Crabtree & Evelyn. That is a company, they make clothes or soaps, or candles or something. It is a store of some kind, targeted to the mall-going audience. They hit that demographic square-on. Location, location, location.
I do not know who Evelyn is, but if you ask me she got a raw deal on the arrangement. Playing second-fiddle to a tree. Not even a very pleasant-sounding tree either! Like an elm, or a cedar tree. I don't even know what kind of a tree a crab tree is. It is not a crab-apple tree. It's a crab tree. That sounds wrong and gross. Do the blossoms bud and bulge, and then crabs pupate forth from them? Disgusting! Arthropods should not gestate arboreally!
That's all I have, that's the whole post.
12 comments:
OK. So, I knew this chick once who had a part-time job there during college. She always pronounced it "Eeevelyn," and corrected people who called it "Ehvelyn."
Turns out? This made me resent the store.
What was her stance on the tree?
I was pronouncing it "Ehvelyn."
It's Eve-lynn. It's a last name, and I think Crabtree is also. But a Crabtree is a crabapple tree. I love crabapples, in spite of the rather disgusting picture you've now painted. :( They're beautiful, adorable, delicately tart and delicious.
I totally don't associate Crabtree & Eveyln with malls. I've only ever seen two in malls. I was quite pleased with those two also, since one was where I bought my Crabtree & Evelyn soaps and the other was where I got my sister and mom Christmas gifts one year.
There used to be a Crabtree & Evelyn on the corner by my school when I was a child. I think this was when they listed all their locations on their bags, that was how few stores they had. We used to go in fairly often, and I would touch and smell the beautiful soaps. The store, like many of them still do, had dark wood decoration and somehow felt very cozy and special. People always used to go there and get little baskets made for birthday presents: soap, lotion, bath bubbles. (They later did the same with The Body Shop, but Crabtree & Evelyn did it first and much earlier.)
When I was in about 4th or 5th grade, it became a Benetton, but it was when Benetton was early and cooler than ever (pre-"United Colors"), and the dark wood decor was terrific to house all those jewel-toned wools. I got a mulberry-colored sweater there I wore to my first real-real dance. Then when I was maybe 14 or so, it became a restaurant. It is still a restaurant now. Weirdly enough, I have noticed that a local Houlihan's has a deco-style poster of that restaurant, which strikes me as totally weird, since it's only like 20 years old and not even very well known.
I love Crabtree & Evelyn. They were one of the first collection of stores with nice soaps and lotions and things like that. Sure, they got a little tiresome when they were the only place like them and everyone was clamoring for their stuff. But really, it's of good quality, and comparably reasonably priced. I used their Goat's Milk Soap exclusively for years (and I mean recent years) until I had to switch to antibacterial soap. But it's so gentle and long-lasting and smells so sweetly plain and divine, I still use it sometimes. They also have fantastic hand creams, just as good if not better than L'Occitane. I've bought them for my mother on many occasions.
I feel like Crabtree & Evelyn have somewhat been shunted aside by the very companies they paved the way for, which doesn't seem fair. In my opinion, they still offer some of the loveliest products, and some of the best selection---without being ruthless in their prices and most importantly, without changing too much of what they have always been and offered.
Okay, thinking more about it, I'm pretty peeved at your attitude toward Crabtree & Evelyn, mostly because it appears to be based on only having heard the name or something. >:( I just looked them up and they've been having bankruptcy problems! They don't need people being mean to them! Or their trees. Pigeonholing them as a mall store! What stores can survive outside of malls nowadays? It's not the stores' faults. Malls offer the best rental rate/foot traffic ratio! I bet most places around now that don't need or use malls are places that are charging altogether too much for their products.
I need my Crabtree & Evelyn to stick around, Joe. I would be so sad if there were no Crabtree & Evelyn soaps anymore.
I forgot to say how good the Jojoba Oil and Aloe soaps are also! Before I got mostly devoted to the Goat's Milk soap, I was hooked on all of those, especially Aloe. The smell is subtle, subtle, but divine. Like a pea pod, funnily enough! Not really aloe-esque. More like creamy, sweet pea pod. Mmm.
So we can be certain that this is not a photo of Evelyn, then:
http://500motivators.com/motivate/me/congratulations-you-just-beat-two-trees/
@Blue - I'm so sorry to hear about their bankruptcy problems! Yes, I was just riffing on the name itself. I wasn't aware of their troubles and I'm certainly not trying to pile on. I would never call it a knock for a store to be in malls - that's a smart location to be in!
That's very odd about the Houlihan's. Maybe the owner of the Formerly Crabtree & Evelyn Restaurant also own's the Houlihan's franchise? A bit of subliminal self-promotion? Sounds a bit far-fetched to me.
Blue, it sounds like you should do a big blog post feature on how cool C&E are, to counteract all this sensationalism and unfounded crustacean-based speculation going on here!
@tattytiara - I think that could be Evelyn. It stands to reason that after playing second fiddle all these years to a tree, she might take the opportunity to get some of her own back!
The crabtree park is no place to relax, what with the pupating crabs falling all over head.
Goat's Milk Soap! Also known as Goat Butter with lye. It has bits of tin cans for exfoliating. It has bits of Greek olives for the essential oils. I am an expert on goat products!
@jorg - on one hand, it's a scene straight out of nightmares. On the other, though, if the crabs stay attached to the tree until they're full-grown, and you could just come through with a basket..."Pick-Ur-Own Crabs" - hey!
@JMH - man, you've got a variety of products on offer there, but if you can't figure some way to screen the tin out, nobody's going to buy it! Tin's just not wanted in any sort of high-end food or health/beauty product.
"I used divine twice to describe the soap smells," she said, trying to block out all the crab imagery.
Aaa!
Help me! Crabapples are getting absolutely ruined in here! And I blame you, Joe. :P
That's even worse than ruining Crabtree & Evelyn! That's a whole innocent fruit! At least as trees they got second and third place.
As for a blog post on Crabtree & Evelyn, what do you think I am, some kind of shill for The Man?
No! Of course not. Think of yourself as a shill for a tree and a woman! There's something very Edenic about that.
I love crabapples too, you know!
There was a big ol' crabapple tree in my grandmom's back yard. Nobody ever called it a "crabtree" though. That would have been kind of gross.
Post a Comment