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SHEN VALLEY is a regional lifestyle magazine aimed at showing off a slice of the Shenandoah Valley.

14/01/2022

If you’ve tried to hire a contractor 🔨 , plumber or electrician 💡 to come work on a project these days, you know it can take awhile. ⏰

A lot of contractors are saying they’re actually turning down work because they can’t find enough workers. 👎🏼

Check out my story for NPR affiliate WMRA about the skilled labor shortage in the Shenandoah Valley and what’s being done about it. Link in bio.

Thanks to the fantastic people who contributed to this story:

Greg Sizemore
- Paige Owens of Rockbridge County High School

27/11/2021

If you cringe over shelling out big bucks for holiday loot you suspect no one on your gift list really wants anyway, you’re not the only one.

The Really Really Free Market in Lexington is a store where no money, bartering or trading are accepted. The only accepted currencies here are sharing and gratitude. 🙏🏼 People drop off gently used clothing, furniture, household items, etc., and shoppers take what they want — FOR FREE. It’s an economic model championed by co-founder Amenie Mitchell (photo #3) in which capitalist notions of exchange are abandoned. This woman is an inspiration!

Another inspiration: Tonia Clemmer (photo #1-2) produces her Care Kits out of the Free Market. Care Kits is a bimonthly program she developed in which shoppers can come pick up complimentary gift bags of personal hygiene items, household essential supplies and baby stuff for FREE.

It’s all part of the growing Buy Nothing movement in which more Americans are waking up to the idea there’s too much money spent on too much stuff. 🥵💰💸

The Free Market is located in the rear of The Lexington Restaurant at 810 S. Main. It’s 100% volunteer run so check their page for current hours.

You can keep up with Amenie’s mutual aid goings-on .collective

Ye olde link in bio if you wanna hear more about it! 🎧

11/11/2021

Working on a radio story for about people in our community like Tonia Clemmer who give back in such a deep and meaningful way. I don’t where she gets her time or her energy. This lady is a force to be reckoned with. Stay tuned!

04/11/2021

I’m back to doing some public radio reporting for local NPR affiliate WMRA.

Check out my story (which airs today, I think) about how supply chain snags are impacting businesses in the Shenandoah Valley.

Photos:
1) Erin Blanton of Pufferbellies toy store in Staunton

2) Ernie and Leyna Campbell of Evermore, a commercial contracting firm in Harrisonburg

3) Irina Dovganetskiy of withSimplicity, a skincare and cosmetic store in Harrisonburg

4) Sarah Littlefair of Lexington. She’s been doing her dishes and showering outside since July because of supply chain snags during her house renovation! 😩

30/10/2021

I love this about our sweet little town of Lexington: the annual Halloween parade where elementary kids get to show off their costumes for the community set to drums 🥁🎶by cadets from Virginia Military Institute.

I’m a sucker for parade drums!

26/10/2021

Is it just me, or is Ecco Adesso, the new vineyard out in Fairfield in Rockbridge County, poised to blow-up? 🤩❤️

Gorgeous stone building, stunning views, great wine, wonderful chèvre. It’s magical out there! Get yourself there before it gets too crowded and the trees have lost their beautiful leaves! 🍁

26/10/2021

Or what it looks like when a pumpkin spice latte comes to life. 😂

15/10/2021

As the pandemic and its after effects continue to shake the global supply chain, wondering how this issue is impacting downtowns in the Shenandoah Valley.

Are small businesses and mom and pop retailers having a harder time stocking their shelves, particularly in the run-up to the holidays?

On the one hand, it’s never been a better time to shop local — you can actually get what you need without waiting for it to arrive from overseas manufacturers via massive retailers like Amazon and Lowes — on the other hand, those same small shops are having a harder time getting their hands on the raw materials needed to make those local goods, particularly if shipped from overseas.

It’s a precarious situation. How have you seen this play out in your own downtown? Or is it largely a nonissue (yet)?

Retailers that may be exempt from this crazy new reality are those that deal in pre-owned, pre-used inventory, such as vintage shops and thrift stores. We’re big proponents of up-cycling anyway. Maybe the current situation will spur even greater interest in gently used goods?

I’m thinking of shops like:

(I know there are a lot more, but those are a few that came to mind!

27/09/2021

Wow, nature, you rock.

Anyone know what this tree is that produces both white and green leaves 🍃?

26/09/2021

The Van Gogh Immersive Exhibit, where the floor turns into running water. Breathtaking.

26/09/2021

National Building Museum

08/09/2021

The giant Robert E Lee statue, the last of six Confederate monuments, finally comes down today in Richmond.

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