The Merchant

If I could take you on a field trip to show off my favorite places and people in the area, Sokol Blosser Vineyards is one place we'd have to go! Since I can't take you there myself right now, I've asked the Sokol Blossers to share a little about themselves. Read on, and I hope you'll fall in love with them too. Plus, they're offering you 15% off and flat rate shipping!

Happy Mother’s day! You have helped us make a positive impact on mothers facing the loss of their homes through poverty and/or abuse. Together We’ve raised $812.50 and donated it to Rose Haven, a day shelter for women and children facing disruptive life experiences.

Thousands of jobs, shops, restaurants, and landlords. It’s endless ways to connect us with one another. It’s millions of dollars of economic activity that ripple out to the extended community of other independent small businesses that share in that prosperity.

Let's re-organize our civic space and regulatory policy to prioritize “proximity businesses” like shops, restaurants, gyms, salons, etc. Support the proximity businesses in our communities and all the other businesses and jobs will follow. Fail them, and the rest will move to places that do. Here are six ways to advocate for small business in our neighborhoods, and one way you can make a difference every day: 

There isn't enough money on earth to pay our way out of this. The world is built on the backs of small business. We bring the boots-on-the-ground perspective and collective innovation of millions of minds, diverse cultural and economic bag rounds, and an intimate understanding of the peril we and our employees face in the coronavirus economy. So let's acknowledge the role of small  in helping us all solve for a prosperous future.  

When will this thing end?  The numbers from China suggest eight weeks, some say. Others, myself included, disagree.  And regardless, I think this kind of reckoning is largely beside the point.  There is a lesson, an opportunity that lies in the shadow of that question. 

To Our Beloved Community:   We’ve temporarily closed our retail shops in Portland and New York due to COVID-19. Safeguarding the health of our elderly, our disadvantaged, and our medical professionals is more than a courtesy, it is the linchpin of our social contract. When we put ourselves ahead of others, we build a better world.

We have been closely monitoring the evolution of the COVID-19 outbreak since January.  Guidelines from WHO, CDC, OHA, and NYH indicate that it is safe and reasonable to remain open for business. And so we will, until further notice.  In this article below we list the best experts we've found for sound, actionable advice on how to take care of yourself and your loved-ones.  

Here we see an abundance of privilege, manifested as a collection of canned fish. How did they get here? What's their story?