Giving Credit Where It's Due: Shorewood's Small Businesses

In honor of Small Business Saturday and Thanksgiving, Patch asks: Which local shops and services are you most thankful for?

Whether it's a hot cup of coffee before work in the morning, a fantastic massage or a dry cleaner who always manages to resurrect your favorite suit, there are products and services in almost everyone's routine that make life in Shorewood a little better. To honor Small Business Saturday (Nov. 24) and Thanksgiving, Patch is asking you to post the products, businesses and practitioners in Shorewood that you couldn't live without.

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Competing with Big Box Stores is a Non-Issue for Locally-Owned Businesses

Family-owned jewelry stores say their clientele is much different than the crowd running to a mall jewelry store on Black Friday.

Back in 1990, a week after Black Friday, David Nelson Exquisite Jewelry opened its doors. And, they have been going strong ever since. The jeweler, which is owned by Joliet native David Nelson, believes that there is something more important than offering the biggest discount on Black Friday - customer service. "Instead of advertising, we try to keep the customers we already have," he said. To that end, the jewelry store sends ornaments every year to its top 2,500 customers. The ornament is not a sales gimmick. "It's just an ornament; a gift to hang on their tree," Nelson said. Nelson said his store is not crowded on Black Friday. "We're not usually busy on that Friday," Nelson said. "Most people swarm to the malls to do their power …

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Inside Biz

Flower Shop Flourishes with the Generations

Labo's Flowers and Gifts has served multiple generations of families at its Joliet store.

Owner Barbara Bracken has seen it time and time again. A woman who bought her wedding flowers at Labo's Flowers and Gifts decades ago brings the next generation of her family into the store to buy her daughter's wedding flowers. Bracken has worked at the shop since 1977. "I started at Joliet Central (High School), at the horticulture class there," she said. "I enjoyed the class and thought I'd like to go in that direction." What began as a job, ended up being a career and in 1999, Bracken bought the shop. Her favorite part of being a florist is the time she gets to interact with the customers. She likes knowing that she is helping someone express a feeling. "It's an emotional business," she said. Bracken sees people at their happiest - …

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Businesses Plan Downtown Joliet Holiday 'Crawl'

Every time the bell rings, an angel gets its wings ... and Holiday Hop participants will know it's time to move to the next location.

Think of it as a pub crawl, minus a few drinking stops but with lots of downtown Joliet restaurants and stores waiting to roll out the red carpet with live music, free samples and lots of door prizes and drawings. Organizers think the Downtown Joliet Holiday Hop will celebrating the Christmas season with a unique walking party of sorts that will not only offer entertainment but introduce some people to places they haven't yet tried, merchant spokeswomen Hallie Brenczewski. Participants will gather either at Brenczewski's restaurant/bar The Department, 205 N. Chicago St., or Judge's Bar, 35 E. Cass St., at 5 p.m. Dec. 7. At 6 p.m., a tour leader will gather the group together so they can depart en masse and make their way to Gji’s Sweet …

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Karen's Pet Grooming Attributes Success to its Clients' Support

Owner said being chosen as the best groomer in town by Patch readers made them grateful for the support from the community.

Karen Bartolomei has never had a job that didn't involve animals. "My first job was working for a vet in kennels," Bartolomei said. She has turned that into a successful business that is everything animals. Although primarily a groomer, Karen's Pet Grooming is also a kennel, a doggie day care and part owner of a rescue organization. Truly an animal lover, Bartolomei trained for animal grooming in a time before the field of grooming had established training. "You were very lucky back then to get somebody to train you," Bartolomei said. Her apprenticeship was two years long. She spent a number of as a vet tech, but eventually, she found her way back to grooming. Karen's Pet Grooming has been in business since 1998. They were voted the …

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Shop Thrifty for the Holidays

Keep your gifts budget-friendly by shopping in area thrift and consignment stores.

There are only 42 days until Christmas. Yup, 42. And that is as of Nov. 12. So if you have a big family and you haven't started yet, you need to get going. If your budget is a consideration, we at Patch are ready to help. There are plenty of stores that offer gently-used or even brand-new items that you can get for a bargain. Here is all you need to know about the area stores. Channahon Address: 2108 Plainfield Road Phone number: 815-744-0202 Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. What you should know: The store stocks gently-used kids' clothes, baby supplies and toys. Address: 2372 Plainfield Road Phone number: 815-744-0291 Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday …

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How Early is Too Early for Christmas Shopping?

It used to be Black Friday was for the earliest of early shoppers. Not anymore. Look around. The stores are ready now.

Look around the Chicago area and you'll see all the signs: The early birds no longer wait until Black Friday to do their Christmas shopping. This year, Black Friday is on Nov. 23, but big retailers and mail-order companies are starting well in advance. Amazon, for example, is beginning its Black Friday on Nov. 14. Crazy or crazy smart? Just how early is too early to shop for Christmas 2012 gifts? Take our poll.

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