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The temperatures are heating up and school’s almost out for the summer. Before we fully dive into the warmer months and vacations, we get a mini-break in the form of Memorial Day weekenda preview of coming attractionsbut it requires some planning ahead because today (Monday May 26, 2025) is a federal holiday. Lets take a look at a brief history of the day and what business and services will be closed to observe it. A brief history of Memorial Day Memorial Day has its roots in the aftermath of the Civil War. On May 30, 1868, John A. Logan, commander in chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, declared the first national observance of Declaration Day, Memorial Days predecessor, on which flowers were placed on Union soldiers graves. Even before this declaration, there were many similar Confederate customs. Many cities on both sides claim to be the originators of the holiday. As more battles were fought, the holiday evolved beyond a single conflict to honor and mourn all service members who lost their lives in the line of battle. It became an official federal holiday in 1971 after a 1968 law, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, was enacted by Congress. This moved the holiday from May 30 to the last Monday in May, giving many traditional American workers a three-day weekend. Memorial Day vs. Veterans Day Many mix up or confuse Memorial Day and Veterans Day. The former celebrates service members who have died in the line of battle. The latter takes place in November and celebrates all American veterans. Are banks open on Memorial Day? No. Major money transactions that require going inside a bank are going to have to wait as these institutions are closed on federal holidays. Are ATMs open on Memorial Day? Yes. Luckily, for simpler deposits and withdrawals, automated teller machines located outside of the branch are available. Is the post office open on Memorial Day? No. You wont be able to run into a post office on Memorial Day as the United States Postal Service (USPS) is not open for business. Buy stamps and send big packages ahead of time. Is mail delivered on Memorial Day? No. Bills and postcards will be delayed a day, as postal mail is not delivered on Memorial Day. Are FedEx and UPS operating on Memorial Day? According to the 2025 FedEx holiday schedule, only FedEx Custom Critical services will be available. FedEx Office will have a modified schedule while FedEx, FedEx Freight, and FedEx Logistics are closed. According to the 2025 UPS holiday schedule, only UPS Express Critical services are available. Limited UPS store locations will be open. UPS Forwarding, UPS Domestic Ground, Air, and International are all closed for the holiday. Is the stock market open on Memorial Day? No. You will have to buy and sell another day. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Nasdaq exchange are closed. Are schools open on Memorial Day? No. Students and teachers typically get the day off for Memorial Day. That being said, it is a good practice to double check your own schools calendar to verify this. Are restaurants open on Memorial Day? Yes. Most restaurants are open and hoping to take advantage of the three-day weekend revenue. This includes fast food chains such as McDonald’s and sit-down chains such as Applebee’s. For smaller mom-and-pop-type places, it’s best to double check that they didnt take the day off. Are pharmacies open on Memorial Day? Typically, yes. Most Walgreens and CVS locations will be open, but they may have modified hours. Be sure to check your local location ahead of time, especially if you need your medication in a pinch. Moreover, independent pharmacies may be closed. Are stores and groceries open on Memorial Day? For the most part, yes. Big-box retailers like Walmart and Target are open on Memorial Day, according to a roundup from USA Today. If you need a last-minute bottle of ketchup or mustard for your hamburgers and hot dogs, you are covered. Trader Joes, Kroger, and many more have your back. The majority of large supermarket chains will be open for all your family barbecue needs. Costco, however, will be closed, so buy in bulk ahead of time.
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E-Commerce
Polaroids new collaboration with the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MoMA) is designed to make your retro photos look like colorful works of pop artand it feels like a flashback to 2014. The partnership includes two exclusive items: an $130 Polaroid camera and a separate $22 set of eight custom film frames. The camera itself is an analog instant cameraspecifically, Polaroids Now Generation 3 modelrendered in a bright blue housing, complete with the MoMA wordmark in a lighter blue across the front. Included with the device are three neon, MoMA branded wrist straps to customize the look. [Photo: Polaroid] Where the collaboration really shines is with its custom Polaroid film frames. The MoMA and Polaroid teams have designed 12 unique frames, each in high-octane color combinations like turquoise and bright red or lemon yellow and blue. Six of the frames feature the MoMA logo, while the other six come pre-captioned with quotes from artists including Carmen Herrera, Betye Saar, Meret Oppenheim, and Milton Glaser. You might receive a quote like, I am interested in restless ideas, by An-My L, or If one truly loves nature, one finds beauty everywhere, by Vincent Van Gogh. [Photo: Polaroid] Its a cute, if corny, concept that feels like it wouldve gone instantly viral in Tumblrs hey-day of quote posting and aesthetic collages. According to a press release, the collab is intended to capture the ethos of those who dared to see the world differently and invite todays creatives to do the same. For anyone who’s interested in the camera but not the inspiring quotes, the device is also compatible with regular Polaroid i-Type film. This new collection is one of several recent collaborations that Polaroid has produced based on design and art icons, including an Eames-inspired Now Generation 2 camera and another Now Generation 2 thats fully decked out in imagery from Jean-Michel Baquiats artwork Boy and Dog in a Johnypump.
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E-Commerce
Conferences can be great for creating energy and fueling motivation. I recently attended a creative living workshop led by Elizabeth Gilbert at Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Arizona. I left feeling ready to take on the world. Unfortunately, that feeling can fade when you log off the computer, step off the plane, or simply reenter normal life. For me, my feeling of confidence towards more creative projects started to dwindle and imposter syndrome reentered my internal dialogue. Inspirational environments trigger a dopamine response that temporarily alters our baseline state, creating what neuroscientists call a peak state, says Andrew Hogue, co-CEO of the nervous system wellness app Neurofit. But this physiological shift has evolved to be temporary. Your nervous system naturally regulates back to its usual set point once you return to everyday life. While its natural for the excitement to wane, there are things you can do to relight the fire. Here are five ways to keep the energy going: Start Small Resist the urge to overhaul yourself with everything you just learned immediately, say Corry Frazier and Melissa Pepin, entrepreneur business coaches at The Business Reboot. Instead, give yourself time to sit with these fresh ideas and see what resonates. What aligns best with you? asks Frazier. Think of it like waiting 24 hours before making a big purchaseif it still feels like the right move after some reflection, then its worth pursuing. Darcy Eikenberg, author of Red Cape Rescue: Save Your Career Without Leaving Your Job, recommends reserving an extra day after the conference for reflection. Too often we rush back into our daily lives, losing both the energy and the value of the new learning we’ve had, she says. Instead, think about this extra day as the way to make sure your investment in the conference pays off. Review your goals and reassess where you are and where you want to go. But Dont Wait Too Long While you should be mindful of your next step, its also smart to take advantage of your heightened motivation before life takes over. Patrice Williams-Lindo, CEO of Career Nomad, a career strategist, recommends blocking one hour the week after to act on your biggest takeawaythe idea that hit you like a lightning bolt. Capture that insight, then break it down into micro-actions, she says. Instead of I need to build my personal brand, reframe it into three doable steps, such as update my LinkedIn bio, post one thought leadership piece, reach out to a potential mentor. Share What You Learned One of the best ways to reinforce what you learned and remember how you felt is to share your experience publicly, such as posting on LinkedIn or another social media platform, says Eikenberg. Writing about a conference also allows you to show appreciation for key speakers or even the organizers, all who value knowing how their event helped, she says. Shanna Hocking, author of One Bold Move a Day: Meaningful Actions Women Can Take to Fulfill Their Leadership and Career Potential, recommends keeping the information fresh by bringing it back to your coworkers. Teach what you learned to others, which extends the learning for you and your team, she says. Measure Your Actions Results build momentum that can fuel excitement, says Pepin. You wont always feel the same high you did right after the retreat, and relying on a feeling to sustain is unrealistic, she says. Instead, commit to showing up consistently, again and again, because, in the end, discipline and persistence truly elevate your success. Williams-Lindo recommends creating a 90-day challenge. Real transformation happens in the trenches, not just in the moment, she explains. Assign yourself a 90-day implementation goalwhether its launching that side hustle, refining your leadership style, or mastering AI tools for work. Create Environmental Triggers Finally, consider your physical environment, which has a powerful influence on your physiology, says Hogue. To take advantage of this, choose one specific object from the conference and place it in your primary workspace. [It] can help you remember the physiological feelings associated with your inspired state, he says. Additionally, if there were any specific scents, songs, or sounds associated with the event, these are also a very powerful way to access the associated memories. Hocking also recommends keeping visual reminders of the retreat or conference nearby. Display your notes, a quote, or a visual by your desk so your learning and commitment are front of mind, she says. At the end of the Creative Living retreat, Gilbert asked us to review our notes and circle five sentences or phrases that held the greatest meaning. Then we combined them into a five-line piece of motivational poetry. This is now pinned to the bulletin board in my workspace. Sustainable motivation over time comes from working with your body, says Hogue. By doing so, you can maintain your inspiration long after that latest conference or event has passed, he says.
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E-Commerce
Visit just about any downtown on a weekend and you will likely happen upon a farmers market. Or, you might grab lunch from a food truck outside a local brewpub or winery. Very likely, there is a community-shared kitchen or food entrepreneur incubator initiative behind the scenes to support this growing foodie ecosystem. As rural America gains younger residents, and grows more diverse and increasingly digitally connected, these dynamics are driving a renaissance in craft foods. One food entrepreneur incubator, Hope & Main Kitchen, operates out of a school that sat vacant for over 10 years in the small Rhode Island town of Warren. Its business incubation program, with over 300 graduates to date, gives food and beverage entrepreneurs a way to test, scale and develop their products before investing in their own facilities. Its markets also give entrepreneurs a place to test their products on the public and buyers for stores, while providing the community with local goods. Food has been central to culture, community and social connections for millennia. But food channels, social media food influencers and craft brews have paved the way for a renaissance of regional beverage and food industry startups across America. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Hope & Main: Culinary Incubator (@hopemain) In my work in agriculture economics, I see connections between this boom in food and agriculture innovation and the inflow of young residents who are helping revitalize rural America and reinvigorate its Main Streets. Why entrepreneurs are embracing rural life An analysis of 2023 U.S. Census Bureau data found that more people have been moving to small towns and rural counties in recent years, and that the bulk of that population growth is driven by 25- to 44-year-olds. This represents a stark contrast to the 2000s, when 90% of the growth for younger demographics was concentrated in the largest metro areas. !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r
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E-Commerce
It was a fun moment to be online. When the news broke on May 8 that Pope Franciss successor would be the first-ever American to hold the sacred positionand a Chicagoan, no lesssocial media erupted with celebration and Windy City-specific memes. Within days, some of those memes had morphed into t-shirts for sale. As the conversation around Pope Leo XIV quickly spread to his environmentalist leanings and political opinions, though, the wellspring of unauthorized merchandise spread far beyond novelty shirts that read Da Pope. What has flourished in the days since is a broader pope economy that spans clothing, memorabilia, food, tourism, and moreboth in the U.S. and in Rome. Demand in both places appears largely driven by Americans. Stateside fervor for pope merchandise is not without precedent, of course. A pontifical cottage industry sprang up around Pope Franciss 2015 visit to Philadelphia, for instance. Along with t-shirts commemorating the event, Philly streets were flooded with plush pope dolls, life-sized cardboard cutouts, and other pope swag. There was even pope cheese, a mozzarella ball shaped like the bishop of Rome. Considering this level of entrepreneurial excitement marked the occasion of a sitting pope merely visiting the U.S., its no wonder so many people have found creative ways to capitalize on an American ascending to the papacy. No business like pope business The scope of the pope-based merch empire is already vast. It has a devotional side, with various faith-based online retailers lining up to sell prayer cards, framed portraits, and an insta-book called When the White Smoke Clears: A Guide to Pope Leo XIV’s Early Days, which currently has a June 30 release date. Topps offered a limited-release Pope Leo-themed trading card for four days in May, and reportedly sold 133,535 units at $8.99 a pop. (Though the cards are part of a special Topps collection marking significant moments in sports and culture, Pope trading cards date back to the early 1900s.) The Pope Leo cards are now being listed at up to $199 on eBay. For those who would like something a little more three-dimensional, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum recently put on presale two separate iterations of Pope Leo for $30 each. Theres also piping hot content on the way: Castletown Medias forthcoming documentary, Pope Leo XVI: A Pontiffs Path, which is expected to reside on an upcoming faith-based streaming service called CREDO. Perhaps some of the many viewers who made 2025 Oscar nominee Conclave a massive hit on streaming during Pope Leos election will be among the first to tune in. Unsurprisingly, Chicago has become the white-hot epicenter for stateside Popemania. The merch frenzy includes custom White Sox jerseys, in the wake of Pope Leos brother dispelling rumors of Cubs fandom and archival video footage confirming his Sox bona fides. The Chicago sports shop Grandstand claimed to Sports Illustrated that their Sox jerseys with the Popes name on it are outselling those of any other player on the team. The Soxs home, Rate Field, took the teams papal love public, installing a mural of him at the stadium. Beloved Chi-town restaurant chain Portillos also named a new sandwich The Leo, which it describes as divinely seasoned Italian Beef, baptized in gravy. Meanwhile, in Evanston, Bennisons Bakery is offering limited edition cookies that bear Pope Leos likeness. Chicago may eventually become an even bigger tourist destination for the faithful. The owner of Pope Leos now-decrepit childhood churchSt. Mary of the Assumption, on Chicagos south sideis reportedly in talks to convert the space into a place of worship for local congregations, with a food pantry named after the new pope. (The Chicago suburb in which he grew up intends to either purchase his childhood home that was up for sale, or obtain it through eminent domain, and allow it to be viewed and visited by the public as a historic site.) A lot of the papal tourism, however, is currently taking place in Rome. When in Rome Americans already account for the largest segment of tourist visits to Rome, with a record 2.5 million arriving in 2024 alone, according to The Guardian. Now that an American will occupy the Chair of St. Peter in Vatican City, though, vendors and various service providers are preparing for a full-on religious tourist invasion. Tour companies are reporting an increase in bookings for pilgrimages, especially from Americans. The owner of Atlante Star, a hotel in Rome known for its impressive view over St Peters Basilica, told The Guardian ahead of Pope Leos inaugural service on May 18 that the hotel was mostly full with people from North America, and not just pilgrims. And as in Chicago, culinary business owners near the Vatican, including gelato makers and brewers, are offering pope-themed confections to entice American visitors. Within two days of Pope Leo XIVs election, posters, magnets and other small items featuring him have gone on sale in Rome pic.twitter.com/LfVJWXiYLE— Reuters (@Reuters) May 10, 2025 Out on the streets of Rome, some vendors began to sell posters and trinkets bearing the new popes name and image within 48 hours of his election. No official Pope Leo XIV holy cards or rosaries have gone on sale yet in the Vatican gift shop, though, nor are any available at many of the other souvenir shops throughout the city, which are reportedly waiting for the authorization of the dicastery, a department within the administrative body of the Holy See, to be able to sell merch celebrating the new pope. Waiting seems like a wise moveand not just because it will give all remaining official Pope Francis merch a chance to sell out. Divine copyright protection The Vatican, it turns out, has a long history of legally protecting the popes image. Back in 2009, toward the end of Pope Benedict XVIs tenure, the Holy See essentially declared a divine copyright. Citing a “great increase of affection and esteem for the person of the Holy Father” as contributing to broader use the Pontiff’s name and image, the Vatican emphasized that “it alone has the right to ensure the respect due to the Successors of Peter, and therefore, to protect the Pope from unauthorized uses of his name, image, or any related symbols. Perhaps inspired by all the papal ephemera Pope Francis and his handlers would have seen during the 2015 trip to the U.S., the Vatican went on the offensive two years later. In 2017, it hired global law firm Baker McKenzie to protect the rights to its intellectual property. (Representatives for Baker McKenzie did not respond to Fast Companys request for comment on the work it may have done, or continues to do, for the Catholic Church.) Its unclear how long it will take for the Vatican to authorize official Pope Leo XIV merch. According to Italian news organization Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata, it could be as soon as a matter of weeks. In the meantime, the enterprising souls selling trinkets and sandwiches with the popes name appear to be taking advantage of a Wild West moment of slow trademark enforcement. In the long haul, those Da Pope shirts made in America fall under the parody allowance in the fair use doctrine, but the online merch store with the audacious URL officialpopeleoxiv.com seems destined for litigation. (The operator of the site did not respond to a request for comment, but WHOIS Domain Lookup shows that it went live on May 9 and operates out of Reykjavik.) Retailers selling rosaries decorated with Pope Leos face, and supposedly blessed by him, may be able to operate unimpeded for the moment. If any folks operating unauthorized shops are religious, though, a much greater punishment than litigation could serve as a deterrent.
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E-Commerce
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