Gift Shop at Sussex County Small Business Stores and Support Local Artists too

My Holiday shopping this year will be in support of Small Business stores and local
artists.  In Hopatcong this may be a difficult proposition, because we don’t have a traditional Main Street center with boutique shops or small storefronts. 
But that does not mean Sussex County does not offer these things – because
they do.  American Express, has even stated an objective to support local businesses that create jobs, boost the economy and preserve neighborhoods around the country with their Small Business Saturday after Black Friday advertisements.  

I have enjoyed my treks this summer to find locally grown produce stands of Sussex County.  My journeys have also taken me to quaint small villages of Sussex County that offer antique gift item treasures.   To my amazement I found that they had better prices than the major mall gift stores. The beauty here is that I was giving someone something that was unique and one of a kind that was issued before “the made in China days and the big box stores that can sell it for less”.   

In my family and as with most families today, gift cards are the preferred gift.  But what happens with gift card giving is it becomes impersonal and misses the spirit of gift giving. My solution was to find a unique gift to wrap up with the gift card. It was the little novelty gifts that got me back in the spirit of real gift giving shopping.

My gift giving shopping journey starts with Scranberry Coop Rt 206 in Andover They accept major credit cards but Cash is King at this store because most booth vendors will offer a 10 to 20% discount for cash purchases.  Great place for finding old postcards and 70’s memorabilia for the Baby Boomers on your gift list (hint -grandparents) Check out their website http://scranberrycoop.blogspot.com/

The Main Street center of Andover is another great place and there are several antique shops - one of them sells vintage Lake Hopatcong Postcards. My personal
favorite is” Made In The Shade. They have a great supply of vintage lamps and
new unique lampshades.  Think of the movie Christmas Story and the famous Leg Lamp. I purchased a vintage decoy duck lamp for the Hunter on my gift list.  It had a great new lampshade with an old English duck hunting motif.  Who said antiques stores are only for women. 

If you want the ambiance and spirit of the Down Town scene of “It's a Wonderful Life” 1946 American Christmas classic, then visit Newton’s Spring Street.  Spring Street is where you can find fine Belgium chocolates and Old World cheeses great to bring to the hostess of holiday party invites.  Pick the best cheese to go with your New Jersey vintage wines (that’s another article in itself).   

The AAUW Sussex County Branch http://www.aauwsussex.org/
was invited to Sussex County Arts and Heritage Council Gallery for their monthly meeting.  It was here that I discovered the arts of Sussex County and became a member of SCA&HC  http://www.scahc.org/ to support our local artists.  

Now the SCA&HC will be selling affordable art this Holiday Season from November 19 to January 7, 2012. They are hosting “Art is a Gift”, a holiday show and sale of affordable art. The artworks and artists cover the spectrum of fine art and quality crafts: raku pottery, hand-knitted mittens, felted alpaca scarves, realistic paintings, photography, and abstract acrylic paintings are some of works of art being shown.  All are for sale, with some under fifty dollars.    The SCA&HC is one of the oldest store front buildings on Spring Street and is across the street from the The Newton Fire Museum built in 1891 www.newtonfiremuseum.org

Now you can shop local small business and even purchase something made in Sussex County USA.