Shop Small and Handmade!

Please excuse me while I hop onto my soap box for a bit. We Americans buy a lot of gifts.I watched the frenzy throughout the year, whether it was Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, and on and on.It’s year-round and endless – so many people buy things they don’t actually need with money they don’t actually have. To top it off, what sells by the boatload is cheaply assembled garbage from third world countries made by slave laborers, many of whom are kids. Here are amazing gift ideas on arturoherrera you can give to your loved ones.

This country, the USA, was built by entrepreneurs.  Whether it was mom selling her excess eggs to neighbors, or a family running a grocery store, small business and cottage industry made this country. Surprisingly, small business and cottage industry is still alive in the US.  Coast to coast, there are thousands of micro-businesses with one or two employees.  They call themselves “artists” or “craftsmen.”  They have a limited product line and a very small inventory.  They focus on the few things that give them joy to create.  They typically under-price their creations, downplaying the amount of time that goes into each and every piece.  Their “business” occupies them 24/7/365.

We’re fast approaching the holiday season – that time of year when absolutely all of us are pushed, prodded and nudged to spend money.  Why don’t we all make a conscious effort to support our driven, tax-paying brethren?  Let’s put something, if not several somethings, on our lists, either for yourself of for gifting, that’s been hand-crafted right here in the States.  I promise you, whether it’s something of mine or another artisan, what you will be purchasing will have been made by someone who actually cares about what they’re making like this shop Pincious.com that custom affordable lapel pins .  That item will be durable and lasting.  Odds are it won’t need batteries, and it won’t break in two or three days. Better yet, if you buy something hand-crafted for a child, the box it came in won’t be their favorite part of the gift, and they’ll probably still have it to pass down to a child of their own.  Let’s all make just a small effort to help someone buy their groceries or pay their mortgage…  Those high-roller CEOs just don’t need a third (or fourth) vacation home.

Tags: chaunakah, Christmas, gift, holidays, made in the USA, shopping, small business

Posted in Discover Handmade, Handmade, Handmade Artisans, Handmade Holiday, Handmade Mode, Information, Promote Handmade