Sisters merchants encourage local shopping

Sisters' downtown merchants are hoping local folks stick close to home for their Christmas shopping this season.

With retailers nationwide battening down for a rough retail season, local retailers hope a campaign to encourage local shopping will keep their businesses afloat on the stormy economic seas.

Some 30 downtown merchants are participating in a "Red Ribbon" campaign that features extended hours on Friday evenings and discounts set by individual merchants.

Julia Rickards spearheaded the effort, prodded by letters to the editor in The Nugget from citizens pledging to shop locally for the holidays.

"Rebecca Sokol said, 'Did you read the letter to the editor that Jen from Jen's Garden wrote?'" Rickards said. "We thought 'that's a great idea, let's do that as a family.'"

But Rickards, who owns Clearwater Gallery with her husband Dan, figured locals might need a little help and encouragement to make good on the notion.

"I just thought it was our responsibility to make it simple for them to shop in Sisters," she said.

Most of the merchants in Sisters eagerly climbed on board.

"All the merchants who are participating will have a big red bow on their doors," Rickards said. "Patty with Wild Dusty Rose is making those, which is neat."

The red ribbon motif will be used to mark items that are on sale.

"It'll be easy for the locals to spot what's on sale," Rickards said. "Each merchant is designing their own sale."

Many merchants will have refreshments available during the Friday evening extended hours.

According to Rickards, the program is in large part simply an expression of good will.

"It just made us feel good that people care about our businesses," she said. "All the merchants right now feel grateful for any local business they're getting. They recognize it as an effort."

Restaurants are on board, offering dessert coupons available with local purchases.

Some local retailers are hopeful that the nationwide economic downturn will refocus people's attention on unique items with lasting value that they can find in Sisters shops.

John Leavitt, who has weathered plenty of downturns in a 32-year retail career in Sisters, says that he's seeing customers actually gravitating toward more expensive items, such as Filson jackets, that they know are going to last a decade or more and have real practical use.

Rosie Horton of Common Threads says her customers like the fact that they can find unique items in her store for reasonable prices, giving them more bang for their buck when giving gifts.

Rickards herself reports similar trends. Art has lasting value and she believes some families are cutting out more "frivolous" gifts to focus on giving meaningful gifts to those they love.

For Rickards, the "shop local" campaign is as much a social as an economic effort, a chance for the community to bond while walking the streets of town shopping and meeting friends and neighbors.

"The hope is that we have this amazingly wonderful, charming downtown that sits at the foot of the Cascades," she said. "We actually can have that Norman Rockwell feel."