Page 26 - BusinessWest November 14, 2022
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                 online e-commerce platform that makes it easier for area residents and businesses to find local retailers, and much easier to do business with them.
In a word, the site — feelgoodshoplocal.com — ‘connects’ consumers with local retailers, said Wirth, adding that these connections benefit con- sumers, retailers, and communities alike.
There are now more than 20 businesses on the site, including Lenny Underwood’s Upscale Socks; High Five Books in Florence; Hallie’s Comet Fine Jewelry; Feather & Bloom, a florist, plant, and
“The vitality of our local communities is important. How do you ensure the vitality of our local communities? By supporting our local neighbors, the local stores, things that are happening in our backyard.”
gift shop in Suffield, Conn.; Relax.Rinse.Repeat,
a Westfield-based provider of organic health and beauty products; and many others. Upon visiting a participating shop, one can learn about it, see products, read reviews, and — this is the ultimate goal — place orders (more on all this later).
The Feel Good Shop Local site is one of the listings in our annual Buy Local Holiday Gift
Guide, which includes a lengthy list of gift sugges- tions and places to find them starting on page XX. Wirth and others we spoke with said that the holidays are a good time — although any time is a good time — to remind people of the importance of shopping locally for all those reasons mentioned above.
In many ways,
that message is reso- nating, said Hannah Rechtschaffen, director of Placemaking at the Mill District in North Amherst, a mixed-use community that now features more than 130 housing units and an eclectic array of small shops. She noted that shopping with local retailers has become a priority for some, and even a political statement for others.
Staff Photo
    “People really find that, for them, shopping locally is meaningful beyond just the fact that it’s nice to go in and touch something and connect with someone,” she said. “They also feel a point of pride shopping locally, giving a gift that has a story they heard right from the artist that made it.
“It becomes this sense that people are part of the recovery,” Rechtschaffen went on. “And I think
that this is both real and important. At places like this, people are able to come out and shop and meet the store owner, meet the people work- ing there, meet people making things ... it’s just
a nicer experience and gives everyone a sense of recovery and reclaiming things.”
Melissa Peavay, marketing manager for Grove Real Estate, owner of the Longmeadow Shops, agreed. She said shopping local has, indeed,
From left, Stacey Theriault, owner of the Mill District General Store; Hannah Rechtschaffen, director of Placemaking for the Mill District; and Tim O’Brien, senior Communications director for WD Cowls Inc., show off some of the many items at the store.
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    26 NOVEMBER 14, 2022
SHOP LOCAL
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