10/20/2014
I’ve loved creating and organizing Rock & Shop for the past ten years, however, for this winter (and maybe beyond that), I’m not hosting one. I started the event (in a time before etsy and the DIY District and handfuls of NYTimes articles about how awesome the Triangle is) to create a platform for local makers and something cool to do in the Triangle when that was lacking. Now, there are a proliferation of venues, and events and amazing local businesses that support and showcase local makers.
I still very much value being a part of this community and these days am channeling my efforts into Gather my hybrid space in downtown Cary, that is a combination of gift shop featuring local makers, a coffee shop, a coworking space and a classroom. It’s been open for a little over a year now and it’s an amazing space that I think anyone who loves Rock & Shop will appreciate. This space reflects my values towards a slower focus on these makers and their work - you’ll still be able to shop amazing, curated, locally made goods but less frenetically. In addition, the space is helping to plant a new seed in a sleepy downtown community in the heart of the Triangle that needs revitalization and some love.
I’m hoping to start a larger dialogue about what shopping and supporting local really means, that it means loving your larger community, not just the neighbors in your direct backyard, but the region’s backyard too. That getting to know these artisans whose life work may be creating one product, but one product of high quality, is valuable and significant, in our fast paced consumer world. I’m hoping to create a space where entrepreneurs like myself can thrive and move to the next level of success to make the Triangle even more vibrant.
I’m confident that more exciting channels for makers to sell their wares will pop up in the years to come and I look forward to supporting them and being a part of them, just not necessarily organizing them. That said, I’ll still be organizing mini markets at Gather but probably not of the same scale as Rock & Shop – though you never know – meanwhile, keep an eye out for our next event at at Gather "Made by Men” on Sat. Nov 29th from 5pm-10pm featuring 10+ local men makers selling their wares: https://www.facebook.com/events/666857603428441/?ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular
Thanks for the support along the way and reading this far if you have … see you at Gather!
xoxo, Michelle
