Holiday Love from Alexandria
Five years ago my family was ready for a move. We looked at Annandale and Arlington, but in the end, we just couldn’t leave Alexandria. The mix of small town feel and urban environment is exactly what we crave. I don’t believe we would have gotten the same sense of collective civic pride anywhere else in Northern Virginia.
People who love Alexandria, whether they are from here originally or just passing through on their way to their next assignment, REALLY love Alexandria and they want to show it. That is why we worked with the team at Catstudio to create an Alexandria pillow. After years of begging, they finally decided to add Alexandria to their collection. Each pillow takes up to a week to hand embroider on organic cotton, which makes them an instant heirloom. We have several dozen coming our way in the next couple of weeks, but it would be wise to pre-order yours today. Just call the shop at 703.838.0355 and we will set one aside for you. We have a sample in the store now if you’d like to stop by and see it in person. I am sure you will love it as much as we do!
Our Alexandria love doesn’t stop there. We have collaborated with other fine folks to bring our love for our amazing little town to life. Here are just a few ways to show your Alexandria pride…
Fishs Eddy, the iconic New York dishware store, has a mug with the skyline of New York City on it. We loved it so much that we asked them to create an Alexandria version. While our’s isn’t exactly a skyline, it does capture all our favorite Alexandria hot spots. Available exclusively at Red Barn Mercantile.
Annie Howe, the immensely talented Baltimore paper artist, created a paper cut for our ten-year anniversary that we then turned into a print and a magnet. We love the attention to detail and love that it shows up in this creation. As a side note, Annie will be at Penny Post on December 5 for a paper cutting workshop. Sign up here.
Ali Douglass, the illustrator extraordinaire and recent Alexandria transplant, captures Alexandria like no other. We are particularly fond of her colorful and fun Spite House and Mount Vernon illustrations!
Emily Dere, another amazingly talented artist and the manager of Penny Post, illustrated the unmistakable doors of Alexandria. Always popular in a print, this year she has added them to a sturdy market tote as well as to her tea towels and pillows. Also new this year is her Del Ray tea towel, which we absolutely love!
Speaking of Del Ray, we are pleased to offer our longitude and latitude pillows in both Del Ray and Alexandria versions. These sturdy canvas pillows add a little fun to any family room.
We think the perfect complement to our new Catstudio Alexandria pillow is this wool hooked pillow that we had designed exclusively for our store. The nautical feel harkens back to our port city roots.
Finally, from Los Angeles based Apolis comes our exclusive market totes. Each tote is fair trade and made in Bangladesh with a waterproof liner and natural vegetable tanned leather straps. It is perfect for going to the Old Town – or Del Ray – farmers’ market!
We hope you will share your love of Alexandria with your neighbors, family, and friends this holiday season.
- About the boutique
Red Barn Mercantile opened its doors in September 2007 with a single vision in mind: providing old and new to offer our customers signature whole-room designs at great prices.
We’re more than a furniture boutique and provide more personalized service than a big box retailer. We work hard to bring you the highest quality furniture and gifts, the most unique conversation starters, wall hangings and accent pieces, whether they come from off-the-beaten-track flea markets, or the latest designers.
1117 King Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
703.838.0355
