Next Saturday, Nov. 30, is Small Business Saturday — the minor shopping event wedged between Black Friday and Cyber Monday that was invented (surprise?) by American Express in 2010.
We can’t help but think these shopping holidays are a bit silly, but in the case of Small Business Saturday, this year, we are getting over it and heading out to give cash thanks to those charming small businesses that are hanging tough through the Amazon Age.
Among our mom-and-pop stops will be the S & S Corner Shop in Springs, where you can find unexpected artisan goods that fit in the toe of a stocking. Wittendale’s on Newtown Lane has a really cool selection of ornaments. East Hampton Gardens on Gingerbread Lane is an annual pilgrimage for Louis Sherry chocolates and all things Christmas. We love the ho-ho-ho mottos on plastic cups and paper napkins at the Monogram Shop. There are more small businesses in East Hampton than you’d think, if you look carefully: Obligato, Black Sheep Knitworks, the Golden Eagle, and BookHampton also come to mind.
We’ll zip over to The Church on Madison Street in Sag Harbor for its annual Makers Market, the mother of all high-end craft sales, and to Innersleeve Records in Amagansett. And, yoohoo, small-gift buyers! The Star is selling not just our cool retro calendar, as ever, but a wee gift pack of holiday cards featuring color Star covers from the early-20th century. We’re a small business, too.