The holiday season has arrived and for most of us that entails buying our friends and family gifts with our hard earned money. Why not spend that money by supporting the hard working small business owners in your community?! Local businesses are what help set our community apart from the mundane and also help our community grow economically grow. When you spend $100 at a locally owned small business $68 of it stays in the local economy. Local businesses also carry a wider array of unique products because they personally buy for their own individual markets. And who doesn’t want to give and/or receive a more unique personalized gift this holiday season. Think like a tourist in your own town, what would you seek out?
Twin Falls is filled with hundreds of small locally owned businesses that provide an array of needs and services. I want to give you a peak at some of my favorite spots particularly for when choosing those special holiday gifts.
One of our community’s oldest small businesses is Rudy’s A Cook’s Paradise located in Historic Downtown. Rudy’s has been a gourmet cooking store since 2002, which was a huge shift from its previous life as a hardware store established in 1946. Their mission is to be a paradise for cooks and people who want to learn more about the joy of cooking and healthy eating. They have the largest selection of cooking “hardware” in the state. Rudy’s offers cooking classes, wine and beer tasting, live music events, hands on classes and community events. Most importantly Rudy’s has a great staff ready to serve you with the best product knowledge there is.
Just across Main street you will find a new small business, Hueology. Hueology turned one this past October. They are a home décor store that specializes in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint which is an odorless, no-prep paint for furniture and floors. The paint comes in a wide variety of colors that work beautifully on furniture without priming or sanding and it is quick to dry! Hueology also carries a variety of re-purposed furniture for sale and great home accent pieces from Park Hill. They also have monthly “How to” painting workshops to help you hone in on your painting/crafting skills.
A couple of store fronts down Main is The Brass Monkey. They have been apart of the local scene for 5 years. The Brass Monkey is known best as a Women’s and Men’s clothing boutique. They love fashion but they truly love what it does for the people that wear it and the experiences that transpire. However most people don’t realize that they also carry a wide variety of unique giftables that will put a smile on anyone’s face. True sometimes they push the envelope but their giftables won’t be found anywhere else and will truly feel personalized to whoever receives them. They pride themselves on going above and beyond for their customers and provide fun high quality items to a vast variety of men and women.
Across town just off of Blue Lakes is the newest local business that just opened their doors! Hive Hot Yoga Studio is located in the Blue Lakes Plaza. Hive is a brand new hot yoga studio that offers a signature series Hive 80, which is 80 minutes of an intense power vinyasa combined with heat and strength complemented by deep breathing and a calming of the mind. They offer a variety of yoga styles heated and non-heated including hatha, yin and buti. Hive will offer yoga workshops and trainings for everyone to explore and go deeper in their practice. Who wouldn’t want a membership here?! The studio also has a small retail area full of great yoga gear and gifts for the yogi in your life. Hive even exclusively carries Lululemon, one of the top athletic apparel lines!
Remember this is just a sliver of what your community has to offer in the realm of locally owned small businesses. I understand that big box stores and online shopping can be cheaper and sometimes more convenient and of course you will still shop them but keep in mind you are faceless to them. With local businesses you are their friends and neighbors. Small businesses have a vested interest in knowing how to serve you. They are passionate about what they do. So this holiday season put your money where your heart is and shop local!
