WINDOW SHOPPING
Pigtails & Crewcuts Salon opens in OKC
Pigtails & Crewcuts: Haircuts for Kids is open in Oklahoma City at 13429 N MacArthur Blvd. “It’s exciting to be the first to bring Pigtails & Crewcuts to Oklahoma,” owner Stephen Taylor said. “We look forward to opening multiple salons in the state.”
Pigtails & Crewcuts is a children’s hair salon franchise created by parents for kids.
In addition to hair care services, Pigtails & Crewcuts offers a line of hair products and accessories, gifts, and a private party room for birthday celebrations.
“I want families to enjoy the experience of getting haircuts instead of just knocking out the chore,” Taylor said.
Planet Fitness helps Boys and Girls Club
Three Planet Fitness locations are celebrating a reopening by providing a $7,500 donation to the Boys and Girls Club of Oklahoma County.
Two Oklahoma City locations, Brookwood and Northwest Expressway, and one in Yukon are reopening their doors after upgrading the facilities and outfitting the clubs with new equipment.
“We strive to create a space where everyone feels accepted and respected, which is why we’ve donated to the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Oklahoma County to help maintain our community’s positive environment,” Regional Director of United PF Partners Gary Williams said.
Orange Leaf partners with nonprofit
For the sixth consecutive year, Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt is partnering with the national nonprofit No Kid Hungry to raise funds and awareness to end childhood hunger in America.
Sept. 3 through Sept. 30, Orange Leaf is asking guests to “Stand Against Hunger” by donating $1 or more with their purchase and in return they will receive a discount card for a free “froyo1” during their next visit.
“Giving back to the community is part of who we are and is a point of pride for so many of our operators,” President and Chief Operating Officer Kendall Ware said. “The guests visiting Orange Leaf are often families with children, but we know there are many struggling families in every community. We are excited to continue our partnership with No Kid Hungry not only to raise funds but to educate and support our communities for this cause.”
Orange Leaf’s goal is to raise 100,000 meals for kids in need during the month of September, so 100 percent of all proceeds will go directly to No Kid Hungry.
Amazon orders 20,000 delivery vans
Amazon has ordered 20,000 vans for its new delivery program in which contractors around the country can launch businesses that deliver packages for the online retailer.
The company said Wednesday that it increased its van order from 4,500 after it was surprised by the number of applications it received. The vans, which are stamped with Amazon’s smile logo in blue, can be used by contractors to deliver packages.
“We have been blown away,” said Dave Clark, Amazon’s senior vice president of worldwide operations. He said tens of thousands applied, but declined to give a specific number.
The delivery program is part of Amazon’s plan to gain more control over how its packages are delivered and rely less on other delivery services, such as UPS, FedEx and the U.S. Postal Service.
With these vans on the road, Amazon said more shoppers would be able to track their packages on a map or see a photo of where a package was left when they weren’t home.
Charlie O’Shea, the lead retail analyst at Moody’s, said the program can help Amazon expand sameday delivery and compete with brick-and-mortar retailers that have order-online-and-pick-up-in-store services.
“This is an area where Amazon needs to up its game a little bit,” he said.
Amazon has been working on bolstering its delivery network. It has a fleet of cargo planes called “Prime Air,” and it also pays people as much as $25 an hour to deliver packages with their cars through Amazon Flex.
For its newer delivery program, Amazon started taking applications in June at its website, logistics. amazon.com.
Amazon has said existing package delivery businesses could apply, as well as those with little or no logistics experience.
Low-tech gear is for young explorers
The world is full of high-tech children’s toys. But there’s a movement afoot to bring back some simpler playthings — ones that invite kids to explore the outdoors, and tap into their ingenuity, creativity and sense of play in ways that don’t involve an app or a download.
Design company Kikkerland has partnered with Dutch designers Chris Koens and Ramon Middelkoop on a line of nature-inspired toys they call Huckleberry. There’s a shatterproof magnifier, a flower press frame, braided leather with a magnetic closure for making a flower necklace, a fishing kit, and the duo’s favorite item, a little propeller-equipped boat motor that runs on a AAA battery. Why is it their favorite?
“It’s totally up to the kids to decide what kind of boat to make and what materials to use,” says Koens. “You can carve a piece of wood or repurpose a plastic bottle that otherwise would’ve gone to a landfill. That’s very exciting.”
Koens says the simplicity of each piece was important, keeping the designs fairly “open” in concept.
A portion of Huckleberry sales goes to the Children and Nature Network, a Minneapolis-based national nonprofit that invests in community-based efforts to encourage kids to be outdoors and get reacquainted with nature.