After the toy scare in 2007, The Stillroom started to pay closer attention to how and where we buy giftware. We always puchased our decorative garden sculptures, nightlights, teas, coffee and biscotti locally and within the USA.
Over time and after going to local gift shows, I determined that every other gift shop in the AK Valley was attending these shows and that resulted in gifty repetition from shop to shop.
I did however, manage over the years, out of maybe 75 to 100 booths, to find one or two that were showcasing local talent throughout the Pittsburgh area. From Derry to Penn Hills to Foxburg to Zelienople to name a few, I started finding unusual, and high quality giftware to pass on to consumers in our area.
This weekend, I found two more artists that are contributing to The Stillroom. One was a woman from Ohio who makes tea caddies from Ohio clay. For a shop like mine, that was huge! Not only did it fit in with what we sell, it meant I could finally drop the “big box” distributor.
When I first opened in 2001, I did not have alot of knowledge as to where to buy gifts that my customers would enjoy. I jumped on the bandwagon that I am sure alot of shop owners do and that was to buy from large importers that served larger chain stores and as well as smaller shops. As a result, I found alot of everything was made everywhere else but here. As I walked through gift and craft chain stores, I found the same merchandise there that I carried only they were always able to beat my prices because of how much they were buying.
That said, over time and with alot of searching, The Stillroom is a local gift shop, buying as much as possible from local artists, some famous and most not.
This is how I plan to boost my local economy in some small way along with jumping on the “green bandwagon” by changing the way we package items that are going out the door.
It’s all good!
