Shopping Local and the Moravians

I think I’ve mentioned that I now live in sweet town of Lititz, Pennsylvania. 

Lititz has a rich history and it’s been preserved in many buildings around town.  Over the weekend we visited the Lititz Museum and Johannes Mueller House.  The Mueller house has been preserved and features pieces from 1792.

I’m not going to give you a full history lesson of Lititz here, although if you are interested, you can find more about it here.  One thing I did find it fascinating that the Moravian church (who founded the town) controlled everything about the resident’s lives from where they shopped to whom they married.

I don’t like people telling me what to do, so I’m not sure that I would have fared well when Lititz was first forming.  I did really like one of the rules, though.

If it’s available in Lititz, you MUST buy it in Lititz. 

If you can’t get it in Lititz, then you must stay as local as possible.

I don’t think this should be a requirement or law per se, but I do think it is a good rule to live by, generally speaking. 

Do you shop like the Moravians? 

where do you shop?

Where are your favorite places to shop?  If you need a gift, where do you go?

What are your favorite local spots that more people should know about?  (Local anywhere - I'm in Lancaster, PA, USA, but I'd love to hear about your favorite spots in other locations, too!)

Where do you go to find art or handmade goodies?

Please leave me a comment and let me know.

Top 10 Reasons to Buy from Local Independent Shops and Artisans

When you buy from an independent artisan such as myself, you can feel good because:

1.You are directly contributing to my income which helps put food on my table, pay my rent, keeps my house heated, etc.

2.You are directly supporting the continuation of my creative endeavor. If you make a purchase, I can continue to create.

3.You are contributing to the community because if each artist/artisan is able to continue making art and selling it, cool venues like artMarket are able to continue. You support us, we support them and the community is better for it. Additionally, the small independent business owners support other local businesses, who support others…..and the cycle continues.

4.You are supporting fair wages. Let’s face it, most items you purchase in big box chains are not made in countries that pay fair wages. That’s one reason why such items are so inexpensive at Wal-Mart.

5.You are ensuring craftsmanship and quality. It matters to small businesses and artisans that you are happy and your products last. If you ever have a problem (and really, you probably won't), you know right where to find them to help you. Also, if you need an extra special gift, you can ask them to make a custom piece.

6.You are ensuring great customer service. Local small businesses depend on your patronage to stay in business. It matters that you are happy and we will go out of our way to make you happy.

7.You will find a great variety of different products not found anywhere else. Not only that, you will find many affordable one-of-a-kind pieces.

8.When you buy a handmade item from a local artisan, you have a unique opportunity to make a personal connection with the person who made the item. The artisan has put his or her time, heart, ingenuity, creativeness and love into the item.

9.You can make some lasting connections and friendships from buying from independent, small businesses or artisans. More than just a connection because of a purchase, you can really get to know the person behind the counter as well.

10.There are plenty of other reasons not to shop at big box stores. If you want to read about one, I wrote about it here a while back.

I hope that you will check out all of the local artists at artMarket! If you're not in Lancaster, PA, you can check out your local shops or shop on Etsy to get one-of-a-kind handmade products. Each shop on Etsy is ran and maintained by individual owners who personally handmake the items in the shop. (There are also sellers of vintage items and supplies.) My personal etsy shop is BBBellezza.

Feel free to comment about more benefits!

Happiness is....paper goods

This weekend has been fun! My friend Cheryl came to visit and we went scooting about Lancaster county shopping and having a fun time. I got some really pretty dainty "thank you" cards at the paper goods store that I love. I also get this big huge thick memo pad with really cute flowers on it. I really thought that I would use it to jot down notes, but it is pretty enough, and big enough, for stationary. Both of these were on sale! And then I got a bunch of new beads! YAY!

Today I split the day between doing a criminal law project, writing a creative nonfiction piece for creative writing class, stressing about the weather....again, and placing orders for some new containers, packaging, etc. for my store. I am excited!

However, I am pushing back the store re-opening until March 11. Some items might appear before then. My eBay store: http://stores.ebay.com/B-B-Bellezza Bookmark it and come back later and check it out!

Other than that, I am excited to watch the Oscars tonight and work on some new jewelry designs. Go Little Miss Sunshine! (okay, so it is the only movie that I have actually seen that is nominated....at least I have seen one!)

A very productive weekend, except my office is in utter ruins again. It is either super organized or super messy. Right now, super messy! Oh well, it will be super organized again! (I hope!)

Take care, my beauties!

Kim