CHART metalworks, Wear Your World: Cape May, NJ

Hi Everyone,

We're trying to get back to regular posts, we accumulated a lot to tell in the last few months, now the trick is to just find the time to tell it...

It all comes to scheduling... so I'm committing myself to three blogs a week, check in regularly and if you notice I'm slacking, give me a holler at the studio, 207 221 6807, and tell me what's what. Here's what we're thinking:

Monday Chart Stories: so many interesting stories behind the pieces our great customers choose, from points of proposals (ladies get your romantic fix here), fav fishing spots to where gramp built that camp, locations from South Africa to North Carolina to the West Coast and the old Eastern Bloc...

Wednesday Wear Your World: find out where to find us next, all the great new retail partners featuring our goodies from Cruz Bay, St. John to Boston, MA to Marblehead, OH...

Friday Fill Ins: all the rest thats left to say and I typically have a lot to say.

And yes, I am amazingly affectionate of alliteration...

Today though, I'm going to back up and make mention of a great new spot we're located at in Cape May, NJ. Let's Start with a bit of history and background on this great historic coastal community.

The same year that the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth, 1620, a Dutch captain, Cornelius Jacobsen Mey, was exploring the Delaware River and upon discovering this most southern point of current day New Jersey, he decided to name the peninsula Cape Mey, after himself. The spelling was later changed to Cape May. More than a century later in 1761 Cape May became the first seashore resort in America.

During the Victorian Era, Cape May was considered on of the top ten vacation resorts in the United States. Because of this, Cape May has a large Victorian heritage, evident in several hundred beautifully manicured houses throughout the city.

As of recent, Cape May has enjoyed a major renaissance. Many Victorian structures have been restored. Today small gingerbread houses stand beside magnificent Victorian showplaces.

If you're ever in the Cape May, NJ area, stop by and check us out at Sea Star Boutique.

The Sea Star Boutique is part of a cooperative mall called The West End Garage. The mall offers a cornucopia of treasures - you'll find fine art, estate jewelry, antiques, vintage clothing, and a unique selection of handmade products created by local Cape May artists and artists and artisans from around the world.

Their product line is much like the “gingerbread” on the historic homes in Cape May - it's adornment for you and your home. Searching a wide range of mediums, the purveyors of Sea Star Boutique look for items that are unique to offer their customers. How fitting then that they invited us to be part of their product line!

Check them out online: www.seastarboutique.bigcartel.com, or at the West End Garage, 484 Perry St., Cape May, NJ

We're very pleased to be partnered with the Sea Star Boutique!

See you next week!

CHART metalworks. Wear you world, tell your story. What is yours?

Whirlwind of Activity

Well hi all, how are you?

It's been a bit since we've hit the blog and I apologize for that, but we've been out straight. If your asking why, check out that last post of ours from February, 17th... OMG, it's been 2 months... man that flew by! So anyway, the last blog I'm referring to is the Coastal Living feature, yup our first bit of National Press. It was great and brought us to another level and we're just now coming up for air!

Amongst all the orders, here's what else we've been up to in the mean time.

In March we attended our first wholesale trade show ever, The New England Products Trade Show! We had a great show opening 9 new accounts across New England... more info to come on them soon! We also won a Best New Product honorable mention for our belt buckle.

We established a connection in the great lakes to assist in opening accounts there! So far we have two new Great Lakes locations. Look for us in The Boardwalk and The Lobster Trap in Put-In-Bay and Rudder's in Catawba Ohio. Look for more Great Lakes locations soon.

We were featured in a great piece in the Portland Press Herald's Sunday Telegram over Easter. Check out our story, Keyes: Charting a course in business, life from the audience section.

We were also featured in the Bold As Love blog. The author, a recent customer, loved her piece so much that she decided to write a wonderful piece about us.

So, that's a bit of what we've been up to. We're preparing for the Spring and Summer orders, don't forget to get yours in soon, we're now accepting orders for Mother's Day and Graduations! Find great idea here.

Wear your world, tell your story. What is yours?

CHART story

Today we celebrate a selection short but sweet CHART stories... Enjoy! We've got some great Valentine's Day stories coming soon, we'll post after Sunday, don't want to ruin the surprise!

We made a bronze zipper pull a while back for Amy, a mother of two. It features Glidden Point of New Castle, Maine. To some Glidden Point represents great oysters, to Amy it represents the piece of Maine to which she moved back from Massachusetts to raise her two kids.

For Marcel, a summer time Bangor resident, we made a St. John belt buckle where he winters.

Kahsi, a Portland resident, received a great medium silver pendant on leather cord of Castine to celebrate where she grew up. She liked it so much she gifted her sister a similar piece for Christmas!

For Kelly, a woman from Windham, she received a ring featuring a historic chart of Belize. Belize is where she was married.

Our friend Jen, a very talented South Portland photographer, you can view some of her work here, gifted a large silver pendant on sterling choker to of Scituate, Massachusetts to her aunt. It features the seaside cliffs as a memorial to where Jen's cousin is buried.

There are many stories to tell!

Wear Your World. Tell Your Story. What's Yours?