Buying local

It’s not much to ask: Spend $50 a month at locally owned, brick-and-mortar stores in your community. That’s the goal of the national grassroots movement “The 3/50 Project.” When its Web site was launched last year, it released a wellspring of interest, garnering 7,500 unique visitors in the first week. It’s a simple directive.

Every month, make a point of visiting at least three independently owned businesses, for instance, a restaurant, jewelry shop, furniture store or ice cream stand. Spend a total of $50 among them. The result? For every $100 spent locally, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll and other expenditures. In the pages that follow, you’ll meet six local business owners who have joined The 3/50 Project. For a list of participating businesses in Ohio, visit www.the350project.net and click on “Our Supporters.”

Chestnut Hill Gifts, Art and Interior Accents
441 N. Main St., North Canton
(330) 497-2526
Established: 1987
Owner: Beth and Bob Bauman
Hours: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Wednesday,
Thursday and Friday; 10 a.m.- 3 p.m. Saturday; by appointment Monday and Tuesday.

“Where’s the coffee?” is an oft-heard call from customers entering Chestnut Hill in North Canton.

“We always have coffee, sometimes tea, sometimes cookies,” said Beth Bauman, who owns the shop with her husband, Bob. “My husband makes Scottish shortbread that he puts out from time to time, and every once in a while, we’ll have soup.”

That warm welcome is just the beginning of the personalized service Beth offers at her shop of gifts, art, jewelry and interior decorations.

“Most customers come in not knowing what they’re looking for,” she said. “We know a lot of people, so quite often when they say, ‘I need a gift for so-and-so,’ I know that person, or that person has been in (the shop), so I can fine-tune the choices a bit. That’s true of most small businesses — they have repeat customers, and you get to know them.”

Beth has been in business for 23 years, the last eight in the two-story house at 441 N. Main St. She has filled four rooms, added shelving and lights to the closets and made use of every nook.

“One of our best-selling lines of jewelry is Treska from Texas. People love it, and I only buy one of each design, so you’ll not see it on somebody else,” she said. “We have a couple bath lines — The Thymes and Archipelago, excellent quality, hard to find.”

Chestnut Hill also offers stunning lamps, handmade items, pottery and local art.

“Most recently we’ve introduced our Circa collection, things from estates,” Beth said. “Just cool things, a lot American-made.”

Hazel Artisan Bakery
1176 S. Main St., North Canton
(330) 497-8078
Established: 2006
Owners: James Ferrero, Lonnie Ball
Hours: 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday;
8 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday

Earning the customer’s trust is important for Lonnie Ball of Hazel Artisan Bakery. That’s why he tries to educate the customer about the difference seen in locally produced goods.

“I stress that we’re an artisan bakery, then define what artisan is,” said Ball, who co-owns the bakery with James Ferrero. “Everything here is handmade. Everything is from scratch.”

Ball says their customers are concerned about what goes into their food.

“We don’t use chemicals, preservatives. Everything is natural, good- quality ingredients — unbleached, unbromated flour,” he said. “People don’t want all those chemicals. They are concerned about what they’re feeding their children.”
Ball said one taste of Ferrero’s handmade breads is all it takes to hook a customer.

“Simple ingredients — flour, water, yeast or starter. It takes a while for flavor to develop, to proof, to bake. A lot of attention goes into baking bread,” Ball said. “Then they’re baked on a stone in a deck oven for a more crusty bread.”
Specialty breads, including the multigrain baguettes, are particularly popular. “On Saturday, Jim does brioche. That’s really catching on. I don’t think there’s any other place in town doing brioche.”

Ball’s specialty is pastries and other desserts, including his personal favorites of custards and flans. The bakery also offers sandwiches, soups and salads — and has become a popular lunch spot.

The recession has taken a small bite out of their business, but overall, Ball is pleased with their progress.

“It’s very important that people support independent businesses. The money stays in the community. That’s what’s important,” he said.

Cook’s Art Supply
and Framing
4366 Portage St. NW,
Jackson Township
(330) 494-7730
Established: 1976
Owner: James Cook
Hours: Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

James Cook is one of the lucky few whose business hasn’t been hurt by the recession.

“It’s ironic — while everybody else is down, ours is actually increasing,” said Cook, owner of Cook’s Art Supply and Framing. “People who had done art in high school or college got away from it, and the primary reason they say is, ‘I don’t have time.’ When the recession/depression comes along, they start changing their patterns, saying, ‘Let’s not do that; it costs too much.’ They find they have time slots open, and they say, ‘I think I’ll start sketching or painting again.’ ”

Cook has been supplying material for artists “from kindergartners to 98-year-olds” for 34 years at his
Portage Street NW shop.

His inventory includes supplies for sculptors, painters, crafters, silk screeners and framers.

His encyclopedic knowledge draws customers seeking information or help.

“Some days I feel like a library,” he joked.

Cook also does custom framing, and admits frustration with customers who fall for the big-box stores’ coupons and sales, not realizing the resultant price is about what they’d pay at his shop, where they would get a “better-quality product.”

 The latest addition to his shop is a camera system to help customers choose a frame.

 “We take a picture of your artwork, then put it in a computer program,” Cook said.

“Then we can show you what it looks like with various mats and frames.”

Backlist Books
39 Lincoln Way E, Massillon
(330) 880-0334
www.backlistbooks.net
Established: 2009
Owner: Fred Van Patten
Hours: Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-
7 p.m.; Sunday, noon-5 p.m.

Longtime bibliophile and bookseller Fred Van Patten opened his own bookstore in December in downtown Massillon.

“I’ve been saving my pennies over the last few years. Always wanted to have my own place,” Van Patten said. “The time was right. I saw the economy as an opportunity — rents are low right now. I think there are a lot of opportunities out there, especially for downtown storefronts.”

Backlist Books specializes in new and used fiction, both for adults and children, science fiction, art and film books, as well as locally written titles.

“We cater to the English majors of the world,” Van Patten said, chuckling.

Van Patten believes he competes with larger chain bookstores by offering greater depth in fewer categories.

“I actually have more variety in my niche sections. I have every book ever written about Massillon,” he said.

“I have multiple cutting-edge artists whose books you would not find in Borders because they stick with the mainstream titles.”

He’s loaded with award winners.

“I don’t have the latest best-sellers, but I have every Hugo award winner for the last 20 years,” he said. “I have an emphasis on quality, and that goes for the young adult section too — Caldecott, Newbery winners.”

What has been the best part of owning his own bookstore?

The luxury of time to chat with customers.

“When I worked at Borders, I spent the majority of my time just finding things for people,” he said. “Now I can recommend — that’s what I do all day. I can spend 20 minutes finding out what they like, maybe show them some (book) they never would have known about.”

Hartville Hardware
940 W. Maple St., Hartville
(330) 877-3631
www.hartvillehardware.com
Established: 1972
Owners: Howard R. Miller Jr.,
Wayne Miller, and families
Hours: 8 a.m.-8 p.m. weekdays;
8 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday

In the case of Hartville Hardware, locally owned and operated doesn’t mean “small” business.

“We have over 60,000 items in stock, more than the big-box stores. They carry around 40,000,” said Bob Testa, marketing coordinator for the Miller family business. “The funny thing is a lot of (big chain stores) refer customers to us. People come in and say, ‘Home Depot said you have this item.’ ”

Despite its size, Hartville Hardware operates like a mom-and-pop shop.

“Our main thing is service. We have a lot more associates throughout the aisles, and all our associates are longtime employees. I think the average is over 10 years,” Testa said.

Customers quickly realize they can get expert advice here.

“We have ex-plumbers and carpenters and electricians that work in our departments,” Testa said. “They’re not just coming in and buying nuts and bolts, but to learn how to install it, how to fix what’s broken.”

And the person waiting on you might be one of the owners.

“Our owners work the store, right on the floor,” Testa said.

Hartville Hardware was included in the 2009 book “Retail Superstars: Inside the 25 Best Independent Stores in America” by George Whalin.

“And one other thing — the community involvement is unbelievable. You name it, we support it,” Testa said.

“All these things play into why people feel comfortable when they come here.”

The English Garden
7376 Middlebranch Ave. NE,
Plain Township. (330) 499-6504
www.theenglishgardenof
northcanton.com
Established: 1989
Owner: Marilyn Barr
Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday; 9 a.m.-noon Wednesday and Saturday; also by appointment

Twenty years ago, the Barr family and The English Garden shared space in a lovely 150-year-old house. Then, both the business and the family grew.

“My family got too big to live there, so we moved, and the shop has taken over all the space,” said Marilyn Barr, owner of The English Garden floral shop. Barr is passionate about personalized service.

“We’re a full-service florist, and we also have a gift shop. We specialize in weddings,” she said. “We offer more one-on-one time helping people, a lot more personalized in everything we do. For instance, if someone buys a gift from us, we offer wrapping it for free. We can also deliver it locally.”

Barr said some local shoppers mistakenly think they can get a better deal at a big-box store.

“We are a lot more flexible. We can work with them and their budget,” she said.

“I understand people trying to find things for the least-expensive cost — they just don’t have the money. But they don’t realize at our shop there are things that they can buy that won’t cost them an arm and a leg.”

Barr is a fan of The 3/50 Project.

“I try in my own personal life to adhere to that policy, to support local business, especially in this economy,” she said. “Everyone is evaluating what they need to be doing right now to survive. I’ve been doing the same thing.”

Her first step will be to get consignments for her gift shop.

“I’m going to explore getting local artists to put some of their things in our shop,” she said. “I’m looking for a few select people, maybe a potter, a painter.”