Casey and Sloane, Author at The STUFF Sisters

The Why Is Important

STUFF made a commitment many years ago to support local artists and to be active members of our vibrant community. This is true of both of us in our personal lives as well.

We all want to know that we are making a difference when we shop. Heck, when we do just about anything. The “why” in all our actions is important, and the effects can be long-lasting.

STUFF made a commitment many years ago to support local artists and to be active members of our vibrant community. This is true of both of us in our personal lives as well. Each year since the first one, we have renewed that commitment by setting higher goals for our support of local not-for-profit organizations.

Please join us this year on any of the 20 different nights listed below. By shopping during one of these great charity parties, that charity will receive 15% of your purchase, and all the money raised stays local.

Yummy drinks, delicious snacks, and STUFF’s signature bowl of M&Ms makes each night complete. Magic serendipitously shows herself almost every evening when connections are made between the dedicated charity partners and our customers who want to know just a bit more about possibly doing just a bit more.

Let’s keep making a difference…together.

AIDS Walk Kansas City
November 10, 2015 – 5:00 to 6:30 pm

Great Plains SPCA
November 11, 2015 – 5:30 to 7:00 pm

MOCSA
November 12, 2015 – 5:00 to 6:30 pm

Wayside Waifs
November 13, 2015 – 5:30 to 7:00 pm

The HALO Foundation
November 17, 2015 – 5:30 to 7:00 pm

Girl Scouts of NE Kansas & NW Missouri
November 18, 2015 – 5:30 to 7:00 pm

RevolveKC
November 19, 2015 – 5:30 to 7:00 pm

SAVE, Inc.
November 20, 2015 – 5:30 to 7:00 pm

Green Works in Kansas City
November 24, 2015 – 5:00 to 6:30 pm

Hope House
November 30, 2015 – 5:30 to 7:00 pm

Women’s Employment Network
December 1, 2015 – 5:30 to 7:00 pm

Em’s Spotlight
December 2, 2015 – 5:00 to 6:30 pm

UMKC Women’s Center
December 3, 2015 – 5:00 to 6:30 pm

Jackson County CASA
December 8, 2015 – 5:30 to 7:00 pm

Kansas City Actor’s Theatre
December 9, 2015 – 5:30 to 7:00 pm

Kansas City CARE Clinic
December 10, 2015 – 5:30 to 7:00 pm

Reach Out & Read KC
December 14, 2015 – 5:00 to 6:30 pm

Good Samaritian Project
December 15, 2015 – 5:30 to 7:00 pm

The Whole Person
December 16, 2015 – 5:30 to 7:00 pm

Hope Care Center
December 17, 2015 – 5:30 to 7:00 pm

Why We Host Wings of Hope

Every day, someone enters a treatment center for cancer. Every day, good news is handed out. Every day, bad news is received. But for two days a year we childishly imagine cancer takes a break so we can celebrate a wonderful season full of hope and renewal. Join us this weekend. Help us raise money. Help us make this season bright. We thank you for your business. Every day.

Every day, someone enters a treatment center for cancer. Every day, good news is handed out. Every day, bad news is received.

“Every days” have happened to the people in these pictures. Our family. Our friends. Their family and their friends. It seems never-ending.

But for two days a year we childishly imagine cancer takes a break so we can celebrate a wonderful season full of hope and renewal. Those two days are when we open our store wide to our customers and our city and put on a great party, Wings of Hope. It is a holiday open house, and it is a crowning moment in our year. We take a breath right before our season kicks it into high gear to laugh, tell stories, and shop for friends and family.

As in years past, we are donating 20% of every purchase this Saturday and Sunday to a cancer research fund named for our friend Susan Henke Miller. She will be with us again this year – so many years after we thought we would lose her to her cancer.

Join us for an “every day” this weekend. Help us raise money. Help us consume great drinks, delicious snacks, and STUFF’s signature party food: peanut M&Ms.

Help us make this season bright.

We thank you for your business.

Every day.

p.s. These pictures from previous Wings of Hope parties remind us of our fantastic past. What wonderful days they all were.

Fake It to Make It

This year the Brookside St. Patrick’s Warm-up Parade snuck up on us. And, frankly, we were not in the mood.

This year the Brookside St. Patrick’s Warm-up Parade snuck up on us. And, frankly, we were not in the mood. Winter had managed to get us down. We were snapping at each other about little details daily. This is not like us. We are snappy about stuff all the time, because we read too much news and care sometimes too much about the condition of the world. But we are not often snappy at each other. This year the parade preparation had us acting like snapping turtles. (At least they are green, which is somewhat in the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day.)

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So we arrived at the parade grounds with fake smiles on our faces – the ol’ “fake it to make it” trick. As the parade began, we looked at each other and silently shared, “Let’s get this done.” With each step of the parade, our real smiles grew. Every shout out helped heal our frustration. The bright and warm sunshine burned off the winter fatigue. As we pulled onto the final block, we looked at each other and smiled – giant smiles of pure joy. There was nothing fake about these smiles.

We were bathed in our community and the power of sunshine and happy people. In one short mile, we were healed. We lingered at the end and resisted letting it come to an end.

Until next year….

Casey & Sloane

Casey & Sloane Simmons
Sisters & Co-owners

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We Love Art!

It may seem obvious to say that, at STUFF, we love art. Over 18 years ago, we started the STUFF journey, and our mission has never changed: to help you find the stuff that makes your home and your life extraordinary. Valentine’s Day seemed like the perfect time to for us to renew our commitment to artistry, artists, and art.

We enter this renewed covenant with a much deeper understanding of what will be expected of us. We know how hard it will be. We know how incredible it will be. We know how it will drain us, raise us up, and grant us amazing rewards. We know it will continue to be inspiring, never boring, and filled with unexpected discoveries and challenges. We renew our vows with our eyes and our arms wide open.

Please join us. We hope you will choose to renew your commitment to keep shopping at our store. We love you, too, after all.

To have and to hold from this day forward….

Casey & Sloane Simmons
Sisters & Co-owners

Good Dog

One of our greatest joys is working each day with a dog in our office. Our little Chancey brings us happiness and warmth at the most unexpected times. He never shows frustration or impatience. He always has time to listen or to share a hug. He never complains. He is always cheerful.

December 16, 2014

STUFF has always been a dog-friendly business. We invite pups into the store with their people. We offer a handful of gifts for our furry friends. We always make sure our Christmas tree has plenty of animal ornaments. And we have a long, beautiful history of store dogs.

Each year we host over 25 charity parties at STUFF during our Season of Giving from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Tonight we will host Wayside Waifs at our 23rd party of 26 charity parties this season.

Wayside Waifs is the only pet-based charity that booked an event this year, and Chancey has been waiting. He has been working hard by our sides all year. It is finally a night all about his furry friends, and he is pretty excited.

We would like to share our gratitude for our pet family members and to thank Chancey for his loyal commitment to this small family-owned business. If you would like to donate here are some dry food choices.

Happy Holidays!

Casey & Sloane Simmons
Sisters & Co-owners

Chancey spends his days doing the usual office stuff: Greeting customers, working with artists, testing out product, and browsing the Internet. (Mmmm...bacon.) — Chancey spends his days doing the usual office stuff: Greeting customers, working with artists, testing out product, and browsing the Internet. (Mmmm…bacon.)

You Are The Abundant Blessing

We have spent the past year with our eyes wide open and the desire for change in our hearts. It took Casey painting a quote on STUFF’s front glass to realize we have everything we want and have changed what we can. Colorful lives are what we lead every day. You are the abundant blessing for the artists we represent and the families we support.

“May we all be thankful for our colorful lives and abundant blessings.”

We have spent the past year with our eyes wide open and the desire for change in our hearts. We want to change our father’s lymphoma journey. We want to look into the future and see where Sloane’s son lands for college. We want to continue to watch Casey’s daughter’s esteem bloom as she realizes what being a strong young woman is all about. We want our mother to stay blissfully cancer free.

It took Casey painting the quote above on STUFF’s front glass to realize we have everything we want and have changed what we can. Colorful lives are what we lead every day.

We are ready for a holiday season that kicks off in earnest on Friday after we take a day to rest and nourish ourselves with all of our family at one table.

You are the abundant blessing for the artists we represent and the families we support.

We are so very thankful. Happy Thanksgiving!

Casey & Sloane Simmons
Sisters & Co-owners

Let Freedom Ring

Independence Day – The 4th of July – always makes us think of parades. To us they are part of the American fiber, parades followed by family picnics and fireworks after dark. It is a day to celebrate our freedom and democracy. We wish you a happy Independence Day. Let freedom ring!

Brookside doesn’t have a parade on July 4th. We enjoy our parade in early spring near St. Patty’s day. And every day in Brookside we enjoy the fellowship of this genuine classic American neighborhood. Our store is always filled with people that take the extra steps it takes to choose local, American-made goods. We share these treasured blocks in Kansas City with other outstanding local businesses. This neighborhood is powered by people.

Once a year, when we take our neighborhood pride to the streets, we march with our friends, families and loyal customers. We collectively celebrate the past and present authenticity of Brookside. This small friendly neighborhood where kids and families still stroll down the sidewalks with ice cream cones…it is home to us all and it so very American.

We look forward to sitting on the sidelines of other parades this July 4th and we look forward to next spring when we take to streets once again to honor our traditions. We wish you a happy Independence Day.

Let freedom ring!

I Survived My First Christmas at STUFF

This season has been challenging. We entered the holiday season with the least experienced staff in many, many years.The new people we introduced into our ranks have proven themselves to be resilient, thoughtful, and hard-working.

This season has been challenging. We entered the holiday season with the least experienced staff in many, many years. After 17 years in business, we had become accustomed to having a handful of senior staff members in our ranks to help rock the season with us side-by-side. But this year the stars simply did not align. We found ourselves training an almost entirely new crew in the few months leading up to our biggest and most demanding season.

Yes, we had a couple of seasoned veterans, but these are team members that work very limited hours. So really the team was being built almost from scratch. At the start, we often resembled the movie Bad News Bears. Everyone had a heart of gold, but we were in serious need of finding our groove. And our leadership – us – well, we weren’t drunk like Walter Matthau was in the movie, but we were spread thin and overcommitted on too many projects.

It was a rough start.

There was frustration. There were tears from some. There were times we doubted we would make it through the season. But, at last, we have.

We are deeply thankful that the stars did finally align. These last two weeks have been joyful for us behind the counter, and we hope it has been joyful for you in the store. Our store is really about people – not product – and the new people we introduced into our ranks have proven themselves to be resilient, thoughtful, and hard-working.

The next time you visit our store, please congratulate our newest team members. We should have bought them cheesy T-shirts that read “I Survived My First Christmas at STUFF”. But they are too angelic for that….

Blush

It isn’t easy to get a Simmons sister to blush, but we are not comfortable sitting still and letting the spotlight be on us. With this realization and admission, we are bravely passing this along. We couldn’t have conceived a better Christmas gift.

It isn’t easy to get a Simmons sister to blush. We like to think we are prepared for every situation. We are comfortable sharing our opinions, our joy, our pain, and our emotions at work, at home, and in our blog.

But we are not comfortable sitting still and letting the spotlight be on us. With this realization and admission, we are bravely passing this along. Our close friends insisted we celebrate this recognition. We couldn’t have conceived a better Christmas gift. We are deeply thankful.

p.s. Click here to read the article.

People Not Product

The grand irony in our lives is that we own a store named…STUFF. We should have named it The Artist. From day one, we have focused on our artists first. Read the email for more and for great photos of many of our artists.

The grand irony in our lives is that we own a store named…STUFF. We should have named it The Artist. From day one, we have focused on our artists first. We have always encouraged them to follow their creative paths. We have always told them to value themselves and their work. We have always offered them access to our experience in the art-selling business as it evolves (and boy howdy, has it evolved). And we have always treated them as real people – not machines, not factories, not nameless, faceless, grossly under-valued workers in some far off land.

Have we had some rough spots? You bet! We are all only human. At times our stress or their stress has clashed. Do we disagree sometimes? You bet! We are all wildly passionate people. But we all respect each other and work together to move forward. To support the arts in all its forms. And in the end we are just like you: we all have to pay our mortgages, feed and clothe our families, and participate in our communities.

Last week we sent a note to our artists and asked for photographs of them and their families. These images are what were sent to us. Each time we opened a new digital file, we would smile and sometimes giggle and our hearts would expand a little bit more. These photos reflect them so perfectly. Their personalities come shining through. The love they have for their families, their pet companions, and their creative lives is alive in each and every photograph.

It is with our deepest gratitude that we share this “holiday card” with you, our loyal customer and friend. You support these artists and their families every single time you shop here.

We hope to see you soon.

Happy Holidays,