Small business Saturday

This past Saturday, I had so much fun visiting local small businesses and seeing the creative ways that they chose to celebrate Small Business Saturday. My adventure took me to five Grand Island businesses:

• Leaf, Stone, and Steel
• Soma Cura
• The Island Shoppe
• Orange Poppy Art Studio
• Popular Graphics

This store is all about plants and artsy things and crystals. It’s a happy place to visit because the owners go out of their way to create a pleasant and welcoming atmosphere. It’s full of plants and all sorts of creative stuff. Some of the creative stuff is very unusual, which, in my opinion, can only enhance the appeal of the store. The store offers educational opportunities in the form of interesting craft classses. Last winter, I went to a pottery class, where I made a vase. I really treasure that vase. Right now, I have a peacock feather in it, which is a colorful treasure.

Aren’t these beautiful? They make me think of a world of garden gnomes and colorful mushrooms and little houses full of fairy dust and magic.

I had to include a plant. This is actually called a Swiss Cheese plant because the leaves are full of holes. It’s a very usual and cool sort of plant and something that I’ve never seen anywhere else.

I have been to a few yoga classes at Soma Cura. It’s a great place to relieve stress that might have built up over the course of the day, the week, the month, etc. The room where I’ve gone to for classes feels as if it’s a world of its own. It’s very calming and relaxing and quiet. In the yoga class, you get to focus on your body and how it works. I know that I’m not alone in having had feelings that my body is inadequate. One of the joyful things about yoga is that whatever you’re doing is good and is part of the growth process. I always go home feeling calmer and looser and more centered than when I arrived.

In addition to yoga, Soma Cura offers massage, salt room sessions, and an infrared sauna.

The Island Shoppe is a lovely store that offers fun Buffalo Bills merchandise and the creation of local artists. More recently, the Island Shoppe has been a destination for food, which includes Perry’s ice cream and Red Osier beef (for beef on weck and other sandwiches). Previously, the Island Shoppe shared space with Cloudberry Cafe, but that tiny business became so successful that it now has its own space. I will write about them in a separate post.

I was offered a cup of hot chocolate and a nice little table to enjoy my little treat. It felt relaxing and like a very nice respite. There is plenty of merchandise for sale upstairs, but I was starting to feel a time crunch so I went on to my next destination, which was…

This is a delightful place where sweet art teachers offer instruction to everyone, from toddlers to old people (me). They teach a technique called “process art,” which is all about the process of creativity, as opposed to the product. They encourage everyone to create art because, for the most part, everyone can create art. There was a time, which I remember well, when people were told they had to have this mystical blessing, called “talent,” to create art. This served as a major deterrent for most of us. It certainly did for me. At the age of 15, I gave up art, convinced that I had no talent.

Now, I realize that whether or not I have talent, it doesn’t matter. I no longer have to pit myself against some impossible standard and declare myself the loser. That sounds really negative, doesn’t it? I learned that it’s like taking a long walk. It’s the journey that has so much valuable. The destination is the icing on the cake. And so it is with art. It’s the process of making it that feels right, that brings the joy, that makes the memories. The finished work is a reminder of the happiness that comes from being with others and creating something fun.

While I was at the Orange Poppy Art Studio, I painted two flat wooden ornaments, and I stuffed a plastic ornament with red and green… um… thing a ma bobs (that’s the technical term). When I left the Orange Poppy Art Studio, I felt joyful about the experience that I had there.

This wonderful art studio offers open studio hours, classes, and private group lessons. It’s a fun thing to do to celebrate a birthday or anything that’s worth celebrating. And what could be better that creating art with friends?

This is where I got the Bills bling. When you’re a Buffalo Bills fan, blinging it up is a grand idea. So, it all came about when I went to take pictures of National Night Out of the local newspaper, the Tribune/Sentinel. Shannon had a tent set up, filled with great stuff from Popular Graphics. There was, of course, very cool Bills stuff. I was enjoying my Bills fever and I saw That Shirt. The black shirt featured a Buffalo Bills logo in rhinestones. I channeled my inner country music star (honestly, I don’t think that I’m capable of singing country music and doing it justice), and I fell in love with the shirt. Should I buy it? I had an internal debate in my head, that went sort of like this:

“Don’t buy it, Alice. It’s not likely to be your size. You are an odd size. Nothing fits you.

I checked the size tag in The Shirt. Oh, it was exactly my size.

Yes, I wear it regularly, and The Shirt has its own fan club.

The above picture was Buffalo Bills bling that was at the store on Small Business Saturday. Isn’t that so cute? I didn’t buy it but I was definitely tempted.

Go Bills!

And go small business! Visit your favorite small business soon. There are some lovely local stores that would love to help you with your holiday shopping.