In recent years, a lot of attention has been given to buying local, but what exactly does that mean and what are its benefits? Buying locally refers to purchasing goods and services from your local sellers and community rather than from far away vendors. Buying locally has many social and environmental benefits. On the social side, buying locally supports your community by stimulating job creation, helping local culture, and creating meaningful connections with vendors that may then provide the opportunity for people to collaborate and give each other discounts on their products and services. On the environmental side, local products are more likely to be made from locally sourced ingredients and there are less packaging, shipping, and transportation costs associated with them, minimizing your carbon footprint.
On our social media platforms, we recently featured D. I. Y. Impact tips on how to give more sustainable gifts, where we mentioned that a great way to do it is by buying locally. Disco Warehouse, a stylish furniture store located right on Tchoupitoulas Street along the Irish Channel. Disco Warehouse ships quality furniture from all around the world and takes custom orders, but they have made an effort to think locally by featuring local art for sale. During the Fall of 2020, Disco Warehouse began featuring backyard art markets on weekends to support local artists during the pandemic. Their art popups sell jewelry, food, accessories, art, home goods, and even poetry written at the moment of request. All of the vendors are from the area, which also fosters connections between sellers and customers and supports the city.
The backyard art market attracts hundreds of visitors every weekend. All of the vendors and customers follow social distancing and face covering guidelines when mandated by the government, ensuring the safety of the local community. The owner of Disco Warehouse has also announced that the backyard art market on weekends will continue even after the pandemic is over. We are so happy to learn about the success of this local art market!!!
If you are interested in learning more about Disco Warehouse or perhaps even sell your own works there, feel free to check out their website and social media here! Do not forget to stop by Disco Warehouse on weekends and check out the stuff sold by local artists! You may just find a special hidden gem.
Sources:
https://www.discowarehouse.net/
https://wgno.com/nola-neighborhood/disco-warehouse/
https://www.onegreenplanet.org/lifestyle/reasons-to-buy-local/