The 63rd Annual Retailer Excellence Awards have been announced and Port Washington’s own wit & whim is a contender!
Wit & whim, Port Washington’s philanthropic life & style shop, has been selected as a nationwide finalist for Gifts and Decorative Accessories’ 63rd Annual Retailer Excellence Award in Visual Merchandising.
The Gifts and Decorative Accessories’ Annual Retailer Excellence Awards recognizes retail achievement in several categories including Visual Merchandising, a natural fit for wit & whim, known for its innovative and engaging window displays.
Find out what's happening in Port Washingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The shop, located at 6 Carlton Avenue, donates 100% of its profits to a different charity every month, so shop owner, Laurie Scheinman must utilize creative, cost effective solutions to enhance her cutting edge design. In addition, three times a year Scheinman invites children, ages four to ten, to help craft window designs to reflect the spirit of the local waterfront community. In honor of Earth Day, children collected and recycled forty pounds of broken toy parts to form a pair of three foot w’s to represent wit & whim. Another time, the children beaded and colored seventies inspired Native American craft work that hung throughout the windows celebrating the fair trade goods sold at the shop.
Scheinman, ecstatic about the news wrote on her blog, “I can’t believe it, we’ve made it to the retail Oscars!” While her blog is sprinkled with humor she is quite humble about the honor, “I can’t believe we are a finalist among so many amazing and very well established stores! This is thrilling!”
Find out what's happening in Port Washingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Stay tuned, the winners will be revealed at a gala event on Sunday, August 17, 2014, at The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers during the NY Now trade show, the headline sponsor of the awards program.
For more information, Laurie Scheinman 516-944-9200, witandwhim@gmail.com.
