Local vendors need your help during the holiday season
With inflation still high and the cost of living skyrocketing, some vendors at craft and Christmas bazaars are struggling to market their markets. This is prompting many small businesses in Manitoba to make a plea to purchase locally.
Heidi Forrester and her daughter Janelle said they plan on doing all of their Christmas shopping at community markets this year.
“We really need to support those people that are doing things with their hands and their own creativity rather than buying cookie-cutter stuff from a box store,” Forrester said.
“I feel like the things that we find at Christmas markets and craft sales are also more personal,” said Janelle Forrester.
While the gifts and trinkets may be more personal, they can also be more expensive at times; both to buy and make.
Theresa Neufeld is the owner of BB Tallow, a skincare line that includes moisturizer and a healing balm. She’s only been in business for a few months but said she has already raised prices for her products.
“I’ve had to adjust products and prices accordingly, as I find…to get supplies that are local is quite costly,” Neufeld said.
Neufeld also said online shopping habits from the pandemic pose a challenge to local businesses and bazaars, like the Charleswood Curling Club craft sale and flea market.
“To draw people in you have to do a bit more advertising,” she said.
Other vendors say the growing number of markets every week can be overwhelming for the shops and shoppers.
“It is actually really quite challenging that way, with there being so many markets actually happening in Manitoba on any given day,” said Stephanie Biyak, the owner of Semb by Stephanie. Biyak added that with customers visiting several markets every season, they’re watching where they’re spending their money.
According to the Retail Council of Canada, times of economic hardship could mean a “make or break” period for local businesses.
“There’s less money in the pocket this year and so people tend to skew towards bigger boxes and online,” said John Graham, the Retail Council of Canada’s director of government relations for the prairie region. “But there’s still that role for smaller businesses, local businesses to play.”
Graham said the demand for locally-made goods is still there, even if customers aren’t planning on spending as much.
“Spend about the same as last year, just know that those dollars won’t go as far,” Graham said.
The money may not go far, rather it’ll stay close to home and help support local initiatives.
“Not only are you putting money back into your community to help those who need it, you’re also putting out the word of those businesses out there,” said Ibukun Omosehin, a student at Elmwood High School.
Spreading the word and holiday cheer one Christmas and craft market at a time.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
A turbulent campaign nears its finale as Americans choose between Harris and Trump
A presidential campaign marked by upheaval and rancour headed for its Election Day finale on Tuesday, as Americans decided whether to send Donald Trump back to the White House or elevate Kamala Harris to the Oval Office.
Government calls $9M condo purchase an 'operational decision'
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly defends the purchase of a $9 million condo for the Consulate General of New York City at a parliamentary committee, as a necessary investment.
New homeowners find skeleton in attic 15 years after previous occupant disappeared
Homeowners in France have discovered a skeleton in the attic of an outbuilding while undertaking renovation work.
Netanyahu fires Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant, after months of clashes over war and politics
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fired Defence Minister Yoav Gallant after months of clashes over domestic politics and Israel’s war efforts.
Trudeau and Harris? Poilievre and Trump? Here's who Canadians think would work best with: survey
As Americans prepare to elect their next president on Tuesday, new data from the Angus Reid Institute suggests Canadians hold differing views as to which federal party leaders would be best suited to deal with either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris.
'Extreme disregard for the safety of others': Lamborghini driver gets prison sentence for 2021 Toronto crash
A mortgage broker who totalled his Lamborghini and left a passenger with life-altering injuries after trying to pass a Toronto streetcar at nearly three times the speed limit has been handed a two-and-a-half year prison sentence.
'I’m not proud of it': Jason Kelce apologizes after video shows him spiking a cellphone after fan used a homophobic slur
Jason Kelce issued an apology during ESPN's 'Monday Night Countdown' after a viral video captured a 'heated moment' between the retired Super Bowl champion and a fan over the weekend.
Prison sentences handed down for sexually abusive London, Ont. parents
In handing down the sentences for two London parents, Justice Thomas Heeney told the court, "The facts of this case were the most egregious that I have encountered during my 26 years on the bench."
Harris and Trump tie in Dixville Notch midnight vote to kick off Election Day
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and former U.S. president Donald Trump have tied with three votes each in the tiny New Hampshire township of Dixville Notch, kicking off Election Day in one of the first places in the country to report its presidential preference.