Buffalo Bud’s Wild West Show, Part 3: Hit It Out the Park

So when we last left off it was April 22, right before the retail hootenanny was ready to kick over the first barrel.  For us, May is a blur.  The days are long and one week grows into the next.  We don’t know what he had for last night’s dinner, let alone what we were doing a month earlier. 

So we find ourselves in the height of gardening frenzy.  It’s now May 25.  Late afternoon I get a call from Bud.  He says,  ‘So what was that thing you did back in April? Did it have anything to do with American Express?’  I didn’t know what he was talking about at first, but then said, ‘Yes, why?’  So I hear Bud hollering, ‘Don’t delete it!’ 

Thinking it was a solicitation, we almost deleted it.

Nope wasn't a telemarketer.  It was Tom Monahan announcing we were a top 40 semi-finalist from over 11,000 entries across the country.  We were freaking at that point.  This kind of stuff doesn’t happen to a wee little business from tiny town Dixon.  Wow…  what a cool thing.  It was a nice while it lasted.

Later that night the spring deluge kicked up again.   Bud comes home. Supposedly they were to be calling for phase two, an oral interview, but we had no idea when and they hadn’t called yet, and it’s now 9:00 pm in NYC, so our hopes weren’t high.  So on we go with our evening and Bud heads out to make a Kroeger’s grocery run.  It’s hammering rain and he pulls up in the parking lot.  The rain pounds the car like a drum.  Hearing anything is a challenge.  So here Bud is, stuck in the parking lot, and yes, you guessed it, the phone rings.

On the other end is Cynthia Spaulding of Electric Artists, the agency handling the screening for Big Break.  Right there, in the parking lot, stuck in the van during a downpour and having a tough time hearing, Bud gets interviewed.  When he comes home he’s wired.  Not sure we got much sleep that night.  Planning and preparation counts, but being able to adapt in the moment, well that’s the moment when the wagon really starts moving.  Little did we know the "unexpected surprise" was to be a common experience in the upcoming months. 

So now we wait.  No longer does the thought of a Big Break fall off the cart and into the ditch somewhere.  It’s on our minds.  The week of waiting drug on like the anticipation of a distant tree on the horizon, stuck on the back of a sun-scorched wagon looking for a cool spot to rest.

On June 2, a call comes informing we’re a top ten finalist, unbelievable.  This little business from the smallest town in the contest is in the top ten.  Who’d a thunk?  That set in motion an amazing journey of firsts, a community outpouring of support, many sleepless nights and the greatest joy of experiencing the community in a way we never would have hoped. 

On June 10, a camera crew of people from Boston, NYC, LA, and Chicago converged on Distinctive Gardens and spent an entire day shooting and interviewing to make a 90 second video for the competition.  It was surreal.  Good thing those video folks were real because we would have floated off into the stratosphere.  It was exhausting.  Little did we know the big work lie ahead.  The competition’s final phase was voting on Facebook.  It began July 5 and for 14 incredible, sleepless and emotionally exhausting days both the digital and physical pavement got pounded.

It “took a village” to propel Distinctive Gardens into one of the top 5 winning slots.  On July 6, two days into the competition, we held a Big Surprise Bash at the business to announce to the community and rally the troops.  Our gardening ‘peeps’ went back home, and for two weeks voted, shared, and spread the word on the Big Break to all of their friends and relatives around the globe.  I’ve never witnessed such an outpouring of support.  It only goes to prove the kind of people we have in our area.

This story would be over if it were not for the community.  The community relentlessly shared and got the word out, every, single, day for two entire weeks.  It still gives me goose bumps and the tears well up at the thought of it.  Before the end of the voting, we saw hits to our Facebook from every single continent on the globe and compliments to one of our DG Facebook fans; we now refer to all Distinctive Gardeners as DiGgers.

While I was living in front of the computer, Bud was out hitting the streets in between doing full time landscape jobs during record heat.  He walked the downtowns of Sterling and Dixon handing out vote cards and talking to people.  At night, he hit the local bars asking people to vote.  He managed to crack off thirteen TV and Radio appearances before and after landscaping.  Even our landscape crew, son, Quin LeFevre and Sawyer Hagen passed out vote cards at night and spread the word on Facebook to all their friends.  Jim Brown handed out some vote cards.  At the shop and on personal time, Peggy and Shannon rallied their Facebook friends while managing normal duties at the shop.

The DG crew and community were not the only ones stepping up.  Area businesses, such as Hicks Insurance and Flower’s Etc. helped spread the word.  Greg Hicks of Hicks Insurance donated advertising time.  Carla Knack Brooks, of Flower’s Etc. put up the Big Break vote link on her business sign.  Dixon radio station, WIXN’s Kathy Cecchetti, and

Sterling radio stations’ WSDR’s Jay Pauley, and WZZT’s Ryan Zschiesche helped promote by having Bud LeFevre on air.  Businesses from outside the immediate community jumped in.  Rockford’s WREX-TV had Bud on twice and promoted the Big Break throughout the week.  Quad Cities’, KWQC-TV Paula Sands had Bud on the Paula Sands Live Show to talk about Big Break.  Social media company, SocialPie, ran a blog series on Distinctive Gardens experience.   The entire community rallied. 

THE CALL

Big Break voting ended July 19th.  In the afternoon, on July 20th, Bud took a call from Tom Monahan of American Express.  Online was Cynthia Spaulding of Electric Artists, facilitator and contact for Big Break.  Tom played it up as if bad news was coming.  Bud braced himself for disappointment.  After a breathless moment, Tom announced we just won the Big Break.  After three months worth of work on the Big Break and two weeks of crazy voting and no sleep, we both broke down.  Bud was classic Bud.  Here are some notes from the big phone call, as recalled by him:

“We at American Express and Facebook were very impressed with all you did to get the votes”….  ”We know how hard you have worked”…   “We’re so very happy you won.   We really, really like what you are doing”…   “Bud you’re a star”…. (Bud’s response through the tears), “That’s what the kids say, but I’m just Bud.”

The BIG BREAK BASH

On July 30, we threw the Big Break Bash to celebrate the big win.  Michael Chandler asked what we were doing for music at the bash.  We had no clue and he said, “No problem, I’ll handle it.”  What resulted was the most magical experience.  Oodles of musicians showed up, instruments in tow and one by one, stepped in, jammed with their mates and intermingled so much I couldn’t tell who was from what band for a long time afterwards.  I will never forget this night.  This community of ours is simply amazing.

OFF TO FACEBOOK

On August 3, Bud and I flew out to Palo Alto, CA for the two-day workshop at Facebook.  We learned so much in that short time.  The experience has really helped our business and community projects.  Bud prides himself on saying he was easily the oldest person in the building.   It was an intensive two days and we met the most wonderful people.

Before it ended, Tom Monahan from American Express talked to us about Small BusinessSaturday, which started in 2010.  I remember one thing he said as he encouraged us to participate.  He said,  “I hope you hit it out of the park.”  That stuck with me.  After that, we knew that we wanted to be a part of that day.  But at the time we didn’t know exactly what we would do.  

When we got back, as part of our commitment to our people we held Learn.Share.Grow classes on what we learned.  We met many small business owners at those classes.  It was the start of building a small business community that I would never have anticipated would result in Sauk Valley Shop Small.

Small Business Saturday brewed in our heads.  We wanted to share with the community all we had experienced.   We also just experienced a year in which the cultural community was really coming together.  Second Saturdays was taking off.   Janna Groharing and Tim McNinch launched Fourth Fridays in Sterling, the same kind of event.   Both monthly events see small businesses and cultural groups working hand in hand to better the community.  After some thought, we came up with a spin on the concept of Small Business Saturday.  It was something that celebrated small businesses, and also involved the cultural community.  It was from this thought coupled with our Big Break experience that was the impetus for something we’re all so thrilled to be a part, Sauk Valley Shop Small. 

When we next pick up, I’ll tell you the tale of a wild three weeks of sleepless nights, crazy community effort and the birth of Sauk Valley Shop Small.

Until next time, be well, shop small, and be a force for cultural good in your community.
 

SVSS Shopping Bags coming soon!

Before I get back to the wild west tale of how SVSS came about I want to share with you a story that embodies the true spirit of the shop small movement, people coming together to benefit one another.

Sauk Valley Shop Small shopping bag

Last December, after the virgin run of Sauk Valley Shop Small's Small Business Saturday, participants got together at The Precinct to celebrate and meet one another.  

For many this was the first time meeting in person.  The mood was festive and camaraderie infectious.  We actually got a chance to sit and talk, get to know one another without distractions of running a busy small business.  During this time, we all decided that SVSS should be more than the once a year event called Small Business Saturday.  Brainstorming ensued and one idea was to band together and order SVSS shopping bags that merchants could use throughout the year.  Going in together the cost would be lower.  Using the bags would increase exposure of Sauk Valley Shop Small to the public.  On that note, we were off and running.

Treats at Tuff Dog Bakery

Vicki Mandrell of Tuff Dog Bakery

SVSS Shopping Bags is the brainchild of Vicki Mandrell of Tuff Dog Bakery in Sterling, IL. Tuff Dog offers the coolest dog treats.  My husband Bud likes to tease Vicki saying forget the cats and dogs, they look so he's going to buy some for himself.  

Vicki spearheaded the program, lined up a printer and got us all going.  Working on this project while trying to run a small business is no easy task.  But, small businesses owners are used to wearing multiple hats managing day to day retail, and behind the scenes projects and planning.  Finding time to work on community projects doesn't come easy.  But the payoffs are great and the more people pitching in the quicker projects lift off.

So here's where this story is at for me.  It's not about the bag its self, but rather the community rally behind the bag.  When you get more than one brain working on a project, and you've got a surplus of team spirit, amazing things happen.  You know how they always say that in any group there's a 20/80 rule?  Twenty percent of a group are doers and the remaining 80... well you know.  The thing about SVSS is that it's built from people that are used to being the doers in a group, small business owners and cultural people.  Those types are cut from cloth that does not fear hard work, seeks creative solutions and embraces change.  

Tenacity, creativity and hard work are key ingredients to survive this economy.   Even then, sometimes it simply isn't enough.  We lost a couple of our SVSS businesses after the new year.  The times are tough right now, and if there were ever a time for a community solution to weather the storm and lay ground for future golden days it is here.  That is one of the main reasons SVSS exists.  It is an opportunity to band together and generate real, long-lasting, grass roots change.  And as a small business owner, I know that people in our communities are ready.  

At Distinctive Gardens for the last few springs they come right up and tell us,  

''We've made the commitment to shop local and patronize the small independent retailers in our area".   

Now if that is not a call to action then I don't know what is.  Our people are telling us it's time.  The question is, ''are we ready?"  In my opinion, I do believe so.


So when you're out and about in the Sauk Valley patronizing your favorite small shop, look for the SVSS shopping bag and you'll know you're a customer of a small business that values banding together to lift the entire community.

Until then, be well, shop small, and be a force for cultural good in your community. 

Buffalo Bud’s Wild West Adventure.... Part 2: Shooting the Surf

So here we find ourselves, our modern day Wild West stage set.  Last time, we learned about our rugged six-pack crew, the core of Sauk Valley Shop Small.  Today, I’ll back up 8 months and start the story that led up to SVSS.

It is April 22, 2011, a rainy night, late after a long days work.  It’s the kind of rain that would wash a main street out the west end of town.  It's a tired phrase, I know, but so was I on that night, so it kind of fits.  Plus, it was April and it was actually raining. 

For me, April is a time at Distinctive Gardens when we're just at the precipice of retail exploding for the spring season.  But in reality, my busy season starts months earlier when I have my winter task list of honey dos preparing for the spring rush.  Granted, I’m not frying my back breaking pristine prairie, but I am fending off carpel tunnel and blurry vision with computer work. During this time, I'm not that active on Facebook for fun.  Rather, I'm on the computer cranking out way too much preparation stuff .  This particular day was especially long, and at its end, contrary to my normal pattern, I decided to have a little fun just shooting the ''surf'' on Facebook.  Facebook is a glorious way to connect to your buddies and the story of their lives even if you are unable physically to be social all the time.  So while I was catching up on the latest face-vine gossip, I came across a post from my buddy Carla for this contest, the Facebook American Express Open Big Break for Small Business, or simply, Big Break.  Carla is my friend from childhood who runs a nifty Facebook page on social media called Social Pie.  You can find easy to understand tips on using social media there.  So anyway, I read her post,

"Who wouldn't want $20K? I'm entering. Are You?"  

Normally, I would just skip right over this kind of content, but for some reason I stopped, clicked and checked it out.  The link went to the AmEx OPEN Facebook page.  If you don't know about American Express, the one thing you need to know is that they back their commitment to small business with concrete action.  I know this now.  AmEx OPEN's forum is a great site chalk full of resources for small business owners.   For Big Break, American Express OPEN and Facebook teamed up to hold a contest for small businesses competing to win $20K and a social media make over for their business.  Five winners would fly out to California to Facebook for a three day one on one intensive business make over to learn how to grow their business using social media. 

Pretty cool, but what I found more intriguing was the first of a three-part process.  The first part (answering three questions), I thought would also be the last for us. These questions were of the sort that got a person to thinking, philosophizing, and even dreaming.  This was the cool part I could not pass up.  Never mind, it being connected to these bigger than life mega corporations or that $20K appeared a pipe dream at best.  No, these three questions, the thoughts they triggered, the internal mindset they fostered, now this was the meaty stuff.  So I did it.  I answered three questions.

So you ask, what were they already?  Well, they were simple.  The first was, “What makes you excited to come to work each day?” Seems easy enough, right?  Try it.  See what it does for you.  When you really try to answer that question a lot of stuff comes up and out all over the place.  It forces you to find the essence of your joy.  For me, that answer was,

‘We love gardening, no two ways around it.  We love gardeners.  They’re the coolest, most open-minded people around.  We love our industry.  These people are honest, enthusiastic, and love sharing knowledge and the joy of their efforts.  We feel lucky doing a job we love. We opened this garden center because it’s a fantastic way to meet like-minded people, and share in our passion for plants, gardening, and community. No gardener (nor garden center) worth their salt is anything if not community-minded. Like our customers, we strive to be good neighbors; seeding our community with the same love it shows us.  We hold benefit festivals, like Gardenstock; teach a slew of first graders on yearly field trips (what a trip); and partner with local businesses and artists expanding art and culture in our town.  We’re a garden lover’s delight growing plants, friendship and community, one seed at a time.’

So there it was.  An answer.  Which also, in hindsight, turned into a guide.  It is a mantra that has sewn into my core sense of self.  In the upcoming months, from that first answer would emerge an awareness my thoughts are not unique.  Many people hold those core beliefs true.  On that day, a door opened from which I have met a slew of like-minded individuals.  And that in its self is where the big win lives.

The next two questions built on the first.  The second asked how Facebook impacted our business.  The short of it is Facebook has impacted more than our business.  It has impacted our sense of belonging to a community.  It is a way to stay connected even while yoked to a keyboard, trudging across a personal plot of bitter hard ground. 

Kathy Cecchetti and Gary Johnson at The Studio for Second Saturdays March.  Photo by Nick Griffin

Through Facebook, in 2011, we witnessed an amazing coming together of the community.  The cultural and small business community was ablaze in connectivity.  We discovered oodles of unknown artists, people in their own towns trying to make culture a priority while partnering with small shop owners to offer a cultural experience to their people.  In small towns, formal galleries are scarce.  Here, small business owners and creatives unite to showcase each others unique flavor by temporarily re-appropriating small business storefronts and filling them with the cultural happenings of the town.  These events come in a variety of forms ranging from monthly happenings to yearly festivals.  Second SaturdaysArt Happenings in Dixon, IL is one such event now two years old.  In 2011, Fourth Fridays Where Art and People Collide in Sterling, IL formed, along with Arts in the Square, Prophetstown, IL.  All three, utilize Facebook groups for behind the scenes organizing.   Through Facebook we also learned of similar events, First Fridays-Oregon, Franklin Grove’s First Fridays, and Polo’s Fourth Fridays.  We even have a Third Thursday in Mt. Carroll now.  Through Facebook, we met many new artists from as far away as Savannah, and the Quad Cities who came out to participate in Gardenstock Art & Music Festival.  Relationships were formed and connections increased.  We got to know each other last year, who we were, what we did, who all was out there.  In 2012, those relationships are strengthening, events expanding, and small business and cultural groups are striking unprecedented ground through the use of social media.  While it’s been a boon for our business, social media equally if not more so, strengthened our community ties.

The social media frontier is the revolution of today.  It was also the topic of the third and final question, on how a Big Break could help our business. What would we do if we won?  That was the gold rush, strike it rich, dreaming question.  I actually allowed myself to dream into it, convinced my chunk of the prairie wasn’t laden with any sort of silver veins.   Regardless of my skepticism, it was a great activity for planning and so I thought on it.  I decided, if we were to strike gold with $20K and a business makeover we would use it to further integrate the use of social media in our business and community projects.  The website would get overhauled, socially tricked-out and we would do some fun stuff at Gardenstock.  Most importantly if we won we would share what we learned in California.  How appropriate, California, home of the gold rush and now home to the social media rush of the day. 

When we next meet, I’ll tell the story of another rainy night at the Kroeger’s parking lot and the second step that almost wasn’t.   

Until then, be well, shop small, and be a force for cultural good in your community.

So you ask, "Why Shop Small?"

Several studies have shown that when you buy from an independent, locally owned business, rather than a nationally owned business, significantly more of your money is used to make purchases from other local businesses, service providers and farms -- continuing to strengthen the economic base of the community.  The Civic Economics' study for the City of Austin, Texas in 2002 found $100 spent at the local independent retailers in the study generated $45 of secondary local spending compared to $13 in secondary spending projected per $100 spent at a Borders Books and Music store. These studies measured the direct and indirect impacts to determine the base level local economic activity of a purchase made at a chain and a local independent business. 

So what does that matter to us here in the Sauk Valley?  

Janna and I rolled around with this thought and below is our conversation.

Janna:  Shopping at the Big Box stores in our community is, to a certain extent, unavoidable.  You gotta buy toilet paper somewhere....right?  I have also made a conscious decision to be more aware of what I’m purchasing and where and to get the items I can get locally, locally.   For instance the Twin Cities Farmers Market - it’s open year-round, and a great source of fresh veggies and meat - often less expensive than what I can get it for at the Big Box, and I know where it came from.

Lisa:  There’s a moral quandary here isn’t there?

Yes.  Most of us know someone who works, or has worked at one of the local Big Boxes.  And the Sauk Valley is blessed with a distribution center for one of them which does provided much needed, good jobs to the community. We’re also blessed that our local Wal-Mart’s DO give back to the community through donations to organizations and events such as Relay for Life, United Way and others.  

I agree with you that we don’t want to get into a Wal-Mart bashing conversation here.  It is easy to talk about “Big Boxes” as these impersonal giant corporations that do harm to our communities.  But when you consider they are comprised of our neighbors it gets harder to point the finger.

Exactly!  It’s tough when we have so many great little shops in our community that often get overlooked for that Big Box though.  It’s too easy for one stop shopping, than to take the time - which I know is scarce for most - to make an extra stop or two.

I think the thing here is to be mindful.  Maybe if we try to stop when we get in that automatic type thinking that would help.  Like for example, I need hardware often for framing.  Instead of jumping into the car and mindlessly driving to Menards, maybe if I can just stop in that moment, and ask the question, “Where else could I go”.  Maybe then, I could slowly start to nurture the idea of “shopping small”, and make it more of a habit.  I think habit is one of the biggest culprits here.  Big boxes do a really good job of ingraining their brands into our minds.  Small shops have smaller marketing resources and as a result, may not come to mind as readily in those moments.

True.  And through SVSS, as well as events like Second Saturdays and Fourth Fridays, we are trying to increase the Community’s awareness of the smaller businesses in the Sauk Valley and what they have to offer.  

Those activities, and others like them, help bring small businesses to mind more readily in those "where to go" moments.

It takes a conscious effort to stop and think about your shopping habits on a daily basis.  And on another level, keeping your shopping local versus going out of town.  I know we were guilty of always heading out to Rockford or the Quad Cities to go to Borders or the like for our book shopping.  Now that we’ve come to know Books on First in Dixon, I can’t imagine doing that.  If they don’t have what we’re looking for, they will order it and I’ll have it in a matter of days.

I think that makes my point.  It’s a habit as you state, but also, when the community starts talking about our small businesses, and promoting them by word of mouth, things can really start to change.

I know through Fourth Fridays I have heard comments more than once from individuals that “I didn’t know this store was here.”  It's taking that moment to stop and notice the great small businesses that the Sauk Valley has to offer, or that certain stores offer far more than meets the eye. 

That’s one of the cool things about Second Saturdays and Fourth Fridays.  The community has an opportunity to come out and check out a store or an artist they may never had opportunity to see before.

We’ve gotten off track here a bit from our original point of the financial benefits to the community of shopping local as well.  Shopping local returns more money to our community.  The owners are our neighbors and friends.  They purchase local supplies.  

Think of Jackie Payne over at Bushel Basket.  What did she say? I think it was that 75% of her business sales income gets recirculated back into the community.  That is an amazing percentage.  Jackie, did I get my numbers right? 

Just imagine if all of us made just a wee little change in habit.  What would happen if each of us decided to swap out just one purchase normally made at a big box for a small independent retailer?  Can you imagine?

Buffalo Bud’s Wild West Adventure.... Part 1: The Characters

When I last left off, I told you the story of Sauk Valley Shop Small was a twisted tale of fluke, luck, blind faith and a determination to make something good happen in the community.    Well it’s also a modern day adventure story, one of trail blazing, good spirits, and a willingness to take risk; all wrapped up in the technology driven social/community revolution we see well underfoot.

If I had to liken this adventure to any particular time period, it would be to the 1800’s West.  In my nostalgic mind, that was a time of bushwhacking, brawl busting, expansion, a time when the frontier was at a precipice of change, a moment that would crystalize in history as singular.

Buffalo Bud

We live in a time like that now. Gun toting frontiers people of the past are modern day builders of code, cable and chips.  The wooden mercantiles and muddy main streets of the 1840’s are now 21^st century small businesses, run by a bunch of sharp-shooting, sinewy types, cut from cloth fashioned from gut determination and passion for innovating new ways to grow business daily.  Our own modern day Annie Oakley’s and Buffalo Bill’s have set down rifles and picked up paint brushes and guitars, crafting a culture reflecting the importance of diversity and heart.

Today we are poised on top our own precipice of change.  Changes afoot are the trails being blazed by technology and specifically social media.  It’s our modern day Wild West story. 

It is in this story, I find myself in company with a most gregarious sort, a character named Bud, or Just Bud if you will.  This fun-loving, hard-working hippie showman is our own modern day Buffalo Bill.   As for me, I waffle between days such as I imagine Calamity Jane may have experienced, but most, far less spectacular. 

Court

Tricky Nick

In our story you’ll meet four more main characters, Janna, Jay, Nick, and Court.  We happen to think Nick would make a perfect Texas Jack, a young frontier scout and actor of the mid 1800’s who in his early teens left home, made his way alone to Texas and became a cowboy.  For us, we refer to Nick as, Tricky Nick, a young entrepreneur who opened up a happening computer repair shop in Dixon.   He and his crack-shot Oakley-like Court are the two youngest small business owners in town.  

Jayman

And then there’s Janna and Jay, or the Jayman as Bud like’s to call him.  Jayman is a Wild Bill Hickok-like character, a seasoned musician and local radio personality where he dispenses the daily cultural law on air.  And we must not overlook, Jayman is a lover of all good things jazz.  He’s got a hot jazz trio, Chameleon, who has lit up our evenings on more than one occasion.  And finally, our cast of six is not complete without our Janna.  Janna is a spitfire organizer who keeps us grounded even when we right-brained types tend to wander off into the bush.  As I write, I have not a western counter for Ms. J.  But as this story unfolds I’m sure you’ll help me to find a fit.

Ms. J

But as you Buffalo Bill lovers know, his show had over a thousand characters bringing the Wild West Show to life.  And so it is here too.  Our thousand are the people of the Sauk Valley region.  Friends we’ve met, artists, musicians, small business owners.  They are all various characters of the passionate sort.  In our story you’ll read of many, but know that behind each name there are a dozen more who by working together made Sauk Valley Shop Small come to life as we turn the page to begin our modern day tale of a community working together to break new ground for brighter small town future.

When we next pick up, I’ll tell the story that started it off.  There is a twisty path to get to what eventually brought about Sauk Valley Shop Small.  Before then, however, we may offer up some additional content about the shop small movement and other current topics.

Until then, be well, shop small, and be a force for cultural good in your community.

Welcome to Sauk Valley Shop Small's blog

Welcome! This is our first post. In the upcoming weeks we'll bring you stories about the shop small movement, profiles of area small businesses, cultural groups and general ramblings on what happens when a community unites for the betterment of their neighbors.   You'll read posts by co-conspirator, Janna Groharing and myself.  We hope you enjoy the content and offer up your thoughts on the topic.  Please share often and broadly.  Together we can build a strong grass roots effort to promote shopping small and our area's small business and cultural community.

Bud and DG

Lisa Higby LeFevre

To start it off, let me introduce myself.  I'm Lisa Higby LeFevre.  I'm an artist and small business owner. I'm married to a hard-working hippie named, Bud.  He's my partner in life and business.  We own Distinctive Gardens in Dixon, IL along with our partner Jim Brown.   I love seeing people connecting, small businesses prospering and our cultural community expanding.  Nothing brings me greater joy than seeing people pulling together to make things happen.  

Janna Groharing

I've also got myself a firecracker of a co-contributor, Janna Groharing.  Janna and I met last year over our common interest in exposing great local artists to our communities.  Janna called me up when she was in the beginning stages of organizing Fourth Fridays Where People and Arts Collide, a monthly cultural event in Sterling, IL.  She knew I was involved in the same kind of monthly event in Dixon, called Second Saturdays Art Happenings.  We've been causing trouble together ever since. 

This whole Sauk Valley Shop Small happened because none of us could leave well enough alone.  The story of its inception is a Wild West tail of fluke, luck, blind faith and a determination to make something good happen in the community.  And on that note, I'll leave the story on how SVSS came to be for another post. 

In the upcoming weeks, you read a variety of story types.  Some will be on the history of SVSS, some on the shop small movement, and some profiling our area small business owners and cultural creatives.

Until then, be well, shop small, and be a force for cultural good in your community.  

Lisa