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