| Winter Solstice 2008 | A mirador is "A turret, window or balcony that commands an extensive view" |
| In this Newsletter Thanks Gift Ideas Canning jars Employee News Stacy Mitchell – "Local" Hero Gift Registry Thanks We want to thank all of you for your loyal support; many of you have asked us how we are doing, concerned that with the economic downturn we might go away. But our sales increase from two years ago is about 33%, so while a lot of businesses are really struggling, we are doing fine. We attribute this to the fact that more people are wanting to "get back to basics" and we have a lot of the tools to help with that. Even with more employee help, it takes more of our time to keep up with orders so we seldom get to newsletters. We are hopeful that our current staff can start to take some of this load on; see Employee News for an update on the Mirador staff. We're all connected! If there was ever any doubt about that, the current global economic crisis should lay that doubt to rest. There are some huge problems to resolve and it's going to take time. We'll all be affected to some degree and many of us will have to make some adjustments. One of the more insidious parts of it is that the very fear of dire straits can actually create them, so if you find yourself in a financially stable situation (we hope so), don't give up that massage, dinner out at the local cafe or buying a baby gift from the store down the street. Keeping the local economy going is one of the best strategies for these times. We're hopeful that the new Obama administration coming in 1/20/09 will symbolize for all of us that we can start to turn the corner. All of us at Mirador wish you a peaceful, cheery Winter Solstice or whatever holiday(s) you celebrate! Gift Ideas for this Holiday Season If you are wanting to give some practical, sustainable, local and socially responsible gifts this year, here are a few ideas from our selection: Canning set up: water bath canner, Ball Blue Book (or other canning/preserving book), jar lifter, lid lifter, canning funnel Set of organic cotton sheets from Coyuchi Dishes & glasses made from recycled glass Beautiful market basket from Ghana Set of stationary made from recycled maps Lotus tea lights made from Capiz shell Traditionally handmade Scheumack Broom from Eugene (we are the only retailer with purple and blue dyed broomcorn!) A lovely incense & burner; we have an extensive selection of mild Japanese, high-quality Indian and incredible American-made Fred Soll incense Stockpot & recipe book from our large selection of vegetarian and vegan cookbooks; we also have the best collection of raw and living food books in town Zulugrass necklaces from Leakey Collection Set of salt & pepper grinders from William Bounds; all of the mills that we carry are made in America, have ceramic grinders and a lifetime warranty Two- or three-tier lunch tiffins from To-Go-Ware; we also have their bamboo utensil sets available separately or in a fabric or recycled plastic holder Tibetan Prayer flags Bamboo! – take your pick: Towels, cutting boards, salad bowls & tongs Yoga mat & yoga carrier Calendars, both wall & engagement And lots, lots more to choose from including many inexpensive items for stocking stuffers Holiday cards are 25% off already! We offer you lots of ways to wrap a gift: recycled content paper, fair trade hand made paper, fabric and paper gift bags that will get reused, grocery sized bags to put a gift in that will then get used for shopping, raffia for ribbon; raffia is made from the leaves of a palm that grows in Madagascar. Canning Season This past canning season has been the largest yet. In spite of massive orders of tools and jars, we kept running out. In fact, Ball (now owned by giant conglomerate Jarden) ran out of jars for the first time! Their sales increase was twice what they projected (and they projected big) and they had to do extra runs to keep up with orders. It's not just Portland that is catching on to the importance of food! Employee News Tammy and Kris have both left Mirador recently. Tammy left to have more time to take care of her mother and to work on her home. Kris left to become the Activities Director at Laurelhurst Village, a retirement community. Those who know her think this is a great job for her and she is enjoying it. To replace Kris and Tammy, Stacie Peterson and Lizz Bommarito have joined us. Stacie came in looking for a part-time job and decided to take the full-time position we had. She's interested in anthropology and hopes to study that someday. Lizz has been in the food service business for a long time, most recently with Blossoming Lotus in the Pearl, and is very experienced with raw foods. She is also going to school, taking a variety of classes. We are very happy to have them working with us! We offered Rhea a full-time position as manager last summer and she is really helping us with the bookkeeping aspect of the business, as well as doing some of the ordering. She is planning to return to school for a master's degree in Peace Studies next summer, though, so we will be losing her then. Stacy Mitchell – Unsung Hero of Local Economies Stacy Mitchell is a nationally renowned speaker and advisor to communities on retail development and independent business. A senior researcher with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, she is the Chair of the American Independent Business Alliance. She regularly contributes articles and commentaries to magazines and newspapers, and produces an acclaimed monthly email newsletter, The Hometown Advantage Bulletin and lives in Portland, Maine. She is the author of several books including the recent one Big Box Swindle. We attended a talk by her on November 20th (sponsored by the Sustainable Business Network of Portland) and felt encouraged by what we heard. She discussed the growing movement to rebuild and strengthen local economies, placing what's happening in Portland into this larger, encouraging context. She also offered key policies and strategies to help realize this vision and shared with us such facts as that after many years of losses, more than 300 bookstores have opened up in the last two years! We went to her book-signing table after the talk and another attendee praised Mirador so highly that she visited us the next day! Mirador is Merchant of the Month! When we went the the Green Festival in Seattle early this year we met a credit card processor with a business model like ours. That this is unusual in the merchant services arena is an understatement – normally they only want your money and have no regard for anything but your money. But Dharma Merchant Services gives personal service, understands that smaller, local businesses are the heart of the economy and gives 10% of the profits from each merchant to the charity of the merchant's choice (we chose the Sustainable Business Network of Portland). We can talk to them as we would to a friend, which is really refreshing. Last month they chose us as their Merchant of the Month. This is what they said about us: Merchant of the Month
We couldn't say it better ourselves!We are so grateful to have met Steve and Lynn Hanrahan, founders of the Mirador Community Store, at the Co-op American Green Festival in Seattle last April. True practitioners of “right livelihood”, Steve and Lynn seek to help people connect with Life by offering a myriad of interesting, inspiring, healing and educational goods in their store. They are dedicated to helping the environment, fighting for political causes they believe in and supporting their community. Hmmm, using your business to express your values and serve a higher goal…that sounds like a great idea to us! Mirador is a wonderful example of the symbiotic relationship that can exist between a locally-owned business that cares about the community and thus serves them well, and the consumer that is enriched by genuine customer service and the “local color” of products chosen with right intention. They have also been an amazing supporter of ours from day one, referring us to their colleagues and even writing to the Co-op America Real Money publication about us. Thank you again Steve and Lynn! Gift Registry If you would like to register at Mirador for an event, here are some instructionson how to do it. This is a great way to get what you want and support a local business that shares your values. In fact, until they are gone, we have some great Nepalese wedding invitation sets that are 25% off. If you have friends that are registered at Mirador you can see their registry here. |
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To subscribe to the email newsletter, send an email to subscribe@miradorcommunitystore.com. Sunday 11:00 – 5:00 (Closed New Year's, July 4th, Thanksgiving, and Christmas; Open 10:00 – 7:00 Monday – Friday from December 19 to December 23 Open 10:00 – 5:00 Christmas Eve) On TriMet lines 4 and 10 Portland, Oregon 97202 503.231.5175 800.396.5090 Email Mirador Privacy Policy
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