Happy Black Wednesday, everyone! I’m sure a lot of you are mentally and physically preparing for the craziness that is Black Friday, but I am personally preparing for my favorite shopping day of the year: Small Business Saturday.
Like Black Friday, it seems like Small Business Saturday has been around forever, but somehow it is less than a decade old! Small Business Saturday kicked off in 2010 by the American Express credit card company. Don’t let that deter you!!! This was actually a good thing done by a credit card company for once! American Express wanted to help the small business owners they worked with get more exposure, and as the “holiday” became more popular by getting support from influential people like President Obama, they even started offering free ads for small businesses to utilize online.
But why does it matter? Why should you be shopping at these smaller businesses, that may have higher prices, where you also need to potentially deal with annoying crowds when you could just order from Amazon and have your item in a day or two?
There was a Civic Economics Study that came out a few years ago that showed by spending $100 at a local business, $68 will stay in the community and go towards things like local schools, the wages of the people that work in that business and actually live there, and supporting the first responders that work to keep your community safe every single day. When you spend $100 at a nonlocal business, a mere $42 stays in the community…that’s a pretty drastic jump.
“Okay Jenn, whatever, we get it. But this is a travel blog. I didn’t come here to get a lesson in economics. How does this have anything to do with travel?”
I’m glad you asked!
Whenever I travel to somewhere new, I seek out these smaller businesses. I like buying souvenirs just like anyone else, but I don’t want to buy them from the massive stores selling things that were actually made in China and not the place I’m visiting. I want to meet the guy painting old cutting boards in the alleyway of Paris. I want to buy homemade chocolates from the mother-daughter duo in the residential area of Malmo, Sweden. I want to buy the socks knit by the old woman in Latvia that doesn’t use set sizes and has to measure the socks with a ruler before giving them to you to make sure they’ll actually fit, but it’s okay because she has so much pride in her work and looks like she might cry because you decided to buy from her instead of the people in the next stall that just order theirs from a factory.
These stories I have of meeting the local people are some of my favorites. When you go into a small business, there is a pretty strong chance that the person behind the counter is the owner. When was the last time you had a personal conversation with the owner of Amazon? What about Target? Oh…you’ve never had a personal conversation with them? Okay, that’s fine. You buy from them frequently enough, their store must at least be a clear reflection of who they are as a person, right? No? Hmm…
When you walk into a small business, you are walking into an extension of a human being. The person that started that business has poured their heart and soul into it in a way most of us will never be able to understand. They rarely, if ever, are able to take a vacation and they spend long nights and weekends away from their families so that they can provide the best products and services to their customers.
Shopping at small businesses is your way to truly get to know a community. So this Small Business Saturday, I encourage you to get to know whatever community you’re in a little bit more. Are you spending this weekend at Grandma’s house? Go get to know her neighbors at the farmer’s market. In Europe for Christmas Market Season? Strike up a conversation with the person manning one of the smaller stands.
I personally will be going out to some of my favorite Worcester small businesses, and trying out some new ones that I’ve heard about recently. I had the opportunity to talk to quite a few small business owners in my own community and it was truly eye-opening. Keep reading to see what they have to say about their community, their history, and what’s going on on Small Business Saturday.
Places to Buy the Perfect Gift
Bedlam Book Cafe – For the Bibliophile
I have always been a bookworm, and one of my favorite things to do growing up was go to the used bookstores in Boston. I could never understand why Worcester didn’t have one of its own…until last year when Bedlam Book Cafe opened up.
Q: What inspired you to open Bedlam? Have you always wanted to own a bookstore?
A: The lack of an awesome used bookstore in Worcester was a gap Nicole wanted filled for awhile, but it never occurred to her to fill it herself. She has friends that own independent bookstores already in Massachusetts and Vermont, so she thought it would make sense for them to open up another store in Worcester, but they wouldn’t bite. Like many of us experience throughout our lives, Nicole was looking for something different to do with her career and nothing seemed to be working. That was when she decided to do something “radically different” and opened up Bedlam.
Q: What made you decide to open up in Worcester? Do you have a personal connection to the city?
“I’ve lived here for five years. During that time I’ve felt more at home here than I’ve felt anywhere since like 25 years ago. I love Worcester, I love what’s going on here. I love the food scene, I love the art scene, I love the people…I love how it’s like a small big town and I just knew I wanted to be located here.”
To this day whenever I tell people where I’m from, I still frequently get a face, like “ugh, Worcester, you should just move to Boston”. I’ve never seen a non-native’s face light up when talking about Worcester quite like Nicole’s did and it’s great to know that Worcester is still endearing people to it.
Q: I feel like most people associate bookstores with coffee; what made you decide to focus on juices and smoothies?
Nicole made sure to remind me that they do have coffee, and it’s really good coffee, but smoothies are something she has always done and that she finds fun. She has always loved smoothies, but there aren’t too many places in Worcester right now that you can get a good quality one, so she decided to fill yet another gap. Their most popular one is the Audrey Lorde smoothie, which is something she has actually been making for about 20 years.
Q: If Worcester was a juice or a smoothie, what would it be?
“The first thing that comes to mind is a beer smoothie. People love beer here.”
Q: What has been the most rewarding thing about owning a small business?
“The most rewarding thing has been making all the decisions, being your own boss, and no one telling you what to do.”
Q: Is there anything special happening at Bedlam for Small Business Saturday?
There’s not too much happening on Small Business Saturday, but Bedlam will be doing some special things after. The Holiday Stroll for the Canal District is on December 7 and they will be doing a bunch of events that day including a Glazy Susan pop up, snacks, mulled cider, and other fun stuff.
Q: Where will you be shopping for Small Business Saturday?
“In this building. This is where I shopped before I got in this building with the store so it just makes sense that I would continue to do so.”
As I talked to Nicole, I realized what a clear reflection of her Bedlam is. It’s not your stereotypical bookstore so you’re not going to find the latest Nicholas Sparks book on display in the window. You’re going to find books about feminism, plenty of poetry, and a plethora of books that will truly make you stop and think about the state of the world. She told me that she wanted to offer a place that would feed curiosity and be a small, local way of fighting the uneducation of America; she wanted to “create the opposite of madness”. As Nicole said, if you don’t like the store then you don’t like her because she has never put so much of herself into anything else.
Crompton Collective & Haberdash Worcester – For all things Bohemian & One-of-a-Kind
Q: What made you decide to open up in Worcester? (Both starting Crompton Collective and deciding to open your second Haberdash location here)
“I grew up here and often found myself heading towards Boston to shop. So when I decided to open my store it was an easy decision to invest in my community.
As for Haberdash, the space upstairs from us had been occupied for 10 years and when my landlord called to ask me who would be a good fit to go in there, I just couldn’t stop thinking about what a beautiful clothing boutique it would be. So I had to go for it!”
Q: What made you decide to open these particular types of businesses? Was it something you always wanted to do?
“I’ve been in retail since high school, I love it and I’ve been working for myself for 14 years. Haberdash started as an online Vintage Clothing store in 2005 and then turned into a mobile shop in 2009, moving in to a space in Crompton in 2012 and opening its own store in Hudson in 2017. “
Q: What has been the most rewarding thing about being a small business owner?
“Providing a space for people in our community to gather. Crompton has become a part of people’s lives, which is so cool. People get married here…It’s wild.”
Q: Crompton Collective has been instrumental in the revitalization of the Canal District and always has tons of events like the Makes Like a Girl event; do you have a favorite so far?
“Over the years we have hosted hundreds of events. But having Bill Clinton here campaigning for Hilary was probably the wildest thing that will ever happen here.”
Q: Will there be anything special going on at either Haberdash Worcester or Crompton Collective for Small Business Saturday?
“Crompton is hosting a Farmers Market with special food pop ups and a craft fair. There will also be a merch pop up with the Worcester Red Sox.
Haberdash be giving out 20% off coupons to our Hudson location and have a spin the prize wheel! “
Q: Is there anywhere in particular that you will be shopping on Small Business Saturday?
Besides Seed to Stem, I’ll be hitting up Sweet Janes to see what designer deals she has going on. and stopping for teats at Ed Hyder’s and The Queens Cups.
Sweet Jane’s – For the Trendsetter
Q: What made you decide to open up in Worcester?
Amanda used to run a consignment store out of Newton Center. A lot of consignors were from Central Mass and whenever she would ask why they make that commute they would tell her that there was no place to consign designer pieces in Worcester. Alan Bilzerian, a luxury designer clothing store, had a location across the street from Amanda’s store but the first store they ever opened used to be in Worcester! When Amanda would go into their store they said that some of the best closets and most fabulous women they’ve ever known are right in Worcester. Since opening up Sweet Jane two years ago, those glamorous women with closets we all dream about feel more comfortable just coming to downtown Worcester instead of making the trek out to Boston.
Q: What made you decide to open a designer consignment shop? Was it something you always wanted to do?
Amanda always knew she wanted to go into fashion, but she also wanted to be successful, and she, like a lot of us, thought that in order to do that she needed to go the business route. After college she didn’t apply to any fashion jobs. Eventually Amanda quit her job, had nothing to do, but wanted to work in fashion. She calls it her “quarter-life mid-life crisis”; instead of realizing she wanted to do something to make her happy at 40 she realized it at 27. Amanda always wanted to work in two things: clothes and sustainability. By opening a designer consignment shop she was able to get everything she wanted.
Q: What’s your connection to Worcester?
As a Worcester-native, Amanda’s roots go all the way back to being raised on Deadhorse Hill. She went to an inner city high school, left the city to attend school in the Bronx, then eventually returned home. She graduated at the time the recession hit and was one of thousands of new grads that were unable to even get internships, never mind start their careers. In fact, she had an interview scheduled with Lehman Brothers…and two days before the interview was supposed to take place it was all over the news that Lehman Brothers had just closed. You’ll be hard pressed to find a business owner in Worcester right now that doesn’t have a similar story; as Amanda said, a lot of her generation wasn’t able to get jobs and had no choice but to come home to Worcester…little did they know that they would be the leaders through Worcester’s renaissance period…
Q: What has been the most rewarding thing about being a small business owner?
“The relationships you make with people. I feel like I have 500,000 friends and very few friends before. The relationships make it worth it… Consignment is a real honor system business. People trust you with investments that they’ve loved and cherished. I didn’t think it would be as big and as full-hearted as it is. It’s 1000% the relationships we build.”
Q: If Worcester was a shoe, what would it be?
“It’s a comfortable city, but you have people that love shoes…so it would be Swedish Hasbeens or Chanel clogs!”
Q: Tell me more about all the ways you guys contribute to charities, including how you got the idea to start raffling off bags.
The first bag Sweet Jane raffled off was a Louis Vuitton. At the time they had quite a few LV’s in and decided to give this raffle experiment a shot; they charged $5 per entry and people got really excited about it! In addition to the raffles they hold throughout the year, they also donate $22-50k of inventory every year to various events and charities.
Q: Will there be anything special going on at Sweet Jane’s for Small Business Saturday?
Black Friday will be the biggest sale! If you arrive between 7 and 8 am you will get a little green card that gets you 70% off most items in the store (exclusions apply). If you arrive between 8 and 10am you’ll get 50% off. But, that sale ends at exactly 10am. Once the clock strikes 10, no more deals!
On Small Business Saturday the usual markdown board comes back…but it is coming back with the buy more, save more sale! (This is the sale that I scored my dream pair of Christian Louboutins at!) The way this sale works is the more items you buy, the bigger additional savings you get (on top of any other markdowns).
There will also be another raffle going on both days. To find out more about what they’re raffling off this time, check out their instagram!
Q: Is there anywhere in particular that you will be shopping on Small Business Saturday?
When Amanda isn’t working she loves to support the city, so she would be hitting up The Queen’s Cups, BT’s, Crompton Collective, Haberdash, Seed to Stem… pretty much the whole Canal District area. She would also most likely be buying some inappropriate book or a book on space at Bedlam, heading to Modern Muse for vintage, and CC Lowell to buy something to do art with…and then not actually getting around to doing said artistic thing. She would of course also have to go to Sparkle on Park because she can’t go without flowers. “I’d be supporting all of my friends that own businesses and I know they would be here too.”
For Something Tasty and Delicious
Stillman Quality Meats
Q: What inspired you to open a butcher shop? Was it something you always wanted to do?
Kate grew up on a vegetable farm and her parents had a greenhouse business. As a result of this, she started growing field-grown, fresh cut flowers before they were cool and had dreams of doing high-end garden design. However, when her cityslicker of an ex-husband expressed an interest in getting involved with the family business by getting into livestock, she got him 10 sheep and three pigs as a joke. At the time no one was really doing a business like hers and it ended up snowballing into a full-fledged career. Kate said that the farm has been a good way to raise her kids while also adding creativity to her life
Q: It’s not every day that you hear about a female butcher; what is your favorite part of the job?
Kate’s favorite part about her business is having her hands in all the creative parts of it. She finds cutting meat to be very therapeutic, kind of like the reverse of sewing. As a business owner she wears just about every hat that the business needs, but she would always rather be hands on creating something new and creative like a new type of sausage and honing her skills.
Q: What is your favorite type of sausage you guys make?
Kate told me that this was an unfair question because it was like asking which of her kids is the favorite…so rather than giving an answer she told me that she personally likes spicier and stronger flavored sausages. She really likes making sausages with roasted poblano peppers, but right now they are doing pumpkin sage blue cheese and sweet potato maple miso.
Q: What made you decide to expand from Hardwick and open up a shop in Worcester? Do you have any personal connection to the city?
Stillman Quality Meats were sold year round at the public market in Boston for years, but it wasn’t a great fit for the business or for Kate’s work/life balance because of its distance from the farm. People encouraged her to look into Worcester as a good middle ground. Since opening up the Worcester storefront last year, Kate said she had an instant feel-good feeling in Worcester, in part because it doesn’t feel like a big city.
Q: What has been the most rewarding thing about owning a “small business”?
Kate said that she has always been a retail person and enjoys connecting with customers; she also really likes the people she works with.
Q: Is there anything special happening at SQM for Small Business Saturday?
Stillman Quality Meats is already gearing up for the holidays. Make a lot of wonderful products like smoked meats, ptees, charcuterie. Gearing up to feed people, They will have a lot of great food that make excellent gift baskets, like smoked meats, patees, and charcuterie. They also do bulk items on things like their pot pies; they have a variety of flavors and I am happy to report that they are, in fact, delicious.
Q: Is there a deadline to order by for the holidays? Will you be open for pickups on Christmas Day?
As of right now there is not a set deadline for special orders, but because the farm has a finite amount of livestock it would behoove you to get your orders in ASAP.
They will not be open for pickups on Christmas Day.
If you have any questions, concerns, or want to attempt to make a last minute order your best bet is to call the farm or store directly instead of doing it all online.
Q: Is there anywhere in particular that you will be shopping on Small Business Saturday?
Kate typically only shops local, but this year she is excited to hit just about everywhere since it will be her first holiday season in the Canal District. Two places she will definitely be heading to are Crompton Collective and Birch Alley because between the two she is sure to find something for everyone on her list..
The Queen’s Cups
Q: What inspired you to open a bakery, particularly one known for cupcakes? Was it something you always wanted to do?
“I actually wanted to be a teacher my whole life, and then I realized that I probably wouldn’t pass the MTEL test so then I thought…maybe I’ll be a counselor. I love working with kids! But I randomly started making cupcakes at home, and started putting them on Instagram when it first came out. I was building my business without knowing it, and I was growing pretty popular (at that time). When I graduated from Worcester State, I didn’t have a job lined up and there was a tiny little shop down the street from my house. My mom set up an appointment to look at it and then gave the landlord a $100 deposit and the rest was history.”
Q: What made you decide to move from Millbury to Worcester? Do you have a personal connection to the city?
“I love Worcester, and spent a lot of time in the city. I knew if I stayed in Millbury, I would always just be what we were: small, without much room to grow. When the opportunity came, I felt ready to grow my business, and even though it was difficult to leave my hometown, I knew it was the right decision. I had big city dreams.“
Q: If Worcester was a cupcake, what kind would it be?
“I would have to say that it would be a Rocky Road. Chocolate cake because of the richness and history of the city, with a marshmallow filling because I have met a lot of really soft and comforting people here. The frosting would be an almond buttercream topped with crushed nuts (because hey…every city has some crazies, haha!) I would drizzle it with chocolate ganache and top it with more marshmallows. “
Q: What has been the most rewarding thing about owning a “small business”?
Employing so many different people and watching them grow. Also, the amazing friends that I have met because of my business.
Q: Is there anything special happening at TQC for Small Business Saturday?
The Queen’s Cups will be selling apparel and having a pop up with Dressed in Brave, an organization whose mission is “to spread light and kindness while empowering women diagnosed with cancer to take control of their look by adding a statement piece of jewelry to their collection.”
Q: Is there a deadline to order by for the holidays? Will you be open for pickups on Christmas Day?
Keep an eye out on TQC’s instagram and website for details on the holiday menu and order deadlines!
Q: Is there anywhere in particular that you will be shopping on Small Business Saturday?
“I love shopping (and I am hoping that I will be able to sneak out during that day) so I will definitely be hitting up The Haberdash, Sweet Janes, Seed to Stem, Sparkle on Park …. All my favorites!“
Want to read more about Worcester? Check out my other #WorcesterWednesday posts below!
January 2019: Worcester, MA: Why It Should Be Added To Your Bucket List
February 2019: Worcester Art Museum
March 2019: Redemption Rock Brewing Company
July 2019: 6 Best Coffee Shops in Worcester
August 2019: The Best Diners in Worcester
September 2019: The Five Breweries in Worcester
October 2019: Worcester Hauntings