Small Business Saturday Kicks Off

Small business saturday began in 2010, helping the local community one shop at a time."It really gets communities to bond together and get out and support those small businesses that are in every community," Dan Neff, owner of Lake Superior Art Glass said."Supporting your local community is what this is all about, Small Business Saturday. Not only here, but nationwide," Kyle Radich, General Manager of Duluth Pack said. And with black friday becoming more and more popular throughout the years, local retailers want to get the word out to continue to shop local. "Your dollar goes a lot further within the community than it does when you go to a big box store and we certainly appreciate that, and it benefits everybody that lives here in the twin ports and the surrounding areas," Neff said. And Lake Superior Art Glass is one that is devoted to their customers. "Whether they're repeat customers of many years or brand new into the gallery we like to give them an experience that they're going to connect with," Neff said. Being a customer friendly store, they offer many different opportunities for the community to get involved. "We teach classes in the back, one of our most popular ones right now is make your own wine goblet. You blow glass for 45 minutes and you get to come away with a beautiful piece and drink some wine with your friends," Neff said. Duluth Pack is also grateful for the small business saturday event. "We definitely recognize a significant increase during these type of days, especially small business saturday," Radich said. Manufacturing their products in duluth for over 133 years has made them a staple in the Zenith City. "Right here in Duluth we manufacture just under 300 products everything from handbags to canoe bags. We do also luggage and business gear also," Radich said. They were giving out gift cards to show their customers their appreciation of their support. "We have a few things going on, we've got of course 'wool–vember' a month of November you purchase $100 worth of wool from us we give you a 20 dollar gift card, and of course today on small business saturday we have our $1,000 gift card giveaway which is happening random throughout the day today. So, regardless of it being small business saturday or not, local businesses are encouraging you to keep it local. "People vote with their dollar when they spend locally and it goes a long way," Neff said."Please shop local, not just us but there are a lot of other local manufacturers and small businesses to support here in Duluth," Radich said.