HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Lowe Mill in Huntsville is known for its efforts to support local businesses. It provides year-round rental space for 200 artists and makers in 153 working studios. Local shop owners and customers there on Small Business Saturday said the holidays are the perfect time to shop with small businesses instead of going directly to the big chain stores.
"It's original, creative things, but it's also our community that we're supporting," said shopper Deanna McNeill. "The people that work and make their goods here are our next-door neighbors. So, it's really important to support them. This is my favorite restaurant behind us, Pofta Buna, I've been to Delta Dogwood Studio today, and I'm getting some shirts from Huntsvillustrated. All kinds of local Christmas gifts."
For some, shopping local means getting to shake hands with a product's maker and ask them how they did it. But for others, it also means getting custom gifts for family and friends. For the makers inside Lowe Mill, and specifically for Warrior Forge, art form has to follow some kind of function.
Warrior Forge blacksmith Marc Steenbergh said, "Just like anybody else, we've got to pay rent. We have overhead with materials and stuff like that. So, if we're just doing art to do art, cool. But I do art as a business."
But some shop owners said they do it for the love of the craft, regardless of the cost.
JMA Leatherworks craftsman Kulley LeVaugh said, "The money is a perk. I get it. But even if I wasn't getting paid for it, I would still probably do this just because I like doing it." LeVaugh also said the skills of local artisans have to be passed down, or else they risk being lost forever.
"That stuff goes away," he said, "and there's nobody to replace that. And you're stuck with whatever they have to sell."
But the upside to finding someone with these skills is that you can custom-purchase items you wouldn't be able to order, or even find, online.
Steenbergh said, "We can always try it. If I haven't done it, I can try it. And if it works, awesome. If it doesn't, then I figure out a way to make it so that you are satisfied with what you ask for."
"You can't do that at the big box store," he added.
Lowe Mill's regular hours run from Wednesday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. If you want to get involved with your own local business, they still have some available studio space.