Well, a little later then never…meant to add this invite a few weekends ago to the site here…

PLEASE take advantage of the THREE day weekend coming up this Memorial Day, start with a walk on the Beaches of Cape Ann, check out the fabulous restaurants and cocktail establishments nearby in the West End of Gloucester, and COME TO SEE us at POP Gallery! 67 Main St….We have been crazy busy bringing in amazing and style-savvy new artists, designers and their phenomenal “works” for ALL ages, sizes, shapes, tastes and genders! A perfect Beach tote, A father’s Day fun shirt and card?, a glamorous new ring, an elegant scarf, a new pair of shiny hoops or dangling feathers? A bar of smelly and luscious soap? or BEER soap for your specially brewed fella?

ALL and everything for HOME, BODY, SELF & GIFT…

you gotta check it out!

Happy to announce Kathy Irwin to the POP Team!

Kathy is a long time design professional in Essex MA. She has been designing, repairing, and installing cushions, sails, and many accessories to the Sailing & Boating community up here for many years.  Kathy’s a HIDDEN gem of a seamstress, creating garments, costumes, and useful items for many of the North Shore’s clientele. Most recently she is developing a line of vintage, and re-purposed Sail Cloth cases for i-pads, laptops, etc and anything else that needs protection from the salty elements!

She will be “in store” showing at POP this season, as well as hosting events and selling her line. Kathy’s REAL forte is her warm and welcoming personality, she’s also incredibly hip and stylish and can be most helpful to anyone needing referrals or recipes…(did I mention that girl CAN COOK?!!!) It’s going to be an amazing PINK team of artisans and designers this year…stop in Thursdays from 11-6 to see Kathy at Pop Gallery, and Me Peg, Friday and Saturdays, and Carmen Emery-Roberts a.k.a Carmonious!, the graphic design Wizard on Sundays!….Hooray for Girls! (and Boys too!)

Greetings all of our fans and friends! 

We have clocked a ridiculous amount of laborious hours finishing up our POP gallery this season…IT’s ALL BEEN WORTH IT!

Our sweet and helpful landlord installed new insulated windows and re-pointed the bricks in our 1820’s era building off season, and that had much to do with the extreme “feng shui” needed to clean and prep the gallery for business this year.

That said, it LOOKS AWESOME. We have scoured shows, artists’ studios, submissions, and referral’s from all kinds of new designers etc. so expect to find a refreshing new look, and many of our favorite artist/designer’s are BACK with new collections! 

This weekend will kick off the 2012 season and an announcement will be forthcoming, but expect a party on Cinco De Mayo!

Come SEA!!!!! Peggy & Carmen 

Top 25 Small Cities for Art

MAY 2011 | BY CAITLIN FULTZ | ISSUE 76, SUMMER 2011

The top 25 small cities for art for 2011 are:

3. Gloucester, Mass.

A newcomer to the Top 25 list, Gloucester is home to museums, galleries and the oldest working art colony in the U.S.

Cape Ann, a thriving arts and cultural destination, lies just 30 miles north of Boston along one of the prettiest stretches of coastline in all of Massachusetts. Billed as one of the last great unspoiled places, its harbors, lighthouses, beaches, coves and coastline have been attracting artists almost from its beginnings in 1623.

Cape Ann’s four communities include Rockport, Essex, Manchester-by-the-Sea and Gloucester, America’s oldest seaport. “Art is vital to the lifeblood of Gloucester. There are many beautiful places with seashores and harbors but the combination of arts, culture, and industry are rarely so integrated and integral to the life of a city. It makes Gloucester a very unique place that celebrates art in a way that most cities can’t,” says resident and AmericanStyle reader Barbara Silberman. Gloucester is home to a large population of artists, many of whom display their work in Rocky Neck Art Colony galleries and studios. You can visit the Rocky Neck Gallery or enjoy open studios and entertainment during Nights on the Neck, on the first Thursday of the month from June to October.

Hi All of you in POP-world…

We just wanted to express our sincerest gratitude and let you know we have had such a rewarding time in Gloucester this year, that we have Re-signed for 2012 to repeat the fun starting May 2012!

We will all take a much needed “break” during the winter months to get back into our studios to “re-invent the wheels” as it were…by way of designing fresh new work in all mediums for a Re-opening in early Spring at 67 Main!

We also heard from and experienced so much enthusiasm from our ‘guy friends’ about our new line “CAMP” and other unique offerings for Men, that we will open with a broader collection of Men’s wear and gifts appropriate to our male gender counterparts…look for COOL stuff from our travels up and down the coast, across the US of A and beyond, we’ll source an ever unusual group of items designed from artisans and small locally grown entrepreneurs to be sure!

In the meantime many of us can be found on our personal websites and on our new Drupal Gardens website which will launch soon so you can contact any of the designers individually throughout the year to check in and see new work.

If anyone has to exchange or swap a size or style from this year’s Holiday gifting, then be sure and send an e-mail to us:

poponmain@gmail.com

or irodesign.com

if you need to reach me, Peggy to chat or make an appointment. officially we close for the season Dec. 30th and we will close the door and hibernate until the snow melts…We might do a Saint Valentines’ week long sale before the next big sweetheart day? keep in touch!

Cheers and Heavenly New Years to ALL our POPtabulous Peoples!!! WE LOVE YOU

Hey Fellas, it’s time to “get even”.  Gloucester’s celebrating AGAIN this Thursday night from ‘after work 5:ish till 10pm’ with another fun night of ‘shop till you POP’ action! All the Main Street and area galleries and shops will be offering deals, drinks, and nibbles to everyone (Guys and their gal pals) who comes in to check it out! Pop will be serving some ‘Larger than Lagers’ and selling some fun beer soaps for suds to GO! as well as Pink Bubbles and chocolates to all who stop by…

The night continues including discounts on dining at the neighboring DOG BAR and live music after our door closes…we have amazing Gifts for ALL genders, ages and sizes and tastes…if you’re trying to “get in the mood”, let us push you along with some sparkle and treats!

Cheers!

Still can’t get into the Holiday spirit while it’s hovering in the 60’s lately? BUT no complaints about it! Hopefully this Thursday will prove to be a warmer than seasonal night for the HUNDREDS of girls, ladies, and fabulous Women who will prowl the Main Street of Gloucester checking out the offerings for gift giving time!

Please consider hopping on the bandwagon for this one.  December 1st is the annual Ladies Night out shop-a-thon in Gloucester! All the shops and galleries along main street will participate by offering discounts on some items, free refreshments, discounted coupons, deals and meals and drinks in a fun and festive BIG Girl-ey Party! It’s a BLAST and a terrific time to drag your friends out and take advantage of the plethora of gifts, art, and get some freebies and holiday schwaaag! all in one blustery night! Then the following Thursday, get the BOUYS motivated and drop hints for what you saw and where you saw it, as Thursday the 8th is the Alternate Gender’s opportunity to do the same…! (perhaps not quite as fervently? (: In any case c’mon down with your gal pals and enjoy some festive cheer!

Don’t Rush the Future LIVE in the NOW!

Truly, there are few times more spectacular than Fall in New England..especially while we are having temperatures in the mid 60’s and the sky is vivid cobalt blue punctuated with blasts of Yellow, fire engine red, and clementine orange!

If I could I would BAN all Christmas and Winter decorations UNTIL BLACK Friday, (the day After Thanksgiving!) and demand that stores and catalogue’s QUIT rushing the Holiday season and let us bask in the glow of Fall for just a few uninterrupted weeks.  This is perhaps, NEVER GONNA HAPPEN, but WE here at POP continue to PUSH PINK and instead want to usher in the season of (panic & hectic) GIVING instead with a gentle nudge towards December’s fury….So This month of NOVEMBER, we encourage you to come in ONLY to think about Christmas, and instead shop for YOU! peruse our offerings for your loved one’s, certainly but shop for YOU! and have a libation with us on saturday night 12th while we slowly and surely contemplate the season to come with warm food and cold drinks..Look around and enjoy our latest collection of Incredibly inventive COOL STUFF and make a list of what you will eventually buy for some, and concentrate on YOU FIRST, other’s later…much like they tell you when giving airline instructions for the oxygen?!

Introducing some new stuff from our BRAND NEW LABEL….

CAMP!