Buying locally

My sister Ellie just visited us in Melbourne. She is currently working on a book about her experience of spending a year abroad as a volunteer in the tiny town of Lascano, Uruguay. She and I worked on her book proposal while she was here, which led to many interesting discussions about her time in Uruguay. One thing she noticed about her time in Uruguay was how little she consumed and how when she did spend money, she almost always knew who the money was going to.

Granted, it may be easier to know where our money goes when living in a small town in Uruguay than when living in a mass capitalist society like the U.S. But reading my sister's writing has inspired me to think about how to be more creative as a consumer so that I am shopping more locally and how to be attuned to businesses that are being creative as well. One small thing Ethan and I have tried to do in Australia is to shop for produce at the local farmers' markets, although there are times when our desire to sleep overrides our desire to get up early to get to the market.

I also wanted to mention two companies that have caught my attention because they are owned by friends or friends of friends. The first is 3 Crowns Design, which is owned by people who went to Gustavus Adolphus college with my sister. 3 Crowns sells limited edition t-shirts designed by up and coming artists as a way for artists to gain recognition, and they also donate part of the proceeds from the t-shirts to charity.

The second is Twin Six, co-founded Ethan's friend from high school, Ryan Carlson. Ryan and his business partner, both avid cyclists and talented graphic designers, decided it was high time to bring "a graphic revolution" to cycling apparel. And they have succeeded...beyond all expectations. We just got an e-mail from Ryan saying he quit his "day job" to focus completely on Twin Six. Seriously, if you need new t-shirts, check out these two sites.