Destination: Parcel

Hope and I made a "must see" list before we went to NY. Places like the Shabby Chic store in SoHo, Magnolia Bakery and ABC Home were on the list.  Also high on the list was Parcel, a lovely gem of a shop in Bloomfield, New Jersey. It was so nice to finally meet the owner, Nancy, in person. She was so welcoming and warm, and we could've stayed there all day and talked shop together. As it was, she was beyond gracious letting us hang out in her store for 4 hours! In our defense, you need no less time to see every detail she has created and every trinket she has tucked into the shelves of her shop. It's incredible really. I like "detail" people a whole lot. I can so appreciate putting thought into each nook, creating a world of things that work well together, make sense, coordinate. Do you know what I mean? I bet you do.

 

Well, Nancy thrives on the details. Case in point: these wonderful kabobs she made using the gourmet marshmallows she sells! Is this cute or what? She had a little platter of them for us to snack on while we hung out.

Here are some shots of the shop goods. Pretty vintage tissue paper decorations in sherbet colors:

A nest of glass glitter birds and a pretty pink plume:

Rolls of wrapping papers.

More wrapping papers.

Here's Nancy zipping through the store. Do you see all of those cubby holes? Each one is filled with about 500 tiny treasures you can buy!

Here are some close-ups of the vignettes.

Little packages {or parcels, I should say}with ribbons and trimmings:

Gift tags:

Jars of candy:

Vintage stamps in every word you can dream up:

Pick a card, any card! Greeting cards galore:

And here is what I bought. I could have bought more and more and more, but I have to show some restraint occasionally.....

Some vintage Best Wishes ribbon, old buttons on a pink card, a rose cabochon hair stick thingy, a little gold trophy cup, a vintage light green and pink pharmacy prescription box, teeny tiny {German porcelain, I think} letters that spell my name, and some fun stationery with carousels printed on it {here's a close-up}:

Oh, and my favorite! More stationery....letterpress with tiaras. How about those two great words right there? Letterpress. Tiaras. This is one of Nancy's newest products, her Parcel private label letterpress cards. Beautiful cards in beautiful packaging.

And last but not least, I got this great vintage sewing tin with built-in pin cushion.

I filled it with spools of thread already and have it perched on my sewing table.

I also got to meet my friend Chiara. We were supposed to see her shop as well, but we had incorrect Mapquest directions and ended up somewhere in a part of New Jersey we shouldn't have been..... It was quite an adventure, to say the least! So, we didn't end up seeing her shop after all {next time for sure, Chiara}.

After all the fun that day, we headed into The City that evening.  New York part II coming soon!

Comments

[LizzyJ]

What a marvelous shop! I could easily spend 4 hours there. Easily.

[stacy]

parcel is one of my favorite stores ever!!

[celia]

I need tickets to NYC!!!!!
Oh my God, how in the world did I born so far away?????
lol...

[jerusalem]

Oh my goodness- the loveliness of it all is a little overwhelming. I think my heart might have skipped a few beats if I had walked into Parcel too. What a gem of a shop! So glad you got to go : )

[Amanda]

Ooh, beautiful! What a fun shop! I love that sewing box, how pretty.

[Gabreial/VintageIndie]

I think I could sleep there, looks dreamy!

[Vicki]

I need to stay out of shops like that!!! Wow. I love every single thing!!!

[kasey]

I absolutely love that shop!
k-

[Heidi]

Andrea, how long did it take you to get to Parcel from NYC? I desperately wanted to go when we visited NYC but we were afraid it was too far out of the way.

[Molly]

It's like walking into a real-life dream! How yummy. I want, I want, I want that little gold trophy! Is that going in your shop by chance?!

[m i c h e l l e]

Gadzooks that store looks incredible! I think I'm gonna have to take a trip to NYC just so I can go there! I wouldn't have to do anything else and I'd be happy! Is there a hotel next door? :-)

Thanks for the pictures!

[Viv (VivLyn)]

Looks like a gorgeous shop! I love your finds!

[Linda and Laura Lilly Cottage]

I can see how you spent 4 hours there, I would have probably stayed longer as I would have passed out at the gorgeousness of it all....what a wonderful place....I so need to go to New York...Thanks so much for sharing and I love your collection of goodies, kiss noises Linda Lilly Cottage.

[Vanessa {Bloom Right Here!}]

I have that same sewing tin. It is what I used when I was a girl and learning to sew!

[Heidi]

used to live in Glen Ridge NJ, (next door to Bloomfield) and Parcel was not there then...there were always lots of cute places in Montclair tho (on the other side) thanks for sharing, I will have to check it out next time I go.
:)Heidi

[Rosemary]

Wow Andrea!!
No wonder you spent 4 hours in that store.
I would have too!!
Rosemary

[Alison Gibbs]

What a fabulous place to shop
Alison

[gabrielle]

ohh i must make a little road trip.... i've been wanting to go to Parcel for awhile. this was the little push i needed!!

[Boxwood Cottage]

Gorgeous photos of a wonderful shop Andrea! Love all the things you chose! Wish we had that shop here in Germany somewhere close to where I live. Do you know that you would have bumped into Jenny & Aaron of Everyday is Holiday if you'd have stayed a little longer? They happend to be there too that same day/evening and Jenny has also posted lot's of parcel love photos on her blog and her flickr.
Have a great weekend!
Carol xox

[www.flaviasoapsandmore.typepad.com]

Hi Andrea!! It was so nice meeting you in person, sad you guys got lost and couldn't make it to my shop... next time. This past weekend, my husband, Flavia and I got lost in the same area you guys did, so I know what you mean!!! we could not find our way back... Hope to see you again the next time you come to NYC.

Take care!!!
Chiara

[Leah C]

Parcel sounds...and looks...dreamy! And you only spent 4 hours there? :}

[Karla]

Oh my gosh - it is all just so gorgeous! I would have been on a major overload!
Karla

[Gabrielle]

Such beautiful things Andrea!! I love the pin cusion too and that sweet trophy. I would of been right there loving all the shops you went to. Maybe one of these days I'll make it to the East Coast!!

[Dapoppins]

What a wonderful place...!

[Diane]

Wow - what a fun shop!!