I have just completed the book - Big-Box Swindle by Stacy Mitchell
I have always been an advocate of shopping local, having living in a small town most of my life, as well as, in other countries. This book was a definite eye opener even for me. The work and research she pulled together into one cohesive volume is incredible. This is a very powerful book, it will make you think about how convenient convenience really is.
The book highlights examples from longtime small business owners, turned corporate executives and public action groups. What's most haunting about the book is the clear examples of underhanded big box store executives and several out of control public officials. Neither of which were out to help the local economy or it's residents prosper. One Wal-mart executive was actually cited in the book, going against the beliefs of Sam Walton, the founder, himself.
The best 2 quotes from the book-
"Small business enterprise is a symbol of a society where a hired man can become his own boss"
Congressman Wright Patman (D) TX 1935
"If some among you fear taking a stand, because you are afraid of reprisal from customers, clients, or even government, recognize that you are just feeding the crocodile hoping he'll eat you last. Ronald Reagan in a speech on behalf of Barry Goldwater's 1964 presidential bid.
I encourage everyone to read Big-Box Swindle to gain the knowledge of how big box retailers are depleting our natural resources, creating sprawl, annihilating our local economy's including our local newspapers.
Through the "promise" of "lower prices", they are destroying the very foundation our country was built upon. Big Boxes are systematically eliminating good paying jobs and small independent businesses throughout our country. They regularly bullying suppliers, public officials and the citizenry. Leaving their waste and wreckage in their path.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Ode to a friend- Jean Mathieson
Printed in the Prescott Daily Courier - Monday, May 19, 2008
Jean "Jeanie" F. Mathieson, 62, of Humboldt, Ariz.,
passed away peacefully at her home Tuesday, May 13, 2008.
She was born in Dyersburg, Tenn., to Luther and Willie Moore.
Jean was employed at Prescott Newspapers, Inc., in the Graphics Department.
Jean was married to "Matt" Frank R. Mathieson, who passed away June 27, 2002.
Those she left behind are sons, Eric and Kenneth Martin; granddaughters, Ariel and Kamrell Martin; and grandson Rolland Martin.
A memorial service will be 3 p.m. Thursday, May 22, 2008, at Sunrise Funeral Home and Crematory, 8167 E. Highway 69 in Prescott Valley, Ariz.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Jean,
It has been a year and I miss you most every day. We laughed, we cried, we were partners in the frustrations of life and I will never forget you. How ironic, I had planned to come see you that Tuesday afternoon on May 13th, the day you left the earth. The surprise would have tickled us both. I had looked forward to seeing you for months. I felt a great loss then, as now, by not making it there in time to see you.
I know in my heart that Matt is glad to have you by his side once again. Surely, that Eric and the kids miss you dearly, too. You were true to your loved ones, including me. I always knew where you stood and what your heart stood for. A fine woman, that took care of her family and friends. You were a woman that readily put every one’s needs before your own. I will forever be proud to have called you my friend. You are greatly missed.
Your Friend Always,
Cherie
Jean "Jeanie" F. Mathieson, 62, of Humboldt, Ariz.,
passed away peacefully at her home Tuesday, May 13, 2008.
She was born in Dyersburg, Tenn., to Luther and Willie Moore.
Jean was employed at Prescott Newspapers, Inc., in the Graphics Department.
Jean was married to "Matt" Frank R. Mathieson, who passed away June 27, 2002.
Those she left behind are sons, Eric and Kenneth Martin; granddaughters, Ariel and Kamrell Martin; and grandson Rolland Martin.
A memorial service will be 3 p.m. Thursday, May 22, 2008, at Sunrise Funeral Home and Crematory, 8167 E. Highway 69 in Prescott Valley, Ariz.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Jean,
It has been a year and I miss you most every day. We laughed, we cried, we were partners in the frustrations of life and I will never forget you. How ironic, I had planned to come see you that Tuesday afternoon on May 13th, the day you left the earth. The surprise would have tickled us both. I had looked forward to seeing you for months. I felt a great loss then, as now, by not making it there in time to see you.
I know in my heart that Matt is glad to have you by his side once again. Surely, that Eric and the kids miss you dearly, too. You were true to your loved ones, including me. I always knew where you stood and what your heart stood for. A fine woman, that took care of her family and friends. You were a woman that readily put every one’s needs before your own. I will forever be proud to have called you my friend. You are greatly missed.
Your Friend Always,
Cherie
Monday, March 23, 2009
Spring is Here Time to Re-build Your Community!
Spring is here and it is time to get out of the house, connect with your neighbors and start strengthening your community. Considering all of the uncertainty that is the current economic crisis, the banking crisis, the housing crisis and the job crisis have given people cause to reacquaint themselves with their communities. It's time that people:
A) recognise that it's going to be up to ALL of us to fix the crisis
and
B) we can rebuild our economy one community at a time.
Radical thinking? Not radical.... practical. Our country was built on the ingenuity of it's citizens. We as a whole, need to come together, we need to act for ourselves, each other and our community, because let's face it, no one is coming to our rescue.
Three things we can do right now to get things going in the right direction:
Meet your neighbors - They're nice people- in the same situation as you. You will find that they are a lot more like you than you would have ever guessed. In meeting them you will find that there are shared interests, hidden skills and power in numbers. Your neighbor may have a green thumb (handy when starting a garden) be a computer whiz (handy when you are relying on your computer to find employment or start your own business) or have some other special, useful talent. I am sure you too have hidden talents useful to your neighbors as well.
Finding strengths and working together is essential to strengthening our communities.
A way to start: Hold a meeting - start small, maybe just your immediate neighbors or just your street. Explain to everyone what you would like to accomplish, ask for their input and attendance. This is working in many neighborhoods for causes like neighborhood watch, cleanup and child safety. Apply that same "we need to act" attitude towards strengthening your neighborhood. At the meeting, hand out a "getting to know you" form a place for the participants to convey their skills. Have each of the participants talk a little about their skills. At the end of the meeting have the participants hand in their form. Compile the info and email it to the others that attended the meeting with the understanding that if any of these skills are needed that they would contact that person first. From there they can work out compensation for the work. Either in monetary terms, barter or just being a good neighbor and helping out a friend.
Spend where your dollars are going to strengthen your community.
A strange concept to many these days. We have been indoctrinated that the "one stop shop" is more convenient and the best use of your time and money. How about the radical new notion of finding the things you need within your community? The local farmers market that will be starting soon, it is a great place to start. Farmers and artisans that have used their hands to create fantastic items for everyone to share. There is everything from vegetables, cheeses, soap, woodcraft items and much, much, more. Seek out small businesses, most are local, they take pride in what they do and most provide stellar customer service. Plus the money you spend will stay in your community in the form of wages paid, supplies purchased and the buying power of the owners themselves.
A Way to Start: locate a farmers market, go there, see for yourself the plethora of goods that you can buy that will suit you better than the goods that you may have bought somewhere else.
Do It Yourself: Grow your own vegetables, make your own clothing, build your own deck... etc. Ascertain what you need, then spend some time locating it in your community. Refer to the list of "getting to know you" information from the meeting. Who on the list possesses the skills you need? Call them, see if they can help you. Both of you will find that this is a more satisfying way of getting what you need not to mention a conduit to a new found friendship.
A Way to start: Want to start a garden? Want to build a deck? No one on your list has that skill? Check out the public library. The books are FREE for the taking, as long as you bring them back. More information that most of us will use in a lifetime is at the library. Check on-line there are thousands of resources at your fingertips that will get you the information that you need.
A) recognise that it's going to be up to ALL of us to fix the crisis
and
B) we can rebuild our economy one community at a time.
Radical thinking? Not radical.... practical. Our country was built on the ingenuity of it's citizens. We as a whole, need to come together, we need to act for ourselves, each other and our community, because let's face it, no one is coming to our rescue.
Three things we can do right now to get things going in the right direction:
Meet your neighbors - They're nice people- in the same situation as you. You will find that they are a lot more like you than you would have ever guessed. In meeting them you will find that there are shared interests, hidden skills and power in numbers. Your neighbor may have a green thumb (handy when starting a garden) be a computer whiz (handy when you are relying on your computer to find employment or start your own business) or have some other special, useful talent. I am sure you too have hidden talents useful to your neighbors as well.
Finding strengths and working together is essential to strengthening our communities.
A way to start: Hold a meeting - start small, maybe just your immediate neighbors or just your street. Explain to everyone what you would like to accomplish, ask for their input and attendance. This is working in many neighborhoods for causes like neighborhood watch, cleanup and child safety. Apply that same "we need to act" attitude towards strengthening your neighborhood. At the meeting, hand out a "getting to know you" form a place for the participants to convey their skills. Have each of the participants talk a little about their skills. At the end of the meeting have the participants hand in their form. Compile the info and email it to the others that attended the meeting with the understanding that if any of these skills are needed that they would contact that person first. From there they can work out compensation for the work. Either in monetary terms, barter or just being a good neighbor and helping out a friend.
Spend where your dollars are going to strengthen your community.
A strange concept to many these days. We have been indoctrinated that the "one stop shop" is more convenient and the best use of your time and money. How about the radical new notion of finding the things you need within your community? The local farmers market that will be starting soon, it is a great place to start. Farmers and artisans that have used their hands to create fantastic items for everyone to share. There is everything from vegetables, cheeses, soap, woodcraft items and much, much, more. Seek out small businesses, most are local, they take pride in what they do and most provide stellar customer service. Plus the money you spend will stay in your community in the form of wages paid, supplies purchased and the buying power of the owners themselves.
A Way to Start: locate a farmers market, go there, see for yourself the plethora of goods that you can buy that will suit you better than the goods that you may have bought somewhere else.
Do It Yourself: Grow your own vegetables, make your own clothing, build your own deck... etc. Ascertain what you need, then spend some time locating it in your community. Refer to the list of "getting to know you" information from the meeting. Who on the list possesses the skills you need? Call them, see if they can help you. Both of you will find that this is a more satisfying way of getting what you need not to mention a conduit to a new found friendship.
A Way to start: Want to start a garden? Want to build a deck? No one on your list has that skill? Check out the public library. The books are FREE for the taking, as long as you bring them back. More information that most of us will use in a lifetime is at the library. Check on-line there are thousands of resources at your fingertips that will get you the information that you need.
About Chermo Designs
Chermo Designs Earthly Creations
creates durable, fashionable and sustainable jewelry for your journey.
My jewelry is fashionable without being overly trendy, remarkable without overshadowing allowing the designs to be part of a daily wardrobe. Every effort is made to ensure that my jewelry withstands both daily wear and the test of time, by concentrating on the construction of the creations. I use quality gemstones and glass in my works and maintain the highest level of quality in workmanship. I focus on multi-piece gemstone sets, necklaces, bracelets and earrings constructed on jewelry or memory wire. I also create lanyards, barrettes and other accessories such as bookmarks. All of the jewelry comes with a lifetime restringing guarantee.
Chermo Designs Earthly Creations strives to be as sustainable as the raw material market will allow. I purchase fair trade materials whenever possible and impose my own guidelines for travel, shipping and recycling, in an effort to lower my impact on the earth. I believe that making even a small difference, makes a difference for everyone. I often utilize old discarded jewelry to create beautiful new pieces.
I have always been a stanch proponent of the shop local movement. In my business, there is little that means more to me than meeting face to face with customers, helping them choose a piece that is right for them and making a new friend. This type of business is what builds community, which is what we lack in this age of big boxes and less intimate commerce. Being included in the Downtown Art and Craft Market is the perfect opportunity to bring my creations to the public in a fashion that I believe in.
My e-commerce site ChermoDesigns.Artfire.com was selected with this same community model in mind. Artfire is a community of artisans that create handmade goods of all types. Artifre is a green website that gives back to the earth by planting trees all over the globe.
My jewelry designs will be featured in the June 2009 and August 2009 editions of Bead Trends Magazine. I believe that there is nothing more fulfilling than sitting down with a tray full of gemstones and creating beauty from the gifts we have been given by the earth. I spend hours each day creating designs that for people to enjoy for years to come.
creates durable, fashionable and sustainable jewelry for your journey.
My jewelry is fashionable without being overly trendy, remarkable without overshadowing allowing the designs to be part of a daily wardrobe. Every effort is made to ensure that my jewelry withstands both daily wear and the test of time, by concentrating on the construction of the creations. I use quality gemstones and glass in my works and maintain the highest level of quality in workmanship. I focus on multi-piece gemstone sets, necklaces, bracelets and earrings constructed on jewelry or memory wire. I also create lanyards, barrettes and other accessories such as bookmarks. All of the jewelry comes with a lifetime restringing guarantee.
Chermo Designs Earthly Creations strives to be as sustainable as the raw material market will allow. I purchase fair trade materials whenever possible and impose my own guidelines for travel, shipping and recycling, in an effort to lower my impact on the earth. I believe that making even a small difference, makes a difference for everyone. I often utilize old discarded jewelry to create beautiful new pieces.
I have always been a stanch proponent of the shop local movement. In my business, there is little that means more to me than meeting face to face with customers, helping them choose a piece that is right for them and making a new friend. This type of business is what builds community, which is what we lack in this age of big boxes and less intimate commerce. Being included in the Downtown Art and Craft Market is the perfect opportunity to bring my creations to the public in a fashion that I believe in.
My e-commerce site ChermoDesigns.Artfire.com was selected with this same community model in mind. Artfire is a community of artisans that create handmade goods of all types. Artifre is a green website that gives back to the earth by planting trees all over the globe.
My jewelry designs will be featured in the June 2009 and August 2009 editions of Bead Trends Magazine. I believe that there is nothing more fulfilling than sitting down with a tray full of gemstones and creating beauty from the gifts we have been given by the earth. I spend hours each day creating designs that for people to enjoy for years to come.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
I have created all my life
‘Jewelry for Your Journey’
I have created all my life. From stories and drawings as a child to the creation of advertising campaigns in my adult life, which allowed me to create a solid foundation for my daughter who has blossomed into a multi-talented formally trained artist in her own right. Participating in many art forms through the years, I have now fallen into what I was born to create, Jewelry.
The form, function and beauty, all thrill me, providing the motivation to want to learn and do more everyday, to push myself, to grow.
Living in many lapidary havens such as Petoskey MI, famous for the Petoskey Stone, Austin TX, where I got my conservation attitude and true love of nature, Okinawa Japan, with its countless coral and volcanic formations set in a lush green maze of foliage and Prescott AZ, in the geographic center of one of the best rock situations in the world, now Salt Lake City with its majestic mountains and diverse population. I believe I have gained plenty of knowledge and inspiration from “pretty rocks”.
Now that “rocks” in the way of semi-precious stones and other gifts from the earth fill my daily life with endless color, inspiration reveals itself everywhere. Using bits of the earth to create beautiful pieces that people can wear and enjoy for years to come is the best part of what I do as a jewelry designer. As a business owner my promise to you is that I will conduct my business with superior ethics. Furthermore, always try my best to tread lightly on the earth and help as many humans as possible along my journey.
What makes Chermo Designs and Earthly Creations unique is that each piece of each set is one of a kind. No attempts will be made to re-create any set under any circumstances. However, findings, patterns and stones have intrinsic mimicking qualities. This is an artistic and mathematical inevitability, this fact should be considered. 80 percent of the creations are gemstones beads with metal or glass bead accents. The remainders of the sets are comprised of some combination of glass or metal beads. Each set has its own personality and extra features making them unique to the purchaser.
Chermo Designs and Earthly Creations Inc. are Utah corporations located in West Jordan. Practicing shop local as much and as often as possible is paramount. Building community through commerce strengthens the entire community. Sharing the bounty of the community, throughout the community makes people stronger.
I have created all my life. From stories and drawings as a child to the creation of advertising campaigns in my adult life, which allowed me to create a solid foundation for my daughter who has blossomed into a multi-talented formally trained artist in her own right. Participating in many art forms through the years, I have now fallen into what I was born to create, Jewelry.
The form, function and beauty, all thrill me, providing the motivation to want to learn and do more everyday, to push myself, to grow.
Living in many lapidary havens such as Petoskey MI, famous for the Petoskey Stone, Austin TX, where I got my conservation attitude and true love of nature, Okinawa Japan, with its countless coral and volcanic formations set in a lush green maze of foliage and Prescott AZ, in the geographic center of one of the best rock situations in the world, now Salt Lake City with its majestic mountains and diverse population. I believe I have gained plenty of knowledge and inspiration from “pretty rocks”.
Now that “rocks” in the way of semi-precious stones and other gifts from the earth fill my daily life with endless color, inspiration reveals itself everywhere. Using bits of the earth to create beautiful pieces that people can wear and enjoy for years to come is the best part of what I do as a jewelry designer. As a business owner my promise to you is that I will conduct my business with superior ethics. Furthermore, always try my best to tread lightly on the earth and help as many humans as possible along my journey.
What makes Chermo Designs and Earthly Creations unique is that each piece of each set is one of a kind. No attempts will be made to re-create any set under any circumstances. However, findings, patterns and stones have intrinsic mimicking qualities. This is an artistic and mathematical inevitability, this fact should be considered. 80 percent of the creations are gemstones beads with metal or glass bead accents. The remainders of the sets are comprised of some combination of glass or metal beads. Each set has its own personality and extra features making them unique to the purchaser.
Chermo Designs and Earthly Creations Inc. are Utah corporations located in West Jordan. Practicing shop local as much and as often as possible is paramount. Building community through commerce strengthens the entire community. Sharing the bounty of the community, throughout the community makes people stronger.
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