Shop Local : Why It Matters

By Ashley Ward

When you shop local, you’re shopping from friends, neighbors and community members. These are business owners who care about your city and care about you. Local business owners are interested in serving your shared community and making it a better place. 

Local businesses owners tend to contribute to the community more than larger corporations. They have parents, children and grandchildren who live in the community so they have a vested interest in helping out. Just think - we had NINE small businesses glady donate to our very first market because they believe in the concept of art + community. See our donors here.

When you shop local, you’re keeping dollars in the community and contributing to the health of the local economy. Money spent locally circulates in the community benefiting more than one business owner & customer. Local businesses often use local suppliers which reinvest profits into neighboring businesses. 

Local businesses create jobs and provide economic opportunities for those living in the surrounding area. In turn, these employees are able to support their families and recirculate money locally. 

Shopping locally means that you're keeping those delivery trucks off the roads and that's great for our environment. When you combine errands, you lower your contribution of CO2 emissions. And packaging from local shops is minimal (no big boxes for every tiny item).

Shopping at a local business means you get to interact with community members. You are able to build relationships and have significant interactions. 

When shopping locally, you get to know your city and the people in it and you make meaningful connections. For example, the other night I went to get a BBQ plate from a friend who is selling them at the VFW with her husband. Her name is Rayleen and she is a painter who participated in our holiday market; her husband does the BBQ from Nelson’s BBQ. As I drove into the parking lot, I saw the beautiful red, white & blue barn quilt on the side of the building which was made by one of our current vendors for our May market. Her name is Janet Plentl of JaVibe Barn Quilts and she does incredible work by designing and hand-painting every quilt. I was introduced to her work by her son and daughter in-law who I’m in a book club with. 

These natural connections are only possible by shopping locally. If I were to sit at home and shop online from my laptop, I would miss out on building relationships with people in my community who share my interests (or at least my zip code). This is the power of shopping local. 

Join us at the Marble Falls Handmade Market on May 3rd, 2025 from 10am-2pm at 618 Avenue L, Marble Falls, Texas. In addition to art & artisanal items there’ll be fresh food, craft beverages and a place for you to sit & relax with friends and neighbors.