Beggars Pouch Leather

UGG boots are not just your daughter’s fashion statement anymore.  This season UGG has come up with some hot styles that are sure to turn some heads.  The Classic Short and Talls are still the boot of choice for the young UGG fashionistas, but the Kona and the Endell are 2 hot styles that are really getting a lot of attention from ladies of all ages.

The Kona is part of the UGG surf collection which includes Kohala, Cove,  and Swell.  These all have the same footbed and are soft and shock absorbing to the foot.  Kona is a short boot with hook and lace shark teeth on the side for easy in-easy out fit.  These boots feel great from the moment you slide them on.

Endell is a sheepskin lined suede boot in both brown and black.  A side zip offers easy on-off convenience and the stacked leather heel gives you just the right height for stepping out.  2 decorative straps add style, while the UGG signature U gives the boot a great vocal point.  The UGG Australia name plate on the heel proves its the real deal.

Kona and Endell have been selling strong for the past month, and the Beggars Pouch has been very fortunate to get  a reorder for these 2 styles.  There are not many more of these to be had this season; they are in short supply and high demand, and we were just plain lucky to get more.  Check them out at our web site  www.BeggarsPouchLeather.com  and give us a call to order.

There are UGGs and there are UGGs…….but they are not just your daughters fashion statement anymore.

Hard to believe, but Sunday October 26 marks the 30th anniversary of the Beggars Pouch Leather in North Conway, New Hampshire.  How did that happen?  At this point in life it is getting really easy to say how the time really blows right by when you’re having fun, and believe it or not, after 3 decades, it still is fun.  Even after all these years it still is fun to make something you can be proud of.  It is still fun to greet our customers and work with them in finding the right gift.  It is still fun to come to work each day and spend the time with people you enjoy being with.  It may be work, but sure beats having a job.

I remember opening day really well.  The folks from North Country Fair stopped by with champagne, Mary and Hansjorg sent a rubber tree whose 4th or 5th generation offspring is still alive and well in our home greenhouse.  It was a Friday , and when we totaled out that evening we probably had taken in around $100.00,……….clearly a huge success right from the start.  Rene’ and I were 24 at the time, and things like business plans, health insurance, pension plans and 401Ks didn’t really mean all that much to us…..some of those things probably had not even been invented yet.    We just decided to open a shop where we could work together making leathergoods that we could be proud of.   I made the belts and she made the handbags and we teamed up together to make the wallets we sold.  The shop did well, but the traffic in North Conway back in 1978 was really seasonal;  you could close for a big part of the spring mud season until the summer people came.  Fall foliage was just a couple of weeks long and then it died right out until the snow came….if it came…..in time for Christmas.  We still continued to wander around New England working craft festivals to fill in the time and to pay the bills until 1994.

 Little by little the shop grew, Nancy came to work with us then Debbie, then Donna and so on.  The newest Donna marks the 38th employee here at the Pouch, and Ben is due to start this week, he will be #39.  We added boots and footwear for our customers, then jackets and hats, always mindful that we were a working leather shop, which is what we still are.  The products we made by in 1978 are still being done today, but  perhaps in an updated fashion.   We still make all the belts we sell, we still make a line of handbags in a variety of colors and we still make several styles of wallets for both him and her.  We are still a working leather shop.  People seem to be surprised when they realize we actually make these items we sell, but when you really think about it, they have to made somewhere, so why not here in the Village of North Conway by folks who have practicing their craft for over 30 years?

It really has been a great first 30.  I’m not sure where the next 30 will take us, but if all goes well, Rene’ and I will get there together, where ever that is.  The real secret to our success has been the most obvious……we still work together and still play together and still enjoy being together.   Only a few things get better with age, and wine and women are at the top of my list.  Maybe tomorrow evening I’ll take my partner-for-life out to dinner and enjoy her company with a good bottle of wine. 

Happy Anniversary.

The Autumn color is hitting it’s peak here in the mountains of NH and the past few nights have seen the temperatures dip down into the 20’s.  There is a chill in air that says the warm days of summer are over and it’s time to look forward to wood stoves, hot apple cider …..maybe with a little touch of rum……..and a Thanksgiving turkey and a few afternoons of football.

Put all these things together and it means it time for another season of UGG footwear to keep you warm and cozy while the weather outside turns cold.  This year the Beggars Pouch is offering more styles of UGG footwear than ever before…..last time I counted, we had 22 different styles of UGG’s in a whole lot of colors.  This really is quite the undertaking for a small shop like ours.  The hard part is figuring out where to put all these boots and then trying to remember where we put each style and color. 

Keeping up with the increased demand for UGG boots has really kept us busy.  Visitors to the Mount Washington Valley to see our fall foliage took quite a few pairs home with them;  Phone orders have been increasing  over the past few weeks, and the attention the website has been getting is way ahead of last year……  A special Thank You to all those neat customers who have been calling from the UK and Ireland……..Yes indeed, our little shop will ship UGGs anywhere.  New styles and colors for 2008 have been getting a tremendous response from our customers……the classics in grey have been a big hit,  the Endell has made a lot of ladies happy, and the Haskell for men has been a great surprise for us.

We have our scheduled UGG deliveries for each month thru April of 2009.   Different styles in new colors and all sizes will continue to arrive around the the second week of each month.   There has never been a better time to shop for UGG boots and shoes.  New and old styles have been greatly received by our customers, UGG products are in stock and ready for purchase, and there is just the right nip in the air that means it’s time for cozy warm footwear.

If your toes are feeling a little chilly right now, check out our website at www.BeggarsPouchLeather.com and give us a call at 603 356 2807…..when it gets cold out there in the real world, our UGGs will put a smile on your feet.

Each year about this time strange things start to happen in the town of Jackson NH.  Normally quiet homes and business take on new looks as the Fall season arrives and the Pumpkin People return for another visit.

Think about a cross between a stuffed scarecrow and a decorated Jack-O-Lantern, and that about describes a Pumpkin Person.  Add in a little humor or a little scariness and whole lot of creativity and you’ve got the whole scene.

This years creations were just great;  they made an afternoon’s drive around the village one of those “must do” activities for visitors and locals alike, and  had everyone talking about which one was their favorite.  The Beatles’ at the Jackson Village Inn was a traffic stopper;  Grey’s Anatomy up at Carter Notch Inn was delightful, right down to the tattoo on the Doc’s butt.  Dracula and his friends were at the Wentworth, and the New York Yankees were hanging around Pinkhams Reality…..no play offs……too bad…..NOT. 

The Pumkin People are one those little things that make you smile.   One of those little things that make this a really neat place to visit, and an even neater place to live.

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The Dansko Professional Clog in Felt Confetti has arrived at The Beggars Pouch Leather.  The crew has been having a grand time this morning doing the try-these-on dress-up fashion routine.  I’ve got to remember to click a few photos of them next time they all get silly.

The Professional in Felt Confetti is a Limited Edition special make-up style.  We ordered these beauties back in February for one delivery in September and for one delivery in October.  When they sell they are gone for the year, so if you have any interest in this style you have to act now.

Just in time for the Fall season, Dansko has combined the classic styling, comfort and support of the Professional Clog with the rich warm look and feel of Felt, done in a colorful confetti pattern…….a great look for the crisp evenings and lazy days of Indian Summer.

But remember…….these little beauties will not be available for long, so get yours soon.  Visit our web site at www.BeggarsPouchLeather.com and check them out……..in fact, check out all the great Dansko styles we have in stock.

A busy week just keeps getting better and better each day.  Dansko Fall styles have started to arrive and the crew is really quite excited.  Amoung the first new styles to appear are the Professionals in Leopard Print Patents.  These clogs are just not to be believed……….The classic styling of the Professional is combined with Leopard print in the shiniest of patents for a great new look for the fall.  The Beggars Pouch has stocked these in 3 new colors for 2008;  Grey, Brown and Red.    See them on our web site     www.BeggarsPouchLeather.com   but don’t wait too long to order your pair, because these are limited edition styles from Dansko.  We have them now and a few more will arive in September, but when they are gone, they are gone for good.  The response to the Leopards has been very strong and the size runs will not last too long.

Another Dansko limited edition arrived today, The Professional in Python Print.  2 great new colors Dark Brown and Graphite are in stock and ready to go.  Don’t forget……they are limited editions so grab them fast and enjoy wearing the newest look from Dansko this fall.

We have also added to our selectional of colors for the Professional Clog.  Dansko has just shipped us the Professional in Grey cabrio, Black Patent, Navy Patent and Claret Patent and Crimson Pull-up.  This means we now have 16 different Professionals to offer our customers. The Marcelle by Dansko is also available in 2 new colors, Black Patent and Claret Patent.Check these great new colors and styles out and give us a call at the shop to place your order.  If you’ve got feet, you need shoes, and Danskos are ones to make your feet  happy……..it’s good to have happy feet.

In another attempt to really enjoy the current century and all the techno gizmos that go with it, the Beggars Pouch Leather has purchased a GPS navigator to find our way around town.  We looked at a lot of different makes and models and decided to get a Garmin, and the little rascal is truely unbeliveable.  It plays music, takes phone calls, finds food and fuel and is more than happy to tell you exactly where to go and how to get there.  This is really the ultimate in traveling convenience.  Tap in an address and Garmin plots the route and announces each and every turn until you arrive at the checkered flag.  Just think, no more getting lost and asking for directions at Dunkin Donuts in strange cities, no more arguing with your wife about how to read a map and no more trying to fold the damn map so you can try  find the place you are going to. 

 If you have few dollars you don’t know what to do with, go shopping at the Beggars Pouch Leather.  If you still have a few bucks left, pick up a GPS unit and make your traveling a whole lot more fun.   Just tap in 2653 White Mountain Highway North Conway NH and you will find yourself at our front door.   If you want to navigate by coordinates, tap in   N 44*  03.127 ‘       W 71*  07.605′ .  The shop is open daily: stop by  anytime and smell the leather.

Here we are in the middle of a hot July day and UPS delivers 21 cases of UGG Boots.  Don’t get me wrong, I love UGG boots, but 90 degree days and sheepskin boots and clogs are still a bit at odds with one another.  Purchasing UGGs as your back to school shoes is great for my line of business, but strange at this point in my life.  The Beggars Pouch has carried UGGs for almost 20 years but it seems that the deliverys keep geting earlier  each year.  There was a time when the UGGs did not make their appearance until September, just in time for the Fall Foliage season, right about the time the air took on a chill in the evenings and you felt like reaching for a sweater.  We sold the boots from September through the winter, with sales finally slowing down with the onset of Spring and the appearance of sandals.  Now we have UGG sheepskin sandals and flip flops for the Spring and Summer.  Welcome to 2008.

The popularity of UGG  and the UGG Fashionistas have changed all that.  People have had such a hard time finding UGG products that they have become accustomed to purchasing them whenever they are available.  The demand for UGG products has outstripped production, making people snap up the styles and colors of their choice sooner and sooner each season.  The Beggars Pouch has UGG deliveries coming in each and every month.  New styles and new colors are on tap for 2008, and we are really glad to tell you that they have already started to arrive.

Yesterday marked the start of this years run when the UGG Classic Short and Classic Tall boots arrived.  New color for 2008 is a really beautiful slate grey in both the short and tall styles.   A new Classic Tall look is the Chocolate Baroque, which a regular chocolate tall done with a paisley-glitter pattern……….check it out on our website…….and get yours soon.  These are only available to us in small quantities so  shop early and snag these before they are gone.

The UGG Surf Collection is a new take on clogs and boots.  Oiled leathers and rich suedes are used to create a look of casual comfort.  These have a really soft, shock absorbing innersole that has the most unbelievable feel on the feet……UGG describes them as feeling decadent which just about says it all.   Until you slide your foot into one of these babies you just won’t believe how good a clog or boot can feel.  BE FOREWARNED; They can really put a smile on your feet.  But then again, what else would you expect from UGG?

The summer vaction season is here and the tourists have arrived with their sun screen and bug juice to fight off the black flies and mosquitos.  The tomatos are starting to turn red.  The bears haven’t found my blueberries yet, but that is just a matter of time.  The Fashionistas have started their summer shopping escapades, and the UGGs are in stock and ready for purchase at the Beggars Pouch.  If you are looking for UGGs, look no further we have them.  Stop by and try them on, or just give us a call and we will gladly ship some out to you.  It is an Olympic year…………..let the games begin. 

Rene’ is busy as a bee putting in the shop garden……………which of course means that I gathered the manure, compost and potting soil and brought it all to the shop. Next I dug up the plant beds and added all that good growing medium and tilled it all together by shovel, and then did the same thing to all the pots and flower boxes.

Then she-who-must-be-obeyed showed up and artfully arranged and planted the posies.

Nice work if you can get it…………and obviously she done got it

Rene’ and I found ourselves in Florence Italy a few weeks ago.  We spent 5 days there wandering the streets, drinking chianti and reading all the restaurant menus that Rene’ could find.  Just about every food serving establishment puts the menu on display outside the door and I got to tell you, she-who-must-be-obeyed did not miss one.  People ask me what we did on vacation and I quickly say “we read menus”.   Some people travel to Italy for the art work, and it was pretty impressive.  Some visit Italy for the character of the people and the country.  The people we met were wonderful and the area of Tuscany is quite beautiful.  Some go to experience the culinary arts of Italy.  I admit the food and wines were without a doubt fabulous.  But in the end, the one activity that sucked up the most time and energy was the menu reading.  Rene’ generally started this about 9 am and continued until we headed back to our hotel late at night.  It did not matter if we were hungry or not, did not matter if we had just eaten; no menu went unread.  It’s safe to say that several menus were read several times just out of confusion.   It would generally take her about an hour or two to narrow down her options for dinner.  No matter how good this place looked there was usually another restaurant just up the street, or only a few steps down that side alleyway…..and they all had a menu outside  just begging to be read.  It’s not an easy job reading menus for hours at a time and it sure does work up your appetite, especially when you stop to read so many danm menus that you get completely lost on the streets without any hope of finding that one place that had the one dish that sounded soooooooo good an our ago.  I kid you not, when people ask me what we did in Italy, I tell them I saw some great leather products in Florence, enjoyed the Tuscan countryside and took a lot of pictures of my wife reading restaurant menus.  That’s a vacation.