Cornerstones Connection
by Cate Murway
“After a lot of hard work, we’re open for business and look forward to serving the Bristol Borough community and surrounding areas for many years to come! Please stop in and meet the owners, grab a cup of Calm Waters coffee at our café, and curl up with a book for a while!”
t.s. Cornerstones proudly announces their Grand Opening celebration on Saturday 07.23.16.
Mill Street Cantina will be catering from 1:00-3:00PM.
The locally owned one-of-a-kind businesses in Historic Bristol on the Delaware build strong communities by sustaining its vibrant, compact, walk-able town center with distinctive character.
Co-proprietors of t.s. Cornerstones, Realtor Tina Marie Fricano and Susan Courtney Spencer, both paralegals, and their companion dog, Lucy, “an emotional support animal” are Bristol Borough residents. Susan grew up in Glenside and likens it to Bristol, “same small town feel”.
P.S. Tina coincidentally shares her birthday with Edgar Allan Poe, an American writer, editor, and literary critic.
Tina has three children, John and Kristen, and artist, Samantha Fricano whose artwork adorns the Cornerstones’ walls. Samantha earned her Masters in Fine Arts: Studio Art from Montclair State University. She is currently the Sales Assistant to the Chairman at Pace Gallery, in the heart of NYC’s art district.
Susan’s family members are veterans. She is a Patch member of Rolling Thunder® "Ride for Freedom", bringing awareness of prisoners of war [POW] and those missing in action [MIA] from the Vietnam War.
They remind the government, the media and the public: “We Will Not Forget.”
Stocking their Cornerstones has been a creative, joint project.
Tina and Susan select their eclectic mix of products based, not on a national sales plan, but on their own professionally guided interests and the growing needs of their local customers. This plan promises to guarantee a much broader range of product choices for the community.
They both embrace what makes them unique with a goal of making their locality a destination.
Tina and Susan are members of the Bristol Borough Business Association, proudly supporting the community with coffee from Calm Waters Coffee Roasters, nourishing food from Bristol Stop Deli and Café, gorgeous blooms from Bird of Paradise Flowers and their very own shirts come from Great I.D.’s.
A full range of high quality products fill their Mill Street location but books are the main gig.
Books are the bank of knowledge. The right book will always keep you company.
Check out their t.s. Cornerstones, packed not only with books, but curiosities and a café with great food!
cor•ner•stone noun - an important quality or feature on which a particular thing depends or is based.
In a world full of media gadgets, it's been over a decade since electronic readers revolutionized how people read. It has always been an incredibly enjoyable thing to read about a perfectly described place, or a feeling put into adept words, or only for the sole purpose of fully appreciating the flow of a truly great sentence.
Kids need to experience the wonders found in reading a book, especially with their mom or dad.
Their plan is to work together to re-instill, actually create a radical resurgence in our culture of the desire to read, and to read books that one can hold, keep and eventually share!
There is a certain thrill in turning the pages to reach the end of the book. What a NOVEL idea for a gift!
Betcha can’t wait to see what happens next……
The single biggest ‘comfort+entertainment+bonding’ ever can be to go off to a quiet spot and read a book in solitude and then take turns reading out loud. Reading aloud connects both the reader and the listener in a very intimate way.
“Books get people to feel and think and imagine. We want ‘Cornerstones’ to be the actual cornerstone of the community. We have hope. We want people to get reconnected.”
What a really fun place!
Regular story time programs for the kids are in the works. Perfect seating in the “Kids’ Korner” accommodates the little people as they casually discover the vast variety of selections in their very own little space. This is not an eerily quiet place with lots of shushing, but a magic, cozy corner where they can engage with books and toys, with their parents, and with other kids.
Regular visits inevitably lead to more reading, and reading, as it turns out, is brain food!
Reading is also one of the best activities to provide the foundational language and literacy skills children need to succeed and reading can be HOBBIT-forming.
Then there are ‘stuffies’. They always charm the kids.
Three year old Giavana led her father Michael Fehn back into Cornerstones just to purchase a stuffed puppy, named “Biscuit”. [I still have a teddy bear. Do you?]
Nearby wall shelves host a myriad of coloring books with stress relieving patterns and premier colored pencils, for the adults; not just for children! These coloring books get some serious grown-up attention. How long has it actually been since you have tried to stay within the lines? The once-niche hobby has grown into a full-on trend and it’s very relaxing, very entertaining, in a quiet way.
No one is forgotten. An array of ‘Elmo’s Closet’ fun and functional cotton accessories for both pets and people is showcased. These items are suitable for the most discriminating fashionista, and duly strong enough for the most demanding user.
What makes a good display? Their visually appealing, cleverly arranged physical displays showcase interesting selections and collectibles, a terrific way to engage patrons. A very old, rare 1739 vintage Bible commands a display case, preserving the irreplaceable, one of those treasured bound paper documents.
Discover the world of healing crystals. Adherents of this alternative medicine technique claim that these have natural healing powers and Susan will be most happy to educate any willing student. “They absorb energy.” She has always been enamored. She collected rocks and worms in her wagon as a child.
Kaitlyn Maria Pesante is a local Croydon customer who purchased sage and an eagle feather under Susan’s guidance.
Proponents believe sage “smudging” removes negative energy and cleanses one’s space.
“We want everyone to feel comfortable here.”
Some of the welcoming shelves hold a large selection of recovery and spirituality readings for any searching to embrace a power higher than one’s self. The books perhaps provide needed motivation to get started or just stay on track with a self-reliant life.
Books are organized by type and ordered alphabetically by title to make selections easier to find.
Choices everywhere! Best sellers and classics and mysteries, oh my; books are a big YES here!
One of their goals is to make the ‘summer reading list’ books available for the local school students.
They promise quick turn-a-rounds…24-48 hours on special orders.
Peruse the selection of wind chimes and bring one home. The relaxing tones and vibrations of wind chimes can help calm one’s mind, soothe one’s nerves, as well as discharge stress, while the happy customer can comfortably hunker down and read the treasured new book.
An old-fashioned page turner is guaranteed to take you back to simpler times.
Hey… and NO batteries or chargers required. What a plan!
Now, go home and escape into a book.
Book stores don't sell books;
Just paper, ink, and thread.
The only books you truly own
Are the books that you have read. [credit: John Governale]
Vacation on your mind? Be prepared. Reading glasses and ‘sunreaders’, [who doesn’t always need those?], stationery, greeting cards, Bristol postcards and detailed Borough maps, and even stamps are readily available.
Friday evenings will be ‘Acoustic Nights’, presenting local artists. Enjoy the café and ½ off all beverages.
Their selections also include ‘Hanks Gourmet’ premium flavor beverages from the Philadelphia based company, and the fresh Calm Waters beans are individually ground for each cup of espresso and cappuccino.
Free Wi-Fi is available and convenient window ledge base stations are provided.
Free parking in the Mill Street Parking Lot.
Sign up for e-mail communications and ask about their “RAPID READER REWARD” program.
Special events and a stocked café make this a great place to meet friends, relax, and shop for the best book in a place fueled by positivity. Hurry….they’re ALL BOOKED UP!
Mention this article and receive 10% off your book purchase.
t.s. Cornerstones
401 Mill Street
Bristol, PA 19007
267.554.7307
tscornerstones.com
Mon - Thurs: 10am to 7pm [CLOSED ON MONDAYS DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS]
Fri - Sat: 10am to 9pm
Sun: 10am to 5pm
Recommend a "Spotlight". E-mail vjmrun@yahoo.com
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CLOSED AUGUST 2017
