The store, which opened its doors to shoppers today, will be open from now until December 23. It will offer a variety of gift choices, from jewelry to scarves and art pieces. All of the items being sold are created by craftsmen from the Buffalo area, giving them their own unique appeal (as opposed to the standard gifts one could find at any shopping mall or big box store). It also offers a simpler, more accessible option for employees of the downtown offices and businesses to do their holiday shopping.
The Urban ARTisans group began over two years ago as a collaboration between Paul Morgan of Avalon Scarves, Anne Bliss of Bliss Designs, Chary Robbins of Illusions 3rd Eye Productions and Nicole Ambarchian of Gem & I Custom Jewelry. Since then, the group has been making their way around downtown Buffalo, exhibiting their many unique choices for gifts.
Their work has been featured in the past at several office locations, including One HSBC Center, Waterfront Village Center, the Rath Building, the Larkin at Exchange Building and the Key Center.
The artisans chose to have this pop-up store at the HSBC Center this year to make it easier for customers to find them, rather than moving from location to location.
The boutique at One HSBC will be "a virtual glass jewel box carved into the marble lobby of the HSBC Center." This semi-permanent store will be a more convenient way for Buffalonians, and especially the employees of HSBC, to get their holiday shopping done.
The store's hours will be Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Urban ARTisans is also offering "private" shopping parties to groups of 8 to 12 people in the early evenings if special arrangements are made.
For more information about the store and Urban ARTisans, visit their website or send an email to info@UrbanArtisans.net with questions.
