Lately over the past year, I've really been being more thoughtful about where and what I shop for. Living in Boston, I'm pretty blessed to be living in such a thriving market.
As a fellow local shop (online, but its there nonetheless :) ), why wouldn't I want to help my fellow small business grinding peeps, as well?
Not only that, but as a designer, one of the biggest reasons why my client's hire me is to source from places that they wouldn't know themselves. I mean, I'm pretty sure everyone can go down to their local Restoration Hardware and get the same cookie cutter (but also beautiful) home as they have seen in the magazines. Buying from antique shops, Etsy shops, or some small online stores are some of my favorite places to source for clients. It adds a new dimension to the space and also is able to tell a story. "Oh, you see that rug over there? Yeah the girl lives in California, but she goes back and forth to Morocco to hand select each rug that they carry." I mean come on guys, how cool is that?!
“They’re authentic, they’re original, and they care.”
- Helena Barquet and Fabiana Faria
And now for some of the reasons that you should also be shopping small!
Giving back
Supporting fellow small businesses
Cultivating a community
Create local jobs
Creating uniqueness
You get better customer service
They bring meaning to the customers and owners