Happy Small Business Saturday!! From the time I was a child, I have appreciated small businesses and the customers that keep them alive. My grandparents built a business from scratch, and opened beach front cottages in the 50s. Their business boomed and my childhood summers were spent managing the grounds with them, chambermaiding and making loads of new friends. On the same property, my father opened a lobster pound, run by our family, and I can remember summer after summer the faces of customers from year's past, who always made us a stop on their Maine summer vacation. At the time it seemed like a chore, working from a very young age to do my part for the family, smelling like lobster and steamers and sweat and summer. I wanted to go to the beach! I wanted to eat French Fries and soft serve and fried dough! (these were my pre-gluten free days) but my dad always insisted that we did not spend our coveted Tip Jar money (that was our only pay check for most of our working days) on such things as that, because soon we would need cars and college.
My dad has always been self employed and that is a struggle and triumph I have always admired. He is a big part of why I wanted to start my own small business and launch Crooked By Design. Once I became a mother, and knew I wanted to be home with my babies (not an easy job!) it was the perfect time to take my craft, my hobby, to the next level. Opening my little shop was a very scary thing! What if no one visited it? What if I sold nothing? Would it be worth it? And then the biopolar of these, what if I had too many orders! Can I keep up? But, thinking back on our nights running the lobster pound, when we were so busy I thought we'd never make it, and those days where we sold just one or two lobsters and we equally thought we'd never make it, I knew my answers: I'd made it, and it is always worth it.
So here I am, two years after opening up shop, nearly 600 sales later, and an order queue that doesn't seem to be letting up and I am 1,000% thankful for YOU and everyone who has stopped by the shop, Liked on Facebook, followed along on Instagram to see our family and my projects, and who read this blog. You are what makes this worth it, and I am so grateful for you.
So today, on Small Business Saturday, I hope you visit some of your local shops, and go onto Etsy, craft fairs, Facebook, or any other small business and shop, share and support. We need you!
Here's some of my favorites that I have personally shopped:
For incredible pillow cases check out Oh Susannah's
Awesome shirts over at Hello Apparel
For everything you need to get organized, head to Thirty-One
Amazing little headbands and Mom & Me sets over at Baby Jules Boutique
Some more amazing headbands & leggings at Baby Beans & Me
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