Please welcome Emily Anderson to Try Handmade! She is the author of three books {Eco Chic Home, Eco Chic Weddings, and What to Do When Changing a Light Bulb Just Isn’t Enough} and she also blogs at www.goodwithstyle.com. A lover of the handmade, she’ll be taking over the Shop Local column starting today. Please welcome her and let her know about any areas of the country you think have particularly great makers!
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Erika
This being my very first post for Try Handmade, since I’ll be writing the Shop Local column, I’ve spent some time rethinking what it means to me to Shop Local. It’s a very complicated issue. I mean, even if you buy from a “big box” store, aren’t you technically “shopping locally?” Don’t the people who work in that big box store live in your town, go to school with your kids (or you), shop for groceries, pump gas, get parking tickets, water their lawn, pay their mortgage, walk their dogs, and feed their families in the same general geographic area as you do? More than likely, the employees at these big box stores are your neighbors, friends, maybe even family. But what happens when those people lose their jobs (as 11,000+ Wal Mart/Sam’s Club employees just did). And worse, what happens when one of those big box stores shuts down? Julia Christensen’s book, Big Box Reuse, has more information about what happens when the big box stores shut down.
However, nurturing the local economy is dependent upon more than just the “consumers” or the employees of big business. The local economy also needs the individual producer, craftspeople who can make things like furniture, because this is how the local economy empowers itself, creates a strong foundation, and ensures self-reliance. Of course always shopping locally may not be realistic for everyone, for one thing there’s the affordability factor. If you’ve ever purchased furniture for your home, then you probably know why so many people go to Pottery Barn (or Pier One, or Ethan Allen, or any of the well-known brands out there). It’s just so convenient, right? And a lot more affordable than buying something handmade, right? Wrong! I found the most wonderful resource (online of course) for handcrafted furniture pieces, even custom if you so desire.
Meadowbrook Creations is the enterprise of Sonny and Lynne Bride. They started their business designing and making furniture in 2002. This business, based in Weare, New Hampshire, was a complete departure from what they’d been doing. Like many local businesses, it came from a combination of talent, drive, and necessity. They established Meadowbrook Creations, which is the parent company of NH Woodworking, a “Make to Order” business, specializing in Early American and Shaker style pieces. Since the business began, the Brides have doubled their sales every year. Now they work with a network of local furniture makers who produce the designs created by the Brides. The best thing is–the pieces are affordable (relatively speaking).
Emily Anderson
Emily is the author of three books, mother of two small children, wife to one husband, and designer living in New York City. Emily also writes about the creative life, and her pursuit of all things that are good with style on her blog.you might also like...
