Shop Local

What does shopping local mean to me? It means I'm always running into my customers. Sometimes they know they know me, but aren't sure where from. It's the same for me - the older you get, the more worlds you've lived in - someone could be familiar from anywhere. Contra dancing 30 years ago? Montreal? Vermont? The craft world, back when I was a woodworker? Or maybe just the occasional visit to Joie de Vivre. Yesterday I was at the gym, washing my hands post exercise when a woman stopped me to tell me that what she had bought a month earlier had been a big success. "It was the jeweled pretzel necklace" she reminded me. "I was going to give it away but I decided to keep it. It's such a great thing, thank you so much for finding it. I just love it!" I was smiling as I opened my locker and took out my street clothes. Partly because a $15 necklace could bring someone so much pleasure. And partly because I was thinking - this is what shopping local means to me - meeting a customer in the locker room at the gym.