Essentials/Blog

Visit ShopEssentials.net to see all the NEW Barbapapa and Babar product. Soooo cute!

[Read more →]

We admit that we’re “suckers” for packaging, and with an 8-year-old taste-tester in the family, we managed to find candy that meets both our aesthetic needs, and our guy’s sweet tooth. Visit our Amherst store for a selection of some of the cutest and tastiest candies we could find. Massive lollipops, SKY Bars, French chew [...]

[Read more →]

We love critters. We can go completely overboard with cards featuring animals wearing outfits and saying funny things. We waste too much time on cute overload. It makes sense that we couldn’t resist these guys, who fill the store with squirrely love. Cuddly, even in hardwood, these two are beloved by everyone in the store. [...]

[Read more →]

We put these up at ShopEssentials.net and sold through an entire batch of the black-and-white tea towels within the first hour. Sheesh! We still have a bunch in stock, but that won’t last for long the way our customers are responding. Check them out here. Buy them online or at the Northampton AND Amherst stores.

[Read more →]

After a long absence, we finally received our shipment of Mighties. These magnets are coveted by our regular Essentials shoppers and rightly so. So small and powerful, these little guys can secure up to 12 sheets of paper on to a metal surface. We have limited stock online now, and much much more in the [...]

[Read more →]

We just added around 20 new kinds of bento boxes at Japanistic.com. Two-levels, one-level, with chopsticks, with forks, and more! Check ‘em out!

[Read more →]

Yippee! Whisky Stones are FINALLY back in stock. Well, almost. We expect to ship them as soon as June 1, 2009. Given the INTENSE interest in these the last time around, we strongly recommend you order yours as soon as possible. These will sell out fast.
Once we actually get them in our hands, we will [...]

[Read more →]

Yusaku Hanakuma is one of the most well received cult “hero” illustrator and cartoonist in Japan. He is the recipient of The Choice 13th Grand Prix Award and one of his most popular works, “Tokyo Zombie” was adapted for the big screen which became a huge success. You can see in his chararacters, Hanakuma is [...]

[Read more →]