Small Business Saturday Take 3

If you have been reading Capricious Whimsy, then you know by now that I have extended my support of Small Business Saturday to all of the Saturdays in December. All of the business's I have chosen are all places I have ordered from so I am familiar with their product. I do not receive anything in return for my product endorsement. Each of these companies have fabulous products, so give them some Christmas time love and  shop small business for holiday gifts too :-)

Vosges Haut Chocolate 

I don't know if I have enough words to describe how divine these fantastic confections are. Sandi introduced me to Vosges Haut Chocolate three years ago. At first I was a little put off by some of the unique flavor configurations. I didn't think I could do wasabi in my chocolate. Her persistent urging, and the fact that she bought me some for Christmas, was enough of a push to take the plunge. I am so glad I did! Bapchi's Carmel Toffee Bar and the Barcelona Bar are tied for my favorite flavor. The sweet buttery toffee of the Bapchi Bar is blended with a deep chocolate and is mixed with walnuts and pecans. The Barcelona Bar contains hickory smoked almonds, Fleur de Sel grey sea salt, and is blended with a deep chocolate. This salty sweet combo rocks!

If you want to try them out but are unsure of which flavor combo to go with, Vosges makes these awesome little mini bars so you can taste test to find your favorite flavor combo before committing to a bigger bar. Its a great way to be adventurous and try something new.They are priced just right at only $2.50 a bar. Good Secret Santa Gift? I think so!

If you love a salty sweet combo you should try the Mo's Bacon Chocolate Chip Pancake Mix. Its a great little gift idea coming in at only $12.00 for the package. It makes 12 pancakes and they are to die for.

I also highly recommend the La Parisienne Couture Cocoa. It sounds all fancy-schmancy and it is. There is a big reason to make a big fuss over this drinking chocolate. It is so unlike any hot cocoa I have had before.  It is velvety smooth and contains Madagascar Vanilla Bean and dark chocolate shavings. It is fabulous for drinking and for adding a little something extra to your baking. If  you have a chocolate connoisseur on your list, this is a must have gift.

Whole Foods carries Vosges and here  is a link to their website. Amazing stuff my friends. Great food always makes a fantastic holiday gift.

Savannah Bee Company 

Tupelo Honey

This is the other one of my most favorite honey's around! They have the best tupelo honey I have ever tasted. I use this honey when I make Baklava. It is also fantastic on a biscuit.

Savannah Bee Company is running a December Is So Special Sale right now, and if you spend over $50.00 you get a free beeswax hand and nail salve. They have an awesome line of body care products. I use the mint julep soap in the winter time and it helps keep my skin soft and moisturized. This soap is hand-milled, and has a pleasant minty aroma that helps me wake up on cold winter mornings. It would make a great stocking stuffer or Secret Santa gift.

Mountain Rose Herbs

This last business on today's list is Mountain Rose Herbs. Here is a link to their website. This is an excellent source for loose tea, spices, seasonings and essential oils. They support Fair Trade & sustainable agriculture while maintaining very reasonable prices. My favorite thing to order is the Aches and Pains massage oil for my Mr. His job is physically demanding and this oil helps to ease his tired muscles after a hard day at work. 

If you get a chance stop on by and visit the websites of these wonderful companies. I'm sure they would appreciate your support.  I hope ya'll are having a fantastic weekend! 

Support Small Business Saturday!

Capricious Whimsey is participating in Support Small Business Saturday, in an effort to help support small business during the holiday shopping season and beyond. I have decided that I will share with you some of the small businesses that I have shopped from in the past and a few more that I am planning to purchase holiday gifts from. I am not a paid spokesperson and I have not received anything in return for promoting them. I just think that small business is so important to our economy and I am passionate about helping them to succeed.

Sleeping Bear Farms

(source)
http://www.sleepingbearfarms.com/

 Sleeping Bear Farms Star Thistle Honey is one of my most favorite honeys. It is widely considered one of the best tasting honey's in the world and it is produced in the Northern MI region from the abundant supply of Star Thistle that are native to the region. They feature other products as well, like Tupelo honey. Every year they box up the bees and take them to Florida so that they can produce this wonderful natural concoction. Either honey would make a great gift for the baker on your holiday gift giving gift list!

Pick Up Sticks Jewelry

(source)
 http://www.pickupsticks.net/US/USA_home.html

This year I received a gift of one of these dazzling handcrafted little pewter charms. I received the Libra from their Zodiac collection. It is whimsical and every time I wear it I am complimented on it. I am planning on ordering from the Travel collection for a special gift on my Christmas List. A click on the link will take you right to their homepage where you can view the collection and locations of retailers in your area!

Jeni's Ice Cream

(Source)
http://jenisicecreams.com/

One taste of Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream and you will never want to eat grocery store ice cream ever again! This ice cream is made with the freshest ingredients and the flavor combination's are out of this world. Jeni's is starting to take off and has opened several stores in several states (please please please open one in MI). The store itself looks exactly like an ice cream store should.  

The best part, you can taste a bite of everything before you buy it. My personal fave is a scoop of backyard mint with a scoop of dark chocolate to accompany. Wait, I like the whiskey pecan and the wild-berry lavender too. Magnifique!  As the french would say. Jeni's ships and you can purchase by collection or signature flavor. Don't forget to check out the super delicious ice cream sandwiches as well. You will not be disappointed. The current Holiday collection includes Boozy Eggnog, Dark Chocolate Peppermint, Spiced Pepita Brittle and Sweet Potato with toasted marshmallow. Take a look at the photos above, and you will see that Good Humor has got NOTHING on Jeni!

Bongo Java 

(Source) 
http://www.bongojava.com/index.php 

I had the opportunity when I lived in TN to work for an amazing little coffeehouse that used Bongo Java coffee beans. While the coffeehouse has since closed, I remain a huge fan of Bongo Java. They start with 100% organic and fair trade coffee beans and then roast to your desired flavor. The Ethiopian Yirgacheffe is my favorite roast. It is a full bodied smooth flavor with hints of buttery caramel and molasses. They also make the tastiest chocolate covered espresso beans. This would be an excellent idea for the coffee aficionado on your gift list!

I hope that you will at least take a look at what these business have to offer and consider purchasing from small business for some of your holiday gifts this season!

Let the shopping season Commence! A brief history of Black Friday

(Source)

Well Thanksgiving is over and we all know what that means. Now begins the countdown to Christmas and the notorious shopping day known as Black Friday. Have you ever wondered where the term Black Friday came from and how long we have been celebrating this tradition?  

Retailers have been  marketing to the American people during the holiday season since the start of our economy.  In 1924 Macy's introduced the Thanksgiving Day parade as a way to advertise and help draw in holiday sales. In response to strong motivation from retailers coming out of the great depression, in 1939 President Roosevelt actually moved Thanksgiving up a week to help retailers draw out the holiday season and maximize their profits.

The term Black Friday was not coined until the 60's however, and the term has come to mean that it was the first day of the year that the retailer finally operated in the black instead of the red. This no longer holds true as most retailers operate in the black for most of the year, otherwise they go the way of Boarders. Black Friday as we know it, did not really stick until the 1990's. Only since 2002 has Black Friday become the nations largest spending day, with the exception of 2004. (Source)

I was not to surprised that the big retail stores opened early this year. Given the state of the economy it stands to reason that we are all clutching those purse strings tight. It is a given however, that people will be spending money on the holiday season. In 2010 consumers spent $36.4 Billion, yes read that as Billion with a B, on the Christmas Holiday season. (Source)  Earlier than usual mass marketing from the big retailers suggests that they are going to be doing their best to get as many of our holiday dollars as possible. Being first to the marketplace is just one way of accomplishing that feat.

There were a few hold out stores that resisted the jump on the band wagon approach, with many customers and employees grateful for the reprieve.  Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom did not put out Christmas decorations until the evening before Thanksgiving and decided to let their employees enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday with their families. Other retailers like  Best Buy, Target and Walmart (just to name a few) opened their doors earlier on Thanksgiving, attempting to capitalize on the pre-Black Friday market with early door-buster sales offering insane deals in an effort to whip up a shopping frenzy to help you lighten your wallet and push you to spend where you might not otherwise. 

With the billions of dollars that are spent on Black Friday, how big of an impact does it really have on our economy? Some will say it has a large impact citing that it allows retailers to create much needed jobs and creates a large injection of cash into the economy. Since retail represents approximately 1/5 of the nations economy, that is viewed as a great thing. Other viewpoints on the subject suggest that since the holiday shopping season is so short, it only temporarily provides jobs for 2-3 months, and its not our economy that we are actually helping. Most of what we buy is shipped from overseas from electronics to toys, clothing, tools and housewares. It begs the question are we actually helping increase other countries GDP (gross domestic product) and stimulate their economies instead of our own?

There is no simple answer to this question since all consumer spending is not created equal.  As consumers we need to be aware of what we are buying and how to best retain our local dollars. When you eat a meal at a local restaurant more of your purchase stays in the community. The money spent will  go towards food, labor, rent and profit. If you purchased a TV from a big name retailer the money that stays is minimal, the profit and a small amount for rent and customer service. The rest, or the gross, is shipped to the foreign manufacturer, stimulating foreign economy.  

It is still important to support big retailers though.  Although most of your money ends up overseas, some of it actually stays with the retailer and is translated into local jobs and tax revenue helping your state and city governments. After all, it is your neighbor that works at the store to sell you that shiny new big screen TV and it is another neighbor that drives the truck to deliver it. Your city receives tax revenue from those big companies, even though they use every available loophole,  and that ultimately translates into city services.

I think that we need to do a better job of monitoring where we are spending our dollars. It is still ok and necessary to support big name retailers, but it is equally important to support your local small business and economy. Instead of spending ALL of your holiday dollars at mass retailer this year, decide to support your local economy, and purchase SOME of your holiday gifts from local vendors. You will allow for a larger portion of your holiday spending dollars to remain in your community, and help struggling neighboring business to stay afloat. Additionally since there is less tax breaks for smaller business, more much needed tax dollars are flowing to state and city government. You never know what kind of company they could grow to become. After all Ben & Jerry's, Microsoft, and Nike started out small, look at what we have helped them become! 

xoxo

The Mrs.