Shopping Local Has Many Benefits

BY » Peter Eisenhauer

Walking out of a local boutique near our home, my wife was more than pleased with our purchase -- a beautiful wool throw blanket that perfectly matches the colors of our living room sofa. The color match was confirmed because she had brought along a small pillow in the same fabric. “What I can’t believe,” she said, “is that I searched the whole internet for a blanket like this and we end up finding it right here in town.”

Some luck and some focused attention got her that prized item. She had actually spotted the blanket while visiting the shop with a friend the day before. But it was also the pleasure of leisurely browsing in an attractive, unique shop, carrying a wide variety of furniture, household items and decor, that added to the pleasure immensely.

The Lake Norman area has so many opportunities for this kind of experience. You can discover many great local stores just by flipping through the pages of Limitless Magazine. From the many boutiques in Huntersville, Cornelius and downtown Davidson, throughout the area you will find locally owned and independent retailers with their own style, offerings and expertise. Like the new Strawberry Fields, in Denver, where you can find furniture and home decor in a setting imbued with a Beatles vibe. Also in Denver, Albertine Florals, Wine & Gifts offers another unique shopping experience.

And, now more than ever, it is important and beneficial to ourselves and our communities to support these local businesses. Start with the financial. Local retail doesn’t generate the level of individual wealth that might fund, say, personal space travel (vis a vis perhaps boating on Lake Norman). However, dollars spent at locally owned businesses stay in the community. Studies have shown this ‘local dividend’ to be massive. In studies cited in a Michigan State University report, of $100 spent at a locally owned business, $73 recirculate into the local economy. That number is only $43 for chain stores. It would be approximately $0 for online shopping.

Studies have also shown that small businesses are outsized contributors to their communities in terms of charitable giving. The small business advocacy group SCORE notes that nonprofit organizations receive 250% more support from small businesses. Local businesses are good neighbors, contributing to local youth organizations, supporting first responders, and other valuable causes.

They provide opportunity for local suppliers. They are also key to maintaining and developing downtown and historic areas in large and small communities.

Pam Hess, of Albertine Floral, Wine & Gifts, told Limitless about the philosophy of her business.

“We are first a full-service florist. We create custom arrangements with both live and silk florals. That is perhaps what Albertine Florals is best known for, as the florist shop has been here in Denver since 2008.” Hess and her daughter bought Albertine in 2019. The mission? “We want to help people creatively express their sentiments!”

“Like everyone else, we notice the change in the world, and the change in Denver, too,” Hess said. “Most shoppers are more excited than ever to buy and give unique and local pieces. And they seem to want to have a hand in choosing and creating their gifts, even if it just means picking the ribbon that will go on the dish garden they will send, or the pottery piece in which their flowers will be arranged.”

Adding to the customer

experience, Hess also emphasizes opportunities for local producers.

“We have doubled the footprint so that we could create a space for local artisans to share their work,” she said. “We now have more than 15 local residents who sell their artwork, pottery, jewelry, wood work, fabric creations and more!”

“To supplement that,” Hess said, “We also provide a large selection of gifts and home decor, from candles to pillows, baby gifts to wedding gifts, special occasion gifts, just to name a few. Top that off with our unique selection of wines, which we handpick from vendors to make sure we not only love them, but that they are only available at small local shops like ours. We often include these wines in specially created gift baskets to deliver in the area. They might also include local honey or jam, local snacks, and even locally made gift items!”

Albertine also hosts wine tasting events twice a month, and sponsors both “sip and shop” events, where local artists can show off and sell their creations, and creative classes. The classes, hosted by some of the same artisans, have included glass painting, calligraphy, pottery, rock painting, watercolor. The shop has also hosted book launch events for local authors.

Amid the dreary realities of the ongoing disruptions to our economy with the impact of the global pandemic, creative responses are called for. If we are mostly past the capacity restrictions and curbside pickups, we are still dealing with delayed shipments, unexpected shortages of goods and supplies, labor market upheavals, and inflation. Shifting some of our consumption to locally owned businesses in our communities can have many benefits. In person shopping with knowledgable, attentive vendors has always been a pleasure. Let’s enjoy it more. Of course there is business you have to do online, and of course there is great convenience and power in the ability to search the entire internet for something you can’t find locally. But even then, when you are shopping from your couch, it’s nice to have that perfect blanket that you found right here in town.

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