This past holiday season, it occurred to me that my pot holders — many of which are 10 years old or older — were starting to look pretty shabby.
I was thinking about buying myself some new ones, when I wandered into my local health food store, Stay Well Health Foods, and discovered that handmade goods were being sold there.
They had hand-knitted scarves and matching hats, aprons, and yes, some wonderful pot holders too!
And because you don’t have to pay shipping when you’re a walk-in customer, the price was fantastic! So of course I bought myself a couple of pot holders in a heartbeat!
And just look at the lovely fabrics they had, for me to choose from (these are the aprons):
Now I live in a very small town in Idaho, and local folks get to know each other pretty well. I’m a regular shopper at Stay Well Foods, because I have to eat a gluten-free diet. In a place like Twin Falls, Idaho, there are not a lot of options for people on specialized diets.
But Kevin, the owner of Stay Well, keeps a well-stocked supply of gluten-free foods, and he can ship his products out when people purchase them online as well. He’s just a heck of a nice guy too.
I buy products at Stay Well that I absolutely have to have for my gluten-free diet, like baking mixes, gluten-free flour, gluten-free pastas, and more.
Over the holidays, I found some gluten-free bread crumbs there, and I used them for making my holiday stuffing.
It’s super nice of Stay Well to carry seasonal products, like holiday favorites, when they’re running such a small, local business.
They sell local wines as well, and just look at the adorable display they use for showing them off to their customers! I’m sure the local wine sellers really appreciate this “western” style special display, which draws attention to their wines.
So when I first saw handmade potholders, aprons, and knitted scarves at Stay Well Foods, I asked Kevin, “Do you take handmade items on commission or something?”
But it turns out these handmade goodies were all created by his mother! Hearing that just warmed my heart!
Which is why I’m doing a blog post on this wonderful topic… a man who runs a health food store, and also supports his beloved mother, by displaying her handmade products in his store. Isn’t that neat?! I just love it!
I’d like to know where you — my friends and followers — sell your handmade goods. Do you sell them at flea markets? On Etsy? In local shops like Stay Well Foods?
If you have an Etsy store or an eBay store, a Facebook page or a business website, feel free to leave a link in the comments. And let us know which venues work best and why.
And if you are interested in supporting Stay Well Foods, follow my links over to their Facebook page. They’re best known for their vitamins and supplements, as you can see below:
But for those of us who enjoy organic gardening, they also have a whole section of the store devoted to that. I buy seeds from them every spring, when I start my planting.
Last year I bought some really cool planting-row-markers that lasted all through the summer, and I was even able to pull them out to re-use this coming planting season!
I did not receive my daily email from you for your blog post. I received Friday’s but not today. Is there a special reason? Thanks, Judy Jones
Hi Judy,
I don’t actually send out those emails. Instead, when you subscribe to my website, my web host sends you notifications, as per your requests. When you first subscribe, you get to decide how often you want those emails to come.
As a school librarian, I often teach children how Gmail works, and one of the things I explain to them, is that Gmail is a smart mail system. If you don’t open the email that comes from a given site (say ChellyWood.com) frequently, then those emails may be considered promotional. So Judy, if you look in your spam folder or if you’re using Gmail, if you look in your “Promotions” or “Social” folder, you may see that you did receive an email from my web hosting provider. (I’m just guessing here.)
The trick is to open them every now and then, to make sure the email program understands that you really do want to keep getting those emails.
Hopefully this helps. If not, try to hit that “sign me up” button on the right-hand side of the screen again, to ensure that you’re still subscribed. I’m glad you are enjoying the website and all that it offers!
Another thing that can prevent you from receiving an email is links. Some email programs only allow a maximum of two or three links per email, and if the email contains more than that, the message may go to spam. Again, this just comes from my knowledge as a school librarian, and what I understand about how email works.