Souvenir Sunday

Souvenir Sunday: travel-themed gear at PHL & SEA Airport

June 8, 2014Harriet BaskasAirport shops, Airports, Aviation history, Shopping, Souvenir Sunday, Souvenirsouvenir Sunday, PHL airport, Sea-Tac Airport, travel, travel-themed

A new shop at Philadelphia International Airport – called Pilot & Captain – is the first brick & mortar effort from the design studio The Heads of State – and is filled with travel-themed items related to what the creators call “the good old days of planes, trains & discovery”

The shop offers city-specific t-shirts, mugs, posters, notebooks and more and can be found in Terminal 3.

There’s also a new travel-themed store at Sea-Tac Airport on Concourse C called Planewear – Style is in the Air , filled with items created for the Enumclaw, Washington-based Planewear company

Inventory includes the sassy SkyBelts, (belts made out of airplane seatbelts, which might be problematic for flight when you have to clip on the real airplane seatbelt…), Pan Am “vintage inspired” t-shirts, passport covers, luggage tags, those nostalgic Pan Am bags and kid-sized apparel.

Souvenir Sunday at Sea-Tac Airport

June 1, 2014Harriet BaskasAirports, Shopping, Souvenir Sunday, SouvenirsMetsker Maps, Sea-Tac Airport, Sub Pop Records

Two new shops at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport offer some great options for locally-themed souvenirs.

The Sub Pop shop sells music by many of the bands signed up with the independent record label, of course, but it also sells a wide variety of other items, including Sub Pop-branded t-shirts, note cards, travel pillows and coffee.

Over at the new Metsker Maps shop, you’ll find globes, books, small flags, all manner of maps (of course) and a wide variety of other geography-themed gifts. And when I stopped by last week, John Loacker, president of the historic Kroll Map Company, which joined forces with Metsker Maps of Seattle in 1999, was on duty and happy to show me around.

The store had been open just a few days, but Loacker said there were already some bestsellers, including paper city maps and these country-themed patches.

Souvenir Sunday at the Boeing Store

May 24, 2014Harriet BaskasShopping, Souvenir Sunday, Souvenirs777, 787, Boeing, EVA Air, The Boeing Store

It’s always fun to go to Everett, Wash. for a delivery ceremony for a new airplane and last week there was an especially festive event for EVA Air to celebrate delivery of the airline’s 16th and 17th Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

These two planes are the first to sport the new Panasonic eX3 in-flight entertainment system and feature a variety of seat, service and amenity upgrades.

Going to a delivery ceremony in Everett also offers the opportunity to shop at the Boeing Store and stock up on airplane-shaped paperclips and tins of 787 & 777 mints.

Want some of these?

You can, of course, go the Boeing Store and get some there, or you can send me a photo and some descriptive information about a fun, inexpensive and locally-themed souvenir you’ve found at an airport or aviation center.

If your souvenir is featured on Souvenir Sunday, I’ll send you a ‘reward’ from my stash of recently scored souvenirs from the Boeing Store.

Souvenir Sunday at Lincoln Airport

May 4, 2014Harriet BaskasSouvenir Sunday, SouvenirsArrow Spot, corny souvenirs, Lincoln Airport, tractors

Arrow Sport on display at Lincoln Airport

Greetings from Nebraska’s Lincoln Airport, where this Arrow Sport – one of only six known to be in existence – hangs from the baggage claim ceiling.

The bag claim area of this small airport is also where I found this tractor from the collection of the Larsen Tractor Test & Power Museum on the University of Nebraska campus.

There’s only one shop at Lincoln Airport, but I was delighted to find plenty of these corny souvenirs on the shelves:

Do you shop for souvenirs when you’re stuck at the airport? If you spot something that’s inexpensive, locally-themed and a bit offbeat, please snap a photo and send it along to us here at StuckatTheAirport.com.

If your souvenir is featured on Souvenir Sunday, you’ll receive a fun travel souvenir.

Souvenir Sunday at 08 Left

April 26, 2014Harriet BaskasArt, Souvenir Sunday, Souvenirs08 Left, Air traffic control, aviation geeks

It’s Souvenir Sunday, a day to take a look at some of the fun things you can buy at airports.

This week’s treats aren’t for sale at any particular airport (yet..) but can be found online at the website of 08 Left, which has a line of travel, airport and air traffic control-related designs that they can put on everything from coasters (below) and t-shirts to clocks, prints and shower curtains.

“08 Left happens to be a runway in Paris where our family visited a few years ago and we loved it! So we went with it,” says Ryan Miller, who runs the site from Spokane, WA with his wife Heidi. “It’s been a blast to talk to all kinds of pilots, air traffic controllers and travelers about airports, cities, and art that might help them remember and represent where they’ve been,” said Miller.

Here are some more images from their line:

Souvenir Sunday at SFO airport

April 13, 2014Harriet BaskasShopping, Souvenir Sunday, SouvenirsMcEvoy Ranch, SFO airport, travel souvenirs

It’s Souvenir Sunday – a day to take a look at some of the fun, inexpensive and locally-themed items you can pick up when you’re stuck at the airport.

This week’s treats come from the Marin-county-based McEvoy Ranch pop-up shop in the recently re-opened Boarding area E (T3E), which serves United Airlines flights in Terminal 3 at San Francisco International Airport.

The shop, which has a lease for just one year, is selling its locally sourced olive oils and body care products.

Testing – and buying – their lotions was tempting; especially with the free tube-with-purchase offer. But I settled on one of the shop’s best-selling items: the $7 lip balm made with California certified extra virgin olive oil, vitamin E, peppermint essential oil, beeswax and other organic ingredients.

Do you spend time in the shops when you’re stuck at the airport? If you find a locally-themed item that’s fun, inexpensive and perhaps a bit offbeat, please snap a photo and send it along to StuckatTheAirport.com.

If your souvenir is featured on Souvenir Sunday, I’ll send you a special souvenir from my travels.

Souvenir Sunday at Hong Kong Int’l Airport

March 30, 2014Harriet BaskasAirports, Shopping, Souvenir Sunday, SouvenirsAirport shopping, Hong Kong Int'l Airport

It’s Souvenir Sunday – a day to take a look at some of the fun, inexpensive and locally-themed items you can find when you’re stuck at the airport.

This week’s treats come from the Hong Kong International Airport.

Colorful bags of candy are everywhere –

As are gift boxes of cakes and cookies of all kinds –

All things Mickey – and Minnie – Mouse – seem quite popular –

But I wanted to buy pretty much everything at the airport branch of the Designgallery shop, stocked with creative and innovative Hong Kong-made products.

Souvenir Sunday at the Future of Flight Aviation Center

March 16, 2014Harriet BaskasBooks, History, Souvenir Sunday, SouvenirsBoeing, Trailblazers, Women's History Month

It’s Women’s History Month and on Saturday, March 15, 2014, the Future of Flight Aviation Center & Boeing Tour hosted an event honoring some of the women who have worked at Boeing over the years as pilots, engineers, line workers and leaders.

The day was also a celebration of the publication of a new book: Trailblazers: The Women of The Boeing Company and included a gathering of many of the women featured in the book who represent company ‘firsts.’

I’ll circle back here in a few days with some more information about some of the women featured in the book, but because this is Souvenir Sunday I wanted to share a link to the book and a snap of one of the souvenirs being sold in the Boeing store to go along with the book.

Souvenir Sunday at Orlando International Airport

March 9, 2014Harriet BaskasShopping, Souvenir Sunday, SouvenirsHello Kitt, Orlando International Airport

Orlando International Airport is full of special treats for shoppers who, like me, are always on the lookout for inexpensive, somewhat offbeat, small treasures.

In addition to the treats from the airport’s Kennedy Space Center Gift Shop I featured yesterday on Snack Saturday, during my recent visit at MCO I found these two Hello Kitty items in the Sanrio store.

The orange Hello Kitty key chain fulfills the “something-related-to-a-trip-to-Florida” category and the tissues are just cute and useful.

And, of course, any time spent at Orlando International Airport offers a chance to look around at the airport’s eclectic art collection, which includes work by Jacob Lawrence and this “double-take” sculpture called “The Traveler” by Duane Hanson.

Souvenir Sunday: 2013 recap

December 29, 2013Harriet BaskasShopping, Souvenir Sunday, SouvenirsAirport shopping, gift

Souvenir shopping is one way to spend the time when you’re stuck at the airport. Especially if you can find gifts that are inexpensive, a bit offbeat and “of” the city or state you’re in.

Here are some of the souvenirs we’ve featured on Stuck at The Airport this year in our Souvenir Sunday feature:

At Louisville International Airport, we found grass; Kentucky Certified Bluegrass

At Salt Lake City International Airport, we spotted snowflakes made of salt from the Great Salt Lake:

At Vermont’s Burlington International Airport we found a flat penny machine:

And at Idaho’s Boise Airport, we learned that these Spud Buddies all but fly off the shelves.

Don’t forget: if you’re stuck at the airport and find a fun, inexpensive and somewhat offbeat souvenir that has a link to the local town or region, please snap a photo and send it along to us here at StuckatTheAirport.com.

If your souvenir is featured on Souvenir Sunday, you’ll get a fun travel-related souvenir.