4 year anniversary on Saturday, May 1st, 2010.

Hopefully, most of our readers have already been to this very sweet boutique in Central Phoenix. If not, use this special celebration to introduce yourself to this incredible boutique with lot of clothing, jewelry, gifts and more. It’s no wonder Yelp readers have given the place 4 stars and dozens of reviews.

To celebrate their fourth year, the gang at Frances is doing lots of fun stuff including:

• Raffle Prizes for gift cards and Frances merchandise
• Music by Courtney Marie Andrews
• Free Gifts with a purchase
• The Urban Cookies Trailer with lots of goodies
• A Special Tom’s Shoes Charity Auction with Local Artist Decorated Toms.

I hope you have a chance to drop and enjoy the 4th anniversary festivities. If you do, drop on back and tell us your thoughts by leaving a comment on Urban Life.

Frances 4th Anniversary Celebration Info

WHEN: Saturday, May 1st
WHERE: Frances at 10 W. Camelback, Phoenix, AZ
TIME: 10:00 to 4:00

See you there…

Gene Urban
The Urban Team
602-234-5777

BUNKY BOUTIQUE... clothing, hats, jewelry shopping in downtown Phoenix, AZ

You ever have that person you want to buy something sweet, not too expensive and kind of unique for? You try the mall but everything looks so mallish. There is an alternative... Bunky Boutique in downtown Phoenix's Roosevelt District.

Rachel Richards, the owner, has taken a historic home and made it a wonderful clothing space. Three rooms from the original home now house a remarkable assortment of men's, woman's, kid's cloths plus a selection of classically modern hats from Brixton and affordable, yet distinctive jewelry. This is a classic Urban Life experience.

Rachel has an eye for merchandising in small spaces. Everything is easy to see, cozy yet not cramped with surprises in every space.

We had a chance to chat about the place, her take on downtown and what Bunky means. 

What are you most proud of in creating Bunky Boutique?  Being able to contribute to the neighborhood and be a part of creating the Roosevelt and downtown Phoenix experience.

What's the best thing about living downtown?The people and real sence of community. It's a place where one person can still make a difference.

What's a Bunky? It's not a what but a who. Bunky is my grandmother's name and she is alive and well. I say that because people think when you name something after someone they are probably dead.

Bunky Boutique is worth a trip downtown for many reasons besides its mix of light weight cotton woman's clothing, fun hats, unusual T's, and jewelry. Its a real store where the owner greets you, cares about your experience and the city she lives in. You know I am a BIG supporter of locally owned businesses and the members of Local First Arizona. I hope you are too.

Bunky Boutique
Rachel Richards... proprietor
812 N. 3rd St.
Phoenix, AZ 85004
www.bunkyboutique.com
602-252-1323

One thing I love about my little Flip Video cam is the ability to show what words often can't. Below is a look at Bunky Boutique.

MATSURI... DOWNTOWN PHOENIX HOSTS A JAPANESE FESTIVAL 2009

Downtown Phoenix will be the place to be this weekend, February 21st and 22nd, for Matsuri, A Festival of Japan.  This will be the 25th anniversary celebration and filled with lots of fun activities.

I lived with a Japanese family during my days at UCSB. Ken Ota was my judo and aikido sensei and living with  his family was quite an experience. The respect and integrity of their culture deeply affected me in a wonderful way.

The festival is jammed packed with activities the entire family will enjoy including: Taiko drumming, Kendo karate demonstrations, Japanese Lion Dance, native folk dancing, a Kimono fashion show and much more. A complete schedule of events is posted on the organizer's web site.

One of the best features of this kid friendly event is the price... its free. Just come down to the Heritage & Science Park and enjoy Matsuri.

If you are traveling by Light Rail its just a short walk from the 3rd St. & Washington stop. Check out RailLife.com for maps and rail info.

Enjoy...

Gene Urban
The Urban Team at Realty Executives
602-234-5777

The Matsuri poster to the right was designed by Phoenix artist Brian Fisher and generously provided by tireless Matsuri web developer and general get-it-done person, Penny Levy.

A PURSE NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT

We are pretty excited about this news. Tracy Penwell, a good friend of Ruth Urban, has a pretty unique job... handbag designer. Yeah, you don't hear that one at many cocktail parties. Anyway, the story below is from Tracy and she needs our help. So, read on and help a fellow Arizonan attain fashion fame.
______________________________________________________________________________________________

Hi! I am asking you to vote for me. I am proud to announce that I have been selected as a finalist in the “Best Green Handbag” design category in the 2008 Independent Handbag Designer Awards by Handbag Designer 101. My handbag named “Summertime” was selected for being made out of sustainable, recycled materials. It features a collection of white wrist watches on the face of a white leather and straw clutch.

Some of you might not know that in addition to Rima Fine Art, I launched “Dressed Up Cat Fashion Re-Fashioned” to unleash some of my creative energies. I take high quality handbags, add unique jewelry and embellishments based on a ‘theme’ for each bag that leads to its name and a signed and dated pedigree card which accompanies each handbag in a custom made animal-print dust cover. Each bag is one of a kind and meets the demand for fashionable, smart, and “green” accessories.

I am especially humbled by this honor because my design was selected from 600 applicants from all over the world. Further judging will be going on in New York City in June where my bag will be on display in a window of Henri Bendel and I will be participating in a trunk show. The fashion panel of judges is very impressive. One winner will be selected from each of five categories and announced at the awards ceremony at the New York Historical Society on June 18^th.

But I need your vote for the “Audience Selected Handbag”.

The designer who receives the most votes will be announced at the Awards Ceremony in New York on June 18. On the internet please visit http://www.bagborroworsteal.com/ui/ihda. To vote for me just click the VOTE button by my name and my bag “Summertime”. To see more of my bags, please visit www.dressedupcat.com.

Thank you so much for your vote and support.

Tracy Penwell
“Feline-in-Charge”
Dressed Up Cat, Fashion Re-fashioned