Mardi Gras season starts in a couple of days, are you ready for it? Mardi Gras begins on the Twelfth Night, or the evening of January 5th. This is the time of costumes, masks, king cakes, parties and more. Here’s some ideas for things to get the party started!
Kings Cake PinOne of the funnest items celebrating Mardi Gras that we have here at The Garden Gates is the King Cake Pin by India Stewart Designs. Sure to be noticed this detailed pin has green and purple along with the gold for an exciting Mardi Gras display. Perfect to wear to parties, parades, out to dinner.
Rebirth Silk Tie by India StewartThe Rebirth Silk Tie by India Stewart features a phoenix Fleur de Lis design on it. The Fleur de Lis is a symbol of New Orleans, so it becomes a de facto symbol for Mardi Gras. 58 inches long and 100% silk, this tie is perfect for any man going to a a parade or party but doesn’t want to get into a costume. Stylish and elegant, they can be found at The Garden Gates. Also available in yellow and blue.
Flambeaux Torch Pin by India StewartCarried to light the way of night time parades, the flambeaux torch is a beautiful symbol of Mardi Gras. Be a keeper of the flame and wear it proudly!
Check out this great snap taken by our photo director Marc Roman Bravo of Pigasus, the Flying Pig Garden Statue.
Get your own Flying Pig Garden Statue here. Check out other cool animal garden statues here!
Post Katrina reconstruction at UNO’s The Cove. Created by The Garden Gates design team in collaboration with UNO’s Peter Prados. More pictures and videos soon!
Wondering what to do with the baby pointsettias?
Our Display Coordinator Emily just sent me this picture of a cute table display saying where she “used them this weekend for a Christmas dinner as name cards for the table/ take home gifts for the invitees.”
Oh no, It’s just a few days before Thanksgiving and you haven’t done any Christmas shopping yet. Don’t panic, there’s not really plenty of time for you to find the perfect gift but we have some ideas for you. Ok, maybe there are not the absolute top five, but these were some of the fun ideas we were kicking around the office this morning.
SANTA PANTS WINE HOLDERS (WINE NOT INCLUDED)
The only thing that could top the gift of giving booze would be giving booze in a super fun holiday themed manner. The Santa Pants Wine Holders would be the reigning champs in that department. Whimsical, silly, sure, but also memorable and a great conversation starter. We don’t sell wine here but would recommend Martin Wine Cellar here in Metairie.
LANDSCAPE CONSULTATION
Maybe a friend or family member keeps talking about redoing their backyard but it never goes beyond that. With a landscape consultation you can schedule one of our Landscape Architects to come by and take a look to see what kind of ideas they have to freshen it up. Practical, could be life changing and I can almost guarantee that this would be the only one of its kind under the tree. Call 877.780.6699 to set up an appointment!
JEWELRY
It’s almost cliche at this point but seriously, can you really go wrong with jewelry? We have beautiful pieces for all budgets, from fashionable and funky Bellissima Jewelry to the glamorous designs of Anna Beck. Her Beaded Crescent Moon Earrings have been flying off the shelves and on to the earlobes of the most fashionable Metairie women.
A Garden Statue
The Garden Gates carries some very cool and unusual garden statues by Campagnia International. Giant Garden Frog Statue? Check. Cat Statue? Check. Fluffy Dog Garden Statue? Check check check. But perhaps the funnest and most unusual of all would be the Totally Zen Frogs. The ultimate chilling frogs grooving out in the garden.
Bird Bath
Giving the gift of a birth bath is giving the gift of bird visitors all year round. Who could resist the idea of looking out their window to see our feathered friends frolicking in the water?
The Holiday Decorations are a wonderful addition to any home during the holidays. Please follow this guide to help extend the life of your Holiday decorations.
The Garden Gates of Metairie (& New Orleans) has lots of Poinsettias, come on by.
We just wanted to give a shout out and congratulate Funkychunky for appearing in the latest issue of Redbook. It all makes sense to us here at The Garden Gates, we love the mouth watering artisan flavors of Funkychunky. We actually have a hard time choosing which one is our favorite, the Funkychunky Chocolate Popcorn Bag, the Funkychunky Popcorn Box, and the Funkychunky Chocolate Popcorn Canister.
I’ve been spending time with walking in the mornings in my neighborhood, a beautiful section of New Orleans. lot of the things that I see reminds of stuff coming from The Garden Gates’ Home and Garden section. No, this isn’t the Home and Garden punk band from Cleveland, this is the home and garden that people dream about. My neighbor for instance has a new set of Fermob Bistro furniture. It looks like a Parisian cafe on his porch! He has some wonderful religious statues back there too, a Buddha Statue and a St. Francis of Assisi statue. I’m sure he loves his morning coffee back there.
As I continued my stroll I noticed that the neighbor next door also has a bunch of garden statues, but these are animal statues. His cat garden statue looks familiar because it is Cleo, carried at The Garden Gates. He has some bird baths too which are really wonderful, I’ve noticed various species splashing around in it, doing what birds do best. I am sure his wife and he have wonderful evenings enjoying all of this.
It takes a steady hand.
One of our favorite things in the store right now isn’t really a specific product, but the India Stewart display itself. Refreshed by our merchandiser and display coordinator Emily it breaths new life into an already exciting line of jewelry and home decor. I asked Emily about her influences and if she had a background in display design. She said she has always been interested in art but her formal training in architecture really was the inspiration in the display. Combined with the landscape architectural influence of The Garden Gates she created a pastoral and rolling environment for India Stewart’s designs to live and breath.
India Stewart loves to feature the things that inspire her, be it the creatures of her garden or the southern Louisiana nature that she has grown up around. This inspired Emily into creating sprawling landscapes alive with ladybugs, flamingos, dragonflies and even the Banana Leaf earrings. And of course this wouldn’t be New Orleans without an assortment of Fleur de Lis designs.
Some of the other unique items featured in the display are also featured on TheGardenGates.com, for example the Gold Leaf Painted Fleur de Lis Plaque (also featured on the cover of our 2011 Holiday Gift Guide). This cool plaque is hand painted so no two are exactly alike. Lots of earrings are featured, including earrings like the Snow Angel, Ladybugs, and the Calla Lily.
People are loving the new Holiday Gift Guide from The Garden Gates, and rightfully so. The 40 page catalog comes chock full of great ideas for the holiday season, from pre Christmas lighted Fraser Fir trees to the the ornaments that will hang on them and the gift ideas to go under.
Felix showing off his pride & joy.
The Garden Gates’ art director Felix Miralda says his favorite part was working with the photographer Marc Roman Bravo on the color palette to run with. A metallic copper color was what they focused on, and it is very visible on the various elements that flow through the catalog. When you flip through the pages the consistency is apparent. Marc Roman Bravo’s favorite part was working with Beth Harris (co-owner of The Garden Gates) on creating the product displays for him to shoot. The Garden Gates’ Marketing Director Alyse Mouledoux says her favorite part was both doing the research for the copy and just the process of creation, from the initial brainstorming sessions all the way through to opening it up from the box when it was hot off the presses. General Manager Sara Draper had the complex role of proofing it throughout the process, something we are all grateful for. She did a great job staying on top of all the revisions and changes.
The cover features the gold Fleur de Lis plaque by India Stewart, one of the many local New Orleans artists we feature here at The Garden Gates. Her work, mostly inspired by the nature and character of South Louisiana and the plants, birds, fish and other creatures that crawl around her garden. She loves it so much that she wants to share it with everyone through her art. Unique and beautiful she has items that are perfect for everyone. One of my favorites is the Nativity Scene Pin. It comes in both Silver Plate or Gold, and is a wonderful and illustrative expression of the nativity scene in all its glory.
I have to say that my sweet tooth has gotten the best of me and my favorite part of the catalog has to be the Sweet Treats section. Peppermint Bark makes an appearance, which is dark chocolate with natural peppermint oil and layered white chocolate on top of it. But wait! There’s more! Crushed peppermint candy sprinkled on top of it is the coup de grace on an already irresistible treat. You turn the page and you find Nam’s Bits, a bite sized chocolate cookie. Not in the catalog but now in stock is the Funkychunky Popcorn. A huge hit here in the office they area decadent mix of dark, milk, and white chocolates covering buttery caramel popcorn and almonds, pecans, and cashews. Incredible!
Other things featured are Himalayan candles, Nouvelle candles, Bellissima Jewelry, woodcut wreaths, Barr-Co., and Belle Notte Linens. If you haven’t received the catalog through the mail stop by The Garden Gates at 2918 Metairie Road, Metairie and pick one up and take a look around the store and garden center! Or you can always shop online 24 hours a day, seven days a week at our website TheGardenGates.com.
