Shopping Local

  Oh wouldn't it be wonderful if every little shop in every little town were filled with every little thing that we needed?  Shopping local would be as easy as it was back in the Good Ole Days!
Sadly the face of small town America has changed over the years and many of the Mom and Pops shops that were once thriving businesses are now struggling to stay afloat.  Most people don't give a second thought to packing up the Honda and heading to the big city to fill their carts at the Big Box stores and when I say "most people" I am including myself.
This being said, it is hard to shop local when the local stores don't have what you need.
When the Wal-Mart in our little town closed it's doors the cries could be heard for miles.  No one could fathom what we would do without it!!  What will happen if we run out of milk?  What if we need lightbulbs??  Ahhhh, we are out of diapers!!!  Time to start thinking outside of the Big Box Store.   We have 2 local grocery stores that sell milk, the local hardware store sells lightbulbs and diapers can easily be found at the Dollar General.  We have resources for these things.
The harder conquests are specialty items, apparel, gifts & furniture.  What ever shall we do?!?!
Being as though we are also a baseball town I will throw out this approach:  Build it and they will come.
The Fancy Farmer was a vision long before the local demise of Wal-Mart and it is by no means a replacement to that entity.  What it is, is a local resource. An option.  An opportunity.
We don't carry milk or lightbulbs or diapers.  We do carry birthday cards, hand dipped chocolates, seasonal decor, school spirit clothes and Miss Me jeans! If you need a baby shower gift, a birthday present or new purse we can help you out! If you are heading to the High School for a Christmas program and can't find jewelry to match your dress, we've got you covered.  If you can't think of what to get the guy who has everything for the holidays...chances are, we have options for you!!
Shopping local is a mindset.  It takes practice.  It also takes business owners being forward thinkers and providing the community with the necessary items so that shopping local is easy!
If you need a $5.00 bracelet or a $100 wallet, both options need to be accessible.  
Baxter Springs, KS has a lot of potential.  There are plenty of store fronts that would be perfectly suited for the frills and thrills of the big city shops.  This can be a destination town if we paint the vision vibrantly enough.
Join me won't you...Shop local.

Today was THE day!!

Well, the day finally came! The transaction CLOSED today!!! Tomorrow we take steps toward renovation.  1144 Military Ave. in Baxter Springs, KS is officially the new home of

The Fancy Farmer

So many plans that have long been scribbles in my notebooks and Pins on Boards will finally be tangible items on shelves.  I'm not going to lie, this is beyond scary!! (In a good way of course!!)

Many thanks to you all for your excitement and well wishes in this endeavor, let the FUN begin!

...we are coming, REALLY, we are...

We have been busy little bees stuffing the storage units with FABULOUS finds to fill The Fancy Farmer!!

Now if only we could control everything and wave our magic wand ( I have one, REALLY!) and have the stars allign on the building completion to set the OPENING day!  Oh what a HaPpY Girl I would be!

But...patience is a virtue I am told, so we will be calm!  We will continue to dig and discover all of the wonderfulness that will define our amazing store.  We will plant our little hearts out to make the Farmers Market something worth the drive to the quaint little town on The Mother Road.  

Hold on tight with us...we are just as anxious as you are!

And if you could throw a little positive energy out into the universe for us...that would be just SUPER!

Planting...seeds & ideas!

It is almost time to get the seeds in the ground & I am so excited to see what the bounty will be!!
This venture that we have begun has so many possibilities, levels of accomplishment & impending rewards.  It all started with a seed...a thought.  It's amazing to see what happens to your dreams when you plant them, nurture them and share them with others.
I have always had a knack for turning something simple into a big production, and not everyone who has been cast in the production has been appreciative of that! (**insert evil laugh**)  2 years ago I reeled my parents into expanding their garden and adding one at my house as well. I LOVED waking up and heading outside to water and tend to the plants.  The gardens were nothing elaborate...tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, zucchini, squash.  I made salsa, cucumber relish, zucchini bread, chow-chow, more salsa!  I switched from reading Cosmopolitan magazine to the Burpee Seed Catalog and then I realized that they had PURPLE pepper seeds, BLUE tomato plants, super adorable little 8-ball squash...Oh how FANCY!!  The wheels started turning and my Fancy garden planning was in the works. I was online seed shopping and making list after list of **every.single.plant** I could think of!
The time soon arrived and the gardens were tilled and then...the tornado hit! LITERALLY! Fancy Garden 2014 was not happening!  Heck, I didn't even get Normal Garden 2013 recreated! So sad :-(
But...here we are again. Spring is around the corner & I can almost hear the hum of the tiller!
I am so excited that seeds aren't the only things being planted this time.
New ideas and elements have been added to cultivation list.  What goes with plants? Planters, soil, watering cans, wind chimes, wheel barrows, potting tables. TABLES??? Oh, let's add furniture!!!  Harvest tables, end tables, rocking chairs, buffets, dressers? DRESSERS??? For clothes?? OOOHHH, let's add CLOTHES!!! Pretty, trendy, FANCY clothes!! See....it all goes together!!! Gardening and clothes :-) ( I can justify anything, just ask me!)
Whew, sometimes I wear myself out!  What better way to relieve the pressure of planting a garden, painting furniture and picking out a boutique line than including others in the completion of your chores.  When you share your dreams with others and you include their strengths into your plan the bounty is sure to be limitless!
We are gathering the "seeds"! Planning trips to market, ordering elements and finalizing important details.  Our original location plan wasn't fruitful, so we are now in process of designing another equally amazing building in the heart of Baxter Springs. Stay tuned, you won't want to miss what pops up!!

WHY Baxter Springs, KS???

This small town of ours has taken quite a beating over the last few years.  Loss of industry, failed small businesses, high taxes and then that stupid tornado that blew through town last April and damaged over 200 homes and 12 commercial properties.  And now...Wal-Mart is leaving!  How on earth will we survive this blow to our little community?
So, WHY IN THE WORLD would I want to start a new business in a town that seems to have so little going for it right now. One where the odds seem to be stacked against it?...Why not?
This has been a dream of mine for far too long and I've done nothing about it.  I never made the leap.
I think now is as good a time as any, maybe even a better time!
Right now the chant is "Shop Local"!! So, open a Local Shop!
The concept of business plan behind The Fancy Farmer is one of a business incubation.  Mix many elements into one store to see what the town can support.  If and when any one element of the business goes BANANAS with popularity and revenue you move that element into it's own store front, eliminate another vacant building in our downtown and move another element into The Fancy Farmer to be incubated.  It's certainly a different approach than has been taken around here before, and I think a different approach is just what we need.
Baxter is screaming for a change of scenery! It is looking for a new direction.  It is open to new ideas!  I believe it is time for the Resurrection of the Cowtown!
Small towns not far from us are making it happen! Shops are moving in , restaurants are opening up, the down town in coming alive, so WHY NOT US?
I believe in the model that has been created, I believe in the citizens of Baxter Springs and their desire to support local business and I believe in the town...I think this will work!

“Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has.” ~ Margaret Mead

Identity: The Fancy Farmer

I grew up in a small town, on a small farm and I went to a small school.  I had chickens, rabbits, cows and, as every country girl should, a pony!  There were chores to be done, gardens to tend to and hay to haul. And I hated 95% of it.  Wyandotte, OK was where my father was born and raised and we were destined to do the same.  Time with my paternal grandparents was spent shucking corn, shelling peas, & cutting open the persimmons that grew on trees along the long driveway to see how we would fare in the coming winter.  My grandfather was a mechanic and his garage was his shop.  Many afternoons were spent picking up greasy bolts and washers from the gravel.  That homestead always smelled like tractor grease and honeysuckle...very relaxing. Holidays were low key, just the immediate family. Dinner served around the dining room table, no laughing while eating, home cookin' at it's finest and sweet tea with so much sugar in it that it left a film on the bottom of your glass. Noodles were made from scratch from a pile of flour on the counter top.  Gifts were nothing lavish, but always thoughtful.  They taught me about honesty, hard work and simple living.  How to appreciate a cold bologna sandwich (with mustard on white bread) with generic potato chips! Most importantly at that house, there were lots of hugs.
I enjoyed my "weekend life" much better.  My maternal grandparents lived in the BIG city of Tulsa, OK.  On weekend visits there we would go shopping, out to eat at nice restaurants, and visit my grandmother at work.  She worked at a gourmet coffee store called Mecca Coffee Company.  Don't confuse this with todays coffee shops like Starbucks, she was not a barista. They sold fancy things, coffee beans, jam & jellies, pretty paper napkins and high end kitchen items.  I LOVED being there!
I loved the freedom from getting up early to go feed the rabbits.  I love that they had neighbors & paved roads!! I loved walking out the back gate in the yard, across the alley into the meat market to get steaks for the grill.  Or to the Dunkin Donuts on the corner for breakfast.  Holidays were a large extended family affair, with fancy china, fancy food and wine! Pasta creations were prepared in the Cuisenart with the special attachment, hence the fancy kitchen gadgets.  The gifts were refined and large scale such as a custom built doll house complete with wallpaper and carpet and one year...fur coats! Rabbit of course, like the ones in a cage at my house.  And just as on the farm, lots of hugs.
I was certain that I was a city girl trapped on the farm.  When I was on my own, I would never live down a dirt road again!
I had the best of both worlds.  A double life.  An identity crisis.
As time has passed and life has been lived I have come to appreciate both worlds equally.  So being 'The Fancy Farmer' seems like a fabulous fit! It is perfectly acceptable to put glitter on barn wood!!
Stay tuned...Find us on Facebook @ thefancyfarmer66713

Baxter Springs, KS 

APRIL 2015