Shopping

Dreaming of: Schiphol Airport

February 17, 2016Harriet BaskasShopping, SouvenirsAmsterdam, Schiphol Airport, Tulips

After spending a week in Amsterdam – including that touristy classic, a stay on a houseboat – I was actually pleased that bad weather in the U.S.delayed my flight home.

Because that gave me more time to hang out in Schiphol Airport, where I was really temped to buy these (somewhat corny, I know….) souvenirs.

The ginger cake would have been a nice gift for my neighbor (I bought her a tote bag from the Cat Cabinet – shh, don’t tell her..) and those wooden tulips – spotted for sale everywhere in Amsterdam that by the end of week I was tired of them – would have been a long-lasting spot of color in the gray Seattle winter I’ve returned to.

I know… just another reason to go back. Soon.

Last minute gifts for fans of flying

December 21, 2015Harriet BaskasShoppingaviation gifts, Planewear, reycled airline life vests

Planewear, which sells – you guessed it – clothing, accessories and travel gear with an aviation theme – has an enticing online site and, since early November, a full-sized shop at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

It was really hard to limit myself to just a few items at the airport shop on my way out of town, but I settled on a pouch made from a Delta Air Lines life-jacket and a postcard that turns into a small plane.

Souvenir Sunday: holiday gifts from airports

December 13, 2015Harriet BaskasAirport shops, Airports, Shopping, Souvenir Sunday, SouvenirsDarth Tater, holiday gifts, Iberico ham, SouveNear

Last minute shoppers rejoice: it’s now possible to do all your holiday shopping at the airport and find great – and often offbeat – gifts for everyone on your list.

Here’s a sampling of some of the items I found for a recent article on Mashable.

Those artisanal-painted chocolate caramels above are just a sample of the artist-made gifts that come out of the SouveNEAR vending machines at Kansas City International Airport.

The recently replaced carpet at Portland International Airport became a social medial darling and oodles of PDX carpet-themed items are now for sale at the Made in Oregon shop at the airport. The neck pillow is good for travel, but there are also mugs, t-shirts, coasters, jam, beer and vodka to choose from.

And.. in the over-the-top category, consider this $1500 Iberico ham sold at Miami International Airport that comes with its own leather carrying case.

See the full story – with lots more ideas for last minute gifts to buy at the airport – in my story on Mashable.

Souvenir Sunday at Honolulu Airport

October 25, 2015Harriet BaskasAirports, Shopping, Souvenir Sunday, SouvenirsAirport shopping, Honolulu Airport

On Sundays, we take a look at some of the fun, inexpensive and locally-themed items you can buy when you’re stuck at the airport.

Here are a few of our favorites from the Honolulu International Airport:

Do you spend time in the shops when you’re stuck at the airport?

If you spot something fun, inexpensive, locally-themed and, ideally, a bit wacky, please snap a photo and send it along to StuckatTheAirport.com.

If your souvenir is featured on Souvenir Sunday, we’ll send you a travel-themed souvenir.

O’Hare honey gets a blue ribbon at the fair

September 22, 2015Harriet BaskasShoppingBeeLove, honey, Illinois State Fair, O'Hare Airport, Sweet Beginnings

Congrats to Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Sweet Beginnings for winning an Illinois State Fair Blue Ribbon “First Premium” award for the honeycomb produced at the airport.

For the past four years, Sweet Beginnings has maintained beehives on O’Hare property and, with two million resident bees, the apiary is one of the largest at any airport in the world.

The airport’s 75 beehives produce over 2,500 pounds of honey per year and the project creates 30-40 jobs for men and women who need work experience or who have been formerly incarcerated.

In a great field-to-airport program, O’Hare’s honey is used in Sweet Beginnings’ Beelove honey and honey-based skin care products, which include moisturizers, exfoliators, shower gels, soaps, and lip balm that for sale at O’Hare and Midway Airports in the Hudson News stores and at the O’Hare Farmer’s Market kiosk.

Beelove honey is also a featured ingredient at celebrity chef Rick Bayless’s Tortas Frontera restaurants in O’Hare.

Fresh amenities at EWR & LGA

August 21, 2015Harriet BaskasFashion, Food, ShoppingFresh amenities at EWR & LGA

Traveling to or through LaGuardia Airport or Newark Liberty International Airport anytime soon? Look for some of these new dining and shopping outlets.

Through the end of August, The Food & Shops at LaGuardia Terminal B is having a party to celebrate a year’s worth of improvements that include new specialty stores (America!, Desigual, Duty Free Americas/ L’Occitane, Eddie Bauer, Lacoste, Lick, InMotion Entertainment, Ruby Blue and Tumi) and expanded dining options that now include Bowery Bay Tavern, Piccolo Mercato, Six Blocks Bakery, Sorrentine and Villa Pizza Kitchen.

Be on the lookout for free food tastings, store discounts, live music and special events There’s also a Twitter contest with merchandise giveaways underway.

Over at Newark Liberty International Airport – in United’s Terminal C – OTG has opened some of the first pieces of the “re-imagined” space.

Designed to be “dining oases,” Proof Whiskey Bar and Caps Beer Garden are now in the center of the long hallways. The first of 38 redesigned gate lounges in Terminal C has also opened.

Outlet mall shopping at Vancouver Int’l Airport

July 30, 2015Harriet BaskasAirports, ShoppingAirport shopping, outlet mall, Vancouver International Airport

Between the art, the restaurants, the shops, the observation area and the spas, there’s plenty to keep you occupied at Vancouver International Airport.

Now there’s one more great reason: the designer outlet mall.

Located on land owned by the airport and partially-owned by the airport, the open-air McArthurGlen Designer Outlet Vancouver Airport opened earlier this month on Sea Island and is accessible via a free ride on the Canada Line.

Special events celebrating the grand opening continue through August 2nd, with shopping promotions and activities, including live music and several pop-up venues in the Hawkers Mercado.

Automated airport kiosks offer useful items

July 2, 2015Harriet BaskasShopping3FLOZ, Airport shopping, Automated airport kiosk, Honest Company

Automated kiosks at airports selling everything from high-end cosmetics to Kindles, phone chargers and other electronics are no longer a rare sight. And, unlike airport stores which close their gates at night, these vending machines are open 24 hours.

I’m pleased to see that the offerings in these machines are getting broader.
3FlOZ has kiosks stocked with TSA-compliant travel-sized essentials in a dozen airports. And kiosks from the Honest Company, stocked with everything from diapers to bug spray and other “Oops, I forgot” items, are beginning to appear in airports as well.

Here’s a rundown of what you’ll find inside these kiosks:

Four curated collections including a “travel kit” complete with on-the-go essentials from toothpaste to lotion; a “founder’s favorite” featuring traveler must-have products from hand sanitizer spray to lip balm; “diapers and wipes” kit and a “baby care” kit. Additionally, the kiosks feature over 26 personal and baby items for purchase from Honest’s product suite ranging from baby swim trunks to Shave Oil to Immunity Defense tablets to Conditioning Mist.

So far, the kiosks are in Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (Concourse C + D), John F. Kennedy International Airport (Terminal 5 + 7), DFW Airport (Terminal B, C, D), Minneapolis-St. Paul Int’l Airport (Terminal 1) and in Houston’s George Bush International Airport in the Terminal D/E connector.
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Pucker up for Heathrow’s lipstick festival

May 29, 2015Harriet BaskasShoppingAirport shopping, Heathrow Airport, lipstick

A lot of lipstick is sold at Heathrow Airport shops and that’s reason enough to have a Lipstick Festival and reason enough to commission the creation of the 20-foot-tall “Statue of Liperty” that will be on view at Terminal 5 for the next month. The statue, created by a team of make-up artist and sculptors, sits on a base that resembles a giant lipstick case and is made from classic red lipstick, which is the most popular lipstick shade being worn by New Yorkers and New York-bound passengers, according Heathrow’s airport’s annual report on lipstick shades being worn in cities around the world.

As part of lipstick celebration, the airport also commissioned British micro-artist Hedley Wiggan to create Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa and other landmarks from regular-size lipsticks, using what the lipstick report identified as the year’s most popular colors for each city:

· New York – Bright Red shade

· London – Caramel Nude shade

· Paris – Dusky Rose shade

· Shanghai – Sheer Coral shade

· Dubai – Rose Pink shade

If all this talk of lipstick has you wanting a fresh look – or a nice gift for a friend – check out Heathrow’s Facebook page or follow the airport on Twitter (@HeathrowAirport). They’re giving away a lipstick a day for the next two weeks. All entries will also be eligible for a ‘get the look’ beauty pack.

Souvenir Sunday at George Bush Intercontinental Airport

March 15, 2015Harriet BaskasShopping, Souvenir Sunday, SouvenirsAirport shopping, cowgirls, George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Hello Kitty, IAH

It’s Souvenir Sunday – the day Stuck at the Airport takes a look at the fun, inexpensive and locally-themed treasures you can find when you’re stuck at the airport.

This week’s treat comes from George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), where we spotted this Hello Kitty doll wearing a cute little Texas Longhorns t-shirt.

The only thing cuter was this t-shirt designed for real dolls: