New goods from our neighbors down South
We spent several weeks in the early part of the year finding new goods for the store and exploring ways to stay inspired and connected. This year, our fresh-new-year energy was tempered with feeling heartbroken for Los Angeles.
During our annual January buying trip, we listened to sales reps and other shopkeepers struggling with how the fires impacted their territories, their customers, their livelihoods. One rep told us that her biggest client had lost both her home and her store. Another said that her colleague had lost her entire sales territory. Gone. It was sobering.
How could we help in a way that might matter? And then we picked up a piece of Sable Ceramics pottery. We’ve admired their soft colors and organic, unique shapes for a few years, but weren’t sure it made sense since they aren’t from the Central Coast. But you know what? They are from California, and that’s something. Their pieces are small and handmade, with soul. And we love them, and that’s something, too. Brook Schneider, the ceramicist, lost both her home and her studio.
So we placed an order.
Then Cuatro Mamas Chili Crisp, another SoCal company that we’d hoped to bring in but weren’t sure the price would work. It’s made by four moms from Mexico, Guatemala, the Philippines, and the South, all with a shared love of spice…a unique version of a Salsa Macha meets Red Chili Crisp Oil. It is, as they describe it, a “true labor of love mixed with ingredients from all of our cultures.” Which kinda sums up California, doesn’t it? Our margin might be a bit smaller on it, but we ordered it, too.
We filled a cart with delightful letterpress journals from Shorthand Press in LA. And we’ll always have Little Flower Candy Co. caramels, and their huge, pillowy marshmallows that have been on our shelves since Day 1. Christine’s was one of only 4 homes on her street that survived, and she’s been feeding first responders and neighbors, trying to keep her team employed.
It matters that we support each other, here on the Central Coast, but also throughout this one-of-a-kind messy gorgeousness that is California. We hope you’ll fall in love with some of these makers like we have.
— The Team at General Store Paso Robles
PASO ROBLES PRESS MAGAZINE
Copies of Paso Robles Press Magazine are directly delivered to 23,000 readers in zip codes 93446, 93451, and 93465 and 2,000 dropped with support from advertisers and subscribers. Together, we are Making Communities Better Through Print.™
To subscribe or advertise, click here.
