Buying From Friends: The Act of Receiving AND Giving

I know I’m not the first or the last person to discuss supporting your friend’s ventures and businesses, but I’m gonna put in my two cents anyways. 

Here’s why, instead of going to the store or Amazon, you should support your friend’s ventures. 

That money is now going to someone you know, someone you care about.  That could be making their week easier by helping with groceries.  It could be going back into supplies for them to be able to make and create many more beautiful things to get a decent inventory for their business.

That money is now possibly going towards their electric bill or rent.  It could be being used to buy their own children gifts.  Now, isn’t that a win-win?  You get a gift off of your list for someone, and they can now buy a gift for someone on theirs, possibly even through another friend’s venture, thus supporting another small business.  Can you imagine how different things would be again if we went back to that?  How much that would improve the sense of community that so many communities now are lacking?
But let’s not even look at it as a ‘small business’ thing, because a lot of the times it’s not QUITE a business.  At least not yet.  Right now it’s a venture.  

Right now they’re trying. 

They could be desperate.  They could be struggling to make ends meet and this is a desperate attempt to bring in some much needed added income.  This should be celebrated and supported, not pitied, because this is not someone asking for a handout.  This is someone willing to work for what they need and want by creating things with their own two hands.
I’m not talking about selling for some company selling mass produced leggings, kitchen equipment, soaps, etc.  I’m talking about the people who sew, create things out of clay, make their own jewelry, paint, etc. 
They could be trying to work through something using their creative outlet to be cathartic.  

They could be just very, very talented and wanting to share with people what they can make! 

People can create some amazing things with their own two hands.  They really can. 

But those arts seem to get lost now and then.  Not because people stop doing them, but because people stop appreciating the time and energy that goes into creating things.  They want cheaper.  They want to go to Wal-Mart or Amazon third party instead and pay $10 instead of $50. 

I get it.
I do.
Half the time that’s all we can afford too. 

It’s the same argument I see at local farms and little shoppes.  Mom and Pop places are going under by big corporations because we quit buying locally.  Importing is an amazing things.  I’m well aware of all of the different things and foods and such that we have access to now that we otherwise would not have.  But it’s not just destroying our economy, that’s a whole other can of worms.

What it’s doing is also killing art.
It’s killing the craftsman. 

Now, I practice Heathenry, or Heathen Witchcraft.  Whatever you want to call it, I don’t care, but one thing about Heathens that I adore is how much appreciation they have for what one can make themselves.  Industriousness.  Self-Reliance.  These are important things, but they’re getting lost with how ‘easy’ things are now. 

They’re no easier somewhere else, you’re just not paying for fair labor. 

And when someone makes something and actually wants compensated for the time it took to make it, the education or trial and error it took to learn it, the years of practice, the failed attempts, and the actual materials themselves… nobody wants to pay that.  “It’s not fair!” people say. 
But it’s completely fair. 

We’re just used to unfair. 

For example, I could get some dinky bamboo back scratcher just about anywhere for relatively cheap.  Sometimes dirt cheap.  But I spent $25 a few years ago on a handcrafted wood one and I swear to all that his holy that It is the most amazing back scratcher of all time. 
Someone created the design.
Someone created a template.
And each one is hand made. 
I am happy to support that.  100%. 

Let’s face it, I would have had to replace a lot of those cheaper ones enough time in a lifetime that I’d be spending far more in the long term anyhow.  But now I have something that lasts and is far superior in design. 
If we do not support craftsmen working out of their homes, trying to get started, we are killing art. 

Not just that, it’s us also admitting that the American Dream is dead. 

I would rather buy from people than corporations.
I would rather have something well made, than cheaply made.

I would rather support my friends getting through the next week than to pay some rich CEO money that he considers pocket change. 

So as you fill up those stockings and finish up those holiday gift lists, it’s just something to think about. 
Perhaps think about seeing what ventures your friends are trying to get off the ground and support those to finish up those lists.  You might be surprised at what you find, OR what they can make if you simply ask them because you have some idea that you want that you think they can do.  Ask.  They’ll love it.  You’ll get those creative juices flowing and possibly give them another new arc for their venture. 

You just might find that when you buy from a friend instead of a corporation that you are giving as well as receiving..

And isn’t that what the holiday spirit is supposed to focus on? 
I mean, really it’s not supposed to be materialistic at all.  Especially not to the extremes that it is now. 

So why not give a little this year during the holidays by buying local or from friends?  It might not be that much money… but the support is priceless. 
Appreciate their art, their talent, and give them hope because I can promise you that every purchase you make makes a difference. 
What difference do you want to make?