Sunday, August 29, 2010

Best Fan Mail Ever

One of the things that's most impressed me about our business over the last 3 seasons is our awesome ratio of fan mail to hate mail. Seriously, when do people ever take the time to write to someone they don't know other than when they're feeling angry, disappointed or stiffed?

Several times a week, though, people write to say they love our pops, and seriously, guys.....that really is what keeps us keepin' on.

We'll say it here: OUR POPSIFANS ARE THE BEST, EVER!

So in the interest of celebrating y'all, see below for some of the best mail of the past 3 summers.

Here's the first-ever letter we got, sent Aug 17, 2008, from a woman who's come pretty much every weekend since:

Hi! Just wanted to drop a note to let you know that you're doing AWESOME things and my boyfriend and I look forward to your popsicles every Sunday. Even when you aren't there!
Thanks, Meredith


Caroline Rogers of the beautiful Looks Good To Me made our day by sending us this gorgeous watercolor she drew from the inspiration of our pops at the DUMBO Flea. The shape is wrong, but I really love the way it looks.


This one made us feel like heroes:

Dear People's Pops,
I am writing to say thank you. I have an ulcer and I'm stuck on the acid reflux diet. Among other things, I can't eat dairy, citrus, chocolate, or spices. This summer has been hard - I'm so jealous when I see people walk around the city with their ice cream cones and cups of fro yo. I've also discovered that most ice pops in the store are made with lemon or lime juice. The only icy treat I've found to eat this summer is vanilla tofutti, which leaves much to be desired.

Long story short, the strawberry rhubarb people's pop I had today SAVED MY SUMMER!

Thank you!!

This rad-looking chick sent us a picture of herself in front of a snowscape. We liked it so much that we put it on the "Who We Are" page of our website.




From a chatty Cathy who befriended David one day....

Hi David,

how are things going?

I checked out the pear pop a few days ago and I loved it!

I am staying at Janos house in Ardley over the weekend (Dr.Janos Marton, director of the Living Museum, Queens), he lives in this incredible old beautiful old Victorian style Villa with dozens of rooms and antique furntiure and a steinway grand piano, and I am enjoying being here sitting on the Veranda surrounded by a huge beautiful magical garden with the smell of wonderful flowers, cardigan birds that are singing for me and others and working on my doctorate...playing in between with three perrot beauties and dogs and cats...life is just amazing......

Tomorrow I will move on to Williamsburg and spend some time in NYC in the evenings....I will go out with a formerly Miss Sweden and stone sculptor tomorrow evening, she fell in love with me and wants to take me out for dinner and then to the prescreening from a movie about Basquiat...how exciting! Friday my plane is going back- I am fullfilled with a lot of NY stories that are engraved in my heart.

Take a close eye onto yourself, keep your buisness running with ambition and passion!

Sincerely

R visiting from Switzerland

Lee Ann from Dallas was psyched:

I live in Dallas and am currently pregnant with our second child and in the middle of awful morning sickness. I am surviving on popsicles, and thinking every day about how wonderful your pops are. So, here's to hoping that you are someday soon in a Whole Foods or other venue within driving distance of Dallas. Until then, you will be a planned stop on all my future trips to NYC. There is nothing like your pops in the stores here..... Keep it up!

Lee Ann

Then there was this puzzling missive:

I had a blueberry and cream pop at the Chelsea Market back in June.

I wish I could have another, but unfortunately, I live many miles from there.

Perhaps I will visit again this summer and have another even though I know it will be a differetn flavor.


And who could forget the German tourist who hand-felted a People's Pop and sent us the photo:



Running a small business is BRUTAL. Every day, we have multiple moments when we wonder why we put up with the aggravation. When you write to tell us you love the pops, though, we remember why we do it, and....this makes everything worthwhile.

So thanks!!

In love & pops,

Joel, David & Nat


ADDENDUM 10/1/10

Following this post, popsifan Lia sent us this sweet pic:



Thanks Lia!!

Monday, August 23, 2010

People's Pops and Red Jacket Orchards, Sitting In A Tree



If you pinned the fruit season to a mathematical curve, this might be kind of what it would look like. For most of the year, there's zilch--and then all of a sudden, le deluge.

People's Pops to the rescue!! We've teamed up with the heroes at Red Jacket Orchards, our favorite farmers at the NYC Greenmarket, to offer a collaboration that solves this oversupply issue, just in time for the height of summer. Here's how it goes:
  1. Red Jacket sells us whatever fruit is at the absolute peak of its abundant season.
  2. The diligent elves at People's Pops turn the fruit into ice pops (peach-basil, plum-blueberry).
  3. Red Jacket takes the pops to the Greenmarket.
  4. New Yorkers everywhere are seized by an exquisite happiness they can't quite identify the source of...
  5. ...until they walk through the Greenmarket and see the SWEET-ASS UMBRELLA shading the lucky pop vendor at the Red Jacket Orchards stands (our elves are jealous).
From now until the fruit runs out, find Red Jacket Orchards' People's Pops at the following Greenmarkets:

Monday: Union Square
Tuesday: Borough Hall
Wednesday: Union Square
Thursday: Bowling Green
Friday: Union Square
Saturday: McCarren Park
Sunday: Midwood.

Is this a marriage made in heaven, or what??



We think so.