newite favor
^
K
alamazoo is so unique and wonderful. We have many amazing locally-owned businesses, and quite a few of them are women-owned! With the current state of things, now is a great time to really support our community & local businesses. I wanted to shine a spotlight on a few of my favorites in the area. If these local business are not already one of your favorites, I hope you might decide on a new adventure downtown to explore more of what Kalamazoo has to offer. BEE JOYFUL SHOP: Zero Waste Market
www.beejoyfulshop.com
COLORS & COCKTAILS: The Mobile Art Party www.colors-andcocktails.com
Lauren Parker Lasater is the Owner, Founder, and Artist behind
Colors & Cocktails: The Mobile Art Party, her NEW studio, right on the Kalamazoo Mall in downtown Kalamazoo, which is one of my absolute favorites. It has been great watching her grow her company over the years. Colors & Cocktails hosts and teaches groups of eight on up to 20 people, providing them with choices to paint on canvas or drinkable glassware from a variety of locations including the comfort of your own home, any of their public events including restaurants, wineries and breweries, or her studio downtown! Not a painter or artist? No experience is needed, as Lauren and her staff are patient and ready to help you paint whatever your little heart desires. All you need to do is show up ready to paint and have fun! If you are not as interested in painting, Lauren’s retail shop has something for everyone, with items from painted glassware, adorable wrapping paper, cocktail mixes and jewelry to Kalamazoo Candle Company Candles and so much more! Swing by and you may even have the opportunity to meet Lauren’s newest employee, Rosie, her Teacup Poodle.
38
October 2020
Looking for plastic-free options here in Michigan? Jessica Thompson started as a shop on Etsy selling reusable food wraps with the goal of exposing more people to the idea of using sustainable, Earth-friendly materials to store food. Now, her dream of a brick and mortar shop has finally come true! Jessica recently opened her shop, the Bee Joyful Shop, Michigan’s first zero waste market, on the Kalamazoo Mall downtown Kalamazoo. It offers plastic-free alternatives to items you most commonly use for personal or home care including reusable food wraps, tooth brushes, sponges, shampoo and conditioner bars, along with a few other plastic-free options! Teamed with TerraCycle, both the recycling company and Jessica’s shop help community members collect and recycle difficult-to-recycle waste through the Zero Waste Box program.
moxiemagazine.net
