Hey people– are you tired of shopping? Are you bored by all the football games? (I am. Please, please, why can’t I see more basketball games? It doesn’t have to be the Lakers or Clippers. I would take Oklahoma too) I am sick to death of sports televsion– waaaaaaaaaaaaay too many channels. Rant over!
However even I get tired of shopping and driving out to malls– even if they are relatively local. Where I live, there really isn’t a decent sized mall that’s not at least a 20-30 minute drive depending on freeway or street traffic. It just doesn’t happen where I live. Yet we do have several neighborhood shopping areas that have sprouted up. One is more vintage-curated, another more personalized small business owners, and yet more have a mix of some major brands with small business people.
As the busiest shopping season of the year is upon us, I wanted to take a moment and remind you about Small Business Saturday and the impact it’s had on local businesses since its inception three years ago. Small Business Saturday occurs on the Saturday after Thanksgiving every year as a way to support the heart of America’s economy. This year Small Business Saturday falls on November 24th, and shoppers can show their community support by shopping at local, independently owned businesses that create jobs, boost the economy, and help preserve neighborhoods in their towns.
Small businesses make up more than 99.7% of all employers, employ about 50 percent of all private sector workers and create 75 percent of the net new jobs in our economy. Local businesses do so much good for our communities and now it’s time for us to do our part by shopping at mom and pop stores.
Where I live, there are many options for the small businesses but often one goes for the national chains by default. However in my beachy hoods and haunts, here are a few places that even have websites that I would HIGHLY recommend to any people who are in the greater Orange County and Los Angeles area to come visit because you will be pleasantly surprised.
Fourth Street Corridor between Junipero and Cherry, Retro Row as it is casually tagged is chockablock with vintage, recycled and even new clothing, furniture and an assortment of other stores and restaurants that make this section of my hood hit the LA Times regularly because they are so on top of the trends in vintage and repurposing of products.
Stretching between Cherry and Junipero, the district is home to an exciting group of 40+ independent merchants. Kitchy and hip and always hospitable, 4th Street features vintage & contemporary clothing, furniture & accessories, art, antiques & collectibles, books, roller skates & skate boards as well as a locally owned restaurants, coffee shops and wine bars. We also boast salon and health & fitness services, too. Adding to the retro vibe of the street is the restored 1920’s Art Theatre, which hosts a mix of first-run and art films, live concerts & comedy and other unique events. 4th Street is one of the few designated bike-friendly business districts in the city and has been featured in the pages of the New York Times as well as New York, Sunset and Los Angeles magazines
Another couple of stores on Fourth Street– a bit farther east are really cool:
Twig and Willow is a boutique that I would make my closet! There’s a sassy, fresh, edgy mix of clothing, accessories and apothecary items that the first time I went in there I dropped some bucks and was drooling over some bags and some jeans (like I need more jeans!) But the style of everything was a cut off the usual bead and didn’t have typical brands I am seeing locally or in department stores.
Crochet Vest- not so sure this is “me” but the styling on this is dead on perfect!
Military-inspired Cropped Jacket. LOVE!!
This is a great place to shop! There’s a lot going on. The site doesn’t begin to cover all the inventory that Twig & Willow carries, but do check out what’s on the site. Tres Chic!!
http://www.twigandwillow.com/
562-433-8944|3740 E. 4th Street |Long Beach, CA 90814
Go a couple blocks farther east and you will come across this cozy very upscale bakery that’s more patisserie than anything else. Think 50’s Americana baking meets French recipes and baked goods and you have a match made in heaven. Scratch Baked Goods is absolutely KILLER. Turns out that I know one of the owners of this fine establishment and when a friend of mine and I were exploring fourth street in our old stomping grounds, that we covered everything in this post, we stopped and had a snack at Scratch! YUMMY and the baked cakes were heavenly! They look better than the photos and I saw a divine pineapple upside down cake. Everything is done carefully and I find this place breath-taking- because you can’t make a decision quickly!
Someone busy at work!
Yummy Treats!
Fabulous tarts – or whatever they are- they are sensational.
You will not be able to leave without buying something. The array of baked goods is too incredible and diverse and the aroma of baked goods just is to intoxicating.
Scratch Baked Goods |3950 E Fourth Street |Long Beach, CA 90814 | Tel: (562) 987-1500
There are many more places in my hood that I would recommend as well as some farther north, some south, and some east. Can’t go west, it’s the ocean!
Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and please please please support your local small businesses.
The website GroomandStyle.com’s Rebecca Moses put together an amazing report on the importance of
Stevie Wilson,
LA-Story.com
Buy stocking stuffers at Beauty.com – $25 and under!
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