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Small Business Saturday

November 26th, 2011

Machine-made things are children of the brain; they are not very human. The more they spread, the less the human being is needed. What seems to be a great advance is also a great step backward; the desire for the natural as opposed to the artificial surely has some basic, unchanging significance.

Robyn Griggs Lawrence (The Wabi-Sabi House: The Japanese Art of Imperfect Beauty)

As a small business owner I’d like to encourage all of you to support your small local businesses not just today, which happens to be Small Business Saturday, but every day. Think about shopping local artisans for you holiday gifting this year. I love the uniqueness of the kinds of gifts I can find at Local Roots Market in Wooster, OH. Here’s a sampling of what I saw last time I went to the market.






Considering spending some of your gift money this season on items made by human hands or to use your hands to make some of your gifts. If you can’t find small local artisans in your are, search on-line or try Etsy.com. You’ll not only be giving a unique one of a kind gift, you’ll be supporting the small arts community not just in your area, but around the country as well.

Do you have a great local place for unique handmade gift items? Any great websites for beautiful handmade items?

16 Comments to “Small Business Saturday”
  1. daisy on November 26, 2011 at 8:13 am

    What a lovely and timely post. That shop looks just darling!

    Reply to daisy's comment

  2. Kathi Cook on November 26, 2011 at 9:15 am

    Our (and many ) farm markets host artisans. I love to shop fom them whenever I can. Last year I made several “market baskets” for friends with different fam market products (soaps, cheese, syrup etc.) The area Waldorf school fair also has the most beautiful handcrafted items especially for children. I love Etsy as well.

    Reply to Kathi Cook's comment

  3. DeeDee on November 26, 2011 at 9:35 am

    I’m planning on spending my Small Business Saturday at a winter farmers market I just discovered to stock up for the Dark Days challenge! So excited!

    Reply to DeeDee's comment

  4. Lisa@The Cutting Edge of Ordinary on November 26, 2011 at 9:40 am

    We did some Small Business Friday here yesterday. I would never visit a mega-mart on Black Friday, but we did go to 2 local craft fairs and purchase a few gifts from local artisans!

    Reply to Lisa@The Cutting Edge of Ordinary's comment

  5. tj on November 26, 2011 at 9:52 am

    …I long to live near a town that offers shops & boutiques such as what you displayed here. Just wonderful. :o)

    …Enjoy your day!

    …Blessings :o)

    Reply to tj's comment

  6. Pearl on November 26, 2011 at 12:05 pm

    I didn’t know Wooster had a place like that. I will have to check it out sometime. Do you have to have a membership or what is the membership for?

    Reply to Pearl's comment

    • Susy on November 26, 2011 at 12:33 pm

      You don’t have to have a membership to shop there, memberships are just for showing your support. You do have to have a membership to sell there.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  7. goatpod2 on November 26, 2011 at 12:47 pm

    Don’t usually shop at places that has handmade gifts for sale though.

    Amy

    Reply to goatpod2's comment

  8. MAYBELLINE on November 26, 2011 at 12:52 pm

    ooo. Those fingerless gloves are fantastic.

    Reply to MAYBELLINE's comment

    • Susy on November 26, 2011 at 4:40 pm

      I love them too. I purchased a pair in gray and they’re very nice!

      Reply to Susy's comment

  9. Mika on November 26, 2011 at 12:56 pm

    Another fabulous site for handmade items is artfire.com. Some of us sell on etsy as well, but many don’t so you’ll find lots of things there you won’t see anywhere else!

    Reply to Mika's comment

    • Susy on November 27, 2011 at 8:22 am

      Thanks for this link, I’ll definitely check them out.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  10. Jaye Whitney on November 26, 2011 at 1:13 pm

    Yes! Our area has several privately owned businesses (jewelry, recycled books, household) that struggle to make their way among the big warehouse stores. I always shop in their stores first and usually find more than I even went for in the first place! I’m a firm believer in spending my money at such businesses.

    Reply to Jaye Whitney's comment

  11. flower shop atlanta on November 26, 2011 at 3:00 pm

    It is surprisingly hard to find hand-made items these days and it is such as shame. The Waldorf school of Atlanta teaches handwork as one of their classes and they have regular craft fairs where you can buy very nice handmade items, but in general it has gone online – Etsy is a great example of how it should be done if you have to buy online.

    Reply to flower shop atlanta's comment

  12. KimH on November 27, 2011 at 1:50 pm

    I love going to the local fairs and festivals to find all sorts of hand crafted goods.
    We went to the Apple Butter Festival in Burton a couple months ago & I went home with a handcrafted butter bell from one fellow, and a gorgeous handcrafted Merino purse/bag and a set of shoe inserts from another.
    If I ever find these folks card, (its somewhere “safe” you know) I plan to order a dozen more shoe inserts. They are the absolute most comfortable inserts I’ve worn in my life. Pure heaven.

    I didnt do any shopping yesterday since I was in Chicago visiting family, but I do support local businesses often. We must!

    Reply to KimH's comment

  13. Jenny on November 27, 2011 at 2:02 pm

    After reading these comments I am feeling very lucky to live in a small town populated with potters, weavers, spinners, fiber artists, painters, and writers. No shortage of places to buy handmade here, and I do when I don’t make my own gifts.
    I do wonder, though, if other places are really devoid of handmade things or if people have just forgotten where to look for them.

    Reply to Jenny's comment

About

This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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