Sad news.

Just heard today from our friends at Shirts of Bamboo that they're closing shop.

We've seen lots of stores close in the past year.

There was Latitudes, a little coffee shop in St. Petersburg, where we'd stop by every few days for a cup of latte. The new owners were young, determined. But it didn't work out. They say the landlord didn't give them a chance; the landlord said he couldn't accommodate late rent.

There was If and Only If, a cute boutique/gift shop in St. Pete, that had been there for years and years. The owner, an artist, blames it on the economy. Her store sold mostly accessories and fun things, and in times when many people were sticking with just the essentials, her store couldn't survive.

And a couple of months ago, Boulevard Boutique in Pinellas Park. They'd been doing fine for years, the owner told us. Not making a ton of money, but business was good. Then there was some sort of lease dispute, and they ended up moving across the street. Business was just never the same, she said. Maybe it was the new location, maybe it was the economy. They didn't even last there a year.

---

Hearing about Shirts of Bamboo is especially sad for us. They were the first sponsors of a LocalShops1 writing contest. They were so generous, giving us -- then a brand new, unknown company -- a towel set that we could offer as the prize. They said they liked our concept, they wanted us to make it.

We wished the same for them. These are some very cool people, doing, seemingly, everything right.

We first came across the company when they had a storefront, in the Grand Central neighborhood in St. Pete. They had a nice selection, quality items, decent prices. A year or so later we heard they had closed their store, to cut down on overhead, and started operating online. They were also a constant presence at fairs, including the Saturday Morning Market in St. Pete, and Gulfport Geckofest.

Recently they opened a storefront again, at the gift shop in the history museum in St. Pete.

These are people who worked hard, who believed in their product, who really gave it their all.

Now they're closing up for good.

"This is not the letter we thought we'd be writing after four years' striving to bring you the finest quality bamboo products for your bodies and your homes. But the current economic conditions have caused us to re-evaluate Shirts of Bamboo and its long-term viability. We are closing our doors at the end of September," they wrote in an e-mail and then posted on their Web site.

Starting tomorrow, there will be huge markdowns at the store, at the Museum of History, 335 2nd Ave. NE, St. Petersburg. You can call them at 727.388.6913 or go online to shirtsofbamboo.com for more information.


-- Ester

Support your neighbors. Shop locally.

Here is a blog I wrote for Creative Tampa Bay, a very cool Tampa-based group that's all about working together to make Tampa Bay even cooler than it already is!


Support your neighbors. Shop locally.
By Ester Venouziou, LocalShops1.com founder

I love to shop. I grew up in Brazil, and some of my favorite memories have to do with shopping, mostly with my grandmother and my sister, on Saturday mornings.

We’d go to the produce market, chat with the vendors as we picked up fruits and veggies. Then it was off to a meat market, or to the fish guy. Along the way we usually stopped at the newsstand, where my grandmother picked up the daily paper and maybe a magazine or two, and, if my sister and I had had a good week, we ’d be rewarded with some comic books.

Eventually we’d end up at my parents’ shop: Importadora Jenny, a fabric store named after my mom. I was about 8 or 9 then, and I remember sitting behind the counter, helping wrap up purchases, talking with the customers.

We moved to New Jersey when I was 12, and that all changed.

For the next 15 years or so, shopping meant going to the mall or to the big-box stores. I remember, when I lived in Jacksonville in the mid-1990s every Tuesday was my shopping day. Winn-Dixie and Target and Stein Mart were the regular stops. And then there was the mall. There were two pretty close to where I lived, and I’d go to one one week, the other the next. I don’t know why I even bothered to alternate, because they both had pretty much the same stores. Every week, I’d come home with bags full of things I didn’t need, things I couldn’t afford. What was in those bags I can’t remember. All I know is that shopping had stopped being fun.

• • •

There are many reasons to shop at locally owned, independent places. Studies show that money spent locally, at an indie, is more likely to stay local. On a typical November shopping day, the Tampa Independence Business Alliance reports, if all taxable purchases in Hillsborough County were made at locally owned independent businesses instead of national chains, it wo uld make a $28 million dollar difference to the local economy.

Economics aside, supporting the independents also helps preserve the businesses that link us to the past, the businesses that ensure our communities will retain charm and character to the future.

And shopping at independents is just a lot more fun.

• • •

We launched LocalShops1.com in August 2008. We are a small, grassroots group, dedicate to helping promote independent businesses. It’s always free to browse, free to join and free to get listed.

We’re not saying, never shop at the chains or franchises. We’re simply saying, think before you shop. There are times when shopping at those places makes sense, and yes, you might run into us at Publix or Target sometimes.

We just want to make it easier for people to find their options, so they don’t automatically default to the big-box stores or the malls.

Our goal is to build a network of indie business owners and indie-minded shoppers, and we’re doing that through our Web site, of course, but also by co-hosting neighborhood parties/fundraisers and marketing/business seminars. Former radio jock-turned comedian Pat Largo has been an integral part in all this, as our official spokesman and party host.

We believe in working together with the media, as well as other business and neighborhood groups, to help our local businesses thrive. We re all in this together.

Fave store contest: Designer Consigner

Mary Reed:


My most favorite local shop in the area of St. Petersburg, fl. is the Designer
Cosigner. The women there are so friendly and personal whenever I go there to shop
for a special outfit or for clothing for work or a job interview or any other type
of shopping buy. I can also be ready to get personal and impressionable help from
the ladies there.
The owner of the shop, Julia, makes me feel very special because I
do shop there a lot because I can always find a bargain and never go over my budget
when I go there to shop.I can talk about my personal happenings in my life and the
friendly ladies there will help me think of a solution or just give me
inspiration.They are an excellent group of women who are eclectic and stylish in
their own way.I hope that their shop is around for a very long time to come in the
future. They let me know when there are special sales as well as when they get in a
special item they think I might like.
Totally great ladies!!!!

Fave store contest: Halle's

MARY EGUIA

Halle's-Trinitry Town Center-Beautiful store,everything to decorate your home year
round or for the holidays. The Cobbled Path ,Race track road.another beautiful
store.

Thanks, AJC

Too often mainstream newspapers focus on what the Big Box stores are doing. Pick up any major metropolitan paper on Black Friday, and you'll most likely see a story about what's on sale at Macy's, Sears, Target, Walmart. Story will probably be on the front page. Of course, you can flip through the paper and see their full-page ads, too, touting these very same sales.

As it gets closer to Christmas, you'll probably see a variation of that article again and again. Stocking stuffers, gift guides, last-minute gift ideas. ... all focus on what's available at the chains and franchises.

So we were happy to see a fresh approach at the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Along with their stories on the chains, AJC reporters also went out into their own neighborhoods, checked out what the local businesses were doing.

We hope other papers follow AJC's lead.

Here are excerpts and links to two stories the paper recently published:

Little stores, big hopes
Location counts for local, independent retailers. During dismal season, intown shops with higher foot traffic may fare better than those in suburbs.

By Jamie Gumbrecht
Tuesday, December 23, 2008

During this scrimp-and-save holiday shopping season, the problems hitting major chain retailers are being felt by small, locally owned stores, too.
In fact, it may be even worse for the little guys, such as Peony Lin, owner of Lavender boutique in Alpharetta.
“We have seen an increase in shoppers versus last month, still not as good as it was last year,” Lin said. “They’re cutting down on their purchases, much more cautious. They’re always asking for sales, coupons. They’re always trying to find the best deal.”




Go local for unique gifts

By Nedra Rhone
Sunday, December 07, 2008

The holidays can drive even the hardiest of shoppers batty, and the mall-averse may find themselves particularly vulnerable to the holiday shopping blues. Fortunately, there are more and more options —- local craft markets, neighborhood specialty shops and online shopping —- to satisfy the nonmall shopper who seeks a one-stop experience.