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Agnes Preston-Brame and her husband, Gary Brame, travel to places including Budapest, bringing back treasures for their shop, Jules Antiques and Fine Art (530 S. Elm St., Greensboro; 389-9934).

Store shelves were recently stocked with more than 1,000 pieces of quality, costume jewelry with prices beginning at $5.

Jules recently began its winter sale, with discounts on oriental rugs, accessories, antique furnishings and more. Sale ends March 20.

The couple also own Jules-Too! (524 S. Elm St.; 389-9934), featuring high-quality consignment furniture, accessories and collectables, and Metamorphosis (530 S. Elm St.; 373-1713) a residential and commercial interior design firm.

Junk in the Trunk expands

Thrift stores have done well in these tough economic times. Just ask Lori Bare, owner of Junk in the Trunk (4207 Summit Ave.; 375-7045).

She recently doubled the size of her store to 3,000 square feet to meet a growing demand for items on a budget.

"It's absolutely the economy," she said.

She also attributes her success to having better merchandise and lower prices than her competitors.

The store sells antiques, household items, clothes and baby items. It also has small furniture such as coffee tables, end tables, mirrors, lamps, chairs and desks.

Junk in the Trunk has daily specials including 50 percent off all items under $50 on Fridays, not including furniture.

Hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The store also works with several schools and churches in the area and accepts donations.

Free membership offer

Women can get a free membership at Curves' Triad locations if they donate food.

Those who already belong get a free, reusable Curves grocery freezer bag.

Here's the deal. Donate a bag of nonperishable groceries or give at least $30 between March 8 and March 20 and join Curves for free.

Members who do the same get the freezer bag.

The food drive and money raised benefit local food banks.

You also get to participate in a companywide contest for the most food drive donations collected by Curves locations across the country.

Winners can receive one of several cash prizes to be donated to their local food bank.

More information including finding the closest Curves near you at www.curves.com.

Stepping up for Haiti

The Finish Line shoe store is collecting donations for Samaritan's Feet, a nonprofit that's helping distribute shoes in earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

The Finish Line Youth Foundation is also matching donations from customers up to the first $50,000 collected.

Those funds will be distributed to Action Against Hunger, a global humanitarian organization that's participating in relief efforts in Haiti.

You can also donate a pair of new or gently used shoes on behalf of Finish Line's partner, Souls4Shoes, which has pledged to provide 1 million pairs of shoes to Haiti.

Finish Line has stores at Four Seasons Towne Centre, Burlington Outlet Center and Hanes Mall in Winston-Salem.

Visit www.finishline.com.

Coupons a big deal

If you're using coupons, you're part of a growing trend. That's because the number of coupons redeemed last year increased by 27 percent from 2008, according to Inmar, a coupon processing firm.

About 3.3 billion coupons were redeemed in 2009, the first time more coupons were used compared with the previous year since 1992.

Coupon use really took off in October 2008 when the financial crisis began.

Those coupons can add up, too, because you're saving an average of $1.44 per coupon.

If you're reading this online, remember that the News & Record is packed with coupons on Sundays for about the cost of what you'd save on one coupon: $1.50.

This year's hot toys

It's a little too early to be asking what your kids want for Christmas. But it's not too early for toy stores to wonder.

Thousands of retail buyers gathered at the nation's largest toy fair this week to stare into their crystal holiday ball to figure out what children want this year.

Last year's breakout Zhu-Zhu Pets, a battery-operated hamster toy, is back at the American International Toy Fair with a few changes.

Monopoly, which turns 75 this year, is celebrating with a new, round board and an electronic game unit that keeps track of your location, plus song clips and sound effects.

Retail experts are predicting an iPod-like electronic toy for preschoolers called the iXL will be a hit with kids.

The toy fair comes as retail experts predict you'll be spending a little bit more on toys this year.

Record video in a flash

A growing number of camcorders are storing video using built-in memory, or flash, instead of using mini-DVDs or other storage formats.

It makes it easier to transfer video to your computer or other devices.

Another plus? Camcorders are becoming even more compact and easy to carry.

Flash-based camcorders can record video using internal memory, cards digital cameras use, or both.

Consumer Reports' March issue rates some flash-based camcorders worthy of consideration, including those that shoot high-definition video.

Become Web Savvy

Check out Bargain Blog, where you can sign up to become a fan of the blog's Facebook page.

Also, subscribe to the free, weekly Bargain Bytes e-newsletter at www.news-record.com/bargains. You can sign up for my Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/ bargainblog.

Contact Mike Fuchs at 373-3465 or michael.fuchs@news-record.com