Sad signs at local etailer retailer

I went to Aqua Blue, a local store that sells hand crafted goodies from etailers, and other small business owners yesterday.

It’s been a while since I’ve been there - I know I haven’t been in since I got pregnant, and I probably haven’t been in there at all this year.

Needless to say, I was pretty surprised when I was browsing around the store, and saw a full display of clearance Rainforest Soap Shack products.

What’s so shocking about that, you ask?

The same items were on clearance the last time that I was there, over 10 months ago.

Driving by and never seeing any cars in front of the shop is one thing, but seeing a clearance display that’s remained pretty full for over 10 months, really made me sad, and made me realize how hard it can be, to be a small business owner these days.

I remember the first time I went to Aqua Blue I was so excited to find soaps of companies that I’d heard of, but never seen in person, like Rainforest Soap Shack, and Morgan Street, and even seeing etsy in some of the web addresses that were on the different soaps.

Of course, I never went back, although I have tried to go once or twice recently, only to find out that the store was closed.

There was only one other store that I know of in our area that sold handmade goods, and it closed down over a year ago.

I could probably find one or two lines each at some of the smaller boutiques in town, if I looked hard enough, but I don’t know right off hand where they would be, and I won’t go out of my way to find them.

We can also find some great handmade stuff at some of the crafts fairs, but that’s just a weekend at a time, and I know some people don’t even have these limited options to see, touch, and smell handmade items in their local area.

Do you have local stores that sell handmade items?

If you do, do you visit them regularly, occasionally, or not at all?

Have you noticed a change in the number of stores selling them, or the amount of product they are selling?