My quest to buy local this year, and why it matters

This year, I won’t be found at WalMart, Kohl’s, Toys ‘R Us or any big-box retailers on black Friday.
In years past, we often dragged ourselves out of bed to hit these sales to fulfill the Christmas list, up before the dawn in quest of the latest finds at the best prices. But a lot has changed in the last two years. I lost my job. I began working with local Richmond businesses and have grown to admire & respect their creativity, hard work, and unique gifts they bring to Richmond every day.
Example: we used to order our Christmas cards online, now Monica and team at <a href=”http://www.gobyinvitationonly.com” title=”By Invitation Only”>By Invitation Only</a> create beautiful cards for us. We love the personal attention, selection, and having a beautiful store to enjoy while selecting cards. More importantly though we love what Monica does for the local community: she donates thousands of dollars to local charities with gifts for silent auctions and through her work with the Innsbrook Rotary. She creates local jobs for Richmonders, and she’s fun to work with.
Last week I took the kids to World of Mirth, a Carytown toy store which is one of the few toy stores left that offer such a unique selection, crazy-cool toys and finds (even for adults!) and events for Richmond kids. The kids picked out toys for friends and I found some great ones for friends (they have a serious collection of fun bacon items for example, which suits my Southern in-laws to a “t.”) They also support <a href=”http://www.bryanandkathrynharvey.net/” title=”http://www.bryanandkathrynharvey.net/”>http://www.bryanandkathrynharvey.net/</a>, The Harvey Family foundation in honor of the former owner and her family who were slain in Richmond. Toys ‘R Us won’t.
During the St. James fair I bought jewelry for family from Lori Rowland, darling hand-made cards from Zou Zous Basement, and handmade cheese straws from Three Sisters. Today I’m picking up a couple copies of Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors from Michele Young-Stone, Richmond mom who wrote her first–and incredibly excellent–novel. The family photo of us shown here was snapped by Jamie Hayes who, with the help of his partner Mary Fisk-Taylor give thousands of dollars to Richmond non-profits each year through donations, toy drives, and gifts of their time.
What’s so cool is that each of us, no matter our budget, has the ability to change Richmond’s landscape, both physically, creatively, and artistically, not to mention financially.
I’ll work hard to uncover more local finds not only because these folks are good to Richmond but also that in doing so, we can help our community. The <a href=”http://the350project.net” title=”Www.the350project.net”>The350project.net</a> has taught me that by choosing carefully where our dollars go, we’ll ensure these unique, vibrant and fun contributors to our community keep growing, and that we’ll continue to have neat little out-of-the-way places to visit instead of just big-box stores cranking out receipts.
Of course there are times when Target is my best friend, but for all the truly special gifts we’ll seek out a local spot to support this season. As I write this, I’m sipping a latte at The Daily Grind, thanks to Sam, the owner whose staff knows me by name & treats me like a friend. It’s a comforting feeling, and one which I pray we never have to live without.