Small Business Saturday

The first-ever Small Business Saturday^SM was November 27, 2010.
It's one day to support the small businesses that are getting our economy going again.

That doesn't mean you can't keep going to the small businesses in the area.

Visit the East Greenbush Business Alliance for a list of locally owned shops in the area!

Leave a comment about where you shop locally. Make a recommendation.

Read the article from the Independent
...
    "I've been painting furniture for years," Jim says, "and I really didn't have any place for the finished pieces."
      So with their house full of painted furniture and his friends and family weary of getting gifts that he created but had no particular use for, opening their own place seemed the perfect solution.
      Both retired from the East Greenbush Central School District (Jim still serves on the Board of Education), the MacAreveys opened The Blue Fiddle Gift Shop at 400 Columbia Turnpike September 15.
      "We wanted to open a place where artists and crafters could display and sell their work," Mr. MacArevey said. They've come up with a place that's more in the vein of an old fashioned curiosity shop than a bustling commercial enterprise.
      The couple likes the idea that the items in the store are interesting to look at: "Some of the items are historical, some are just funny." The space is filled with hand-crafted miscellany, mixed in with auction finds and some of Jim's hand-painted furniture. Visitors find jewelry, afghans, hand-made teddy bears, antique furniture, framed original art, hand-knits, and candles, with something interesting at every turn.
      With a group of about a dozed artisan friends, and the couple's fondness for visiting auctions and yard sales in quest of attractive or unusual items, the MacAreveys thought the idea for a gift shop that also showcased the work of crafters would be a welcome addition to the town's medley of small businesses.
      Since opening and running a small ad, the couple has been flooded with items from people who create distinctive hand-crafted items and others who have unique antiques.
      "One woman brought in a bounty of hand-painted items she'd had in her attic asking if we thought they'd sell," Jim recalls. "They did, and quickly."
      The items are sold on consignment. "I like to think of it as a service to the community," Jim said. "We keep the prices very reasonable."
      They also like people to just come to browse, and share a cup of coffee and some cookies at the large counter in the middle of the store: "We want people to think of it as a nice place to visit."
      The Blue Fiddle is open Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, from noon to 7 p.m. To contact the MacAreveys call (518) 477-4424 or email jjimm@aol.com.


©The Independent 2009