STL Shop Local 365+: The Adventure Begins...

Monday, February 28, 2011

The Adventure Begins...

Today is February 28th, my sister's birthday, and the eve of my adventure. Tomorrow March 1st, 2011 it begins: 365 days of local St. Louis shopping, no internet or e-bay, no big stores with out-of-town headquarters.

I'm just curious....Can it be done? Is it even possible to find a broom or a waste basket without going into one of the "box" stores which are on most every corner now? I've been dabbling with this idea for several months now, seeking out small and unusual places to shop, coming home with all sorts of tales about exciting discoveries.

My family says, "You should do a blog." A blog, what is a blog? (I'm not computer friendly, you see.) OK, so with some patient training, and a realization I should learn something new, here I am.

Why? I don't have a narcissistic need to have people read these ramblings. However, I would love for other folks to experience shopping local. Maybe they will stumble on these musings and find what I'm finding: It is much more fun shopping small and exciting rather than big and boring. And not only fun, often more convenient and economical, better for the St. Louis economy, and always more warm and personal.

And maybe, just maybe, if more of us discover the adventure of small business, more of them will survive.

1 comment:

Lucy HanneganApril 3, 2011 at 10:37 PM
Jo-Ellen, I like your blog, especially the pictures that go with the stories. Keep up the posting, I am sure I will patronize these businesses now too!
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A New Year, A New Look

It has been a year... a year of shopping, learning, meeting, and discovering; a year of new people, places, and routines; a year of sheer delight that I could never have anticipated when the adventure began March 1st, 2011. I've found it IS possible to shop economically and conveniently at smaller locally owned shops. What started as curiosity has concluded with deeper understanding and a commitment to a way of life. The independence of self-owned businesses seems to foster happier more creative people,which makes a better world for all of us. So let's continue, I can't think of a single reason to go back to the box stores, boring chains and internet.

About Jo

Hi, my name is Jo-Ellen McDonald. I like small stores, I truly do, though for years I've rarely shopped in them. I don't know why, really. I guess I was thinking it is more convenient and less expensive to shop in the big mega stores, and that someone else supported those little stores I liked so much.

Or was I thinking at all? Probably I was just doing what everyone else does.

This year I'm living differently. For 365 days I'm going to shop for goods and services only at local, independently owned businesses. I just want to try it. Will it be outrageously expensive? Or demand so much time as to be impossible to maintain? I don't know. But I want to try, because a lot of those little stores that I liked so much are gone, and I think that is pretty sad.

Some days there will simply be a quick journal entry, other days will feature a particular small business.

So come along with me and let's see what there is to learn this year. About the joys and struggles of small business owners. About whether or not there is a local place to buy computer ink cartridges or a broom. About how maybe we have saved a little in time and money but have lost too much in humanity and community.

STL Shop Local 365+

Monday, February 28, 2011

The Adventure Begins...

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A New Year, A New Look

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