Why Buy Handmade/Homemade

Although times are tough and the economy is certainly not the best, there are still numerous good reasons to buy homemade or handmade items. If you buy handmade items locally, you are supporting local small businesses. Your money stays local. When I make my dresses, bows, or headbands, most of my supplies come from businesses here in the Valley. If I can't find something here, I will turn to Etsy. While Joann Fabrics is not a small business, it is still local. And my purchase helps pay the people's salary who live here.

In addition, your purchase helps the business owner, from stay at home mom's to women who sew and create to help pay for medical bills that are not covered by insurance. When you buy local handmade, you are not padding a big chain store's profits, you are helping people just like you.

I know that sometimes handmade items seem more expensive. Why pay $15-$20 for a tutu when you can find one online for $5? Well, the ones online and the ones sold in some boutique stores are not really handmade. Many of these are ordered from wholesale distributors who receive their products from China. And the labor standards in China are horrendous. Children are working at sewing machines, women are terminated if they become pregnant and in general treated like a commodity that can and will be bought and sold.

One question I ask myself a lot is why would people want to buy my cakes when they can get a large cake from Costco for under $20? Well, there is a huge difference between any cakes from a big chain store and a homemade cake. Most of the big chain store cakes are pre-fabricated, then frozen and shipped to the stores where someone there puts some more pre-fab icing on the cake and sticks it in a cooler. My cakes are made using quality ingredients. There is real butter in all of my cakes and icings. I only bake my cakes the night before they are due to be delivered, that way they are at their freshest for any event. Some cakes use cream cheese, quality cocoa, or even fresh fruit. Each ingredient is precisely measured and then baked for just the right time. If I make a mistake and the cake is overdone, I start over. If I wouldn't serve it to my family, I won't serve it to a customer. I know many other bakers who do the same thing.

Personally, I want to see my money stay local, so I will support handmade. Feel free to ask people questions. Ask where they get their supplies or if they buy from a wholesaler. Most people will be honest. And if someone tries to evade the question, it might raise some red flags. I welcome any questions about my products. And while I probably won't give you my secret white cake recipe, I will tell you that it is all from scratch, I use real butter, not butter flavoring, real vanilla, not imitation, and I separate the eggs and just use the whites.