Bridget Looking for Handmade Items to Include as Gift Offerings

Hi all!  In the spirit of Bridget and our continued efforts to offer handmade bridge tallies in various designs, we would like to offer our website as a portal for other artists of handmade goods.  We are interested in adding to our collection a bridge clutch, coasters, tablecloths and any other items that will help make the perfect bridge party.  If you are interested, please contact us through our website http://www.bridgetlovesbridge.com

Busy Bridgets Gearing Up for Holiday Season

It’s been business as usual at bridgetlovesbridge.com as we prepare new designs and special holiday pricing for the upcoming gift giving season. Customers can now choose from a variety of Tally themes including beach in Tahiti, golf, martini collection and more. No matter what your hobby or design taste we are trying to offer tallies that appeal to the bridge player of all generations.

Suggestions for new tally designs are always welcome. Simply use our Contact Us form on our website to give us your ideas. Upon request, we may also personalize tallies with special messages, monograms and more.

Special holiday pricing will soon be available to give customers added value as they search for the perfect gift for the bridge player in their life. Special pricing should begin at the beginning of November so please check the website or join us on Facebook for updates.

And, as always, thanks for helping us spread the word. We hope you enjoy our products and, of course, the game of bridge.

A Catalog . . . by Popular Demand

We always knew that we would need a catalog to display our many items but had no idea it would be in such demand once word finally got out about our products. After a nod from the syndicated bridge column Goren on Bridge that appeared in 175+ newspapers across the country and abroad this week, the phone at Bridget central has been ringing off the hook and mostly with inquiries about a catalog.

We have a completely functional e-commerce site BridgetLovesBridge.com that accepts Visa, Mastercard and Paypal but it’s no surprise that a sizable percentage of the bridge-playing market looks for more traditional means of purchasing products. Well I’m writing to tell Bridget fans everywhere that our catalog is at the printer and will be mailed out to the ever-growing list of bridge fans in the next 1 to 2 weeks. In the meantime, give us a call at 877-497-3298. We’re always ready and willing to chat up our products.

Thanks so much to the many folks that have taken a few moments to talk, lend advice and share their wishes for what a bridge supply company should offer. You’re feedback is appreciated and your suggestions will be put on the table during our next round of purchasing. Now, go play some bridge!

Signed by The Resident Bridge Blogger,
Laura

5 Reasons to Play bridge

There are several reasons why a person or couple may choose to play bridge. Maybe your grandparents or parents played back in the day, or maybe you have been one of the many who learned bridge in college or public schools. Whatever the case, bridge is once again sweeping the nation and thanks to the hard efforts and substantial contributions of Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, it has found its place in American homes once again.

Here’s five reasons why you should play bridge or have a bridge party in your home.

1) Bridge has been one of the most popular card games in the world second only to poker, thereby it must be fun and challenging, right?

2) It is a great basis for which to host a party in your home and since the economy has made it more challenging for couples to go out on the town, it’s also an economical choice for entertaining.

3) Reusable tallies help keep costs down. Now bridge players have the option of using reusable tallies that can be used over and over again without additional costs.

4) Bridge challenges the brain, helps combat dementia and is proven to help youngsters score better on test scores.

5) Finally there is a source for high-designed bridge supplies that offer everything you need to host a bridge party in your home or at a club.

Visit www.bridgetlovesbridge.com to learn more about how to play bridge . . . and look good doing it.

PLAYING BRIDGE HAS MANY HEALTH BENEFITS FOR THE YOUNG AND OLD

When many think of the game of bridge, they think of smoky living rooms filled with card tables and friends of their parents and grandparents. Today, bridge has a following of more than 25 million people in the United States according to the American Contract Bridge League and is played in homes, bridge clubs and country clubs across the country. Even more, approximately 50 million, are at least familiar with the game or have played before.

Not all of these players are in their twilight years either. Facebook fan clubs promoting the game of bridge are filled with younger players and Bill Gates and Warren Buffet have invested $1 million in rejuvenating the game through a program in public schools.

A 2006 study performed by Dr. Christopher Shaw, a researcher from Carlinville, ILL, found that children who play bridge perform significantly better on standardized tests than their nonbridge playing counterparts — increasing scores across all five core subjects areas with an astounding 39.11% increase in science.

The game has benefits for older adults as well. Over the years, several research studies released by Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University found that “Playing chess, bridge or a musical instrument significantly lowers the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia.”

If you’re neither young, nor at risk of Dementia, there are still benefits. A Nov. 2000 study by a University of California, Berkeley researcher, Marian Cleeves Diamond, found that playing contract bridge leaves people with higher numbers of immune cells.

Hmmm? Who knew?

Made in the USA – The Better Way to Go

When we first started researching the idea of creating our Bridget boutique-designed party and gift set for bridge players we explored every possibility in creating and producing packaging right here in St. Louis.  We also relied on our long-standing relationships with local printers when producing the reusable bridge tallies, invitations and score pads featured on our website www.bridgetlovesbridge.com

Everything seemed to be coming together quite nicely until we decided to introduce a fabric travel bag as part of our product offerings, hopeful that bridge players that often take bridge cruises would find the bag useful.  We searched high and low in the United States until our search took us to China.  Reluctant, we had all of our products estimated by printers, seamstresses and more in China only to discover that after shipping, our costs would be only slightly less and we wouldn’t have the opportunity to keep business in the States.

While we still don’t have a travel bag, we were able to produce our gift box packaging and all of our accessories in the United States, and mostly in the St. Louis region.   We have taken our dedication to locally produced items one step further and are working with a local (Glen Carbon, Ill.) seamstress in the production of our custom handbags, our alternative to the travel bag.

Lessons learned?  Yes, we can do it all here in the United States.  There is no reason to look beyond our borders when the talent and resources we needed to launch a product were right at our doorstep.  Now, we can proudly display our Made in the USA symbol on everything we sell and for that, we are very grateful.

New Line of Designer Contract Bridge Supplies Available: Reusable Tallies Included

In 2009 a group of ladies sat down over a glass of wine and decided to launch a product line aimed at the contract bridge player who likes to play bridge . . . and look good doing it.

The result, is a boutique-inspired line of top-shelf products carefully designed and selected for ultimate game play and durability – now available at www.bridgetlovesbridge.com Led by mom and daughter, Gail and Jan, and their friend and partner, Laura, Bridget’s signature design is the first of many planned.   With sketches for seasonal inspired creations, along with more specialized designs crafted under the Bridget brand, this team of ladies has great plans for Bridget and her bridge-loving friends.

We are a creative bunch of gals, with backgrounds in graphic design, marketing, public relations and finance, but always welcome suggestions for additional designs.  Please use the CONTACT US form on our website www.bridgetlovesbridge.com if you have a design idea to share.

We hope you enjoy our products and wish you many years of happiness playing bridge.  Cheers!