I was out shooting a couple of Sundays ago and saw this sign in front of a garden/antique store.This sign is so true. You need to support your local merchants and help keep your dollars in the community. These are the people who make up the fabric of your community. Without them your town will become just like so many other places. Bland and dull with the same stores as every other town and nothing to distinguish it from other places. It may be a local garden shop, antique store, office supply store, artist or farmer that need your support. Do you pay a little more, yes you do. However if you are buying local you are supporting a local family who ends up paying your neighbors and that helps keep your community strong. It should not always be about buying cheap. You may buy cheap but when you buy cheap you end up buying more because the quality is not there. Local merchants care about the community and their reputation and they will work to get and keep their good name. If they do not they will not last.
