The Sycamore Tree

12/23/2021

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

O come, let us adore Him.

We will be open on Christmas Eve until 3:00. Come see us!

Please note... We will be taking next week off to be with our family.

We will reopen on Tuesday, January 4, 2022.

And here's a special note to those of you who shopped at The Sycamore Tree for Christmas gifts during December: please know that you helped us have the best month of sales ever in the history of our shop! Yay!

Click here for an update from The Sycamore Tree!

12/18/2021

Now through Christmas Eve...

Here’s when we’ll be open through Christmas!

Today, the last Saturday before Christmas! open 10:00 to 4:00

(or later if there are still folks in the shop!)

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
December 21, 22, and 23
open 10:00 to 5:30

Christmas Eve
open 10:00 to 3:00

Click here for an update from The Sycamore Tree!

12/06/2021

’Tis the season for choosing meaningful gifts for Christmas!

Come in and find the perfect Christmas presents.

We will be open the following hours

December 7 through Christmas Eve!

Tuesday - Friday, 10 to 5:30,
Saturdays, 10 to 4:00,
and on Christmas Eve, 10 to 3:00.

Click here for an update from The Sycamore Tree!

11/27/2021

Tomorrow is Small Business Saturday! Get out and #shopsmall #buylocal ‼️
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#charlottesville #shoplocal #bookstore #booksthatmakeyouthink #booksforchildren #bibles #stationery #cardsandnotes #peterpauperpress #craneandco #jewelrythatmakesmehappy #gifts #puzzles #toys #faith #christian

Tomorrow is Small Business Saturday! Get out and #shopsmall #buylocal ‼️
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#charlottesville #shoplocal #bookstore #booksthatmakeyouthink #booksforchildren #bibles #stationery #cardsandnotes #peterpauperpress #craneandco #jewelrythatmakesmehappy #gifts #puzzles #toys #faith #christian

11/19/2021

$5.00 Off at The Sycamore Tree

As a token of our appreciation

for shopping small and local,
please come in on either
Black Friday, November 26, or
Small Business Saturday, November 27
to redeem this coupon in person!

ps, don't forget we will be closed

THIS Saturday, Nov. 20.

Click here for a free $5.00 coupon at The Sycamore Tree!

11/17/2021

#advent #adventcandles

11/12/2021

A bookseller’s responsibilities can be quite varied… sometimes we just clean the books!

A bookseller’s responsibilities can be quite varied… sometimes we just clean the books!

11/11/2021

November Update!

Stop by now through Thanksgiving and bring your friends and family!

This week, we'll be open today through Saturday.

Next week, we'll be open Tuesday through Friday, only.

(We are sorry for the inconvenience some Saturdays this Fall may have caused you. Our daughter is a senior at JMU and is in the marching band. This is her last year, and we lost the 2020 season due to Covid, so we just have wanted to enjoy these last opportunities. Thank you for understanding!)

Thanksgiving week we will be open
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.

As we head into these next 6 weeks leading up to Christmas, we do want to share a little true story with you...

A longtime customer who lives in Charlottesville visited yesterday. She was looking for a particular item that she had not been able to find online. She had purchased volume 1 of this item online, but when she ordered volume 2 in the same way, the envelope arrived empty. She said it was a "praise moment" that we had it. She was surprised that it cost only $13.99 and said it was twice that online. When it was time to pay, she pulled out a gift certificate that someone had purchased for her on 12/24/20. It was for $35. Since she still had $20 left on it, she shopped around for something else because she said she wouldn't make it back to the shop before Christmas.

Does Charlottesville need a brick and mortar shop like ours? Or has Covid completely changed our shopping habits? We are still discerning.

Nonetheless, this Thanksgiving we will remember all of you around our table because we are so thankful for YOU and that The Sycamore Tree made it possible for us to be able to call so many of you FRIENDS!

We hope you have a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

love,
Richard and Maria

ps, we hope to see you before Christmas!

Click here for an update from The Sycamore Tree!

11/01/2021

On November 1, many churches remember all saints. Wishing you a blessed day of remembrance.

On November 1, many churches remember all saints. Wishing you a blessed day of remembrance.

10/29/2021

Closed October 30

Don't forget!

We will be closed on

Saturday, October 30,
for a family commitment.

Click here for an update from The Sycamore Tree!

10/26/2021

Waterproof stickers from @hosannarevival !
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#charlottesville #shopsmall #shoplocal #bookstore #booksthatmakeyouthink #booksforchildren #bibles #stationery #cardsandnotes #peterpauperpress #craneandco #jewelrythatmakesmehappy #gifts #puzzles #toys #faith #christian

Waterproof stickers from @hosannarevival !
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#charlottesville #shopsmall #shoplocal #bookstore #booksthatmakeyouthink #booksforchildren #bibles #stationery #cardsandnotes #peterpauperpress #craneandco #jewelrythatmakesmehappy #gifts #puzzles #toys #faith #christian

10/22/2021

October Update from The Sycamore Tree

Thanks again for your response to our August email!

August and September were awesome! After our early August email, you came in, you told your friends, you thought outside the box, you let us know you want a store like The Sycamore Tree in your community.

However, we want to be transparent with you through our time of discernment so we need to let you know that October has been a very dry month. Yes, we have had some individual big purchases but we consistently have had about five customers per day. We don't say this to make you feel guilty! Honestly, you've been amazing! But what's happened in October tells us that perhaps staying busy year-round is not sustainable.

All Saints' Day is November 1st!

All Saints' Day is a Western Christian tradition, celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church, the Methodist Church, the Episcopal Church, and more. It is a day to show honor and reverence to saints both canonized and unknown, and in some faiths also to give thanks to those who have guided others to Christ, like a friend or relative.

Come in and pick up a book or toy about a great Christian to share with the little people in your lives!

We will be closed on Saturday, October 30th, for a family commitment so, if you need to shop on a Saturday, make sure you come in tomorrow, Saturday, October 23rd!

Check out the pics below to see just a few of the new products we've added!

Click here for an update from The Sycamore Tree!

10/15/2021

Such a pretty sight out our front window!
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#hotairballoons #fall #charlottesville #shopsmall #shoplocal #bookstore #booksthatmakeyouthink #booksforchildren #bibles #stationery #cardsandnotes #peterpauperpress #craneandco #jewelrythatmakesmehappy #gifts #puzzles #toys #faith #christian

Such a pretty sight out our front window!
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#hotairballoons #fall #charlottesville #shopsmall #shoplocal #bookstore #booksthatmakeyouthink #booksforchildren #bibles #stationery #cardsandnotes #peterpauperpress #craneandco #jewelrythatmakesmehappy #gifts #puzzles #toys #faith #christian

10/15/2021

Happy to see these faces today! We sure do miss our story time. 🥺
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#storytime #charlottesville #shopsmall #shoplocal #bookstore #booksthatmakeyouthink #booksforchildren #bibles #stationery #cardsandnotes #peterpauperpress #craneandco #jewelrythatmakesmehappy #gifts #puzzles #toys #faith #christian

Happy to see these faces today! We sure do miss our story time. 🥺
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#storytime #charlottesville #shopsmall #shoplocal #bookstore #booksthatmakeyouthink #booksforchildren #bibles #stationery #cardsandnotes #peterpauperpress #craneandco #jewelrythatmakesmehappy #gifts #puzzles #toys #faith #christian

10/12/2021

New product! Comfort Cross started in the middle of the pandemic when its founder, Spring, needed comfort the most. She personally and prayerfully sews and stitches each Comfort Cross by hand, creating a comforting piece of art. Scroll to see a sample of the 12 designs we have in the shop!
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#charlottesville #shopsmall #shoplocal #bookstore #booksthatmakeyouthink #booksforchildren #bibles #stationery #cardsandnotes #peterpauperpress #craneandco #jewelrythatmakesmehappy #gifts #puzzles #toys #faith #christian

10/02/2021

Actually, yesterday was! We opened in our new location on Zan Road on October 1, 2019. 😊
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#twoyearsalready? #charlottesville #shopsmall #shoplocal #bookstore #booksthatmakeyouthink #booksforchildren #bibles #stationery #cardsandnotes #peterpauperpress #craneandco #jewelrythatmakesmehappy #gifts #puzzles #toys #faith #christian

Actually, yesterday was! We opened in our new location on Zan Road on October 1, 2019. 😊
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#twoyearsalready? #charlottesville #shopsmall #shoplocal #bookstore #booksthatmakeyouthink #booksforchildren #bibles #stationery #cardsandnotes #peterpauperpress #craneandco #jewelrythatmakesmehappy #gifts #puzzles #toys #faith #christian

09/28/2021

New items from #unemployedphilosophersguild !
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#charlottesville #shopsmall #shoplocal #bookstore #booksthatmakeyouthink #booksforchildren #bibles #stationery #cardsandnotes #peterpauperpress #craneandco #jewelrythatmakesmehappy #gifts #puzzles #toys #faith #christian

09/21/2021

Our popular gemstone rosary bracelets are back in stock!
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#charlottesville #shopsmall #shoplocal #bookstore #booksthatmakeyouthink #booksforchildren #bibles #stationery #cardsandnotes #peterpauperpress #craneandco #jewelrythatmakesmehappy #semakiandbird #whitneyhowarddesigns #gifts #twelvestoneart #puzzles #toys #tinysaints

Our popular gemstone rosary bracelets are back in stock!
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#charlottesville #shopsmall #shoplocal #bookstore #booksthatmakeyouthink #booksforchildren #bibles #stationery #cardsandnotes #peterpauperpress #craneandco #jewelrythatmakesmehappy #semakiandbird #whitneyhowarddesigns #gifts #twelvestoneart #puzzles #toys #tinysaints

09/14/2021

We just had to share!

The folks at Trinity Presbyterian Church here in Charlottesville received our email back in August and made the choice to buy local! These books are headed out today for the Trinity Fellows... check out the link below for more info about them!
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https://fellows.trinitycville.org/

We just had to share!

The folks at Trinity Presbyterian Church here in Charlottesville received our email back in August and made the choice to buy local! These books are headed out today for the Trinity Fellows... check out the link below for more info about them!
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https://fellows.trinitycville.org/

09/06/2021

New hours of operation at The Sycamore Tree

We hope you've had a Happy Labor Day!

A return to our pre-Covid hours!

Starting tomorrow, Tuesday, September 7,
we will be open
Tuesdays through Fridays, 10 to 5:30,
and Saturdays, 10 to 4:00.

Thanks for your response!

So many of you have come in to shop since our last email...

You've ordered books, you've told your churches about us,
you've changed your shopping habits!
With your continued support of The Sycamore Tree,
we hope to stick around!
Keep up your efforts!

Check out one of our new lines!

If you have been in since our last email, you've seen this line of jewelry from Semaki & Bird... these have been so popular, it's time to reorder!

Click here for an update from The Sycamore Tree!

08/10/2021

A letter from Richard and Maria - please read!

What lies ahead for The Sycamore Tree?

Friends,

The last year and a half has been hard for everyone, we know, but it's time for us to speak frankly with you about the future of The Sycamore Tree.

Thank you for helping us to make it through so far but, we have discerned that, without a significant change in sales, we will not be able to stay open.

When we moved to our new location in October of 2019, the store was doing so well! Those five months (before the pandemic changed everything everywhere) were THE BEST we had ever had. We were on a fantastic trajectory! We have to get back to that trajectory.

Our two-year lease ends in September but our landlord has graciously allowed us to extend it through the end of January of 2022. So that's our self-imposed deadline to decide if we stay open!

Let's see if together we can keep The Sycamore Tree in business!

What we are doing differently:

Expanding our hours
Beginning Tuesday, September 7th, we will return to our pre-pandemic hours. We will be open from 10:00 to 5:30, Tuesday through Friday, and 10:00 to 4:00 on Saturdays.

Offering secular gifts and books
We have expanded what we offer so that you can find gifts for more occasions and for more of your friends and family. We aren't abandoning our original mission to be an ecumenical Christian bookstore - we are just adding fun and encouraging choices for a wider swath of people and occasions.

Look for upcoming e-mails highlighting our new offerings!

Selling on Amazon
What?!?!

Yep, we are liquidating the books that we've been offering all summer at 20 and 40% off in the store by selling them on Amazon to free up money so we can buy new products.

What we're asking you to do differently:

Pledge (to yourself) to shop quarterly or to spend $200/year
This e-mail was sent to about 2,000 people. Imagine what a difference it would make if many of you shopped in the physical store or on our online shop once every three months! (This was a customer's idea and we love it!)

Shop with us for MORE than Bibles, devotionals, and Baptisms
With our expanded offerings, you can buy gifts for all your birthday needs, to show appreciation for a good friend, or to encourage a co-worker!

We also can order ANY BOOKS you need... not just faith-based books!

Tell ALL your friends about us!
Spread the word to everyone you know who needs or likes to buy gifts!

So the bottom line is - we need more of you to shop more often if you value The Sycamore Tree.

Don't do it for us... do it for yourself and your community!

Yours,
Richard and Maria

Click here for an update from The Sycamore Tree!

07/09/2021

Please take note!

We will be closed Wednesday, July 14, through Saturday, July 17.

We will be attending the Summer Trade Show in Atlanta so we can find new and enticing product lines for YOU!

Do you need something soon?

We are still here today, tomorrow (Saturday),
and Tuesday, July 13, from 11 to 4:00.

Otherwise, we will be back in the shop on Tuesday, July 20...

See you then!

Click here for an update from The Sycamore Tree!

07/04/2021

Dear Lord,
We thank you for the bountiful blessings you have bestowed on us. Guide us in being good stewards of these gifts. Let us care for all of your beautiful creation from the Redwood Forests to the Gulf Stream waters. Make us instruments of your peace in order to put an end to rockets' red glare and bombs bursting in air. Help us to love and care for all of our neighbors, locally and globally, so that we truly might be crowned with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.
Amen.

Dear Lord,
We thank you for the bountiful blessings you have bestowed on us. Guide us in being good stewards of these gifts. Let us care for all of your beautiful creation from the Redwood Forests to the Gulf Stream waters. Make us instruments of your peace in order to put an end to rockets' red glare and bombs bursting in air. Help us to love and care for all of our neighbors, locally and globally, so that we truly might be crowned with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.
Amen.

06/16/2021

❤️❤️❤️
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#childrensbooks #kidsarecool #charlottesville #shopsmall #wemissstorytime

❤️❤️❤️
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#childrensbooks #kidsarecool #charlottesville #shopsmall #wemissstorytime

06/15/2021

20 to 40% off!

Do you need some new books to read with your coffee?

Come browse our shelves!

Green dot books are 20% off and yellow dot books are 40% off.

Pictured below is just a sampling of the titles we have on sale!

Click here for an update from The Sycamore Tree!

06/08/2021

We have five copies of the very popular and hard to get Great Adventure Catholic Bible from Ascension Press!
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#greatadventurebible #ascensionpress #charlottesville #shopsmall #catholic #readyourbible

05/31/2021

May their memory be a blessing.

May their memory be a blessing.

05/11/2021

We are away this week!

Just a reminder!

We are off with these two wonderful people!

The Sycamore Tree is closed
Tuesday, May 11, through Saturday, May 15,
and we will be back in the shop on Tuesday, May 18...
come see us then!

Click here for an update from The Sycamore Tree!

04/24/2021

#independentbookstore #shoplocal #shopsmall #shopmomandpop #shopcharlottesville #books

#independentbookstore #shoplocal #shopsmall #shopmomandpop #shopcharlottesville #books