GoLO Jacksonville

The Jax Cash Mob is invading San Marco Square Saturday June 30th with a band of mobbers who all want to shop local.

Take your community’s economic future in your hands and demonstrate your support for local small business owners. When you buy local, our community gets more for it’s money. Nearly 70% of the money spent at locally-owned small businesses stays within the local Jacksonville economy.

Pizza Palace is the meetup spot where at 11AM the cash mob site will be unveiled. Mobbers will then head to the location and each spend between $10 and $20 as a demonstration of your support to the buy local movement. Afterwards, post-mob drinks and socializing will be held at Pizza Palace at 12:30pm. Mobbers are free to discover the many wonderful stores that make up the San Marco Square business district.

What is a cash mob?
A cash mob is a group of people who assemble at a local business and all buy items from that business. The purpose of these mobs is to support both the local businesses and the overall community. Think of the cash mob as a “shop local” flash mob created to spur local economic stimulus! The ten dollars demonstrates your personal commitment and effort to support a local independent retailer while having fun doing it as a part of a larger group. Cash mobs also have a social and community-building component as the interaction between community-minded individuals that meet at these events has a multiplier effect that breeds new projects and contacts.

How do I participate?
Here are the rules:
1. Show up at Pizza Palance at 11AM. Pizza Palace is located at 1959 San Marco Blvd.
2. Spend $10-$20 at a local store (we’ll reveal the store at 1pm)
3. Get connected!  Take the opportunity to connect with others in our community interested in Going LO by meeting three new people at the event.

Why cash mob?
When we buy local, from local businesspeople, wealth is both created and retained in the community. Think of what an impact we can all have on our community by simply choosing to shop local. We each do a little. We all do a lot.

~Contributed by MySanMarco.com

If you are looking for a suitable place to hold your wedding reception or other celebration, look no further! The Springfield Woman’s Club, 210 W. 7th Street in Historic Springfield is the perfect place for a gathering of up to 125 people. Just a short distance from downtown, North Main Street, and Interstate 95, it is easy to reach from any part of Jacksonville or the surrounding areas. The fountain and gardens make a beautiful background for perfect wedding photographs. The lovely Klutho Park and Bandstand is close by – just a carriage ride – which could also be a perfect setting for a wedding ceremony.

The century-old building, originally the Springfield Presbyterian Church, has been carefully restored to preserve its ambiance. It has polished wood flooring, with a real cathedral ceiling, and an understated decor with a hint of Victorian style. This allows your florist and wedding planner to decorate according to your wishes.

There is a fully equipped kitchen for food preparation and renters are able to bring in their choice of caterers.

A lovely setting for perfect receptions – at a price that makes this unique venue a real treasure.

Monday through Thursday —$350.00
Fridays and Saturdays —$550.00
Sundays —$400.00
Additional Consecutive Day—Half Price

Hourly Rates
Monday—Thursday Only
$75 First Hour
$50 Each Additional Hour

Daily Rental Hours —9:00 a.m. to 12:00 Midnight

Call and reserve your special event: 904-633-9308

E-mail: siawc@yahoo.com

The Springfield Improvement Association and Woman’s Club also has a busy event calendar with outstanding activities.
Put “A Vintage Evening at the Club” wine tasting on your calendar:

Saturday, April 14, 2012
From 4:30 to 7:30 pm at The Woman’s Club
210 West 7th Street
Historic Springfield 

For further information and to purchase tickets: Click here.

This public event includes a wine education – how to drink it, not how to make it. Six to ten vintage natural wines from all over the world will be offered for tasting by PRP Wine International, a full service boutique wine company. Springfield residents and friends have been raving about a recent PRP Wine tasting – even beer drinkers said they learned tips and info that made them not only enjoy wine, but made them purchase their own bottle.

Our 25th Annual Holiday Home tour – December 9th and 10th. This weekend is the magical spectacle that is the 2011 Springfield Holiday Home Tour, the most popular annual event in Historic Springfield, and a fantastic showcase of a unique community. This year’s tour of eclectic mix of gorgeous homes runs Friday & Saturday evenings (12/09 & 12/10) from 5-8pm.

Tickets can be purchased via Paypal, at the Spar office, at Avonlea Antique Mall, An Olde Time Hardware or on site both evenings  – 1654 Walnut Street. Advance tickets are $10 and on site tickets are $12.

Homes on the tour.

Map and directions.

Also featured in Historic Springfield this weekend:

Find gifts for friends and relatives as you browse through the stalls. Choose from:

• Jewelry
• Handmade holiday wreaths and gift baskets
• Bath and beauty products
• Antiques and shabby chic

And so much more!

Small Business Saturday, which was started in 2010 by American Express, is November 26. American Express Cardholders should go to www.facebook.com/smallbusinesssaturday to register their card. Spend $25.00 on a pre-registered American Express Card at a small, locally-owned business and you will receive a $25.00 credit from American Express. It’s a win-win for shoppers and locally owned small businesses. (Franchisees, national chains and government agencies need not apply!)

In order to do Small Business Saturday in style, Sweet Pete’s, 1922 N. Pearl St. in Historic Springfield,  is hosting a Sweet Celebration on the 26^th only. In addition to the $25.00 American Express credit, Sweet Pete’s is giving away a $15.00 gift certificate with purchases of $50.00 or more. All customers are eligible for the gift certificate give away, not just American Express card holders.

The Sweet Celebration hours on Saturday are 10:30 AM to 7:00 PM. While shopping for your holiday needs, enjoy:

Free Champagne and Hibiscus Cocktails
Honey and Cheese Samples
Chocolate and Candy Samples

Sweet Pete’s will also host local holiday decor designer, John Fabiano of Fabiano Designs.  John decorated Sweet Pete’s for the 2011 holiday season and will share holiday decorating tips with Sweet Pete’s customers.

Why is Small Business Saturday so important? For every $100.00 spent shopping, your community gets in return:

$68 from a locally owned, independent, brick and mortar store           

$43 from a National Chain or “big box” store

$0 from an online store (unless you live in a very small place)

The answer is clear. Go shop, GoLO!!

Sweet Pete’s
1922 N. Pearl St.
Jacksonville, Fl 32206
904-376-7161

http://www.sweetpete.net/

    In an interconnected workplace, it’s becoming easier to connect, collaborate, and socialize. After all, two (or three) heads are better than one. While the workplace is becoming more interactive, mobile workers are looking for ways to connect easier and more efficiently. A mobile worker can face issues not known to the cubicle crew. For example, it takes a mobile worker eight minutes from the time they sit down to become actively engaged in work. Laptop bags, coffee mugs, iPods, cell phones…it can take a while to set up shop. In addition, a mobile worker that calls Starbucks home faces a series of other issues…find a table, get a coffee, set up. What can be done to make this easier without a clear definition of space, and make working on the go more effective?

    Coworking is a style of work which involves a shared working environment, yet independent activity. This concept gives you an on-hand network of collaborators and fellow brain stormers, as well as workspace and collaboration areas. Downtown Jacksonville will have it’s own co-work space with the opening of CoWork Jax, scheduled to open by the end of the year. After scouring the downtown landscape for the perfect co-work venue, the organization decided on the second floor of the historic Woolworth Building at the corner of Forsyth and Main, upstairs from Perdue, Inc. CoWork Jax plans to offer memberships that allow individuals or small companies to utilize workspaces for the day or for an extended period of time. The company will also offer small office spaces, as well as conference rooms with HD web conferencing and whiteboards, along with a host of collaboration specific areas developed by Turnstone and Steelcase furniture.

    The need for co-working in Jacksonville’s urban core is clear. “Downtown is a great place to bring that passion and energy together in a vibrant core,” said Elton Rivas, co-founder of Zero Confines and CoWork Jax. “We are excited to provide a shared workspace for freelancers and small businesses to grow and believe the impact could be exponential in nature.” CoWork Jax plans to announce membership and pricing information information with an opening date soon.

     Research into the habits of mobile workers led to the development of the SOTO II worktools, a collection of organizational and productivity tools by Details, a division of Steelcase.  Designed to enhance the experience of mobile workers, the SOTO II collection by Details will be launching during the winter of 2011.  “Mobile workers want to connect quickly and get working fast.  SOTO II products encourage and allow this behavior by providing the right tools to welcome to the user to the workspace,” says Jody Hanson, general manager of Details.  “Connectivity, privacy, access to personal items and quick access to power are equally important to making a mobile worker feel comfortable.” Learn more about their new collection at http://details-worktools.com/sotoii.

    Meeting space, HD web conferencing, color printing- perhaps co-working works better for your business than the back table at your local coffee shop. All this for almost the same price as your cappuccino and muffin. This is a great opportunity to GoLo to support the local business landscape…and help your own business grow.