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That Little Bungalow on The River

          Where do I begin? The four walls that have held me & my family for the last almost five years will always be a part of me, and to find a way to concise it into a blog post would be like holding a candle to one of the brightest stars in the galaxy.     "Oh, it's XXXX square feet, planted on the river, number two, in a row of three other bungalows,” we always tell new friends.     Next door, there's "Faye-Faye", our child's adopted Grandmother. A small, gated yard that my dog, Popeye, frequently jumps to take a muddy dip in the river bed from time to time.     "Oh, I wish we had more space", I catch myself sighing to Joey on the regular. But I don't. I want to stay, right here, right where we are in our little river bungalow.     It's the smells of Sunday pancakes, the constant bumping into each other, and the coziness you feel when friends & family come to visit that keeps my heart here.     It's...
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#ShopSmall - Small Business Highlights of the Month

     I am a huge advocate for supporting small businesses. I've always thought it was important to rally together and prioritize "keeping it local", but even more so after the COVID-19 pandemic took a massively negative toll on small entrepreneurs; it's more important than ever to shop local!


    I want my space on the Internet to have a special corner dedicated to sharing about some small businesses I've had my eye on! So, without further ado, here are my two small business highlights of the month:

     1. Jade's Creations by @CreatedByJaden on Instagram

    I first found Jaden's work through a mutual friend's Instagram story after this friend had shared a giveaway that Jaden was running for her followers. I was immediately entranced by her minimalistic & uniquely custom designs and her rare ability to invoke feelings of emotional authenticity through her work.

    Jaden, 18, from Virginia, works diligently to make sure that her consumers receive beautifully hand-drawn, custom portraits, and personally-crafted digital prints & stickers.


    When I asked Jaden's ultimate intention was through her business, she told me: "the goal is to create pieces that bring people joy." 

    She went on to tell me that cultivating connections through online community is important to her. "I may not have the biggest following, but I love to connect with my supporters," she later stated.

    2. Bee's Wax Crayons by @BuzzyBeesWaxCrayons on Instagram

    As we all know, COVID-19 caused many shut-downs across all businesses back in mid-March of 2020. Like so many other strong, resilient individuals that were forced to stay home after this pandemic swept our nation, the owner of Buzzy Bees Wax Crayons learned how to not only redirect her energy into being a full-time stay-at-home mom, but also a new business owner specializing in homemade, environmentally-cautious wax crayon creations.
   
    "I've always been interested in bees and I'm a very eco-friendly & environmentally-aware person, so finding ways to work that into my parenting and the things I gave my son, Beckett, was a natural progression," says the owner when asked about how she started her business. "When I started making crayons, I figured out that I really liked it and that it was something I could see myself doing more frequently, but there's only so many crayons I can make for my own kid."

    "I thought making beeswax crayons with natural pigments would give parents an alternative for their kids to get away from all the synthetics & dyes everywhere else in the world," says the owner.

    "My philosophy of education has always surrounded providing kids with access to art. So, being able to provide safer art supplies in fun shapes just kind-of fit with that ideology! I've been having a lot of fun while doing it."




    I hope this month's featured small businesses encourage you to go out and #ShopLocal. 



kati



    
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Location: Virginia, USA

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