Can Locally / Regionally Made Goods Stores Thrive?

[ötzi]

All probably made in China.

[ötzi]

Let's open a store called "Made In China".

[MakersTeleMark]

Walmart is already trademarked.

[Conundrum]

Etsy should just make a made in USA filter.

[evdog]

When people stop their online shopping addiction and avoid shitco. Until then, I don't think the local stuff will make it.

Yup. People always complain that nothing is made here anymore (or bitch about quality). Then they turn around and log on and do all their shopping on amazon or wherever. People barely even support local retailers who sell stuff that is not made here.

I see it a lot with mountain bikers. They'll complain that local bike shops don't have good selection or prices. Then they go online looking for that killer deal. You'll see a post on the forums complaining that that killer deal they found on FoxShoxDealsOnline.com turned out to be a scam and they didn't get their suspension fork at 80% off. The 40% off sale at <legit online retailer> wasn't a good enough deal. And the local bike shop that might price match legit seller doesn't even have it in stock! I can't wait 4 days for it to arrive! Screw that! You reap what you sow.

[MakersTeleMark]

The key is to market like you are local, and then sell absolute crap from overseas at hudge margins to complete gramidiots.

#skitownallstars

[XXX-er]

No, people know the cost of everything

and the value of nothing

[abraham]

The key is to market like you are local, and then sell absolute crap from overseas at hudge margins to complete gramidiots.

#skitownallstars

That's the Etsy model for successful stores too. I forgot how long ago they made that an option but it was a change.

[bad dancer]

VYR is one hell of an expensive city and there is some cake here for sure but there are only so many "tech bros" to filter down the wealth. I imagine every city has the same.
I make hand made furnitiure in YVR as well as some bespoke items such as handbags. I have even sold some stuff to mags on the board. The handmade stuff is a tough racket.
We have some stores here. Its a kind of chain run by the same people i believe where the local arisans rent a small space within the store. Its curated to some extent to limit how many soap and candle makers there are. i have a friend who I share my studio with who rents at 3 of the stores and does "ok" He sells wood working stuff. Cutting boards etc. If you are looking for the busin4ss model check out the https://www.shopmakers.ca/
You basically pay for space within the store. Kinda cool concept and it seems to be paying rent across quite a few locations in the greater Vancouver area.

[MakersTeleMark]

I appreciate the craftmanship, but I just, myself included, can't see a market for a very well sewn totebag from a vintage potato sack. I suspect that is the case for most home craft folks' plight.

[old goat]

All probably made in China.

The Black Forest is in Germany, not the US. The clocks are made in Germany. No, we didn't buy one

[gravitylover]

VYR is one hell of an expensive city and there is some cake here for sure but there are only so many "tech bros" to filter down the wealth. I imagine every city has the same.
I make hand made furnitiure in YVR as well as some bespoke items such as handbags. I have even sold some stuff to mags on the board. The handmade stuff is a tough racket.
We have some stores here. Its a kind of chain run by the same people i believe where the local arisans rent a small space within the store. Its curated to some extent to limit how many soap and candle makers there are. i have a friend who I share my studio with who rents at 3 of the stores and does "ok" He sells wood working stuff. Cutting boards etc. If you are looking for the busin4ss model check out the https://www.shopmakers.ca/
You basically pay for space within the store. Kinda cool concept and it seems to be paying rent across quite a few locations in the greater Vancouver area.

That's pretty much like the craft makers incubator in my town that I mentioned on the first page. One of the artists painted the whole side of the building recently and I've noticed way more cars in the lot since. We're going to go look at it again and see if it's a better opportunity for my wife's biz than it was a few months ago.

[tellybele]

You reap what you sow.

^^^this.
Funny how they complain about a lot of our small businesses go under?? All my bike stuff comes my LBS and never online. I worked in small Mountaineering stores for over 10yrs and have a little understanding about retail. F box stores and Costco as well, not a fan of those environments. Plus, how do folks expect there to be *more* jobs when those types of businesses employ a lot less than the 5+ businesses they kill/eliminate? If I was a single mom with kids, I imagine I wouldn't have a choice due to my families needs...

[Brownski]

Think local retailer stocked with locally / regionally made goods: clothing, bed/bath textiles, furniture, whatever. Higher prices but high quality (not a given but assume it). Supporting local / regional jobs. $100 vs. $60 hoodie. Seems like there is resurgent interest in US goods but is there really? Are there enough customers who will truly pay more?

The conversation has turned toward micro- level handmade bespoke products whereas I think the OP was thinking more about medium sized manufacturing gaining a foothold again. Could a small clothing company start up in Utica, pay a dozen or so people a decent wage and offer the kinds of things people would wear every day? I really admire the talent and creativity it takes to run an Etsy style micro business but I don’t think they have the potential to change the economy in a macro way. Is that a correct take, OP?

[ötzi]

The Black Forest is in Germany, not the US. The clocks are made in Germany. No, we didn't buy one

I know where the Black Forest is. China expported $111BN to Germany last year, including $93M of "Works of Art, collectors pieces and antiques", $145M of "Clocks and watches" and $666M of "Miscellaneous manufactured pieces", among many other categories.

Peel the "made in china" label off the back, put it on the shelf and sell it to tourists as made in Germany. The Germans are practical people and I bet nobody could afford a cuckoo clock actually made in Germany.

or, ya know, I could be wrong.

[Mazderati]

The conversation has turned toward micro- level handmade bespoke products whereas I think the OP was thinking more about medium sized manufacturing gaining a foothold again. Could a small clothing company start up in Utica, pay a dozen or so people a decent wage and offer the kinds of things people would wear every day? I really admire the talent and creativity it takes to run an Etsy style micro business but I don’t think they have the potential to change the economy in a macro way. Is that a correct take, OP?

That's about right. Everything I might buy anyway, except made locally or at least in the US.

[subtle plague]

I know where the Black Forest is. China expported $111BN to Germany last year, including $93M of "Works of Art, collectors pieces and antiques", $145M of "Clocks and watches" and $666M of "Miscellaneous manufactured pieces", among many other categories.

Peel the "made in china" label off the back, put it on the shelf and sell it to tourists as made in Germany. The Germans are practical people and I bet nobody could afford a cuckoo clock actually made in Germany.

or, ya know, I could be wrong.

Uh...there is like laws and stuff? Like those Germans like made in Germany and are pretty anal about made in China Peeling. Crazy concept.

If it says made in Germany, it is. Unless you buy your cuckoo clock made in Germany from a street vendor in berlin who also happens to have a few Rolex. [emoji6]

[sb]

Craft made snow seem insanely popular these days.

[MakersTeleMark]

Uh...there is like laws and stuff? Like those Germans like made in Germany and are pretty anal about made in China Peeling. Crazy concept.

If it says made in Germany, it is. Unless you buy your cuckoo clock made in Germany from a street vendor in berlin who also happens to have a few Rolex. [emoji6]

The ‘Made in Germany’ logo is not a protected term, which means that it’s often difficult to find out how German a ‘Made in Germany’ product actually is. Theoretically, manufacturers can describe products as ‘Made in Germany’ even if they were largely produced abroad. However, because ‘Made in Germany’ is above all a seal that assures quality, it should not be used in a ‘misleading’ way. If a product is described as ‘Made in Germany’, it should be at least of ‘Made in Germany’ quality. How much of a product has actually been manufactured in Germany can vary. Even if a product’s individual parts or entire assemblies have been sourced abroad, it can be labelled as ‘Made in Germany’, provided that the ‘decisive manufacturing process’ that creates the particularly valued properties of the product is the result of German work carried out in Germany.

09876543

[TBS]

A little more locally than Germany,
Made in Oregon sells stuff made in… The Beaver State
https://madeinoregon.com/

Sadly, they don’t sell Oregon cannabis

[Mazderati]

The Made in USA label has loopholes like those quoted above. The real shitbirds name their company or product 'American...' or 'US...' and manufacturer overseas.

[MakersTeleMark]

As we plod our way forward through the mess that is fake news, deep fakes, and AI, authenticity, veracity, transparency, and disclosure are going to become more and more important. And people will pay for that.

[ötzi]

Maz, considering your new locale, if you want locally-produced stuff you can head up to Thomaston to the Maine State Prison Showroom, they sometimes have some cool stuff in there or at least they did back in the day when the prison was still there in Thomaston.

For years my folks had this wood stick thing that was designed to keep a window open if the sash weight broke off, it had a label on it that said "Made In Maine By Maineiacs" which I always thought was kinda cool considering it was actually probably made by some kind of maniac. https://www.facebook.com/MSPShowroom/

[JimmyCarter]

Maz, considering your new locale, if you want locally-produced stuff you can head up to Thomaston to the Maine State Prison Showroom, they sometimes have some cool stuff in there or at least they did back in the day when the prison was still there in Thomaston.

For years my folks had this wood stick thing that was designed to keep a window open if the sash weight broke off, it had a label on it that said "Made In Maine By Maineiacs" which I always thought was kinda cool considering it was actually probably made by some kind of maniac. https://www.facebook.com/MSPShowroom/

That place is great - used to stop by every summer, a bit weird now that the prison is gone. Most of the stuff isn’t quite in demand these days, but they still have some cool stuff occasionally. My parents bought my kids handmade pink Adirondack chairs there for like 20 bucks a piece

Those new/old Maine flag hats are [emoji91].

[Mazderati]

^ Yeah, the new take on the old flag is a cool design. It's on the ballot next year.


@otzi, the MSP Showroom looks like a fun stop. Thanks for mentioning it.