On Small Business Saturday, I restocked Sacred Art and Squasht with plenty of Veggie Vampire and Fanged Fruit Kitchen Towels. Both of these shops are run by fantastic humans. They have and/or are dog-obsessed. They are silly. They love craft beer and wine. They are lifting up other makers in Chicago by running stores that sell their wares.

While chatting with Leslie from Squasht, after keeping my towels priced at $10 for years, I made the decision to raise their price to $12. Anytime I have previously raised prices, it was a long and drawn out process. This was a snap decision. Small businesses struggle against Goliath daily and we simply must value our work. By raising the price two dollars, that’s helping me. It’s helping the shops I stock make a wee bit more which then can be pumped right back into that small business.

I modified the Distracted Boyfriend meme. We all do this but we all really and truly need to do better here. Shop local. Shop Thrifted. Shop Repurposed. BTW, this is a great time to plug my fave local nonprofit, the creative reuse center; The WasteShed. The next time you’re thinking you need art or craft supplies, start there.

We can do better. Let’s do better together. Tell me the last time you opted to shop local rather than Amazon or a large chain store.