(Photo above: ‘We Called in The Seraphim, but You Had Flown Away’ by featured artist Kaycee Anseth)
For the fourth year in a row, small and locally owned businesses like The Workhouse are prepared to offer holiday shoppers something unique – locally made & one-of-a-kind gifts combined with the opportunity to invest in our local community.
Small Business Saturday, November 28, is a national event that encourages holiday shoppers to celebrate the uniqueness, charm, and economic impact that small businesses bring to communities.
The event, initiated by American Express, has been far more successful than anyone anticipated. Last year, only the 4th year of the “tradition,” shoppers nationwide spent an estimated $14.2 Billion at small, independent businesses on Small Business Saturday alone.
The Workhouse (an artists’ collective and retail store in Bend, OR) has embraced the tradition for several years and is hosting a huge celebration including a special $10 Sale in addition their monthly Last Saturday festivities of live music, an artist’s reception, and libations.
During the Day (9am-5pm)
● The Annual $10 Sale provides something for everyone, even those with small budgets.
The Workhouse’s 8 studio artists will create jewelry, Christmas Ornaments, art prints, and more offering them at $10 ea, only during Small Business Saturday.
During the Evening (6-9pm)
● Music by B-Sides Brass Band – brings the New Orleans Brass Band Tradition to the Pacific NorthWest. This brassy sextet promises to get you moving and grooving, sweating up the dance floor, and moving your B(ack)side to the beat. The sound is fresh, energetic, and raw. Members include: Steve Pool (sousaphone), Marc Saccoman (trumpet), Dale Largent (drums), Gabe Shonerd (drums), Jim Cajacob (horns) and Rick Murphy (horns).
● Artist’s Reception: The work of local collagist Kaycee Anseth will be featured for the month of December with the Artist present for a reception during the Last Saturday evening. Anseth uses discarded fashion and home decor magazines as her fodder for creating intricately detailed collages that explore the realms of myth and fairytale as they pertain to personal narrative. Her process is akin to painting with paper, incorporating the eye-popping palettes of high-gloss advertising into both intricate patterns and whimsical figures.
● Libations by mixologists that take the term “craft” seriously will be offered. The Root Cellar (founded by Anna Witham) combines storytelling with delicious refreshment. Backdrop Distilling will be sampling cocktails made with Doterra Essential Oils and Essential Balance will be sampling Chocolates made with Doterra Essential Oils.
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Co-Founders Cari Brown and Stuart Breidenstein established the Workhouse in 2012 with lofty goals: “We wanted more arts culture represented in our city. We wanted to feel at home and possible in the town we lived in. We wanted to take back a little control over our own destinies- financial and otherwise- and be a part of the sea change that has been taking place the last few years to a place where the people and the integrity behind what we consume matter.” – Cari Brown
As a micro-model for a global movement toward sustainability, The Workhouse promotes the values of grassroots craft culture by engaging in a constructive, viable, and creative economy.
Our focus is on high-quality, locally-made, sustainable art that offers diverse options for conscientious buyers. We aim to demystify the art-making process through interaction with our studio artists and workshops. We are a platform for local artists to get back to work: we operate as a place of exchange between artists and their community, providing a retail gallery, on-site studios, events and educational programming for Bend and Central Oregon.
● Vibrant & Distinct—Buying locally made goods preserves our community’s distinction and creates local jobs.
● Keep Money Local—For every $100 spent at a locally-owned business, $73
remains in the local economy, and $27 leaves. Compare that to the same $100 spent at a non-locally owned business, where $43 remains in the local economy and $57 leaves. – www.civiceconomics.com
● Support for Nonprofits—“Studies show that nonprofits receive 250 percent more support from small businesses than large ones,” explains Sue Lynn Sasser, PhD, professor of economics at the University of Central Oklahoma.
● “Small Businesses” are local people serving local people and are generally committed to staying there, raising their families. After all, most businesses started out as a small, local business and earned the success of growing and expanding. It’s the American Dream.” Sue Lynn Sasser, PhD and professor of economics at the University of Central Oklahoma.
● Additional information about the national event can be found HERE
