Small Business Saturday Brings Shoppers Looking For That Unique Gift

Just some of the distinctly Oskaloosa gifts available at the Book Vault in Oskaloosa.

Just some of the distinctly Oskaloosa gifts available at the Book Vault in Oskaloosa.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – There are lots of catchy names for the particular shopping days that follow Thanksgiving. Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Shop Small Saturday just to name a few.

Those names, like Black Friday, have started to become an example of the worst of Christmas shopping and gift-giving because people are viewing the shopping spree as interfering with the traditional Thanksgiving, as Black Friday specials have ebbed their way into Thursday.

REI was a national retailer that gained some attention when they said they would be closed not only on Thanksgiving Day, but also Black Friday. They were joined by over two dozen more national retailers in shutting the doors during that time.

For Oskaloosa, Small Business Saturday was a day to celebrate the small independent businesses that help make the Oskaloosa shopping experience a unique one.

Inside of Penn Central Mall is Guitars & More. Pat Flaherty has been a part of the Oskaloosa business community for many years, and said that “so far, we’ve had a lot of traffic.”

Flaherty said that shoppers from Bussey, Knoxville and Pella, along with Oskaloosa, had all visited his music store that day. “That makes you feel good that they [Oskaloosa shoppers] didn’t go out of town to buy. We try to give them good deals.”

Across the hall from Guitars & More is a little pop-up shop, hosted by Kim Dixon and her sister Kristi Bridges, where you can find hand-crafted gift items and holiday goodies.

Dixon continued working away on her latest hand-crafted creation while she spoke with Oskaloosa News. She said that they were pleased with the traffic, and continued to restock those items with new and different items. “We just tell people, inventory’s changing every day.”

Shirley Hunter owns Hunter’s Gift and Coffee Shop, which is just off the square in Oskaloosa. She said that things on Saturday were “pretty fantastic.” Hunter said that the crowds started early and were steady all day. “It was just fun seeing all the people come in.”

Hunter said that this year shoppers seem to be looking for quality items. “It’s just been really good.”

Over at The Book Vault, shopper Linda Fox was enjoying the free gift wrapping service that Book Vault provides on items bought in the store. She had made her way around Oskaloosa, visiting many of the unique places along the way. “I’ve bought something for everybody, including myself.”

Fox said it’s important to visit the local merchants. “These are the people of our community. These are the people I know and I care about.”

“I have not found one store that didn’t have wonderful things in it,” said Fox.

Something special that caught the former child librarian’s eye is a tree at the back of The Book Vault that has the name of a child and the book they would like. “Books are the best gift anybody can receive. A book will take them to places that they may never go in real life, but they can in their imagination.”

Posted by on Nov 29 2015. Filed under Local News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

Comments are closed

         

Search Archive

Search by Date
Search by Category
Search with Google
Log in | Copyright by Oskaloosa News