A Big Bucket of Awesome Sauce

So, here's where I'm at: I've owned Green Gifts for about 18 months, running it mostly as a local delivery service with the occasional community market. During the fall last year, the NeighborGood Market started just a couple miles from me. It's a Farmers Market on Thursday nights. After the December holiday markets, they decided to bump it down to just once a month. 

Orders have been very inconsistent. I will have a really good week with 5-8 orders followed by weeks of nothing. I will openly admit that I am also not consistent in advertising or putting out other content or promotions. I get wrapped up in life (making adjustments for covid life took me a long time). I have also been pulled by a calling to connect all the different zero waste/refill shops across the country(and world) and all the different manufacturers. They are all fascinating, with their own stories and unique presences. And more shops pop up (or pop up on my radar) every week, the community is growing SO fast. I have dabbled in wholesale and distribution. Which brings me to one of the other highlights of my journey so far: the purchase of my Model X. 

I have a lot of ties to electric vehicles, including working in the EV charging industry for 4 years. We bought our first in 2015, a tiny, purple, glorified-golf-cart called a Mitsubishi iMiEV. It has a range of up to 60 miles and will be our daughter's car someday. Our second EV is a Chevolet Bolt. We got on the waiting list before it was even available and received it early 2017. It's much more like your typical family compact car and has a 240 mile range. We've taken it on many a road trip. 

I prided myself on traveling to my vendors to pick up my orders. I liked to meet these small business owners and innovators in person and see their operations. I also like how by driving my electric car that is at least partially powered by my home's solar, I am helping to avoid some of the emissions associated with shipping. Shortly after I started picking up my own orders and meeting other shop owners, I decided to ask shops near me if they needed orders picked up from the same vendor that I could bring them and help them avoid the shipping cost. I also started to work with other shops to split orders when the vendor has a high minimum order amount requirement that would make it impossible for either of us to afford to order on our own. As the orders got bigger, it became more obvious I would need a bigger vehicle. 

​In August, I bought the Model X sight-unseen from a used car dealer in Utah. They shipped it over. Turns out it had some cosmetic issues and did not have free supercharging like they though it would *sad trombone*. But I still LOVE it! It fits everything I need for my markets, fits lots of inventory and has the ability to tow a small trailer. My first exercise of the towing capability was in October I rescued a retired hot air balloon from a former employer of mine in Phoenix AZ. We rented an open utility trailer and rolled it on from the facility and brought it over to a storage unit I have nearby. I chopped off a few dozen panels and brought them home to clean and start experimenting with constructing some consumer products like tote bags. I hope to rescue at least a dozen more balloons this year. 

So, that leads us to today. Currently I am still operating my business as a delivery service, and holding a booth at the now monthly local Farmers Market (there is one today! YAY!). I still reach out and connect with new vendors and shops, but don't travel to meet them in person. I am debating a big trip at the end of the month to the SoCal, Las Vegas and Phoenix areas and hopefully can do another big Pacific NW trip in March. 

What does the future hold? You'll need to read the next blog post to find out.