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The Tip is 'Manufacturer's sites' I recently ran out of my favorite pancake syrup. I loved the brand we had been using but when I went to the grocery store, I couldn't find it. The syrup was made in Indiana and I was living in Florida at the time. I tried unsuccessfully to find it on an internet. The manufacturer is small and their products are not readily available so I thought I would try their website. They did, in fact, have their own internet store so I ordered it directly from them. Now, I always buy their made in USA maple syrup from their website and never run out. Made in America Secrets has thousands of made in USA products offered by hundreds of small manufacturers. These small Made in America companies are a large contributor to our economy. In fact, according to the 2008 US Census Bureau small businesses, those employing 1 to 99 employees comprise 98% of all the USA businesses. This is equivalent to 5.8 million businesses that employee over 40 million people. Most American's are unaware of how significant small business is when compared to the total size of the US economy. This website is aware of it and that is why 99% of the businesses that advertise on Made in America Secrets are small businesses. Use this web site to for a list of products made in the US- especially since it is likely that a small US manufacturer employs someone you know- your husband, wife, children, or grandchildren. When using Google to search for Made in America products often times these small made in the United States businesses never show up on page one- and most folks don't look past page one. What does this mean? The consumer has a difficult time locating that US made product. Made in America Secrets was conceived to provide a solution to that problem. As an example search for motorcycles Made in America using Google and you will likely miss many of the companies that make this country great. Use Made in America Secrets for the search and you will likely find a hidden jewel. Buying Tip Continued - Read more on Made in America Products by 50 Little Birds Geoff Davis has done woodworking projects all of his life, but it was ukulele-making that sent him down a path in 2008 to carve Indiana birds. Building a ukulele requires expensive materials, exotic woods and hard-to-get hardware, he explained. During a time when I could not afford to begin a ukulele building project, I began to carve birds from found materials and scrap. As it turns out, bird carving was deeply satisfying to him. It opened the doors to a wide variety of the research and field work that I enjoyed. The work called upon my skills as a naturalist, a painter, a designer, a scrounger and a woodworker, Geoff said The public embraced his work. He donated his first 50 birds to another of his passions, the Blue Stone Folk School in Noblesville. Blue Stone teaches and raises awareness of traditional arts. Program funding has always been difficult to come by, but he was able to invest the proceeds of those original sales to host programs and a concert at Blue Stone. Geoff is a sort of explorer in wood projects. In addition to building ukuleles and carving birds, he has built boats and carved spoons. He may seem free-spirited but says he developed rules that would define and confine my approach and execution of the vision of his work. These guidelines allow my work to evolve, but maintain the elements that are most important approach and design, material choices, painting styles, color choices and presentation. Trends in bird carving strive to develop pieces that are as realistic as possible, often impossible to discern from the real animal, he continued. My approach is to capture and stylize only the simplest defining elements of a bird. My birds are far from realistic, but readily identifiable as a particular species and gender. My carvings not only visually represent birds but they also represent my stories and experiences with these birds. Indiana born and raised, Geoff says being a Hoosier is important to his work and identity as an artist and musician. Being a part of Indiana Artisan validates my Hoosierness,' he said. Since I ve become involved with Indiana Artisan, I ve become affiliated with a handful of artists producing work that complements my own. These relationships have led to gallery representation, better art show opportunities and interesting collaborations. |
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