Another active week as passed here at WFS, and I, for one, am still savoring the excitement! At the store, we've been busy stocking up on locally produced body care items from wonderful Pine Street Products and HomeBody Botanicals; and items from fabulous Jabberwocky Smooth Jerk. We also received a new shipment of greeting cards from our favorite earth-friendly supplier, Tree Free Greetings! If that weren't enough, we've made arrangements with locally-recommended Crazy Bitch Tea, billed as "The Bitch Stops Here - Bringing Harmony To The World Around Us"; and with SoCal company Green Toys, Inc. - look for their products in the store soon!
I attended the Women In Business Awards on Friday the 17th, having been named one of the Outstanding Small Businesswomen in Altadena. Each
year, the Women in Business Awards and Legislative Update recognize
businesswomen who have contributed to the economic growth and well-being
of Southern California. These women exemplify the broad range of
accomplishments that women have achieved in our communities. Interestingly enough, August 26th will be the 92nd anniversary of women's right to vote in the United States. I am extremely proud to be a part of the burgeoning sector of women who own their own business, and as a woman, I salute my sisters! Here's a photo of a group shot of the honorees from our district, with Assemblymember Anthony Portantino, and fellow Altadena honorees Inger Miller and Jill Hawkins of MillerHawkins Events:
One
of the highlights of the event was the keynote speech by space
exploration pioneer and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) scientist, Z.
Nagin Cox (also a woman and a fascinating one, at that!). Ms. Cox shared her exciting experiences on the recent Mars
landing of the Curiosity rover and discussed her journey from Prairie
Village, Kansas to JPL and Mars rover engineer - such an inspiring story! I am thrilled to be a small part of this wonderful event, many thanks to Dr. Thelma T. Reyna, who nominated me!
Dr. Reyna is the author of "The Heavens Weep for Us and Other Stories" and is one of the many local authors we represent at WFS. Did you know that we have over 40 artists of almost every genre here at WFS? From books to paintings, from food crafters to stationery designers, WFS is your source for locally-made goods and there's no better way to invest in your community!
Have a great week, friends, and we'll talk again next week. We've moved into Back To School time in Altadena (so soon?!) - I'm missing the traditional autumn feeling that usually accompanies the season, but I'm sure we'll catch up soon enough! Stay cool....
I used to go out quite a lot,
chase to chase and shot to shot.
I'm all done with that somehow,
and it's your town now.
These days the mighty eagle sings,
of money and material things,
and the almighty Dow,
and it's your town now,
your town now,
it's--
From the mountains to the plains
all the towns are wrapped in chains,
and the little that the law allows,
and it's your town now,
it's your town now,
it's--
Where are the young bands gonna play?
Where're the old beatniks gonna stay,
and not before some corporation bow?
and it's your town now,
it's your town now,
it's--
So be careful everyone,
Cops can get careless with their guns.
And then they slip off somehow,
and it's your town now,
it's your town now,
it's--
You young ones it's up to you
to fight the fight and I hope you do,
Oh I see in your eyes that you know how
and it's your town now
your town now.
Don't let 'em take the whole damn deal,
Don't give up on what you really feel.
Ah, the small and local must survive somehow,
if it's gonna be your town now.
Is it gonna be your town now?
Is it gonna be your town now?
Is it gonna be? ----Greg Brown
My mother taught me long, long ago to not say anything at all if I had nothing nice to say. So, I put myself on a two week blogging exile. I've been so overwhelmed with the negative that I was afraid to put pen to paper....ummm....keyboard to screen....oh heck, you know what I mean. But I'm overjoyed to be back with a more positive outlook, and, hopefully, I can convey what I have to say without being overly dark and depressing.
In this week's post, I'd like to talk about this article in the Washington Monthly, written by Barry C. Lynn and Lina Khan, and its relevance to the song captioned above. In the article they describe the fact that American entrepreneurship has fallen off precipitously in recent years, and opine the reason for that drop. Here's a sample, actually the final paragraph of the article:
"Indeed, the decline of small business documented here appears to confirm
that the great social experiment undertaken a generation ago—when we
allowed our government to cease enforcement of our antimonopoly laws—has
had a devastating effect not only on our democracy but also on the
ability of ordinary Americans to build their assets and move up the
socioeconomic ladder through enterprise. The loss of job creation that
comes with the hollowing out of America’s entrepreneurial sector also
goes a long way toward explaining why American businesses were creating
fewer and fewer jobs even before the Great Recession hit. The founding
generation was right: as America’s entrepreneurs go, so goes America’s
prosperity and democracy. If we are ever to recapture the promise of
this land, we must first break down the great powers that crush the
individual citizen’s initiative and ability to create and build what is
new and better."
We need our entrepreneurial sector to be able to create more and better jobs. Without that, we are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Or some would say, between RiteAid and Walmart. I'd like you to re-read the words to the song that opens this post. Is this what we want for our town? Some would have you believe that yes, this is what we want. I, and a growing number of people whom I speak with daily are saying NO. No to the large corporations, no to the chains, no to dead-end jobs that go nowhere. It doesn't matter if you're reading this and don't live in Altadena. Something like this can, and probably has, happened where you live. There's a radical push to open more and more big-box "urban" model stores that are local-washed to fit in your community, but really are just a wolf in sheep's clothing. Now is the time to say no, not in our neighborhood, not in our town!
Our locally-owned, independent businesses and our local start-ups need your support now more than ever before. Be a part of the change in your community and start a movement to bring your local businesses to the attention of its residents. Webster's Fine Stationers is proud to have started such a movement here in Altadena by investing in other local businesses. We also love that we feature businesses other than ours in our social media campaigns. If you're asking what you can do in your neck of the woods, here are some suggestions. Start an independent business alliance if you're a small business owner or, if you don't have the funds to do that, ask your Chamber of Commerce. Do they have a Independent Merchants Committee? If they don't, suggest they form one and volunteer to be on it. If you're a concerned citizen, start a cash mob for your local businesses. We've done this in Altadena and it's working out very well. Petition your City or Town Councils to keep chain businesses out and to help foster independently owned small business ventures. The more active we are in our communities, the better we all get along and it's a good feeling to know that we're working toward sustainability, local self reliance and autonomy.
Without the support of the communities across the nation, our independent businesses will be eaten alive by the encroachment of huge corporations. With no local businesses, a community will wither - property values decrease, individuality lost and nothing left to differentiate it from any other. Is that what we want? Is that your town now?
For our local readers, see SaveAltadena.com on the net and SaveAltadena on Facebook for news, meeting times and other information.
Talk to you next week, friends, and until then, be well and happy.
Atladena's second attempt at a "cash mob" occurred yesterday at WFS, after a build-up of about a week's duration in our local newsblogs. This mob, actually spread out throughout the day, provided a needed boost to our daily sales. Saying that I'm grateful is an understatement - I can say that we're unequivocally floored by the kindness shown us yesterday!
The idea of cash mobs came up as a reaction to the news that
Altadena will be getting a new Walmart Neighborhood Market on Lincoln
and Figueroa and possibly a second one at Lake and Calaveras. The Save Altadena group wants to support local business. Some doubt that it will be sustainable, but we've heard the naysayers before, and we're not daunted. This cash mobbing is a fantastic way for our townspeople to get to know our local businesses, to help support them now and hopefully, in the future. I can say for certain that it made our day, our week and probably, our month. It's a great thing to do in summer, when sales are slow and business is welcome. Remember -
I envision this continuing throughout the year and we've committed to attending each and every one! The next one is scheduled for Spin Off Records on Lincoln - stay tuned to our Facebook page to find out when it will be.
Stay cool this week, friends! We'll talk next week....
I love Sundays. We close the store earlier on Sundays - at 5:00 in the afternoon, so if there's not a lot of traffic, we can get home and relax a little. Whether or not we actually do relax is another story. You know there's always something to do, like wash the car or the clothes. Scott's out back right now, mowing the little patch of grass in the dark. I wonder what it'll look like in the daylight, or maybe the ambient light from the house was enough to see. It'll probably be fine, though, because Scott is funny like that and has an almost uncanny ability to see things other people don't see.
There's a lot to be said about that type of ability, but I imagine sometimes it can be frustrating. If we put it into the context of what's happening in Altadena today, I can tell you he's verklempt. He's having a hard time understanding why our town, usually so adamant about not letting in large stores, is seemingly embracing the idea of our newest proposed neighbor, a Walmart Neighborhood Store. I'm wondering why as well. We know the history of this corporation, yet some folks are expecting them to be different this time. Isn't that a quote from Albert Einstein? The definition of insanity is repeating the same thing and expecting different results.
What Scott sees happening is our independent stores being slowly squeezed out, creating more trouble than there was in the first place, without Walmart, and I agree with him. This is a familiar argument, one that's been voiced all across the US, so much so that people here seem to tune out. Maybe it's just a Southern California thing, this ennui. No big deal, right? Maybe is isn't and maybe it is, but as one commenter on the most recent story on the situation in our local newsblogs put it, "now's the time for the mom and pops in town to get it together" (paraphrased for brevity). I agree with that as well! As much as we can, after slogging through this recession and so-called recovery, I call on all of us small business people to "get it together"!
See what's happening in your town - don't be a turtle, don't lose interest, don't think that it won't affect you. We all need to become more involved, more supportive and care more about what happens here in Altadena. Let's talk about it - start now and start here at SaveAltadena.com.
Have an excellent week ahead, my friends, and we'll talk again next week!
Happy July, friends, we hope your Independence Day celebrations were
completely fabulous! Ours was, filled with good friends, family and
plenty of fried chicken! Speaking of chicken, food and togetherness,
Fancy Food Truck Friday will be on July 13th, starting at 5:00 pm and
ending at 9:00 pm! There are some new trucks on the roster this month -
check it out:
Mandoline Grill - Vietnamese Cuisine
Ta Bom - Brazilian Cuisine Veg It Up - Vegetarian Cuisine After School Special - American Cuisine
The Hungry Nomad - Middle Eastern Cuisine
Waffles De Liege - Dessert
Hungry diners wait in line at Altadena's Fancy Food Truck Friday
We're very excited to welcome new trucks to the parking lot behind
Webster's! Since it's also our Fifth Anniversary, we'll be making a
party out of it and we're inviting everyone to come on by!
OddBallGrape.com will be here with some of their interesting and
humorous insights on wine that always leaves you with a smile. Their
focus this month will be "A Good Bottle Of Wine For $13.00 And Under -
Fact Or Fiction?". If this piques your interest, come on by and we'll
do a blind tasting of their results!
Local artist/poet Aldonia Bailey will be with us this month as well,
joined by her friends, who will take their poetry to another level with
jazz. While I can tell you you've never heard anything like it, you'll
just have to come find out for yourself!
Aldonia Bailey Reading Poetry February, 2012 WFS
Again, the fun starts at 5:00 pm on Friday the 13th, and all the shops at Webster's will be
open until 9:00 pm for your convenience - make sure to drop by and
check out our newest artist additions!
In other news this month, Altadena has been rocked by the news of a
WalMart Neigborhood Market opening at the corner of Lincoln Ave. and
Figueroa Street. We've just recently heard that the retail behemoth is
also in negotiations for the empty lot below the Ralphs Market on Lake
Ave. and Calaveras Street. While we stand with our fellow independent
business owners in opposing WalMart's presence in our town, we don't
want to sway your opinion one way or another without offering you the
chance to educate yourself on the pros and cons. Our Town Council
representatives for that census tract are having a meeting on Thursday,
July 12th, 6:00 pm at Jackson Elementary School. The address is 593 W.
Woodbury Rd. in Altadena, and they invite you to come to hear a
presentation and ask questions. There is also a meeting at The Coffee
Gallery Backstage on Saturday, July 21 at 11:00 am, at which the film
"The High Cost Of Low Prices" will be shown. The Coffee Gallery
Backstage's address is 2029 Lake Ave., and the phone number is (626)
798-6236 - please call to make reservations. Both of these meetings
will give you enough information for you to form your own opinion of
what's taking place in Altadena today. You can also check the website
www.savealtadena.com for more information.
That's all the news for this week, friends - Scott and I wish you all the best, and we'll talk to you soon!
Protest Against WalMart's Entry Into LA's Chinatown, June 30, 2012
Since the news broke recently that WalMart will be introducing their Neighborhood Store model to the corner of Lincoln and Figueroa in Altadena, there have been debates pro and con raging on the local news blogs and on the street. I assume you know where we stand in the matter. Our opinion hasn't wavered since this blog's inception almost 5 years ago and won't waver now - I do not believe the addition of a WalMart store of any size will benefit this town.
WalMart Neighborhood Markets are a smaller-sized "localized grocery market" that inserts themselves into previously zoned, permitted and empty storefronts. I have seen Steven V. Restivo's, (WalMart's Senior Director of Community Affairs), piece on HufPo, dated June 29, 2012, which defends their decision to move into Los Angeles and its environs. In it, he starts out by maligning Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy's (LAANE) for their stance against a WalMart Neighborhood Market in Chinatown. He uses WalMart's tired old adage "after all, protests don't employ people, but new stores do."
Good Jobs, Not WalMart Jobs
I've heard that many people in the West Altadena area are eagerly awaiting this new WalMart. If that's the case, I haven't heard it from any of the people I know or come across on a daily basis that live in the vicinity. Quite contrary, in fact - the people I've talked to aren't looking forward to it at all. Many are worried about will happen to the other markets, like SuperKing and Baja Ranch - and rightly so. In Mr. Restivo's article, he states, "In these challenging economic times, private sector companies have a
responsibility to work with local stakeholders in a given community to
ensure residents and business both benefit. We're engaging with
communities here to better understand the unique challenges they face
and how our stores might play a role in the solution." Let me show you how a WalMart Neighborhood Market "engages with their communities" and would NOT benefit our ours:
In the study "The Impact of an Urban Wal-Mart Store on Area Businesses: An Evaluation of One Chicago Neighborhood’s Experience" (Research report prepared and published by the Center for Urban Research and Learning, Loyola University Chicago), a key finding is that the probability of going out of business during the study period (2006-2008) was significantly higher for establishments close to the Wal-Mart location. The basic sample followed 306 enterprises, 82 of which went out of business over the study period. It also states that "based on the estimated relationship between probability of store closings and proximity to Wal-Mart, the research team estimates that Wal-Mart’s opening has resulted in the loss of about 300 full-time equivalent jobs in its own and nearby zip codes." The study further states that "they suggest a loss about equal to Wal-Mart’s own addition to employment in the area. These estimates support the contention that large-city Wal-Marts absorb retail sales from other city stores without significantly expanding the market." *
"In addition to the surveys of West Side establishments, the research team obtained sales tax data from the Illinois Department of Revenue. These data from 2000 through 2008 are used to estimate quarterly taxable sales for the Wal-Mart zip code (60639) and neighboring zip codes. A trend analysis is performed for each zip code. In each case, the question is whether trends in sales changed after the Wal-Mart opening. For Wal-Mart’s own zip code, 60639, there is no evidence of an overall upturn in sales. Indeed, if the sample is limited to the six quarters (18 months) before and after Wal-Mart opened there is a significant decline in the trend of zip code sales. For this same period, zip code 60651, the closest neighbor to the Wal-Mart zip code, also shows a significant negative break-in-trend as does zip code 60622."
Friday, June 29th Save Altadena meeting at WS - photo courtesy of Altadenablog
Both of these findings seem to conflict with Mr. Restivo's statement of "communities always prefer a vibrant storefront over an abandoned
building and our stores will generate tax revenue for the city and
county while also serving as a magnet for growth and development in each
community. From restaurants, salons, banks, and florists to bookstores,
specialty grocers and wine & spirits shops, there are dozens of
small business categories that typically surround our stores." Find out what happens when a WalMart does come to town here in the Business News Daily article, and check out this map on anticipated WalMart Neighborhood Market openings across Los Angeles County:
Afraid yet, fellow Altadenans and fellow small business owners? I sure am. Join us as we attempt to educate our townspeople on the value of shopping with local, independent businesses - follow us on our Facebook page or email us at webstersfinestationers@gmail.com for further information.
*WalMart Neighborhood Markets' concept was introduced in Arkansas in 1998 and as of May 2012 there are 199 WNMs across the country. The studies referenced in this post were conducted in Chicago's Westside.
As always, we appreciate your readership - have a great week ahead, my friends!
I’m going to do something that I haven’t ever done on this blog before –
I’ll be reprising one of my posts that I wrote on May 3, 2010. I’m doing this because I thought this post
was prescient, given the circumstances Altadena finds itself in now. However, it’s not going to be a simple cut
and paste job, I’m going to fill it in a bit more, to shape it to what’s
happening now. So hang on, folks, it started off with a snippet of a song about
raising a little hell:
“I never read it in a book,
I never saw it on a show,
but I heard it in the alley
on a weird radio.
If you want a drink of water,
you got to get it from a well,
if you want to get to heaven
you got to raise a little hell......”
----Steve Cash and John Dillon, Ozark Mountain Daredevils, 1973
To me, this song has always been about wanting something enough to fight for
it. It urges us to be vocal about things we care about, maybe make a stir
about what you think is important. Thirty-seven years ago, in 1973, kids
all over the world learned to be vocal about things they cared about and people
started taking notice. Things changed because so many young people
demanded it. Opinions were challenged and mind-sets were changed forever.
As I've said before, time is a circle and what goes around, comes
around . People are again starting to stand up for their core
values, especially when it comes to issues like affordable medical insurance
and state policies on immigration. People are also becoming more
aware about their neighborhoods and local communities, keeping tabs on and
working towards their area's fiscal health. Of course, in this time of
financial uncertainty, it's more important than ever to know where your
community is headed. Now, though, I’m
uncertain exactly where Altadena is headed – the news of the invasion of
WalMart this week has polarized this town and looks to split it right down the
middle.
You can follow the drama on Altadenablog and on AltadenaPatch, on Altadena’s Facebook page, and on our own store’s page. No, I’m not neutral in this debate. I feel very strongly about big-box stores in general and WalMart
in particular, as my readers know. I’d
like to say a word to my out-of-town friends, if I may – tf your town or city
is currently WalMart free, keep it that way. Keep your local independent businesses in business and never let
there be a chink in your armor where they might be able to slip a hook
into. Educate your friends on the value
of shopping locally with independent businesses and make sure they know that’s the
way to their community’s prosperity.
Speaking of big box stores, Greg
Sweet, one of the commenters on the thread on Altadenablog I've linked above,
posted this fabulous
cartoon video from JibJab. Thanks, Greg, for sharing this funny yet
truly sad commentary on this fact of American life.....one I think we can
change with some education.
For you locals, don’t forget about this week’s ACONA meeting, on Tuesday
the 26th of June at the Altadena Public Library on Mariposa at 7:00
pm. Ed Meyers, Daniel Harlow, and I
will be there representing the Chamber of Commerce, and we’ll be discussing the
Visioning meetings, the retail outlook, and the results of last year’s shopping
survey conducted by the COC. Alex from
El Patron will also be speaking, and you won’t want to miss finding out what
makes his restaurant so wildly popular and why no other has been able to survive
there in years. Enjoy the week ahead, my friends and we’ll talk again next week!
On July 19, 1910, the governor of the U.S. state of Washington
proclaimed the nation’s first “Father’s Day.” However, it was not until
1972, 58 years after President Woodrow Wilson made Mother’s Day
official, that the day became a nationwide holiday in the United States.
Typically overshadowed by Mother's Day, dad's special day has been gaining on mom's, and spending on gifts in 2012 will help narrow that gap even further. According to the National Retail Federation, Father’s Day spending was expected to reach $12.7 billion this year alone.
This Father’s Day, why not spend your hard earned money on Dad at his
favorite local business? An added benefit of shopping locally for Dad is
that the money that you spend at locally owned businesses will be
reinvested in the local economy at a 60 percent higher rate than chains
and Internet retailers.
So this Father’s Day, take him out to eat at his favorite locally owned
restaurant. Buy him a book at that family run store down the street.
Nothing says “I love you, Dad” like a Father’s Day present bought from a
locally owned business!
Get Father's Day off to a great start by bringing Dad to our monthly wine pairing events with OddBallGrape.com! This month's theme is "Wines Of La Mancha", where we'll be pairing Chilled Spanish Wines with Tappas from Amy's Patio Cafe at 4:00 pm on Saturday, June 16th. This is one event you won't want to miss! We'll also be hosting Danica Patton, local businesswoman and author, who will be discussing and signing her new book "Where Do We Go From Here?". Check out our News You Can Use for further information and we hope to see you on Saturday!
Enjoy the next two weeks, friends. We'll be taking a blogging holiday on Father's Day, so we'll talk again the week after next.
Altadena is hot indeed, and we're not talking about its weather! Lately, our lovely town has been making news headlines just about everywhere - from the mighty Los Angeles Times, and Westways Magazine (in their Out & About section, scroll down to the article "Good Gouda"), to our own Altadenablog proprietor's column in the Pasadena Sun, the foodie industry here is taking off like a rocket!
Of course, they're talking about our new Altadena Farmer's Market and The Institute Of Domestic Technology, and the Arroyo Time Bank's venerable Altadena Urban Farmers Market, which started the ball rolling. I couldn't be more thrilled for all our friends involved with these ventures and we're crossing our fingers and toes that they all remain sustainably successful. Finally, something for the rest of LA to talk about besides our area's perceived gang problems and crime! This is the type of thing we've been talking about - these type of events, whether centered around food or not, is exactly what we need, so our kudos to the organizers!
Were you aware that WFS buys from several of the Altadena Urban Farmers Market and new Farmers Market vendors? Yes, we do and we're working on adding more. At the moment, we carry Pine Street Products' soaps; Earl's Gone Wild's barbeque sauce (both original and new spicy) and their Earl Jam, a savory and not too hot jalapeno pepper jelly that's amazing; wonderful HomeBody Botanicals, an amazing line of holistic products for your body, health and home; and the extremely popular (and so tantalizing) Jabberwocky Smooth Jerk! This is what it's all about, my friends - supporting those local folks working so hard to change the status quo here in our beautiful town. Power on, Altadena.....power on!
For those of you who aren't in our neighborhood but like reading our blog anyway, think about how your town excels or doesn't. Then think how you can help it improve. There are lots of ideas out there, from starting a cash mob, giving a shout out to local vendors and independent retail stores in your blog, or taking the steps toward a shop local initiative where ever you live!
Have a wonderful week, and we'll talk again next Sunday....
Hello, friends, hope you're enjoying your long Memorial Day weekend. Scott and I are enjoying taking a couple of days off, and I know my sore back is relieved as well.
Last week we discussed a possible name change, keeping within the parameters of the initials "WFS". We also talked to our crew and a few others about it - and got mixed reactions, similar to the comments you see on our last post. This is what I love about small business and social media! This blog, our Facebook page, Pinterest - they all are a conduit to you, our friends, and allow us to gauge how receptive you are to any of our ideas. From the feedback we received about this one v(and thank you, dear friends, for your honesty) it looks like we won't be making that change anytime soon. We'll stay Webster's Fine Stationers - WFS - because that's who we are.
Just know that we are fair and sustainable and those initials could stand for that as well, okay? Okay then!
Tuesday will start another work week - I know our local friends are looking forward to the new Farmers Market at Loma Alta Park on Wednesday from 3:00 to 7:00 pm! Maybe we'll see you there.....
Anyone with a smidgeon of marketing knowledge will tell you
that what you name your business is of critical importance.After all, it’s the very first thing people
see and is the business owner’s opportunity to make a good first
impression.
Take our name, for instance.Webster’s Fine Stationers is what we went with when Scott and I
had to scramble to accommodate his father's request that we keep the original
name.Actually, that name is a misnomer –
since we were just a pass-through department and never a separate store
outright, like the Hallmark or the liquor stores were, we never really had a
name before.Prior to the separation of
the stores, we were just “the stationery department”.So, in our attempt to honor our landlord’s wishes, we kept the
name “Webster’s” and “Stationery”.Historically, the name implied that we carried office supplies and some
paper, although the Hallmark store next door carried the bulk of“fine” stationery items, like note cards and
scrapbooking supplies.We carried
office products and things that didn’t fall under the auspices of the other
stores.
Now almost five years have passed since we’ve owned our
store, and stationery is just a part of what we are.We’ve become known as “WFS” and it's been our identifier.Keeping the “WFS” is
important in our attempt to re-brand, although it now stands for Webster’s Fair
and Sustainable.“Fair” for the fair
trade products we have (and hope to bring in more of) and “Sustainable” for the
US and locally made items we make a priority to stock.“Sustainable” also for the ecologically
responsible merchandise you can find here, as well as for the myriad locally
produced art, books, and yes, stationery that we carry.
Stay tuned to learn just what where we’ll be going with our “new”
name and what we’ll be doing in the future – we’ll have more next week.
