FIVE AREA BON-TON STORES LAUNCH IN-STORE “CLOSE TO HOME” SHOPS
TO SHOWCASE LOCALLY-SOURCED ITEMS
Local sourcing initiative features Pennsylvania makers, artisans and entrepreneurs
GREENSBURG, PA – April 27, 2017 – Five area Bon-Ton stores have launched new in-store “Close to
Home” shops that celebrate the best of Pennsylvania with a selection of specialty products and items
sourced from local makers, artisans and entrepreneurs. The shops are located at the Bon-Ton stores at
Westmoreland Mall in Greensburg, Uniontown Mall in Uniontown, Indiana Mall in Indiana, Cranberry
Mall in Cranberry, and Washington Crown Center in Washington.
Bon-Ton is part of the Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. family of department stores. The opening of these “Close to
Home” shops is part of a major regional expansion of the program which launched last fall. More than
200 different makers and small businesses are now featured in “Close to Home” shops in 145 stores
across 14 states. By the end of 2017, Bon-Ton plans to have “Close to Home” shops in approximately
175 department stores, representing two-thirds of their total locations.
“As the area’s hometown department store, we take great pride in showcasing products made right
here by businesses in our local communities and around Pennsylvania,” says Tenley Comunale, Store
Manager at the Bon-Ton Westmoreland Mall location. “Bon-Ton’s regional merchandising team has
carefully curated a selection of specialty products from area artisans that provide our customers with a
more personalized and localized hometown shopping experience.”
“As the area’s hometown department store, we take great pride in showcasing products made right
here by businesses in our local communities and state,” says Lisa Waltman, Store Manager at the BonTon York Galleria location. “Bon-Ton’s regional merchandising team has carefully curated a selection of
specialty products from Pennsylvania artisans that provide our customers with a hometown shopping
experience, and, with our ‘Close to Home’ Online Sourcing Fair, we’re excited to showcase even more
local makers.”
Makers and small businesses currently featured in the “Close to Home” shops include:
837North, Pittsburgh. Jamie Outrich is the architect behind 837 North Candle Co., which produces
signature fragrance blends inspired by different areas of the world using only pesticide-free soy from
local farms, zinc-free cotton wicks and USA-made glass. Jamie, an avid traveler, believes changing the
ambiance around you is a powerful tool in the balancing act of maintaining peace in your own
environment. As such, all of her unique blends evoke a sense of a specific place and connection to the
world around us.
A. Marsden Artwork, Pittsburgh. Araina Mardsen is a native Alaskan potter with Tlingit and Athabaskan
heritage. She grew up surrounded by amazing wildlife, unbelievable views, extreme weather and other
elements of Alaska’s Native American culture. She discovered her passion for pottery while traveling the
country, and landed at Indiana University of Pennsylvania to pursue her Master's Degree in Fine Arts
while she continued to refine her technique. She now dedicates herself full time to her ceramics
business.
Jenna Vanden Brink Ceramics, Pittsburgh. Jenna Vanden Brink Ceramics offers handmade, functional
ceramic wares. Made from start to finish in Pittsburgh, each piece is designed and created to bring joy to
the user. Jenna takes pride and finds joy in the communal component of her work, which is used to
share meals, to give as gifts and to facilitate acts of hospitality. She also works full-time as a ceramic
artist and teacher.
KLoRebel, Pittsburgh. 100% Hand drawn + handcrafted, KLoRebel Art is the work of native Pittsburgh
artist, Kirsten Lowe-Rebel. She has expanded her drawings into cuffs, tea towels, and pillows.
Candlebox Co., Erie. In 2015, Leah Show chose to turn her passion into a profession. What began as a
weekend hobby quickly blossomed into a full-scale business with an e-commerce site and a successful
storefront in Erie. After producing a number of handmade soy candles as event favors for close friends
and family, orders starting pouring in from all over the country and from outside of her personal
network. A West Virginia University fashion design and merchandising graduate, Leah Show draws on
several years’ experience in retail management to provide a product made with love that punctuates
important and intimate moments of life.
Dragonfly Lake Scents, Erie. Dragonfly Lake Scents was founded in 2012 in Mioshee Greer’s kitchen as a
way to help her daughter care for her sensitive skin. As her skin cleared, friends and family asked what
products she was using, and started requesting to buy them. Mioshee has added partner Tenise
Monterio, and the business has evolved into a line of bath and body products that use ingredients such
as local beer and wine, herbs, and raw goats milk from in and around Erie, as well as sustainably-sourced
olive, coconut and palm oils. (Available in June.)
Erie Apparel, Erie. In 2014, Erie Apparel co-creators (and brothers-in-law) Greg Straub and Peter
Demichele set out with just one simple design to show their love for their hometown of Erie and its
surrounding areas. In just a few years since, Erie Apparel’s line has grown to more than 75 designs,
available online as well as through local retailers and regional events. With plans to open their own
storefront soon, Greg and Peter use only premium materials in their unique, ever-expanding line of
shirts and outerwear.
Mud & Maker, Pottsville. Providing unconventional pottery for unconventional people, Stephanie
Premich’s love for clay is ethereal. She grew up playing in the dirt and rivers in rural Pennsylvania, so it’s
been a natural transition to “play in the mud” as an adult. She finds inspiration everywhere from vintage
scraps of leather and lace to the natural mountains, rivers and forests that surround her home, creating
pottery pieces with natural, rustic aesthetic which is complemented by bright, glossy glazes.
Papyrusaurus, Erie. Ashley Aranda has dabbled in everything from illustration, portrait painting and
photography to sewing and knitting. After getting married, buying a house, having two kids and getting a
giant dog, art took a backseat. Finally, she busted out some paper and glue and set to making her first
porcupine ball. She never expected her little paper experiments would turn out to be an actual business
that supports her family, but that’s exactly what Papyrusaurus has become.
Susquehanna Glass, Columbia. In 1910, Albert Roye installed a glass-cutting machine in a small shed
behind his house and opened the Susquehanna Glass Factory. Two years later his brother, Walter, joined
the business. The operation grew, eventually moving to its current location in Columbia – a stone’s
throw from the original shed where it all began. Today, through a tradition that combines old world
craftsmanship with modern manufacturing technologies, the family-owned and operated business
flourishes under the leadership of third-generation owner Walt Rowen, the grandson of Walter Roye.
The Painted Lilly, Lancaster. Jenny Alexander started her career as an artist in the performing arts arena
as a professional magician traveling the world performing stage magic. Her design aesthetic has been
born from a passion for history, travel, entertainment and vintage illustration. The places that she has
visited inspired her with their architecture, local flavors and colors. She crafts each set of her coasters by
hand in small batches in a studio at her family's rural farm just outside of Lancaster.
Wood and Willow, Parkesburg, PA. Todd Brade comes from a long line of woodworkers including his
grandfather and father. In fact, Todd still proudly uses some of his grandfather's tools. When his children
were teenagers, Todd took up wood turning, enrolled in a local class and was instantly hooked. What
began as a hobby, now is a passion for Todd. He finds great satisfaction in taking a raw piece of wood
and coaxing the hidden beauty to the surface to create wooden wine stoppers.
As the “Close to Home” program continues to grow, Bon-Ton will actively seek to include a broader
selection of custom-designed and produced clothing and jewelry, artwork and other one-of-a- kind
locally made items. New items will be added frequently and seasonally so the shops will always have
fresh and unique offerings. The retailer just closed its first successful Online Sourcing Fair which invited
local makers, artisans and entrepreneurs with established businesses interested in having their products
sold in “Close to Home” shops to submit their products online. The retailer plans to hold future Online
Sourcing Fairs as part of an ongoing effort to develop more relationships with local makers and curate a
broader selection of local product offerings.
Open year round in-store and online, the “Close to Home” shops are part of the retailer’s mission to
serve as a hometown store destination that reflects the tastes and shopping preferences of its local
communities.
About The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc.
The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc., with corporate headquarters in York, Pennsylvania and Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
operates 262 stores, which includes 9 furniture galleries and four clearance centers, in 25 states in the
Northeast, Midwest and upper Great Plains under the Bon-Ton, Bergner's, Boston Store, Carson's, ElderBeerman, Herberger's and Younkers nameplates. The stores offer a broad assortment of national and
private brand fashion apparel and accessories for women, men and children, as well as cosmetics and
home furnishings. The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. is an active and positive participant in the communities it
serves. For further information, please visit thebontonstoresinc.com or the company’s web site at
bonton.com. Join the conversation and be inspired by following Bon-Ton on Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, Pinterest and the fashion, beauty and lifestyle blog, #LoveStyle.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Christine Hojnacki, The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. 414.347.5329
[email protected]
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