Guest Blogger Series: The 3/50 Project

I am so excited Loomstate has given me the opportunity to be a guest blogger for a few days. We are in the midst of holiday shopping right now and I just worked a full ten hour day shift at the shop today so SHOPPING is top of mind. As we all get ready to celebrate the Holidays I want to make sure everyone knows the importance of shopping at small, independent businesses vs. big box stores. When you shop at an Independent store (I prefer that term to “small” personally) you are not only directly supporting a business in your neighborhood, but more of the money is actually kept in the community (when you shop online, none of the money is kept in the community).The 3/50 Project helps you imagine what would happen if you didn’t support the Independent businesses in your neighborhood, and asks you to spend $50 in each of three local businesses that you would be sad to see go. Do we really need another bank or Duane Read? At our shop we also have a lot of locally made products, so you are supporting several independent businesses when you shop with us. For more on The 3/50 Project and exact figures, check out their website.

At our shop we are so grateful for our customers who realize the importance of this and are the lifeblood of our business. Being in Brooklyn too, and particularly on 5th Avenue in Park Slope where there are no chain stores, people really take this to heart. They are wonderfully loyal and keep coming back to see what’s new. I am extremely proud of the commitment we have made to the community to provide them with an awesome selection of gifts to give to their friends and family and at the same time they support us by doing their holiday shopping at our shop. Because of this support we were able to just hire another Full Time staff member, helping out the economy and the community in our own way. Shop Small! Support Independent businesses this holiday and ALWAYS ☺

Thanks Ann! Read our interview with Ann and check out her shop Annie's Blue Ribbon General Store.