David, 1; Goliath, 0.

Kudos to the city of Bloomington, Minnesota for fending off the unwanted advances of a SuperTarget last night. Read about it here.

Dahl Pharmacy

Props to Dahl Pharmacy for keepin' it real on Nicollet Mall. This place is a lot like a Walgreens in that it has all kinds of random crap, including my favorite SPF moisturizer (which, as some of you may remember, is not available at Burch Pharmacy.) I'd previously overlooked Dahl because I thought, incorrectly, that they carry only old-people medical supplies like wheelchairs and colostomy bags. (A sign on the window invites passersby to browse the store's extensive selection of canes and walking sticks. You can see why I was confused.) As it turns out, however, they have plenty to offer people still young enough to worry about skin cancer and premature wrinkling. They even have a small grocery section. What an extraordinary store. Someone should give them a medal or the key to the city or something.

Why iTunes Sucks

Thanks to Frodo for sending me this article from his hometown newspaper about an independent music store that, no longer able to compete with iTunes and the big box stores, is closing its doors after 17 years in business. This is what happens when people stop shopping local: they limit their future shopping options. Though picking up a few CDs at Walmart instead of at your local record store may not seem like a big deal to you, it adds up, and eventually it drives local merchants out of business. Once that happens, you no longer have the choice of investing your music budget in the local economy. Those dollars instead migrate to Silicon Valley (iTunes), Seattle (Amazon), Bentonville (Walmart) or a kajillion other places that you don't call home.

Chicago

I just returned from a weekend trip to Chicago to see my Peace Corps comrades. I stayed with my friend Laney Heston (names have been changed to protect innocent). Laney lives in the adorable Lincoln Square neighborhood, in a spartan apartment in which she hoards Ziplock bags and deli containers just like your grandmother does. The recession is upon us, and Laney is ready for it.

I knew when I began this experiment that travel would present a challenge, but Chicago was no threat to my unchained life. It's an awesome city, with plenty to offer the indie consumer. I cheated only twice, once to buy a cup of coffee at a Dunkin' Donuts at 6am (you can't blame me for not wanting to wander the Loop in the dark when a Dunkin' was across the street from my bus stop) and once for tampons at a Walgreens. Sometimes you've just got to take care of business, you know?

On Saturday, we went to a matinee at Second City (which I would not consider a chain even though it has outposts in a handful of cities.) Naturally, all I can think about now is moving to Chicago to devote my life to sketch comedy. Quick, people, talk me out of it.

Unchained FAIL

I couldn't find inkjet cartridges anywhere! I called art stores. I called bookstores. On Monday, I signed up for online accounts at two local independent office supply companies, but I haven't received confirmation from either of them, so screw it.

I am completely out of ink. If I can't print, I can't work, so today I ordered cartridges from Office Depot. It's my first Unchained FAIL. I feel like a relapsed junkie or something. Before you know it, I'll be selling sex for Post-Its. If it's good enough for Marcia Brady, it's good enough for me.

How to Succeed in Indie Retail

I've been thinking a lot about why some small retailers manage to stay afloat (and even thrive) despite competition from monolithic corporations but others simply deflate like tired old balloons. Certain categories of independent business--food and beverage, for example--tend to do better than others (pharmacy, grocery, hardware). I think the common denominator among the stores that succeed is that they make themselves a destination, rather than merely a place to buy goods.

I've been to a lot of knitting supply stores in the past week, and the ones that appear most buoyant are those that have tables and chairs so customers can sit and knit, and chit-chat, and solicit advice from the staff; many of them also offer knitting and crocheting classes. They are more than stores--they are gathering places for people with common interests. The same is true of the bookstores and music shops that have managed to weather the rise of Wal-Mart (now America's number one seller of compact discs) and the proliferation of big box "category killers" like Barnes & Noble. They have retained their customers by offering the things the big boxes can't or won't--author readings, book clubs, CD release parties, and in-store concerts. (On the flip side, one of the reasons that Barnes & Noble and Borders have so successfully smeared the competition is that, with their big comfortable chairs and their in-store cafes, they are also destinations.)

Restaurants, bars, coffee shops, fitness studios, and the like have a built-in advantage over other types of business, because they are, by definition, social spaces in which an activity (other than perusing and buying goods) takes place. Service-based businesses (plumbing, graphic design, dentistry, auto mechanics) have a similar advantage, in that skills and knowledge--rather than parts--are the real product for sale. Independent retailers, however, have to work harder to be competitive. And since they can rarely afford to match the big boys on price, they must make up for it in atmosphere, expertise, events, and community.

Triangulation

I just read an article about commuting in an old New Yorker. It quotes political scientist Robert Putnam (author of "Bowling Alone") as describing the place you sleep, the place you work, and the place you shop as the three points of a triangle. In a small European village, it would take only a few minutes to walk each side of that triangle. In many American cities, you could spend an hour or two driving each side. Putnam's research shows that there is a correlation between happiness and triangle size: "the smaller the triangle, the happier the human, as long as there is social interaction to be had."

My triangle has a perimeter of roughly five miles. I can walk the longest side in 45 minutes or bike it in 10.

How big is your triangle?

Crack

It's been a month and a half since I last shopped at a chain store, and I'm starting to crack. Where will I get ink for my printer? Who will sell me airline-approved travel containers for an upcoming flight to Ukraine? What was I thinking when I started this stupid experiment? How come "A Year Shopping Small" sounds so much better than "Two Weeks of Shopping Small" or "Just Over A Month of Shopping Small"? Why oh why oh why did Target just send me the most fabulous cookware brochure?

Isn't life tough enough? Why am I making things harder for myself? Aren't I too young to be this eccentric?

There is a silver lining, though. When I'm in Ukraine in November, I'm totally stocking up on cheap socks and underwear at the bazaar: an unchainder in an unchained land.

Talkies

Check out this article, from Metro magazine, about Minneapolis movie rental store Cinema Revolution. Of particular interest: the curatorial aspect of independent retailers. The store is moving to a new location this month. Check it out after the fifteenth at 24th and Lyndale.

Spree

I went on a retail bender this weekend. Notable stops included:

• Sophie Joe's Emporium. This vintage store, on West 7th Street in Saint Paul, is both cozy and expansive, a huge space crammed full of eclectic, affordable clothing, shoes, jewelry, household goods, and knick-knacks. My friend Sarah J. and I spent a solid hour and a half foraging, an activity I always find more challenging and enjoyable than merely shopping. I refer to this as the "buried treasure effect." Secondhand shoppers and garage salers know what I mean.
  
• Grand Old Creamery. This place smells delicious, it has a jukebox, and the ice cream was great even on a crisp autumn morning; on a hot summer night, all those homemade flavors would probably give me a seizure, and I mean that in the best possible way. It's on Grand Avenue.
  
• Cooks of Crocus Hill and The Yarnery. I don't cook or knit, but I can see why cooks and knitters would appreciate these stores, both also on Grand Avenue. I appreciated the abundant natural lighting.
• Magers & Quinn Booksellers, at the corner of Hennepin and Lake in Minneapolis. They've got everything--and what they haven't got, they can get. (Little known fact: the average independent bookstore carries more titles than the average Barnes & Noble or Borders.) The guy who rang up my books asked me what my favorite Beatles song is.
  
• Everyday People, next door to Magers & Quinn. This used clothing store is an old favorite, and they have a second location in Dinkytown. (Reasonably well-known fact: buying used is lots greener than buying new. It's also more fun: see "buried treasure effect".)

I also stumbled upon an independent gas station, which I was surprised to find. There aren't many of those left.

Unchained Book Review

I just finished this book, Big-Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America's Independent Businesses, by Stacy Mitchell. It should be required reading for everyone who shops. From the book jacket:

"Mitchell traces the dramatic growth of mega-retailers--from big boxes like Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Costco, and Staples to chains like Starbucks, Olive Garden, Blockbuster, and Old Navy--and the precipitous decline of independent businesses. Drawing on examples from virtually every state in the country, she unearths the extraordinary impact of these companies and the big-box mentality on everything from soaring gasoline consumption to rising poverty rates, failing family farms, and declining voting levels. Along the way, Mitchell exposes the shocking role government policy has played in the expansion of mega-retailers and builds a compelling case that communities composed of many small, locally owned businesses are healthier and more prosperous than those dominated by a few large chains."

If your local bookseller hasn't been driven out of business by Barnes and Noble or Borders, go on out and buy your copy today.