Anna's of Lakeland, Lakeland, Fl.
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Santa Visits Anna's in 1999

9/9/2012

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Our Christmas Party on Thanksgiving Day meant the appearance of Santa Claus. Anna, age 9, is seen here with her little brother, Steven, age 5,  in 1999. Jeez, were they cute! (Anna is 22 now and Steven is 18).

We did the party for five years starting in 1995. It was very, very popular. But it was kind of hard on the staff having to work Thanksgiving Day. And Anna and Steven thought Thanksgiving meant eating turkey about 11 a.m. and going to work!

It took a lot of planning and work. Do you remember the color postcards we sent announcing the event? Anna was always in the picture and later we added Steven. We were open from about 3-8 p.m. Most places were closed back then. One year we had a 40-yard line from the store through the parking lot, waiting for us to open.

The party quickly became a tradition for some families, eating turkey dinner and then heading to Anna’s while the men watched football!


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A bevy of Boyds Bears

9/8/2012

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The grand daddy of collectibles. The king … or shall we say The Head Bean Hisself. This line of plush and resin figurines topped them all for nearly a decade. Anna’s was one of the largest sellers of Boyds in the nation.

There were Dollstones and Folkstones and billions of plush bears. One lady brought pictures to us. She bought a small second house and decorated it with Boyds. Seriously. It was amazing. She could have charged for tours.

The creator of Boyds, Gary Lowenthal, was a retailing genius. The quality in a $25-$30 Boyds piece was amazing. We devoted a huge area of the store to Boyds, and it was worth it. We had a monthly Boyds night for years and it was typically well attended.

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Win a $20 coupon to Anna’s

9/7/2012

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Do you remember Merchants Walk? Lake Miriam? Boyds Bears? So do we! 

And this being our 20th year in Lakeland, we figured it was worth celebrating and taking a peek back. We know your memories of Anna’s are “priceless.” However, in this case we’re giving a $20 coupon for your recollections in writing.

We love hearing your stories about how Anna’s is your favorite store, or how it’s a shopping tradition for friends and relatives.  Now all you have to do is write your story.

To submit your entry just hit the add comment buttom at the end of any post.

All submissions are due before Sept. 20.

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We love hearing your stories about how Anna’s is your favorite store, or how it’s a shopping tradition for friends and relatives. Now all you have to do is put your memory in writing, and we will give you a $20 coupon to Anna’s. Just add a comment

9/6/2012

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For years, our decorator and now manager, Lori, spent hours and hours perfecting Christmas tree displays. Perfecting is the right word. They were incredible! 

All kinds of themes. All kinds of colors. Lori and Jan (the owner) ordered the decorations for the trees sometimes a year in advance. It was a LOT of work, but it was tremendous fun.

People would come just to see the trees. They would start asking about the displays in the summer. The giant 12-foot Christmas tree Lori decorated every year took days to finish and was always jaw-dropping.

Did you have a favorite tree? Enter our writing contest and tell us about it.


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Well, with our 20th anniversary this year we pulled out the old photo albums and the memories came in a flood. We thought it might be fun to share. Please add your comments!

9/5/2012

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We were at Merchants Walk for 12 years. Hand Made opened in downtown Lakeland in 1992 and moved to Merchants Walk in 1993. Anna’s Attic opened a few years later and featured antiques. 

Over time, we began featuring collectibles and moved away from crafts and antiques. Around 2002 we kind of quietly changed our name to “Anna’s,” dropping the “Attic” because we thought it reminded people of antiques.

People still call us Anna’s Attic, though. That’s fine with us – so long as you keep finding us!

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The Beginning....20 years ago!

8/21/2012

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It wasn’t that long ago that Jan got this nutty idea – a regular occurrence for her – for a craft store in downtown Lakeland. 

That was 20 years ago, in 1992.

She moved the store after one year to Merchants Walk … then to Lake Miriam and finally to Lakeside Village.

The store started as “Hand Made,”  a “Year-Round Crafts Show.” It evolved into Anna’s Attic. Eventually we dropped the “Attic” and just called ourselves Anna’s. Of course, some folks still call us Anna’s Attic and that’s fine with us!

Well, we got to thinking (I know, dangerous stuff for us). Anyway, 20 years is a significant number of years for our little endeavor. God has blessed us mightily with some terrific workers, and those of you who have shopped at Anna’s are our friends.

So, we figured we’d have an anniversary party! Three parties to be exact.  Details are forthcoming, but mark your calendars for Sept. 20, Oct. 20, and Nov. 20.
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    What's happening

    Reminisce with us as we prepare for our 20 year anniversary parties!

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