Buying local for Christmas

For this past Christmas, I challenged myself to buy locally as often as I could. I had a great time doing it! I couldn't show you the pictures before the holidays because, um, they were GIFTS, but I wanted to take a moment to show you three of my purchases that supported local biz. (Sorry for the ill lighting.)


Here's a Clifton Comics gift certificate, lovingly drawn by the proprietor himself. (I also bought some Magic: The Gathering cards from him, as stocking stuffers-- I'd usually buy these at a Target or something so I hope buying from him made a better impact?)
Clifton Comics website: http://cliftoncomics.com/


We have here the much-adored VisuaLingual "seed bombs"-- another great stocking stuffer that my brother loved. No one in my family had heard of these "guerilla gardening" bombs, and when I explained the concept they were really excited. I might be buying more of these in the near future...
VisuaLingual's Etsy: Midwest Seed Bombs


And last but not least, my own favorite... the Steve Zissou finger puppet. I first came across these puppets at Crafty Supermarket, and snagged a business card with the Etsy address. Maybe not the most USEFUL thing in the world, but I think the unique artistry and the adorable detail made this 100% worth it!
AbbeyChristine's Etsy store: Steve Zissou finger puppet

You might hate me...

...because I'm going to bring up Christmas already. Before Thanksgiving. Hell, it's still the first week of November.

But! I have a reason! I'd like to challenge you to buy more gifts/decorations/whatever locally this year, for your holiday celebrations. I'm bringing it up now because there are some incredible artisans that take custom orders, and you'll want to think about those ahead of time.

I don't believe buying everything locally is feasible for most of us, and I doubt I'll ever be the kind of person who does that. However, the more I shop local, the happier I become. I feel like I'm putting my money more directly into our local economy, which needs it. I'm directly supporting the businesses that I care about, and more of those dollars go toward things this city needs.

Plus it's fun! Did I mention the fun?!

If you don't have a slew of local businesses you already support, I'd suggest trolling Etsy's awesome Shop Local tool. Save yourself some postage and pick up the items yourself, if you're in the area.

What are your favorite Cincinnati-based businesses? How can you support them this holiday season? If I get a solid list of your favorite businesses I'll post it here, and I promise to try to buy from them soon!

Carrotcake's Fancypacks

In my recent quest to support local businesses, I've been trolling Etsy and particularly enjoying their nifty Shop Local function. This was how I stumbled upon Carrotcake's Fancypacks.

Fancypacks are a fashion-forward version of the fanny pack, and as I have a girlfriend frakkin' obsessed with bows, I had to hit Carla up for one of her creations.

Carla was sweet enough to waive the shipping and let me pick the item up, so I got to meet her today after work. Girl is darling. Once again, I'm loving the feeling of shopping locally-- how much cooler to support someone who's in my town, freelancing, and completely awesome.

The product, by the way, is fantastic. It's great quality and my friend is going to love it. (Jess, on the off-chance that you read my blog: SURPRISE.)

(The last picture is from Carrotcake's Etsy site. It shows what the Fancypack looks like in action, if that helps you visualize its awesomeness.)

Carrotcake's Etsy site: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5046713

P.S. Carla takes custom orders. And rocks.