And the winner of the greenberries $25 gift certificate is:

Sylvie Khajuria Williams!  Congratulations!  I will send you an email.  If you don’t receive it in the next couple of days, please contact me in case mine gets hijacked by your spam folder ]]> http://www.jenniferkrafchik.com/2013/04/24/keep-it-local-greenberries-gift-certificate-winner/feed/ 2 http://www.jenniferkrafchik.com/2013/04/24/keep-it-local-greenberries-gift-certificate-winner/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/JenniferKrafchikPhotoBlog/~3/xKEzs6jrTQo/ http://www.jenniferkrafchik.com/2013/04/17/greenberrieskeep-it-local-a-moms-guide-to-the-areas-best-small-businesses-howard-county-maryland/#comments Wed, 17 Apr 2013 12:32:03 +0000 jenniferkphoto http://www.jenniferkrafchik.com/?p=517 NOTE: the images in this feed have been downsized. To see them big and pretty, please view the original post at JenniferKrafchik.com by clicking here.

Good morning everyone!  Today, I’m excited to announce my latest project, entitled Keep It Local: A Mom’s Guide to the Area’s Best Small Businesses.  About once month, I will highlight one of my favorite local businesses here on the blog.  Each feature will include interesting tidbits about the local shop and its owner as well as plenty of photos (of course!).  I’m excited to get to know many of the area’s entrepreneurs and pass this info onto you!  Not only will you be learning more about these local businesses, but, in many cases, there will also be giveaways and contests.  So, don’t miss out on the fun!

I’m happy to get the party started with Greenberries, an upscale, eco-chic children’s and maternity consignment boutique located in Columbia, featuring high-quality, gently-loved items to fit your growing family from bump to baby and beyond.  They also specialize in brand-new, wooden, earth-friendly, handmade, and organic gifts for baby and mom and offer a wonderful baby registry.

Last summer, when my son was just a couple of weeks old, I was on the hunt for a comfortable baby carrier.  The Baby Bjorn, that I had purchased when my daughter was an infant, put too much weight on my shoulders and I knew that I wanted to replace it this time around.  After learning about Greenberries, I quickly gave them a call and, based on the conversation we had on the phone, I felt confident that they could help me pick one out.  I stopped by the store one day with my (at the time) 2 year old daughter and sleepy newborn boy.  My fingers were crossed that my toddler would remain patient while I shopped and my baby would continue to be content.  In the end, I had nothing to worry about.  My daughter was happy to play in their toy area (I’m sure set up for instances just like these) while Rachel, the owner of Greenberries, helped me try on each of their baby carriers as my little boy contently slept in each one.  I was grateful for Rachel’s help in turning a potentially stressful shopping experience into a happy one for my kiddos and me.  Over the past year, I’ve been delighted with the Ergo baby carrier she helped me pick out.

Every since my first visit, I’ve continued to be pleased and grateful for the products and services they offer our community.  There’s no other place like this around and that’s why I’m so excited to have them as my first feature for this project.  Recently, I asked Rachel a few questions about herself and Greenberries.

Rachel Baliff originally worked in the corporate world in Human Resources & Recruiting for 15+ years, but she had always dreamed of owning her own retail store.  She never imagined it would be a consignment shop until she was introduced to the world of consignments after becoming a mother.  Then, it just clicked.  When the recession hit in 2008, Rachel thought it could be the right time to move away from the corporate environment since jobs were dissolving.  Realizing there were no consignment shops in Columbia at the time, she did her research, put a business plan together, and opened Greenberries in May 2009.  Their original location was a 500 square foot space in the Kings Contrivance Village center.  Approximately two years after opening their doors, they moved to their current location on Oakland Mills Road and quadrupled their size.  This proved to be a great move with business doubling immediately.

Customers have made it clear that they appreciate what Greenberries brings to the community.  From the very beginning, Rachel wanted Greenberries to stand out from the rest with its boutique-like feel and by offering high end consigned goods for children and maternity, selling unique eco-friendly toys and gear that cannot be found in a big box store, and hosting a variety of workshops geared towards supporting new and expectant parents.

I asked Rachel what she loves most about what she does and she had a hard time narrowing down the list.  Rachel loves that it’s her own business and that she’s creating its direction.  She has a wonderful and supportive staff working for her.  Owning Greenberries has given her the chance to get to know many people in the community, she enjoys meeting new moms and children everyday and keeping in touch with her regular customers.  Lastly, she feels good when customers tell her that they appreciate the consigned goods, new toys and gear, and classes that Greenberries offers.

When Rachel told me that she started Greenberries when her children were 3 and 1, I just had to ask her how she balances being a mother to young children with running a business.  I think I was hoping she had some secrets to share with me But, Rachel’s not sure she knows how to achieve the perfect balance, she just does the best she can.  It’s always a struggle for her to juggle family time with work, but she believes she’s teaching and showing her children how to develop a good work ethic.  As a first grader, her daughter is already showing signs of being a little entrepreneur.

On April 20th, Greenberries will be participating in the Great Cloth Diaper Change, a Guiness World Record event for the most simultaneous diaper changes.  This is the third year for the event and the second year that Greenberries will be participating.  Last year’s event is one of Rachel’s most memorable moments since opening Greenberries.  She describes the day as crazy, exciting, and fun.  The store was full of 65 mom and baby pairs, each in a 2×3 square foot space, changing diapers at the same time.

Thank you Rachel for being on the blog today and for being my first feature!  I enjoyed getting to know you and your store even better!

Store Details:

Address: 6925 Oakland Mills Road, Columbia, MD 21045

Phone: 410.290.6253

Website: www.greenberriescompany.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/greenberries

Blog: www.greenberriesco.blogspot.com/

And now for my FAVORITE part of this feature…. I am happy to announce that Greenberries is giving away a $25 gift certificate to their shop!  Here’s how to enter (each comment is one entry, so you have four separate chances to win!):

1.  Leave a comment below (using the Facebook plugin) letting us know what caught your eye in this blog post.

2.  Like Jennifer K Photography on Facebook (or tell us you already do) and leave a comment (using the Facebook plugin) letting us know.

3.  Sign up for the Jennifer K Photography newsletter to keep up-to-date on current specials and activities (or tell us you already have) and leave a comment (using the Facebook plugin) letting us know.

4.  Like Greenberries on Facebook (or tell us you already do) and leave a comment (using the Facebook plugin) letting us know.

Important Note: I have two methods set up for commenting on my blog posts.  For this giveaway, only comments made using the Facebook plugin will be counted (the first comment section below)  in the drawing.  This is to avoid any confusion.

The drawing will be held Wednesday night (April 24th) at 9pm Eastern time.  You have a week to enter so spread the word.  Good luck!

No words today.  Just some sweet photos.  I hope you’re having an equally sweet week!

This year, we decided to give our daughter her Easter basket on Saturday morning since Sunday would be so busy.  Rather than give her a bunch of candy, I thought she’d really like this veggie garden I saw on the Modern Parents Messy Kids website.  I’m always looking for activities to exercise her incredible imagination and keep her busy.  This Veggie-Garden-Easter-Basket didn’t disappoint.  Since receiving it, she’s already spent many hours playing with it.  It’s a win-win for both of us.  Once the novelty of a garden wears off, I thought I’d get her some little cars and dump trucks and turn it into something like this.

Leading up to Easter, we put together the bunny tree shown in the middle photo.  I got the idea from Design Mom’s Salt Dough Eggs.  I didn’t have an egg cookie cutter, so I convinced myself to make do with what we have and use our bunny cookie cutters.  My daughter and I had fun putting the whole thing together one morning while her baby brother napped.  It was a great mommy-daughter activity and we may just apply this idea to other holidays.  A heart tree for Valentine’s Day?  Why not?  A ghost tree for Halloween?  Heck yeah!

On Saturday morning, after we gave my girl her Easter basket, we dyed Easter eggs.  This was her first introduction to dying eggs and, as always, it was fun showing it to her for the first time.  Over the past few weeks, I read so many blog posts about making natural dyes for eggs and it was really hard to resist the temptation to try it out.  But, I forced myself to keep it simple and just use one of the kits from the store.  Maybe we’ll give the natural dyes a go next year – we’ll see!

This rounds up the Easter posts for this year!  It really is a special time of year and I feel blessed to have my sweet family to share it with.

I was delighted to learn, about a week before Easter, that one of my parents’ ewes had given birth to two lambs.  I thought “How lucky are we to have two baby lambs for my daughter to pet and play with on Easter?”  Oh and, let’s not forget, two lambs for me to photograph  I love that my daughter has such great access to these sweet farm animals (both the babies and the adults).  I love that she gets so excited to see them at every visit.  I love how she hunts around for grass and various wild plants to pick and feed to them, looking for the “good stuff.”  She’s developed quite a bond with them, particularly their young ram named Edward.  Every time she receives a new doll or stuffed animal, she wants to name them Edward.

Here are some photos I took of my daughter meeting the lambs, Daisy and Henry, on Easter morning.  The image on the very bottom is of her feeding the “good stuff” to her pal, Edward.  By the way, my parents’ sheep are Leicester Longwools.  You’ll find more information on this rare breed of sheep on the Leicester Longwool Sheep Breeders Association website or Facebook page.

We were fortunate to have beautiful spring weather here in Maryland over Easter weekend.  I was itching to take some photos of my kiddos in their adorable Easter outfits, so, on Saturday evening, we decided to take our egg hunt to our favorite trail.    It was a beautiful evening with gorgeous light.  As always, it was so nice to get out and go for a walk with the family.

I hope you all had a very happy Easter!  We had a great weekend filled with oodles of quality family time and fun Easter activities.  I look forward to sharing more photos from our fun weekend later this week once I’ve had a chance to go through them.  In the meantime, I’ll share this little teaser with you.  How sweet are my two, little monkeys?!

By the way, did you notice the new blog design?  I’m super excited to finally debut it.  During these past couple of months, while I’ve been pretty quiet on here, I’ve been busy working behind the scenes on updating my blog.  I hope you like it.  Please click through and check out everything – including my portfolio and my pages containing more information on me and the photography services that I offer.  I’m hoping that the new layout makes it much easier to find everything.  Please use the contact form to get in touch with me about any questions or comments you may have – I’d love to hear from you.  Also notice that there is a button to sign up to be the first to hear about specials and the latest Jennifer K Photography news.  And if you haven’t already done so, use the other buttons to follow me on facebook and twitter or subscribe to this blog.  There are many ways for us to keep in touch!

Wishing you a great start to your week!

Earlier this month, I shared a few of my favorites from my most recent maternity session.  Well… today, I'd like to introduce you to this pretty, little lady.  I was super excited to visit their home once again and meet their newest addition.  She was a sweetie and I always enjoy the calmness and tranquility of photographing a sleepy, warm newborn.  Just looking at these images brings me peace.