Bob is a seventh-generation Vermonter. Our son Jesse was born and raised in Vermont. The house we built by ourselves is nestled into some of the state’s prettiest green hills. Yep, our Vermont roots run deep. It’s a small state and we’ve known some of its best artists and craftspeople forever. So when we began thinking about opening an on-line retail store, we knew that we’d be turning to a lot of our old Vermont friends. Like Spencer Lewis, whose amazing music—he plays fiddle, guitar, mandolin, banjo—we play at our restaurant in Anguilla. We’ve been buying our favorite chunky cutting boards from the same folks in southern Vermont since our first housewares store in the 1970s. And we’re sampling and selling some remarkable new cheeses made by people who truly live what they love on Vermont’s little family-run dairy farms.
You might be wondering about the link between our Live What You Love books and our on-line shop. As long-time retailers in the world of brick-and-mortar stores, we’ve found that everyday products can have a tremendous influence on how we feel—the quality of our lives is greatly affected by the things in our lives. We’re also committed to finding and using products that are sustainable and green. Above all, we’re drawn to products made by people who are passionate about their work. We cherish things created by artists and artisans whose lives are charged by enthusiasm and commitment; somehow that spirit always seems to come through in the quality of their work. And so researching, selecting and displaying the products in our on-line store allows us to reach out to those who make a living doing what they love. In Vermont, that’s often through wood-working or glass-blowing or cheese-making and the end products, as you can see here, are pretty amazing. But oh, those Vermont cheeses…
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6 Comments
The mismatched socks are great…every children’s clothing company should sell socks in sets of 5! You’ve collected some extremely talented artisans.
We love those socks too! You know, the old image of a starving artist has really transformed into an image of someone who spends their days doing something they love. They’ve figured out that life is about more than just money and we love doing what we can to support that philosophy. Glad you like the socks!
We will be moving to Vt some time in the near future. I have never been, but my husband lived in the NE until he was 14 yr. old. I look for pictures, comments, stories or anything I can get my hands about the state. I’m so excited! We are from Arkansas.
Brian and Lisa, Welcome to Vermont!!! If you don’t have them already, there are three magazines you should read: Vermont, Vermont Life, and Yankee. They’re all wonderful in their own way and will provide lots of helpful insight and practical information.
What town will you be moving to? We love all parts of the state and enjoy driving around whenever we have some free time. If you check online, there’s somthing called the 251 club. You can print a list of the 251 towns in Vermont and keep it in the car, checking them off as you visit each one. We have about 2/3 of them checked already, but recently learned that the real die-hards take a picture in each town to prove they’ve been there. We haven’t gone that far but it’s still fun to explore all parts of the state - especially at different times of the year.
Bob and Mel,
How did you start your online store? Your stuff is so cute! I love the cow banks.
I have thought about doing online retailing but haven’t a clue how to begin.
Any tips?
Ava, we’re learning as we go about e-commerce and it’s been quite an education. We’ve had bricks and mortar retail stores since 1976 and selling things online is a whole different business. That being said, it’s been lots of fun trying to figure it all out. There’s a great book called “Website Design for ROI” (Return on Investment) that was recommended to us by an online marketing expert and it’s been extremely helpful. It’s very simple and straightforward.