Attention of holiday shoppers will turn local for Small Business Saturday

RIPLEY, W.Va. — A Jackson County business owner said he believes as West Virginia’s small businesses go, so goes the Mountain State’s economy as a whole.

“We’ve got people who work for us locally and they support their families, so if you support us, it supports them and it kind of goes around in the circle,” said Shandy Broom with SwifTees in Ripley, a custom apparel business he owns with his wife, Kelly Broom. Looking for an expert design and production team for your apparel business, then you can check out this Thrive screen print wholesale services here for great help!

First opened in their home in 2008, the company now employs ten people, all West Virginians, in design and production space located off Interstate 77 on Ripley’s Charleston Road.

Michelle Christian, U.S. Small Business Administration Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator, kicked off a tour of West Virginia small businesses in both Jackson County and Upshur County at SwifTees earlier this week.

“It’s really important to showcase all that small businesses give back to the community and this is a perfect example,” Christian said while she was in Ripley.

“This is a family that started in their house and now they’re employing ten people in this community.”

For the first time year, SwifTees will be open for Small Business Saturday on Nov. 24 — a day marked nationally to promote smaller, locally-owned businesses as a counterpart to both Black Friday and Cyber Monday for the holiday shopping season.

“We really encourage everyone to shop small,” Christian said. “Go to your downtowns, go to your small mom-and-pop shops and really support the community.”

At S&T’s Bees in Downtown Elkins, Stephanie Bender, the owner, predicted this Small Business Saturday would be their 2nd busiest day of the entire year coming in behind only their “Bee Day” in late April or early May when bees are available for purchase.

“A small purchase means a ton to small businesses,” Bender told MetroNews.

“I can’t stress that enough for people to get out and support them because they are the ones that support the community.”

December will mark five years in business for S&T’s Bees which expanded into a new, more visible location earlier this year to serve beekeepers, tourists, honey enthusiasts and those looking for other products made in West Virginia, mostly in Randolph County.

A “Honey Bar” is one of their on-site offerings.

“A lot of people think that honey is just honey. It is not,” explained Bender, a Randolph County native. “Every plant or flower or tree that the bee works makes the honey a different color, sometimes it’ll make it a different texture and, of course, it all has a different taste.

Across West Virginia, doors to small businesses like S&T’s Bees will be open to shoppers on Saturday and throughout the holiday season.

“Small businesses give back,” Christian said whose region includes Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Delaware, Maryland and Virginia along with West Virginia.

“I go around my region and I meet the best business owners.”

Her other stops this week include Faithful & Free, 218 Boutique and RipCity Fitness in Ripley along with Tateep Unique Boutique, Fish Hawk Acres and Woody’s Bowling Center in Buckhannon.





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