help me shop locally and support the little guy

May 24, 2007 1:43 PM

What commodities can I buy that are produced by individuals/very small businesses? Where should I look for them, online and out there in the outside world?

I'd like to increasingly support individuals and small businesses over large corporations. With services this has been pretty easy and direct to manage, but with products it feels like for the only thing individuals produce any more is art and luxury items like jewelry, and there isn't any room in my budget for that type of thing to expand. What am I missing? Obviously some commodities (toilet paper, pencils) are just not likely to ever provide a margin to support an artisan producer, but certain in-between things like soap and candles get locally and individually produced. So what am I missing? Are there good online resources for finding products like this? And where do you shop for them in the brick and mortar world?

posted by nanojath to shopping (7 comments total)

You can find many such things at farmers markets.
posted by Eringatang at 1:54 PM on May 24, 2007

Etsy- soap, candles, jewelry, tea, &c.
posted by oneirodynia at 2:00 PM on May 24, 2007

I like UncommonGoods.

Their creations from recycled bicycle parts are pretty nifty.
posted by porpoise at 2:02 PM on May 24, 2007

In my biased experience, locally owned shops are more likely to sell items produced by the little guy.
posted by drezdn at 2:26 PM on May 24, 2007

What you're doing is a good way to "vote with your dollar." I'd encourage you to go one step further and look at how you can support not just the little guy but the little-neighbor guy, rather, locally-owned businesses.

Many cities, even smallish ones, have guides to locally-owned and independent businesses. Here is one such list for Minneapolis, but I bet if you call up the city, they'll have a better one in paper.
posted by whatzit at 2:56 PM on May 24, 2007

I always buy books from my local book store. Since I rarely read best sellers, it doesn't even cost me that much more.

There is a world of difference between Amazon's "personalized" recommendations and a human actually recommending a book that they read and enjoyed.

And, of course, nthing farmers' markets!
posted by rasputin98 at 8:01 AM on May 30, 2007 [1 favorite]

Since I rarely read best sellers, it doesn't even cost me that much more.

And you're helping to create jobs in your community, creating more local business, and saving on shipping.
posted by drezdn at 8:58 AM on May 30, 2007