For me, card selection has historically been about as enjoyable as a trip to the orthodontist. I mean, it's no easy task to find the one card that suits one particular individual for one particular life event. I used to spend ridiculous amounts of time at various stores, hemming and hawing and generally befuddled by what some greeting card makers find funny or touching? If I never saw another twenty cards featuring jokes about squirrels or rednecks, it'd be too soon.
In any case, here's the place that saved me from that madness:
I don't know how to explain it other than that I just don't have trouble finding a good card at Cappy's, located in downtown Elmira. The store has a great artistic, well-humored, beautiful selection, probably because this is the kind of place where the owner, Amani Vlasic, hand-selects each card that goes on her shelves.
Which brings me to #1 on my "Top 10 Reasons to Visit Cappy's" list!
1. The Card Club.
Every time you buy a greeting card, you get stamped at the register. Buy 10 greeting cards, and your next one is free. Think I've already burned through two of these Card Club cards in the past few months. (And I'm not a coffee drinker, but if my Mountain Dew intake is any indication of what kind of coffee drinker I'd be, I'd have burned through a buy 6, get 1 free Coffee Club card right quick, too.)
Always enjoy looking at the elaborate pop-up cards.
Plus, for all those "Blergh, forgot ________ day, have to get a card out STAT" moments in life, Cappy's also provides tables inside and outside where you can sit and write your card. The store also sells stamps, has a mailbox right out front, there's free gift wrapping for any item you buy, and you can FedEx there as well. It's a one-stop shop for all your well-wishing needs.
2. Coolest Money Holders Ever.
On a particularly fun shelf with voucher books for friends, tarot cards for housewives and cupcake-flavored toothpaste is a collection of coin purses made from recycled materials - with bright colors, fun designs and clever labels like This Economy Sucks, Lunch Money, Can't Buy Me Love and Insufficient Funds.
Additionally, you can find Mighty Wallets - also made from recycled materials. Known for being super-thin, super-durable, and in some cases superhero-esque.
3. Unique Book Finds.
Cappy's carries a few titles that I find pretty darn clever. The Lover's Dictionary, the story of a relationship categorized by entries for various words, from arcane, ardent and autonomy to yarn, yearning and yesterday, etc. You Give Love a Bad Name: Timeless Poems of Tainted Love from the Pop Hits of the 70s and 80s, featuring song lyrics in poem format. Selected songs include such classics as Cuts Like a Knife by Bryan Adams, Maneater by Hall and Oats and I Hate Myself for Loving You by Joan Jett and the Heartbreakers.
You're welcome if you have any of those in your head now.
Or my personal favorite, The Long Distance Relationship Guide: Advice for the Geographically Challenged. Look, never before has a more in-depth book been written about the ins and outs of a long distance relationship. There are chapters on the pros and cons of so-called LDRs, long distance relationship statistics, a history of couples who had LDRs, and tips for visits, life between visits and communication. It's cute. And I wish I knew it existed sooner, it would have made a great gift for some of my girlfriends.
4. Song Lyric Decor.
Up on the walls of Cappy's, you'll see quite a collection of decorative signs.
These signs all feature song lyrics. So if you know, say, a Beatles fan (who doesn't?):
♪ "Hello, Hello..."♪
I think they make for pretty fun gifts (or gifts to yourself), and there's a solid selection of songs represented.
5. Pre-Made Diaper Cakes.
These things are a baby shower staple, and I can't make them. Not since discovering pre-chopped veggies at Wegmans was I so excited.
And diaper cakes are just the tip of the iceberg as far as children's items go:
6. Theme Table.
Cappy's has an ever-changing front table display with great seasonal items. This time o' the year, it's back to school, from the basics (composition notebook) to the endearing (lunchbox notes for kids, tweens and teens), to stuff I might buy for my office just for funsies, including Gourmet Scented Pencils, and "Borrow My Pen" pens, featuring fake business advertisements "guaranteed to leave an impression."
Indeed. Check them out.
7. Soap Too Awesome to Use.
Enough said?
8. Entertaining Kitchen Stuff.
The kitchen collection includes Ninjabread Men Cookie Cutters, Gangster Graters (a grater in the shape of a gangster car), Cake Candelabras, Crustache: The Moustache Sandwich Cutter, and cookbooks including Insanewiches: 101 Ways to Think Outside the Lunchbox, Rock n' Roll Diner, The Newlyweds' Cookbook and Allergy-Free Treats to Make and Serve. Just a few of the many offerings.
Plus? The most amazing deviled-egg tray I've ever seen.
Any type you could want, really.
Cappy's carries a number of items specific to Elmira and the region, which makes it a good stop for visitors. Postcards, magnets, 101 Things You Didn't Know About Elmira, and more. Plus, you can buy a Mark Twain tie there. Can't do that just anywhere.
And those are just my Top 10 - Cappy's is a trove of unique items, it's conveniently located, and it's got great hours, including being open until 6 p.m. on weekdays in case you need to grab something after work, and having Saturday hours.
Stop in through this Saturday and as part of the "Cappy's Gives Back" promotion that has been going on all this month, you'll contribute to the 10% of Cappy's sales being donated to the Economic Opportunity Program. Every week this month, the store has been donating 10% of its profits to a different non-profit organization that helped the community during the recent tornado.
A reminder, perhaps, that there's never been a better time in recent years to shop local and support downtown Elmira businesses.
Cappy's
205 West Clinton Street, Elmira, NY 14901
(607) 732-1152
