ill surround myself with the neighborhood dogs, cats, birds, bugs, trees, and flowers , they are a much better crowd , and we are all patrons of mother nature, the best shop in town
Totally agree, and don’t for get your local artist. Many of us Make blank and custom cards for the same price as an expensive mass produced Hallmark. The one in my profile pic I charge $10. I cannot charge time, but at least I can recoup materials and feel like my work is appreciated.
Interesting and heart-warming thought in a high street and online shopping world. Fortunately here in Paris outside the centre, we are surrounded by independent shops and blessed with very, very few high street stores.
I see this huge divide between where I live and my American Friends.
I try to support local businesses here but they make it so hard. Jacked up prices, very limited selection, and worse of all: they do all they can to avoid taxes. Can't pay with card and either no receipt or they make one for less
My local library is a 10 min walk, so I have no excuse. I don't have a local bookstore as the folks selling books on tables moved to QLD. I don't like my local bakery. I have 3 local cafes, which I feel I could better support if there wasn't a cost of living crisis.
I moved states to make sure I would always be able to do this. Then I moved apts to put myself in a better area of Portland, to make sure that I would always have that option. I will never go back.❤️
Yes! And support their ongoing health by wearing your mask, especially this time of year. Also, I started walking around and handing out pronoun badges in these places so people can feel safe from violence. We have to support local or we lose ourselves.
And game shop!! I go to my local game store several days a week. Welcome to sit in the game room and just be. If someone else shows up, we may get a game of magic going. If not, I can just be. (I drive 4 people to their job and live 20+ miles from town. I just wait)
Local places just have a whole different vibe 🤍✨ Supporting local businesses is so important since they often struggle to compete with the corporate ones.
There's a coffee shop next to the dog groomer shop in my town and every time my wife and I take the dog to go get groomed we stop by and get coffee. I just hate having to drive there.
Living in a rural area, my twice weekly stops at our local library are like “spirit vitamins” for my soul. I’m always surprised by people who say they’ve never stopped in there.
So thankful my library offers online digital content. Although I don’t go to the brick & mortar facility anymore, I do read a lot more. The choices are limitless
Same. Almost every Saturday, coffee in hand, begins at the library, then the thrift shop. Supports the small guys and ticks a lot of my own self-care boxes too.
Sounds like you have the right routine down. I love a good mooch in these sorts of places, plus the coffee always seems tastier and the books better curated than in the big chaint places.
Agreed. The feel of a smaller independent business doesn’t have the same generic, diluted corporate feel and I love seeing the creative ways independents showcase their businesses. Their autonomy is refreshing.
Absolutely this! Not sure if it's an independent thing but where I live they always have an amazing window display and paint the windows, generally with the latest art from one of the kids books.
I’m don’t really read for fun, so I can’t help the libraries and bookstores. I don’t really do much in the way of coffee except put dirt in water, make hot. Now bakeries, you can just call me Mr Buttercream!!
(Yes, I realize calling myself that is odd, but we’ve come to far to go back now.)
Just joined our local Friends of the library and donated funds to help them. We do a lot of local purchasing and I also find area bookstores that do online shops and support them!
These are scary times. Fact politicians don't
show balls to stop it doesn't help. With that
said, enjoy Thanksgiving, recharge batteries
using energy for inevitable protests, political
arm twisting & resistance. United WE Stand https://bsky.app/profile/lepapillonblue.bsky.social/post/3lbvp3a6gds2j
Oh yes! And look for the helpers around us…volunteering at the food pantry, reading to children and to seniors, and buying food from the local farmers market.
We’ve got a romance themed bookstore near me. I don’t generally buy books like this, but I want them to succeed so badly. I’ll be making another trip this coming week!
Yes. Both. I rarely plunk down money for a book I’ll only read once. And I usually buy books used, online. But I want this store to succeed so I’m putting my money where my mouth is!
That's cool! I'm in a remote place, but we have a library and a used book store. We have a regular bookstore too, that's only accessible up a crazy flight of stairs. (There's a rumor they're moving, so yay.) So I save my bookstore dollars for trips to the bigger city and a great indie store there.
This has over 23k likes, which is great. Did you all know the POTUS elect, during his previous term, sought to defund the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the primary federal funder of public libraries and museums? And he will likely do it again. #IMLS
If you don't like that idea, you can call or email your senators and representative every day and let them know you support federal funding for libraries and museums and if they don't support funding for libraries and museums (via IMLS), you won't vote for them when their term is up. #DoSomething
I'm not familiar with this organization, so can't vouch, but there is a petition to support full funding for #IMLS in the continuing resolution (i.e., the federal budget for this year, which is, for now, based on last year's budget, hence a "continuing" resolution). https://action.everylibrary.org/imls2025
I would add small independent immigrant owned groceries and restaurants. Just stocked up at our local Indian and Asian grocery stores and the prices are amazing at least until the tariffs hit.
So, I’m traveling through the holiday this week in SoCal. There’s little shops that cater to the tourists of course but interspersed among them are specialty stores you can walk in and just talk to the people working.
Little cafes where you can sit and enjoy a treat, or a sip.
Get off deliveries.
Comments
Carrying around our cell phones like is an organ in our bodies is bad for our democracy. We need to take care of our communities.
Mainstreet
Small Businesses
Local Farmers
and NOT
Big Corporates & TechBros
Do not pour from an empty cup.
It's okay to take a break. Take a breath. Unplug for thirty minutes.
Thank you for the reminder.
I'm going to brew some tea now.
I try to support local businesses here but they make it so hard. Jacked up prices, very limited selection, and worse of all: they do all they can to avoid taxes. Can't pay with card and either no receipt or they make one for less
And food pantries.
And poets.
https://gofund.me/58910ea7
They're far to good to be human shields, WM.
I'll just pick someone else. 😊
rounded circle of friends.
(Yes, I realize calling myself that is odd, but we’ve come to far to go back now.)
These are scary times. Fact politicians don't
show balls to stop it doesn't help. With that
said, enjoy Thanksgiving, recharge batteries
using energy for inevitable protests, political
arm twisting & resistance. United WE Stand
https://bsky.app/profile/lepapillonblue.bsky.social/post/3lbvp3a6gds2j
http://www.ourtownreno.com/our-citizens-forum/2024/11/9/new-petition-to-preserve-funding-for-libraries-after-wc-1-fails
Is it the one across from the library?
Next door to Waterstones?
Is it called Caké?
It's worth the extra few centovos.
Little cafes where you can sit and enjoy a treat, or a sip.
Get off deliveries.
— Jiddu Krishnamurti