2022 Christmas Gift Guide! Posted on November 28, 2022 by joshuasopko Our 2022 Christmas Gift Guide is Here! Everyone is feeling the squeeze this holiday shopping season. Budgets are tight and gift-giving needs to be intentional and affordable. But instead of grabbing more stuff off the shelf at Target that no one really wants or needs, we’ve put together a premium gift-giving guide for the people in your life. This year’s gift guide has three sections: For the hard to buy for people in your life. You know the ones. They already have everything. They want for nothing. And frankly, you’re just out of ideas. And the men in your life. Let’s face it, men can be a challenge to buy for this time of year. Follow this guide, we’ve got you covered. The extra people. This one is for the teachers, the hairdressers, coaches, instructors, and anyone else you think, “do we need to get so-and-so and gift?” Yes, you probably do. But you don’t need a knick-knack for their desk and you don’t need to spend $25+ each. Let’s get started! For the hard to buy for: Shower Spray Shower sprays are a thoughtful gift without adding another knick-knack on the wall. For the person who has everything, a shower spray is truly the perfect gift! Bar Soap Everyone needs soap! Match a holiday bar soap scent with our beautiful wooden soap dish for an elegant, classy gift idea. Lip Balm Our lip balm is one of our top-reviewed products. Especially this time of year, lip balm isn’t just a novelty item. It’s a must-have! Miracle Muscles It’s one of the most popular products we make. Rest assured, the impossible to buy for will love it! Hand Cream Dry and cracked skin is a product of winter. Hand cream is a thoughtful gift to address skin issues this time of year. Give a travel size for those who are always on the go! For the men: Shampoo Bars Our Shampoo bars are clean, easy to use, and minimal in every way. Just how men like it. Bar Soap Bar soap is a great gift for men. Our bold scent is the perfect masculine scent without being too dominating. Wooden Soap Dish Responsible soap handling isn’t on the top of a man’s list. Pair our elegant wooden soap dish with a bold-scented bar soap or shampoo bar to make sure he gets the most out of his soap! Miracle Muscles The perfect gift for the man who always groans when getting out the lazy boy from sore joints and muscles. Our most popular product! Dry Skin Salve Get him something he’d never get himself. Our dry skin salve helps address the irritating dry skin that comes with old man winter. Foot Cream Did he miss his last pedicure? Dry and cracked feet often go unaddressed in men. Our foot cream absorbs well without leaving a greasy residue to address foot issues. For the extras: Mini Gift Box A pre-made gifting solution for under $12. Our mini gift box includes a hand cream, lip balm, and delicious chocolate. Simple, elegant & perfect! Bar Soap Everyone needs soap! Match a holiday-scented bar soap with our beautiful wooden soap dish for an elegant, classy gift idea. Lip Balm Our lip balm is one of our top-reviewed products. Especially this time of year, lip balm isn’t just a novelty item, it’s a must-have! Shower Spray The extras in your life don’t need another thing on their desk or a picture frame for their wall. Get them a consumable product they’ll use and love! Oil Roller (see recommendations for links) We have a wide array of oil roller options, but our top recommendations for the extras in your life are immune, relax, and sniffles! Hand Cream Dry and cracked sin is a product of winter. Hand cream is a thoughtful gift to address skin issues this time of year. Give a travel size for those who are always on the go! That’s it! If you’d like to see all our gift guide recommended products in one place, shop our Giftable section. Need something more? We’ve also created pre-made gift boxes to fit every budget. Shop our gift boxes here. From us to you, we’re praying for an amazing holiday season. Merry Christmas, cheers!
Black Friday & Small Business Saturday DEALS! Posted on November 24, 2022November 24, 2022 by joshuasopko It’s here! The biggest shopping weekend of the year. We know you’ve already been through the Thursday paper ads. We know you’ve got a list started and a plan made for Friday and Saturday. But once you’re done with the big box store shopping, head down to your local shops and support us, too! Here’s a breakdown of what it looks like at our store: Black Friday 5 Different Products are on Sale for $5.50 each. Lip Balm Select Bath Bombs 2 oz Shower Spray Pillow Spray Travel Lotions Small Business Saturday 20% off Storewide & Online Free Swag Bags in-store Free Gift w/ any Online Order Included in Small Business Saturday, we’re hosting a mobile Coffee truck from Rooted Plant Shop. They’ll be set up around 9 am as doors open at 10 am! Also, Effortless Bows will be set up with a table in our store. These are the PERFECT gifts for the hard to buy for people in your life. We’ll have some sweets and hot apple cider for free in-store as well. The weather looks to be amazing and we’re honored to be added to your weekend shopping list! See you this weekend! And if you can’t stop in to see us, we’re always around online on our new website! Cheers.
How we do Turkey Day Posted on November 24, 2022November 24, 2022 by joshuasopko Thanksgiving can be bittersweet for many small business owners. It’s the eve of the biggest shopping weekend of the year. It’s the calm before the storm, as they say. It’s no different for us at Juniper. Most Thanksgivings we host our extended family from Joshua’s side. Including kids, it totals about 25-30 people most years. It’s a great morning of good food, fellowship with people we love, and a house full of rowdy, rambunctious, fun-loving kids that don’t see their cousins nearly enough. But as we’re preparing the turkey and peeling potatoes, our minds are fixated on the weekend ahead, including the subsequent weeks to Christmas. For us, the next few weeks account for about 40% of our total annual revenue. It’s a serious matter to make sure we have inventory, content, raw materials, help lined up, etc. We start preparing for the Christmas shopping season in September. But as it tends to happen, the big holiday shopping kickoff weekend always comes faster than we think. What’s the mean for a maker? It means we work on Thanksgiving. Our morning started with hosting family, playing games, and watching some football. But after the house was empty of guests, our minds quickly transitioned back into business prep and content writing. Running a small retail business isn’t for the faint of heart. But we wouldn’t have it any other way. Thanksgiving is about being thankful, and every year, no matter how much we work, we can’t help but do it with a smile. Because without this business, we wouldn’t have you. And without you, we wouldn’t have this. And for this, we are thankful. To all our amazing customers, we’re thankful to you. We’re thankful for our family who supports us on this crazy journey. We’re thankful to all the customers who show grace and understanding when our kids get a little wild in the store. Or when their package arrives with some crayon drawings on the side of the box. We’re thankful for a challenging year as it makes us stronger. And thankful for all the provisions God provides through those challenges. Here’s to what we know will be a successful holiday shopping weekend and holiday season. From the whole Juniper Family, cheers.
New website, new opportunities! Posted on December 5, 2021November 17, 2022 by joshuasopko Wow. This has been a project! Thank you so much for not only visiting our website, but for taking the time to check out our blog and see what’s new. Well, it might not seem like much on the outside, but we’ve got a brand-new website! I shouldn’t say it’s not much on the outside, because it is. It’s an entirely new, fresh design from the ground up. Not only did we redesign the home page and the product page, but we also have a brand new (killer) menu, a slick new shopping cart page, and… (drumroll please) … a sweet new checkout process. If you’ve shopped with us for any length of time, you’ve likely used our past website. And let’s be real, it wasn’t that bad. It was useable, functional, and overall had a decent look. But one gripe we’ve had is the cart and checkout process. It was clunky, poorly designed, and just didn’t have a good flow. Our new checkout is simplified, streamlined, and easy. Don’t believe me? see for yourself! With that said, we’ll be continuing to work on this ever-changing project. There are some new features that we’ll be adding in the coming weeks. Features like: Integrated Loyalty rewards Abandoned Cart Notification Loss Leader Headlines Email Signup Rewards Reviews There is such a potential for having a branded online experience that matches our physical retail space. This is just the start and we’re so thankful you’re with us on this journey! Stay tuned for more fun updates and more resources being added to our blog! Have a suggestion? We want to know what you think! Have an idea about our website, product idea, feature idea, or just general thoughts? Maybe you just want to say hi! Hit up our contact page and let us know!