New Tutorial - The Lisbon Earring

 

click on over here for this new earring tutorial...kinda nice, huh? 

$20 on the 20th!

Did you know that the dollars you spend with a local merchant are magnified in your community?
Of course you did! Purchases made with a local business create more jobs for the community, add to the local tax base and keep Raleigh unique.

One way to make sure you don't forget to patronize your favorite local merchants is to add '$20 on the 20th' to your calendar. This will remind you to make some of your purchases at locally owned businesses every month.

This month I am thinking about the holidays and entertaining. I am going to head to the Corner Store at Marbles Kid's Museum for these fun chopsticks. I don't know what we are serving for meals but I think adding these to the table setting will be sure to keep diners of all ages laughing and engaged. The Corner Store is a great place to get kiddo-oriented birthday gifts all year round, by the way!

For more information about the $20 on the 20th program and the Shop Local Raleigh campaign visit this site. You'd be amazed the impact your purchases make on your local community!

Shop Local with $20 on the 20th

One place you can sometimes find me early in the mornings sweeping the leaves away from our front door at Ornamentea. Because of other duties, I don't get to do this every day and I consider this task a bit of a luxury. Yeah, I know that sounds odd. Sweeping a luxury? It is. Really. When I am sweeping I think of all the small shop owners in the history of bead shops, bakeries and commerce in general who have started their day by clearing the path to their shops. I am a baker in Marseille, a seamstress on High Street, a haberdasher on Newberry Street.  I think of preparing the space for my customers, making an environment that energizes and encourages them to be their best creative selves. Sweeping the path to my door is medatative and calming and helps me focus on why I do what I do.

The economy over the last few years has made it tough on all us dreamy, sweepy shop owners. We open the doors to our little local shops daily but have to compete more and more with large, national chains and on line retailers*. This is a shame: as locally-based retailers we give so much more back to our communities than the big chains. For every $100 spent with a locally-based merchant, $68 comes back to the community via taxes, payroll and services. When you spend that same $100 with a chain only $43 comes back home to pave your streets, pay your school teachers and employ your friends**. We small merchants contribute to our local economy without tax incentives to locate our businesses here, or ribbon cutting ceremonies featuring prominent politicians. We locate our businesses here because we live here. Our children play in the parks, we drive on the streets, we need the police departments and fire fighters. Our money is spent here too; we have local accountants, local hairdressers, local landlords. We are your neighbors and friends.

Now, I know you are busy and sometimes you just have to get a roll of toilet paper and some light bulbs and a mop and get on with your day. I have those days, too. To help us all remember to shop locally, the folks at Shop Local Raleigh have created the $20 on the 20th campaign. It's easy, just spend $20 at a local store you like on the 20th of each month. It doesn't have to be splurgy items; those light bulbs and toilet paper? You can get those at Burke Brother's Hardware. As a special bonus for you, my crafty Raleigh friend, you can also wander their aisles and find all kinds of tools and do-dads you need. It's way better than super mega ultramart.

*yes, I know we have a website and sometimes WE compete with other local bead stores in other towns. this is a dog-eat-dog conundrum that worries me.I'll write more later about how I try to make this even out a bit...but please let me know what you think in the comments after this post.
**source, the 3/50 project