Two free "Buy Local" Posters and Self-Help Co-op Marketing

If anyone is interested AMIBA (American Independent Business Alliance) has provided two free "Buy Local" posters for anyone's use. The first is perfect for this time of year titled "Give a Gift to Your Community", the other is a brief description of Why to buy local.

Just click on the link below to download the posters.

http://amiba.net/educational_comps.html

Wishing you a Happy and successful Holiday Season.
from Mary Vanouse, Director, City of Oswego Community Development. Send out as a group email, Dec. 11, 2009

Published in December 2009, the link below is a Cooperative Marketing Self-help Module downloadable as a pdf (46 pgs/4.04MB). Case Studies galore. Very readable. Funded by the government (Australian).

http://www.business.nsw.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/726EF4B2-F3FA-48DD-9BA1-AD98C49AB416/0/self_help_module15_cooperative_marketing_20091203.pdf
Found while researching for a client, Nadia Korths, 12.11.09

Artisans Talk About How the Year Has Been

The Sparkle Christmas and NCCC Craft Fair were held, respectively, on Dec. 5 and 6, in Saranac Lake.

Though shoppers seemed to be cautious overall, a number of artisans such as Lisa Nortz, Silver Bench; Lis Barsuglia-Madsen, Heirlooms; Carol Clarridge, Whiteface Mountain Gourmet Syrup; Rose Bartiss, Rose's Goats - Goats Milk Soap, and Sharon Benesch, Benesch Creative Enterprises (via recent phone call) all had a good year.

Lisa Nortz' skilled and creative jewelry worksmanship has this exquisite handmade feel/look that has customers coming back each year to find her at the shows she regularly attends. She wears a beautiful collection of her work including a bracelet and ring she made during high school and a pendant necklace with free form glass stone on sterling silver triangle. She has received custom orders from her collection, particularly of the pendant necklace. Sadly, she will probably not come to Buyer Days (March 31/April 1, 2010) this year. She is making practical and sensible choices. Buyer Days had become more of a occasion to catch up with others while escaping cabin fever in Saratoga Springs than a show where she was making money the last few years.

Her niece, Emily Mae Widrick, Silver Streams Jewelry, a jeweler for the last few years, shows similiarities in style with Lisa, and Butch and Pat Bramhall, her grandparents as well as Lisa's parents, from whom she has learned yet she is already finding her own style. I see I had already picked up her card last year as well someplace along my travels.

All of the above make their own chains. And the richness of that silver work sets them apart.

Another jeweler who was a delight to find at the NCCC Craft Fair was Edison Collections. While training to become an airplane mechanic and laid-up last early winter, he decided to make jewelry out of found materials as Christmas presents. Now he and his girlfriend already have a number of accounts in the Lake Placid area!
Their style, presentation (ie., business card is also earring display) and use of found and recycled is distinctive. The jeweler showed me how he had polished the ironslug residue from the mines of yesteryear to create pendants. I have myself collected these pieces for their beautiful blue color and was delighted to see it used.

I'll be back tommorrw to post a few more tales from the front-line.