I know it's not news, but seriously.

[mrissa]

markgritter and I were at Kohl's buying tights* and a heated mattress pad, and the clerk was friendly and chatty. Conversation turned to Thanksgiving, and she said that she was going to have to be at work at 2:45 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving. She has a 1-year-old, a 3-year-old, and a 5-year-old. And it's not that she's leaving them alone at 2 a.m., it's that she'll have to be dealing with the three kids after she's been at work since 2:45 a.m. I know this is nothing new. I know this is not news. But it's crap all the same.

In years past I haven't done Buy Nothing Day for the day after Thanksgiving. I've observed Buy Nothing Stupid Day instead--if you're out of milk and you need milk, for heaven's sake buy more milk, but this is not the same as trampling other people to get to the fad toy of the season--for kids or adults. But the stores that make their employees show up in the middle of the night do so because they think they can get more of our money by treating their employees like crap. And the only thing I have to prove them wrong is to avoid giving them my money.

So in the comments here, please tell me of good businesses you know, either online or in brick-and-mortar form. Whether they're individual craftspeople who are doing an awesome job or larger enterprises who treat their employees decently, I want to know the good and interesting stuff that's out there and not feeding into the "haul people out of their beds at 2 a.m. after a major family holiday to use blenders as loss leaders" paradigm. Etsy stores are fine. Traditional stores are fine, although if they're not in the Minneapolis area and don't have a website, they'll mostly be of use to other people reading the comments instead of me. Just--go for it. Tell me what you know that's good. I don't like the word "pimping" in this context. But y'know. If I did and all.

*Thank you, thank you, Vera Wang, for making tights that acknowledge my existence. I am not unduly tall, nor crazy amounts of thin for my height, so I really should not fall between the cracks for makers of hosiery as often as I do. And then the Vera Wang tights are often awesome in concept and wear like cast iron. Hurrah.

Comments

Yarn, my obsession.

[txanne.livejournal.com]

I'm quite fond of http://www.jimmybeanswool.com. Last year, they started a scholarship for college students who are also knitters/crocheters. And their customer service can't be beat. Likewise Webs (http://www.yarn.com); another small business with a stellar tradition of customer service.

For yarn manufacturers, you can't go wrong with http://www.greenmountainspinnery.com, which is owned by the people who work there. They do neat things like buy wool from sheep that graze on the grass under...eh, I forgot the name for those giant electric lines. And a brand-new company in Maine, http://quinceandco.com, where all the wool is from American sheep, so they can reduce their carbon footprint. And continuing the theme, both companies have fantastic customer service.

Re: Yarn, my obsession.

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

Me too, on both Jimmy Bean and Wbes, and I've done a bunch of international ordering from both places. Also, Spritely Goods yarn who were patient with me through Paypal confusion (and who dyes beautiful yarn), and Sweet Libertine cosmetics, who shipped a package to the wrong address (their mistake) and then made it right promptly by sending a new package to me and not asking the person they sent it to for returns.

And, surprisingly, Bank of America, who during my four years of expatriate-hood and several years before of banking with them, have consistently added services (including some useful ones!), been unfailingly polite on the phone, and have made dealing with them remotely easier and easier over time. (Disclaimer: I've had all sorts of banking accounts with them, never a mortgage.)