Written by Alexandra Arnold
Clarksville, TN – (ClarksvilleLivingMagazine.com) It is now the busiest and most stressful time of the year. Holiday shopping can be the most challenging part of the year, with stores packed full of shoppers and overpriced manufactured items. Finding a special, unique gift for everyone on your list is nearly impossible. This is where local shopping comes in!
When you shop local, you are giving money and support to small businesses – not million dollar corporations. You are also often getting handmade and well-made items at good prices – not cheaply manufactured products that cost an arm and a leg.
Not only do small businesses usually offer handmade items, they also offer unique items you can’t find anywhere else. This means you can get a truly special gift for the important people in your life.
One specific type of business has become more popular in Clarksville than ever before. Vendor malls have popped up all over the city. Vendor malls and vendor booth businesses are stores where small businesses can rent booths to sell items. These stores have a wide variety of different small businesses selling their wares to the public.
Miss Lucille’s Marketplace, Shady Pines Vintage Market, and CNC Crafts N’ More are all examples of Clarksville’s vendor shops.
CNC (Chris N’ Charlie) Crafts N’ More opened in an old bank building on the north end of Clarksville on January 1st, 2023. They sell anything from the metaphysical to the nerdy to the handmade!
Upon walking in, one can see crystals, gemstones, incense, and other metaphysical items on the right. The store’s many other rooms house an eclectic array of other merchandise. Crochet plushies, freeze dried candy, handmade home decor, antiques, soap, and jewelry can all be found at CNC.
There are over 60 vendors with 90% of the goods being handmade by local businesses. Christina Rieck, one of the owners of CNC, said, “Each of the vendors in here brings a special touch to things, so there isn’t one thing [that represents the store best] but a conglomerate of all of the wonderful vendors we have in here”.
CNC is still a new business, but they already have important goals for their store.
“[The goal is] to make everyone feel welcomed, as happy as possible with their purchases, and that they want to come back,” Rieck said. “We also are looking to, at one point in the future, expand to a bigger building so that we can offer more space to a lot more local artists.”
As mentioned, local businesses are great for shopping for the winter holidays. Vendor stores are the perfect local businesses to shop at for the season.
“It gives the homemade touch of things that people are looking for without having to spend a lot of money,” Rieck said. “And, the satisfaction of knowing that it came from the heart, not some big box store. So the items most of the time are one of a kind and not mass produced.”
Since vendor stores have a wide range of items, they are perfect for finding something for everyone you’re shopping for. As Christina mentioned, most of the items are handmade and you can’t get them just anywhere, so everyone is getting something special. You’re also helping multiple local small businesses in the process!
CNC has big plans for the holidays. They are having a pop-up event on December 3rd with local vendors. Mr. and Mrs. Claus are planning to be there to take photos with the public for free.
The holiday season can be a difficult time to shop for gifts. Sometimes you’re too busy to go to multiple places, some people may be difficult to shop for, and crowded department stores may not be for you. Shop at a local vendor mall to get what you’re looking for this holiday season – and maybe even some things you’re not looking for.
