The term “buy local" is one that many local business owners hope will resonate in peoples' minds after they paid a visit to their table at the St. Paul Home and Business Shopping Event this weekend. Custom cakes, bamboo t-shirts, homemade jewellery, “green" environmental products, and pictures printed on blocks of wood, everything and anything you can think of was on display.
Event organizer and local business owner Pat Robinson hopes those who attended left thinking local.
“We just want to support everybody here. I know because I have my own home-based business, (it) helps get your name out," said Robinson. “It brings a lot of people into town."
Robinson operates some home-based businesses herself, selling purses and selling PartyLite candles and home decor. Her latest endeavour has her promoting healthy living through ViSalus Sciences. Robinson travels to trade shows across Alberta until one day she decided, why not bring them here?
“I go to other trade shows in Vermilion and Lac La Biche and Lloyd and I found that St. Paul never had one, so I thought that I would just start my own." said Robinson.
Robinson organizes two trade shows a year, one before Easter and the other in November before Christmas. The show in November admittedly draws the bigger crowds as shoppers search for unique Christmas gifts but the crowds this weekend were “steady" and there was no shortage of unique products.
Lillian Pilipchuk, president of the St. Paul Farmers Market, lined her table with seemingly endless rows of jars of jams, pickled carrots, and other vegetables. Pilipchuk and Robinson both are vendors at the weekly St. Paul Farmers Market. Both events are integral to support local growers and owners.
“It helps for people to know that I'm also at the market so they can also come and shop to the market as well," said Pilipchuk. “Very often people come to the trade show and they don't know about the market, so if they see me here they can also come to the market on Friday."
