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The Tip is 'Don't procrastinate' For years I've been buying ink jet cartridges from a big box office supply store. These cartridges were made overseas and labeled with the well-known brand of a large American printer company. One I remembered a local store that advertised quality cartridges. I had traveled by this local store hundreds of times but never stopped. This time I stopped at the local store. To my surprise I discovered that they carried the cartridge I needed and it was a Made in USA cartridge. Made in Chicago, to be precise, and it was half the price of the imported ones I had been buying for years. The quality is exceptional and they last longer too. Who knew? After that experience, I make a point to stop at every store I can. By doing so, I've been finding more and more Made in America products. Occasionally the clerks don't know the country of origin; this can be discouraging but finding the origin information yourself isn't difficult I've come to realize. Believe it not, there are actually a number of computers made in the US including laptops made in the USA. When the label is not visibly displayed I use the other Made in America buying tips to help me find Made in US. If the store doesn't carry what you are looking for, use Made in America Secrets to find it and tell the manager about your experience at their store. If enough people are asking for Made in America products stores will begin to carry them. Buying Tip Continued - Read more on Made in America Products by Swaine Street Woodworking The Swaine Street collection started on a very small scale: creator Jana started by handmaking a few high-quality items that she felt her kitchen was missing. As a woodworker with a background in printmaking and cabinetry, Jana found that turning her skills to making the perfect cutting board was a good fit?so good, in fact, that friends and family, and pretty soon, other people in the community?began asking if Jana would be making more Swaine Street cutting boards. The Swaine Street collection of oils and waxes is carefully balanced to enhance the look and durability of Swaine Street products and the rest of your wooden kitchenwares, keeping them preserved and aging beautifully. Our balanced oil treatment prevents the boards from splitting, by penetrating deeply into the wood. The wax adds an extra layer of protection, and neither affects the food you prepare?it only makes cleanup easier, and brings out the natural grain of the wood even more vividly. Jana's philosophy, in the kitchen and as an artisan, is to reduce clutter: a few carefully chosen kitchen tools, made with care, can last a lifetime, only improving with age. There are many pieces in my kitchen?dishes and utensils I use every day?that have been in my family for generations, Jana says. That's what got me thinking about craftsmanship, long before I started making my own cutting boards. The history of these objects, these plates and spoons that were still so useful, but had years of past behind them?I wanted to make my cutting boards part of that tradition, build them out of rich wood that had natural variations, unique characteristics that would come out with age. Swaine Street Woodworking is about making objects that are useful and beautiful right now, and will be useful and beautiful fifty years from now. |
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