So maybe holiday shopping isn’t super high up on your priority list this year either. I doubt I’ll even be making homemade gifts this year — “Thank God,” my dad is going to say when he hears that news. The guy has probably never worn a scarf in his life and yet I’ve knit him two in recent lean years. (Shopping for the right color and texture yarn for a retired chief of police? Challenging.)
But if you do have the cash to spare, can I ask that you spend it wisely? Support local businesses, and particularly nice people trying to do cool things for the planet.
As Wendell Berry wrote — of how people can protect both their economic security and freedom — in a recent issue of Orion Magazine: “There seems, really, to be only one way, and that is to develop and put into practice the idea of a local economy — something that growing numbers of people are now doing.”
1. Locavore Line Toe-ing
In Paonia, foot fashion for the ladies runs toward the practical; Chaco sandals are great for backpacking and river running, and also look half-way decent with dresses.
But after the company moved its operations to China — and eco-conscious, local product junkies felt kinda betrayed — fashion shifted. Nowadays, Chacos are being replaced by hand-made leather sandals made by a former Chaco employee in the shop behind his house.
Steve Chavez currently has two product lines: sexy, strappy leather sandals and Recycled Sandals, which are made from locally available recycled products such as kitty litter boxes and bike tires. Chavez’s goal is to create a sandal made from 100-percent locally available materials; right now, he’s up to 60-percent.
Check out Vez Sandals for yourself at vezsandals.com
2. Books, Seeds, Enchiladas and Tea
When I lived in Tucson in the late-1990s, one of my favorite things to do was wander on North Fourth Avenue, window shopping and people watching.
Rather remarkably, two of my favorite stores still survive, just blocks from one another: The independent bookstore, Antigone Books and the retail shop for Native Seeds/SEARCH.
Head to Antigone for great reads, including featured female authors, and then pop on into the Native Seeds/SEARCH store for everything from seeds and cookbooks to hand-carved kitchen utensils and Tarahumara baskets.
Both can be found on-line at antigonebooks.com and nativeseeds.org, though, if you shop on-line, you miss out on La Indita for lunch or the Casbah Tea House for food, tea or entertainment.
3. Made Outa the Country? Nope.
At his Three Forks-based business, Outa Ware, Andrew Tuller hand-makes all of his products, which include super-hardy, heavy-duty outerwear, backpacks and tents.
You can shop on-line at outaware.com or try to hunt Tuller down at his shop, but as his website warns: “Outa Ware has no regular hours of operation since field-testing is a major aspect of the business requiring Tuller (or should we say giving him an excuse?) to close his shop for weeks at a time occasionally.”
Now that’s my kinda guy.
4. Java and Jewelry
All right, I know it’s obvious that I have a soft spot for Bluff, Utah. But really, it’s one of my favorite places in the entire world. And now, there’s even the means to drink good coffee when you’re visiting, thanks to the folks at Comb Ridge Coffee.
But the coffee house does more than just provide good brews and comfy couches: It also features the work of local artists, ranging from Navajo silversmiths to local doll makers. Check out the coffee shop — and the artists whose work they feature and sell — at combridgecoffee.com.
5. Cojone News
Okay, guess what? An on-line subscription to the Boise Guardian isn’t going to cost you anything. It’s free. Free, I tell you!
Explaining why he sees a need for his news site, David Frazier writes, “Local politicians with their personal agendas work to circumvent the will of the people. The local media depends on a friendly reception from the government and big business. This natural timidity combined with a profit motive leaves print, TV and radio news emasculated (in English that means they don’t have any cojones).”
Frazier’s website is boiseguardian.com — and why do I recommend a free news website to you this holiday season? Because a free and honest media is priceless.
Or, if you’re really itching to spend, why not buy tunes by Moscow, Idaho-born musician Josh Ritter? (He’s my new musical obsession.)
6. Everything You Need…
Boy are you in luck if you’re looking to shop in Wyoming. Need some art? Check out Jeff Foott Photography on-line at jfoottphotography.com. Or if you’re looking for a selection of artists, visit Crane Creek Graphics at cranecreekgraphics.com. For clothing and outdoor gear, you can’t beat Jackson’s Wyoming Wear (wyomingwear.com); and just because I’ve got a major soft spot for the Dornan Family — they homesteaded along the Snake River in the 1920s, palled around with the Muries and still live in the area today — I have to point readers toward their little store. And just in case you’re not going to be in Moose anytime soon, you can check them out on-line at dornanstore.com.
7. Serving up Safe, Healthy Fun
Why should you spend your cash at Self Serve, rather than any number of sex toy shops you could find on-line?
First off, the folks who work there aren’t creepy old guys thumbing through porn, but rather nice young people excited to talk about anything from vibrators to politics.
Secondly, Self Serve is a sexuality resource center, which means you can not only buy lotions, appliances and films, but also books about women’s health and sex education. Self Serve even offers classes, including “finding your pelvic floor and learning how to use it” and “The anatomy of male pleasure.”
If all that isn’t enough to have you visiting their Albuquerque location or logging onto selfservetoys.com, consider this: They don’t sell offensive or unsafe products and all their lotions and toys are non-toxic phthalate-free. Self pleasure has never felt so noble. MG
