Want to know a little secret? You can shop local for selfish reasons—it doesn’t just have to be about supporting small businesses.
Above all, local is vastly more unique. Your risk of running into someone at a party wearing the exact same shirt as you drops drastically if you’re not shopping at Target. And you can find one-of-a-kind gifts that you know for a fact the recipient won’t have seen in targeted Instagram ads recently.
Then there’s the quality. Not only is it inherently more likely to be better from a local shop, but you can actually touch and feel the thing before committing to it. You might even be able to get the story behind the gift. Where did the materials come from? Who put hours of their life into making it exist? Why are they passionate about it?
You can get recommendations from a fellow human being instead of an AI-powered algorithm. You can get gourmet chocolate made by the person standing in front of you. You can get rare finds that only the shop owner seems to know about.
You can make real connections, embedding yourself into the fabric of the world around you.
And yes, on top of all that, you can put money back into the very same local economy that you’re a part of.
There’s a reason why new stores like Elevated Market, Summit Lane and the aptly named Bring Back Analog are quickly thriving. Click below to see for yourself.
STAFF PICKS
Vinyl Record Store: Vertigo Records
Vinyl’s immortal. There’s a ritual to it: you slide the record out of the sleeve, carefully set it onto the player, and lower the needle. That’s serious business—and Vertigo Records, church of vinyl, is a serious business, too. Pro tip: pick up Yo La Tengo’s And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out. — John Kissane
Gift Shop: Alive Again
This is by no means your classic gift shop, but it is a great place for gifts nonetheless. Alive Again offers a cornucopia of horror and cult classic physical media, including literally thousands of VHS tapes and DVDs, collectible figurines, shirts, posters, toys, and more, all crammed densely into a little shop in Creston. It’s a treasure trove for lovers of everything spooky, whether that’s yourself or a loved one. — Josh Veal
