It's Nostalgia

I can remember the way the snow smelled. I was four years old. The snow still fell at about the rate of 900 feet a year and it started just after Halloween. (I joke, I joke) Back then, in the '80's we still had about a half dozen corner stores and an active downtown area in our tiny town of about 2500 people. Most families had one car, one job, and the dollar stretched a lot further than it does now. 

The milk man still came to your house if you wanted them to. We had one grocery store in the next town over, and a couple of markets scattered about the neighborhoods. "Speers Meats", the local butcher delivered groceries in the town and we would chase him for blocks for a piece of cheese or a hunk of ring bologna.

Christmas was filled to the brim with Cabbage Patch Dolls, Smirfs, and Strawberry Shortcake dolls.

But alas, times change...or do they?

The onset of e-commerce and online shopping has driven us away from big shopping malls, but it’s actually brought us closer to smaller artisans and makers than we’ve been in 20 years.

Wanna create small town-big feels this Christmas? Start with some amazing gifts. Not the kind that come from big box stores, but the kind made with love and curated by people like me. I LOVE neat stuff. There, I said it. 

Some of my most favorite pieces come from Black+Bloom.    These are amazing stainless steel lunch boxes, sandwich boxes, and soup carafes. Our favorite? The Lunch Box. Has a sliding stainless steel divider that allows you to add two different items to the box. Make it even more versatile with silicone baking cups. Probably the best gift you can give to just about anyone on your list.  You can shop them here.

 What says small town nostalgia better than an old fashioned shaving kit complete with a safety razor? Nothing! Like other small companies, CRUX-our men’s grooming line puts special attention to detail into every thing they do. We love the stainless steel sharing mugs and the gorgeous safety razors. To top it off, theyre based here in our home state of Pennsylvania.