Life on Main Street

Summer has arrived in Blacksburg, and with it comes new students, great community events, and (mostly) beautiful weather. We at Campus Emporium want to make sure you have all the Hokie gear you need for a great summer.
With temperatures creeping into the 90’s, keeping cool is a must. Wearing lightweight and breathable clothing can help you beat the heat, like our VT Inferno Sleeveless Shirt for guys, or our adorable VT Ruffled Tank and Hokie Heart Tank for ladies.

Another great warm weather choice is Under Armour– its lightweight moisture transporting fabric keeps you dry, and some garments even offer UV protection. We’ve just received a shipment of Virginia Tech Under Armour Catalyst shirts, which are made from recycled water bottles! Hop over to our VT Under Armour shop to shop our latest men’s and women’s styles.

When dressing for the heat, don’t forget your feet! Keeping your feet cool can help you feel cool all over, so air out those piggies! We’ve got two great suggestions for you: our new VT Rhinestone Flip Flops and our insanely popular VT Piro Shoes. For men and women, Piro shoes offer super lightweight comfort and ventilation. A special mesh in the sole also prevents the growth of odor causing bacteria, keeping you feet fresh. After a summer of hitting the pavement, simply throw them in the washer to brighten them back up.

Although it’s important all year round, summer is definitely the time for protecting yourself from the sun. Wearing a hat, like one of our Virginia Tech Visors, and a pair of quality sunglasses is a great start to staying safe from the sun. The most effective form of protection is sunscreen. Doctors recommend you wear at least SPF 15 every day, but you should definitely increase your protection in the summer. Believe it or not, Campus Emporium’s got you covered there, too! We now carry small bottles of VT Sunscreen for summer festivals and game days so Hokies don’t go home with faces matching their shirts.

Our last bit of advice for beating the heat is to stay hydrated. Water is the best– add lemon if you need flavor– and drinking it cold can help lower your body temperature. Keep water handy all day long with our Virginia Tech Camelbak Water Bottle to help you remember to drink. CamelBaks are BPA free, spill-proof and dishwasher safe and feature an easy to use bite valve. They’re a little pricier than cheapo bargain bottles, but worth every penny.

Now that you’re ready for summer in Blacksburg, head out of the A/C for one of our great community events. On July 17th from 9-2 is Art At the Market, where local artists will be displaying and selling their artwork near our new Farmer’s Market. There will also be breakfast served– don’t miss it!
On August 6th and 7th is Steppin’ Out, our largest event of the year. Over 150 artists, crafters and countless food vendors flood the streets of downtown Blacksburg with amazing merchandise and munchies. This year is the event’s 30th anniversary, so it’s sure to be the biggest yet! T-Shirts are now available at select downtown merchants including Campus Emporium.

It looks like we’re finally going to get some sun here in Blacksburg. Thank goodness- we were all starting to get a little grumpy (and pale) around here! It’s amazing the effect weather can have on your mood. The warm nights are bringing people to the streets of Downtown Blacksburg, including many visitors from out of town. We have been staying open later than usual, glad for the customers and their cheery dispositions.

Our managers are wrapping up their major buys for the year, and with that comes a pile of purchase orders for new Virginia Tech clothing and gifts. We’re excited to offer some new lines this year, and are fine tuning some of our existing merchandise. We thank you for your suggestions and requests and have done our best to accommodate them all. We’ve added tall sizes in some of our VT menswear and plus sizes in our women’s department.

We are adding some fun new designs in clothing, like Hello Kitty, and are revisiting some of Virginia Tech’s vintage logos.

Of course adding new stuff means getting rid of old stuff. We’ve lowered prices on tons of our Virginia Tech merchandise to make room for our new arrivals. Check out our sale page for some great deals!

There are BIG things on the horizon for Campus Emporium in the next year or two. Stay tuned to see find out what we’re doing to be the best Hokie Gear store around town and online. Accept no imitations- we are your One Stop Hokie Shop, your Unbookstore, and your Hokie Heart of Downtown Blacksburg!

‘Til next time,
GO HOKIES!

We’re cleaning out our basement (again) in hopes of better organizing our supplies. Running a store involves a lot of stuff like clothes racks, shipping bags and boxes, pegs, tools, slat wall, and a boatload of those blaze orange bags you see walking up and down Main Street. Previously we organized our basement using the Pile Method. There were piles of fixtures, piles of fabric, piles of mannequins, piles of boxes. There were even piles of piles.

You see we’ve been in this building a long time- from way back in the Partyrama days- so we’ve accumulated years of, well, crap. All of it is arguably useful- we might need a full-size decorative King Tut sarcophagus someday- but we’ve decided to let a little of it go.

Here’s a brief list of what we’ve discovered in our excavation:

1 hat tree

2 Santa’s helper suits

1 antique sewing machine

3 packs of fake blood

1 King Tut

assorted boxes of ribbon

1 bag of styrofoam heads

732 boxes of pegs

1 box of squiggly pom-pom material in neon pink

1 christmas tree woman- yes, a christmas tree in the shape of a woman

2 cookie jars

1 crock pot

2 space heaters

1 box of tiaras

1 puke-yellow phone

3 instructional videos for theatrical makeup

4 hairy spiders

1 porthole to another dimension

and Jimmy Hoffa.

So you see we can’t possibly have skeletons in our closets- there hasn’t been any room!  We’re actually overwhelmed by the newly found free space (and the YMCA will soon be overwhelmed with a truckload of weirdo stuff), so we’re tossing around ideas as to what to use it for. Of course “bar” was blurted out first. Followed by “ball pit” and “bowling alley”. I’m voting for showers and bunk beds. I think it would make game weekends easier if we just slept downstairs.

With the start of a new year and the lingering lackluster economy, we encourage you to clean out your basement and closets. Find a new use for that old junk, have an epic yard sale, or donate to someone in need. It’s liberating, thrifty, and green.

Unless you find fake blood. Then it’s more red.

We’re already a week into 2010, marking Campus Emporium’s 15th year of doing our thing. While we’re very proud of where we’ve come from and (almost) everything we’ve done, we can always find ways to improve ourselves, both as a business and as individuals.

As a store we always strive to stay grounded and connected. We don’t have customer service agents in India. Hell, we don’t even have voice mail (though we may work on that one). We don’t have scanners on our registers. We hand-write and fax all of our purchase orders.

While that may seem out-of-date or inefficient to some, we see it as a means of staying connected to our customers and our business. We don’t want to get lost in the cold technology of modern retail.

Ever been in a store where the registers “go down”? Not gonna happen at Campus Emporium. We have spares. They may ding, sputter, and click, but they work.

We don’t check stock in a database. We walk downstairs and look.

When you place an Internet order, your order is filled by Connie or John, by hand on the sales floor (you’ll meet them later), not a robot in an echoing warehouse.

There are just some things that should be done the old way. We aren’t Wal-Mart, nor do we strive to be. We’re a family-owned store on Main Street. We want Main Streets everywhere to survive their fights with big box stores, so we hold on to what makes us “Main Street”. Screw the new way if the old way works better.

That being said, there are some new developments in the world of retail we’re embracing. We’re slowly becoming more comfortable with this whole blog thing. And Facebook. And I think we finally figured out what “tweeting” is. We LOVE the idea of social marketing and interaction, because it’s just a new-fangled way of staying Main Street.

We can show you- through photos, videos, and blog entries- why we call ourselves “The Unbookstore”. You can see the face of the person who’ll be packing your web order. You can catch a glimpse of life in Blacksburg. You can get to know us- all ten or fifteen of us- and most importantly, we can get to know you.

“Campus Emporium” is a business. We try to make money. Most of the time we do well enough to keep everyone afloat, and we’re thankful for that. But that’s not why we’re here.
Our little group of oddballs is here for much more than selling t-shirts. We’re here to share and better our lives. We know that every person has a great story to tell that deserves to be heard- the t-shirts are just a way in.

I know it sounds all Oprah, but it’s true. Take it from me. I was rescued from a soulless job at a soulless company, where I was doing a soulless version of what I do now. We had scanners, and voice mail, and databases and SKUs and meetings and motivational posters and name tags- and ZERO FUN. The customers were nameless and faceless, as were the employees. There were dress codes and scripts and planograms. No one had to think and no one had to care.

Fast forward nearly four years and here I sit in jeans and a Hokie shirt with no name tag on. I don’t have a flow-chart ready for how we’re going to do inventory and we don’t have a pre-made Happy New Year sign package to put up around the store, but I wouldn’t go back to that place for all the money in the world. For all their planning and organization, they lost touch with what’s truly important- their community and their customers.

When I come to work here I’m truly seen. And heard. And when I meet you in the store, I’ll see you, too.

So I guess if we HAD to declare a New Year’s Resolution it would be to use some of these new-fangled technologies to stay connected with what really matters- you. It may not all be about football or t-shirts, but neither is life!

So stay tuned for some new things from Campus Emporium. Bear with us, though- we’re old school. In the meantime, talk to us. We’re on Facebook, Twitter, our Blog, and email (support@campusemporium.com, fanpics@campusemporium.com). Oh-and we still have phones. And a mailman.

Happy New Year!

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the shop
Not a person was stirring, all came to a stop;
The hoodies were folded and stacked with care,
The carpets were vacuumed (road salt everywhere!);
The employees walked home to rest in their beds,
While visions of bowl wins danced in their heads;

The owners sat down to a much needed nap,
With their beloved Basenjis curled up in their lap,
When down at the shop there arose such a clatter,
They drove right over to see what was the matter.
Through the front doors they flew like a flash,
Tore open the registers and counted the cash.

The fluorescents with their vibrating glow
Gave the luster of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to their work-weary eyes should appear,
But a maroon and orange sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,
With a fat bearded driver, so lively and quick,
They knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

Faster than Ryan Williams his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;
“Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!”

As fast as the wind they tore out of the store,
The owners hoped there was no poop on the floor,
So high above Main Street the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full Hokie gear, and St. Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on my roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

I lept from my bed at the magical sound,
When down the chimney came St. Nick with a bound.
He was dressed in maroon, from his head to his toes,
With VT logos sewn all over his clothes;
A bundle of gifts he had flung on his back,
With a large VT logo on the side of the sack.

His eyes — how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, had he been drinking sherry?
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a big ol’ beer belly,
That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his neck,
He asked me softly, “You like Virginia Tech?”;
I chuckled and said, “Nope, I’m a Wahoo.”
He grinned and bellowed, “Well, no gifts for you!”,
And laying a finger aside of his nose,
Laughing maniacally, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like heat seeking missile.
But I heard him exclaim, as he pointed at me,
“If you want presents on Christmas, then root for VT!”

On behalf of the Hokie Bird and all gobblers everywhere, Campus Emporium begs Hokie fans around the world to spare the lives of our feathered friends this Thanksgiving. Each year billions of innocent turkeys meet their Maker throughout the holiday season, and we say it’s time to stop the slaughter (or just slaughter something else).

Without further ado, Campus Emporium is proud to announce its support of G.O.B.B.L.- Gibleted Objectors to Birds Becoming Leftovers. G.O.B.B.L. was founded in 2006 by a small flock of friends troubled by the annual cooking and devouring of their brethren. Rather than live in fear and denial, the flock decided it was time to take action.

Among G.O.B.B.L.’s most notable achievements are the Million Beak March on Washington, the Cranberry Sauce Boycott of 2007, and several organized “prison breaks” from major poultry farms across the country.

This year G.O.B.B.L. has decided to use the media to spread its message, launching a multi-million dollar ad campaign advocating the consumption of ham over turkey. A spokespig for S.L.O.P (Saving Lives of Pigs) could not be reached for comment.

Campus Emporium has joined forces with G.O.B.B.L. to advocate the consumption of alternative meats for the Holiday season. May we offer the following suggestions…

• Ham. Pigs are cute, but unfortunately are very tasty. Serve it up on our Stadium Platter.
• Venison. Bag one while wearing ourVT Hunt Club Tee.
• Beef. Burgers anyone? It’s never too cold to grill!
• Fish. It’s healthy and delicious, especially in stick form. And kids love ‘em. too!
• Tofu. Errr… Ummm… Might we suggest a wine to pair with it? Get something with an angry-looking animal on the label. And get two of them.
• Ice cream! Hell, you only go around once.

If you would like to join G.O.B.B.L. in its efforts to save the turkeys, show your support by wearing one of these great tees…

DOWNTOWN TAILGATE!

Friday September 18th 6-9pm on Draper Road and College Avenue
Come downtown to celebrate the night before the Nebraska versus Virginia Tech Football Game.

• Family fun for all ages and for fans of both teams!
• Featuring DJ Kerry Taylor playing music for all!
• Iron Hokietron, Beco Ball Tailgate Games, Party NRV Inflatable bouncers
• ESPN Blacksburg Live Remote and “Show your team Spirit” contest
• Great Food, Beer and wine garden
• First Down Bungee run sponsored by Tech Bookstore
• Cheer Squads from both teams and much much more!

The Downtown Tailgate is another GREEN EVENT!
Visit the Downtown Merchants page for more information.

Campus Emporium is always proud to support local Blacksburg artists and businesses, but we are especially excited to introduce you to author, teacher, and friend Dave Deshler. Dave, co-founder of local youth education organization SEDS, has just published his latest book, “The Fossil, The Boy, & The Pen” and we want to share it with you!

“The Fossil, The Boy, & The Pen” is a charming and inspirational story about a pivotal experience in Dave’s life- an encounter with a young boy, Samuel, that left him forever changed. The experience led ultimately to the creation of SEEDS and a portion of the proceeds from the book will provide support for its programs.

Campus Emporium is proud to offer this limited edition, spiral bound, pre-production copy signed by author Dave Deshler in our Blacksburg store, as well as a corresponding line of adult and youth tee shirts. Both will be available soon, so call for availability.

“The Fossil, The Boy, & The Pen” is not Dave’s only venture as an author– watch for the reissue of his first book “The Boy Who Flinched”, and future books in “The Boy Who…” series.

Wanted to let you guys know about another great Hokie Blog- TechSuperfans. Head on over to stay up to date on all things Virginia Tech and be the best fan you can be!

Frank (Civil Engineering, Class of ‘83) of Hogs4Hokies was kind enough to send us these photos of his sweet bike.












The Hokie Hog rides in memory of the 32 victims of the April 16, 2007 tragedy at Virginia Tech. Money raised by Hogs4Hokies supports scholarships created in the victims’ names.
Please visit www.hogs4hokies.org for information about the Hogs4Hokies Spirit ride. This year’s ride is May 2nd and will travel from Manassas, VA to Blacksburg. Sign up to ride along or- if your Hog’s “in the shop”- just send a check to support the cause. Frank is also offering framed photos of the Hokie Hog with proceeds going to the scholarships.

Thanks to Frank and all who participate in Hogs4Hokies. We’ll be watching for you on the road!