I love Amazon.com as much as the next gal, but when it comes to quality customer service, attention to detail, and small businesses dedicated to differentiating themselves, I'll happily shop locally. Over the weekend, we did just that by celebrating the girls' fifth birthday at a nearby bookstore called
"The Reading Reptile." While talking with one of the other moms, we agreed it reminds us of the Little Shop on the Corner from the Meg Ryan/Tom Hanks movie "You've Got Mail."
Deb, the owner, was in charge of the "Arty Party." Uber-organized and efficient, she'd memorized all the kids' names within a matter of minutes. She read them stories (all sat and listened intently), made clay with them, and then walked everyone through three cool art projects. We finished up with cupcakes the kids got to decorate. A wonderful time was had by all, and it was definitely a memorable morning for Abby & Izzy!
This place is what I imagine Heaven might be like, where characters from mine and my children's best-loved books come alive in paper-mache all over the place (all made by
Deb, the crafty and talented owner!):
So my message to you today and this holiday season (and beyond)?
Shop locally.
Go where everybody knows your name (kinda like that theme song from "Cheers").
I don't want to lose places like
Reading Reptile that make my city what it is---unique and amazing.
What is your "Little Shop on the Corner?" Do you support your local merchants?
24 comments:
This kinda hits home with me because my mom had a wonderful and unique gift shop in our downtown shopping area which was driven out of business by the big guys. She simply couldn't compete with their prices. :(
Looks like a wonderful book store.
i love local shopping so much more than big name. I do it as much as possible. :-) My favorite bookstore here in Wilmington, DE is the 9th Street Bookstore. It's in the city and a great local business. I rarely buy books (love the library) but when I do, this is the place I go.
My goal this holiday season is to buy gifts as locally as possible. So far, so good. :-)
Oh that shop sounds like so much fun!
Hard to believe, but we do have a lot of local merchants here in Vegas. I live in the Henderson area, and there is a shopping area called The District, where local merchants set up stands and display their particular goodies from their stores or online businesses. I try to shop The District at least every month and always find something unique.
Such a refreshing option to the chain stores!
Terri
What a fabulous book store, Erin! Thank you for the reminder about supporting local businesses.
We are very fortunate to have a lot of indy businesses here in the NC triangle area -- bookstores, art galleries, boutiques, markets, arts + crafts co-ops. I try to shop at them instead of the big box stores whenever I can.
Those paper-mache characters are amazing! A great reminder to support the local businesses!
-Ally
This shop looks great! I wish we had something like this in our town, but we sadly do not. We have a Walden's in the mall close-by, and a Borders 45 mins away.
Wow. What amazing book store. It is absolutely shop on the corner. I do try to frequent local stores, but we don't have anything this special nearby. I mainly "buy local" through my hairdresser, oil change, car repair, etc. They are trying to revitalize the downtown square and a new book store is coming, so a girl can hope!
Oh I would love that shop. When I lived in NY, we used to go to a little store in Tribeca called "Happy Baby" which was such a cute name (and cute store). It's changed owners now.
Very cool! Where I grew up (and lived until I was 25) there was a great local bookstore that always had books in French. That truly was heaven to me!
Oh! I wanna live there!! That shop looks awesome.
What a wonderful bookstore!!!! I wish we had something like that here in our town!
For gifts for my MIL, FIL and my mom and stepdad, I'm buying from Etsy shops. I like the idea of handmade gifts and helping someone who relies on their talent to help themselves make an income!
I'm just absolutely floored by her artwork. It must make her shop so magical for every child that comes in!
This is my favorite Little Shop on the Corner: http://nomadcambridge.com/
What a FUN party! I love it...I would do that in a heartbeat for Owen.
There is this amazing local restaurant owned by this classy couple. Going there is like traveling to culinary heaven. Although it's no IHOP. :-)
What a great party, and a larger than life Olivia! Good for you for going local.
What an amazing store!
And yes, I do shop locally. Tim and I try to as much as we can.
I just bought birthday gifts for friends at a local toy/school supply/gift shop just minutes from our house. And next door is a new coffee shop owned by the same people. AND, they have THE best cupcakes made by a woman whose son goes to the same pre-school as G. It's actually kinda nice to live in a smaller town, for that reason... We really try to support the smaller businesses in town.
Also (yes, this may end up being the longest comment ever!) Tim's Grandparents used to own their own bookstore and his mother cannot watch "You've Got Mail" without crying. We have MANY autographed books that are to Tim and/or have been gifted to us, from them in the last several years and I just LOVE that.
K, I'm finally done. :)
Max is amazing! He made me smile!
Sadly in the suburbs there aren't to many independent merchants for books and the like. My most frequent interaction with small business owners is from going to the little local pizza shops.
great blog, & post. i miss mine from back home, where i am now, idk where theres any. i have not been able to venture that far yet.
I wish we had a place like this where I live. Absolutely adorable!! My son would be in heaven!
That place does look very cool. But.
That Olivia creeps me the f**k out.
*shudder*
I love to discover quirky local shops. Sadly, we are lacking those in my neck of the woods. :(
Yay for shopping local! In my hometown there's this adorable little treat shop. They make their own fudge!!! I have no problem shopping there;)
Post a Comment