Fortunately for me and everyone else reading this, there are little pockets of joy right here in Portland where you can feel really good about what you have bought, who you have bought it from and how it was made. Humble Luna – Whimsical Designs for Children – is definitely one of those pockets of joy. Our own swap shop member Heidi Witte has a humble little business making custom costumes and colorful art smocks for kids that she sells in person and on line.

You can see some of her designs at her website, Humble Luna – Whimsical Designs for Children . Better yet, you can meet her most Wednesday afternoons as she moves quietly around our arts and crafts room helping kids craft their dreams. Heidi is one of the most peaceful people I know and that’s reflected in the way she sweetly meets every kid who wanders into the art and crafts room for our weekly craft meet up. It’s also reflected in the pieces she makes: puffy dragon tails, felt birthday crowns, smocks from vintage materials.

Sure the $40 price tag for a wrap-around-your-belly, hang-way-out-behind-you spotted dragon tail is more than most of us would usually spend on a whim but is is a real artist’s wages for work well done . . . the price of knowing the person you are interacting with and a great way to help secure a place for local crafting in our community.

The best part of building a friendly relationship with the people we buy things from is that ability to be a part of what they sell. We get a chance to let them know the things they make that we think are wonderful and also give our feedback and ideas on ways to grow.

Heidi is working right now on a hood that will make kids look like a whimsical little lion. If you have a child that would really be into their own lion hood, let her know. She makes custom costumes too so you aren’t putting her out when you meet up with her at the swap shop and describe the costume that would really rock your little guy’s or girl’s world.

Who knows? Your custom design might become her next best seller for her local and on-line customers as nearby at Eugene and as far away as Israel.

I don’t know if anyone else practices the same kind of justified big spending that I do, but I’ve discovered I’d much rather go to the more expensive local shoe store for one or two pairs of shoes for each of my kids each year now that most everything else they wear costs me nothing more than our time to look through the swap shop bins and clothing tables at the big exchanges.

Now that we have the swap shop, I get to spend the same amount of money I might have spent on a bunch of cheaper things on fewer better-made items that I feel a lot better about. It’s great to know that we can add Humble Luna to our list that already includes Small Wonders kid’s consignment shop on 79th and Foster as one more local way to find sweet gifts for kids.

I was just at Small Wonders checking in with their owner, Lisa Knudson, this week and fell in love with a tan and country red bouncy horse that she has (one of those exersaucerish baby jumpers). My kids were way to old to justify buying it and running home to put it in my house but, if you are interested and it still there for sale, it’s a discontinued model that you can’t buy new but you can get it from her for $60.

You never know what you will find on Heidi’s Humble Luna web site or at Small Wonders so peek in often and think of both of them when you need a great gift for a special kid. Say hi to Heidi when you are at the swap shop on Wednesday afternoons and Lisa when you are at Small Wonders. It’s a small wonder and a great feeling to be able to support each other well and have great things for our kids. A big thank you to both of these women in business entrepreneurs for becoming Roost sponsors.

Humble Luna – Whimsical Designs for Children
Heidi Witte
humblelunagmailcom
971-222-9994

Small Wonders Children’s and Maternity Consignment Store
Lisa Knudson
7979 SE Foster Road
Tue-Fri 10am-6pm; Sat and Sun 10am-4pm
(503) 772-1920

So where do massage therapists go when their own bodies needs a tune up? Our own co-op member and talented massage therapist, Dana Buhl, goes to Israel Sostrin.

His official title is physical therapist but his real title should be “motion maximizer” since he spends his days helping the injured, the aging, athletes and new parents work smarter not harder to move and rest well.

Like a lot of us in Portland, Israel wasn’t completely satisfied with “the way things are done” and went searching for better ways across several parts of the planet and multiple modalities. For Israel the journey included Baltimore, Arizona and Seattle and several schools of massage and physical therapy before coming to Portland. He originally picked up a book on the Feldendrais method of physical therapy for his own personal interest – in part because he and the method’s creator, Moshe Feldendrais, have similar Jewish roots. Happily, he found his way into the best four years of his professional education to date.

In talking with Israel, it’s easy to tell that he’s also found a piece of his life’s passion that he gets to share with clients who, up until they meet him and the Feldenkrais method he uses in his practice, often think physical therapy is just a series of hot and cold packs and a list of stretches to do at home.

Everything we do with our body uses some combination of our strength, our flexibility and our endurance. Addressing just one of these three and not the others, as some of us can vouch for, can make the problem even worse. Israel’s work is all about better coordinating our own body’s natural balance while honoring that simple truth that we have gotten into whatever pinch we are in for very good reasons more complex than it all first appears.

One part of physical therapy that doesn’t have to be complex is getting qualified for regular care. The State of Oregon mandates that the first 60 days of physical therapy should be reimbursed without a referral for all insured patients. Still there are policies that vary from insurer to insurer and even within the various levels of coverage from each insurer requiring certain notifications or approvals.

While you and I only navigate our insurance policies (car, body or home) every once in a while, the office Israel works in on Hawthorne lives and breaths that special insurance language every day. One quick call or email and they can evaluate your policy more easily than you can and let you know what’s available to you.

I was surprised and delighted to find out that, having Kaiser, I could still be eligible to see Israel for physical therapy. His front desk staff was great to work with and had an answer in just one day on what my deductible and co-pay would be plus the steps I had to take through Kaiser to be approved.

While most of his patients are working through insurance for their care, he does bill some patients directly. His current rates are $100 for the initial visit and $85 for follow up appointments. I can’t speak to your co-pay but mine would be $35 per visit. Best of all, you are never shuffled off to an aid with your physical therapist just overseeing your care. Israel spends time directly with his patients, listening and learning what’s right for your body and your life.

A lot of us will be very happy to know that his office space is fabulously kid friendly with a great big stuffed lion in one corner for those appointments where you need to bring your little loved ones along.

Israel’s littlest loved one is his 10 month old daughter Aubrey. If your injuries or nagging aches are from the funny positions you’ve gotten into feeding, caring for and picking up (or picking up after) the newest members of your family, Israel will be both sympathetic and empathetic while he helps you adjust to the higher stress/lower sleep way of life you’re now living.

Like Dana, Israel is a popular practitioner with a busy schedule. He purposely leaves a few spaces open every week for emergencies like motor vehicle crash injuries that can’t wait and for new, first time patients just getting started in his care.

Whether you are dealing with some new stresses and strains or have been dealing with unresolved physical issues for a while now, both Dana and Israel are great family resources to help get you back to a place of comfort and ease.

You don’t have to save and then recall this exact email to get in touch with them or any of our great community minded Roost sponsors. They are all a click away on the Sunnyside Swap Shop Co-op home page at www.sunnysideswapshop.org .

To contact Dana Buhl right away for a relaxing and very therapeutic
massage:

Dana Buhl, LMT
1128 SE 30th Ave. (just 5 blocks from the Swap Shop)
503 807 6697
danabuhlgmailcom

Appts. Mon and Thurs noon – 8, Wed and Fri 9 – 4

To set up a first time appointment with Israel Sostrin:

Anisha – Center for Holistic Health
4031 SE Hawthorne Boulevard
Portland, Oregon 97214
WHOLENESS IN MOTION
Israel Sostrin MSPT, CMT, GCFP
P: (503) 231.3633

I don’t know if this comes as good news or bad news, but as the parent of an almost 9 year old and, shocking for me, an already 12 year old, I can comfortably say the process that starts with picking your first caregiver, day care or preschool continues on a similar theme for many years. The mental list of what’s best for your child, your family and your bank account gets revisited time and time again with every program, summer camp and public or private school decision.

Michelle LaFollette, director and owner of Wren’s Nest Preschool, a Montessori in-home preschool for 20month olds to 5 year olds just a few blocks away from the Swap Shop on Yamhill, has an almost kindergartener and a middle schooler of her own. If Michelle and I could somehow transfer all our observations and knowledge from a decade of placing our own kids in schools and from touring parents through the programs we’ve created, what an email post this would be!

Or would it? Walking that path from holding our babes in our arms to attending graduation ceremonies raises up adults as much as the journey helps our children grow. We learn as much about ourselves as we do about our kids picking places to give our support and energy to over the years.

Other than saying – go with your gut instincts – I wouldn’t for one minute want to get in the middle of telling you what schools or programs are best or try to suggest the best way to evaluate the next caregiver for your child. I can tell you that every Montessori teacher that I have ever known has a calmness and a lively spirit about them that allows for inspirational learning day after day.

Also, there is something developmentally magical about those trays full of natural materials presented with awe and wonder to tiny bodies and little busy minds inspiring even the youngest toddler to give up their crash and thrash tendencies while they take out a little rug to sit on and patiently sort buttons.

Michelle and I both come from Silicon Valley and can laugh while sharing a cup of coffee in her livingroom turned classroom about 2 hour commutes (each way) and high strung parents with big agendas for their offspring. In part as a retreat from that lifestyle but also in response to the way SE Portland lives are shaped, Michelle has set up Wren’s Nest Preschool with a couple of unique features not usually found in a preschool or a daycare. Preschools tend to take the summers off. Wren’s Nest is a haven for children all year round. Day cares are open from the early hours until just before dinner time. Wren’s Nest families arrive between 8:30 and 9 and every child is back with their family by 4pm.

The very best part news for parents of toddlers reading this post: most preschools require children to be potty trained and at least three years old. Michelle’s youngest learners are not yet two and potty training is not a requirement to attend.

Before you pick up the phone to see what days she has available for your not-yet or just-barely two-year-old, I can tell you what you might already imagine, spots for toddlers are popular and go quickly. She already has a full toddler program for the summer and fall. Rather than keep a waiting list she just asks that you check in with her now and again for openings.

If you have been wondering what your three year old is ready for, Michelle opened Wren’s Nest almost three years ago and her first set of toddlers are now moving on to kindergarten leaving 9 open spaces for new 3 to 5 year olds. Jed Arkley’s daughter is one of those first students to go all three years at Wren’s Nest. I got a chance to ask him . . . why Montessori and why Wren’s Nest?

He looked at a lot of different schools and found Michelle’s program more affordable than some of the other Montessori schools he looked at. He loved the intimate setting with less than 10 kids together in the toddler or 3-4 classrooms and he loves the community building that happens along with academics matching each child’s true interests and readiness.

If you haven’t already gone through the sticker shock: preschool, day care or a nanny can sometimes feel like a second mortgage. I understand full time care hovers between $1,200 and $1,500 a month.

More like a college student’s rent than a mortgage: two mornings a week at Wren’s Nest for a toddler: $475. Full day, five days a week for a 3 ½ year old to 5 year old: $740.

While we can put a price on days of the week, we can’t put a price on the best parts of preschool . . . a break for parents, friends for our kids, and, in the case of Wren’s Nest, moments picking berries and tasting herbs in the back yard and a great Montessori classroom experience.

Just like at The Roost, the need for a place to be (for toddlers or teenagers) isn’t just about the parent’s work schedule but about some of the important work of childhood that gets done a bit away from home, in a place where parents aren’t near by, but caring adults are right there with subtle guidance and a calming way.

Wren’s Nest is a very low key place without a sign out front or even a web site. You can drive or walk by and see the front yard play area and families coming and going at 3815 SE Yamhill Street (last block of Yamhill before the Belmont Library). You can call or email Michelle at (503) 235-0093 or vassarlearningcenteryahoocom .

Contact info for all our other great community minded Roost sponsors on the
Roost sponsors page.

The whole concept of a consignment store is pretty straight forward . . . You bring in your highest quality goods: toys, kids clothing, maternity clothes. The staff lets you know which items they can take. The consignment store sets a price for each item (less than the item would be brand new and a little more than it would be at a garage sale or thrift store) and puts each item out on display. If and when your items sell, you build up an account with the store that you can cash out or spend on discounted merchandise for yourself.

Just like here at our Swap Shop, people coming into a consignment shop don’t know for sure that the item they are looking for will be there. It’s a potpourri with ever changing inventory.

So, if I were opening a consignment store, you know where I would put it? Exactly where Small Wonders is . . . right across the street from a large Fred Meyer’s store. I am forever telling people to check the swap before they shop. Now that we all know where Small Wonders is, we can check the swap, then check the consignment store and then, if we still need it and haven’t found it recirculating through community, walk over to that big box store and add one more item to what we will be swapping and consigning later.

The second thing I’d do, if I were setting up a small consignment store that I want families to enjoy visiting, is be near a fun park so everyone can make a morning or afternoon outing out of coming out my way. Conveniently for Lisa, Small Wonders is just a few blocks away from Mt. Scott Community Center at 72nd and SE Harold– a wonderland of indoor and outdoor fun for all ages. If you check out the Parks and Rec listings, you can even time your visit along with family swim hours for the super cool indoor aquatic play park.

So what items do you bring to the swap shop to share with other co-op members and what items to you bring over to Lisa for consignment? Before I answer that question, I want to let you know much I like and respect Lisa’s approach to consignment. There are consignment stores that only take high end brands and cater to image conscious folk that want a boutique shop experience. Lisa has many of those same items but works hard to strike a great middle ground with her store. She’s not overly picky or a collector of lots of junk. She can always find at least one thing in the items you bring that she can take so you will definitely not be wasting your time by dropping by.

Remember that “best of all worlds” idea? Our swap shop space is not well set up to take large items. We can only hold a stroller or two and a handful of other large things. Small Wonders is a great place to take car seats less than five years old, changing tables, baby swings and the like. Also, I don’t need to explain why toys with a complete set of pieces don’t fare well in our play areas. Our high shelves keep puzzles intact but that great Little People play set with all its characters and cars or a shape sorter with all its shapes, gets much better play bagged up on Lisa’s shelves ready to become another child’s best birthday present.

How much money can you make consigning your items? Lisa has families with as little as 40 cents in their account and others with $250. It all depends on what you are consigning. All the details on how to consign are on her web site .

I know we all need to be conscious of money, but, as with most things, it’s about more than the money. Swapping and consigning and trading with friends is about the economy and the eco-mommy (or daddy) in all of us that wants to see joy in our child’s faces without so much paper, cardboard, Styrofoam and plastic being wasted on packaging and shipping around the globe.

And, in the case of Small Wonders, it’s about reclaiming the Lents neighborhood for families. Her store is part of a series of business renovations funded by the Portland Development Commission. So, don’t be surprised by the scaffolding, swing by now and swing by later to see the transformation and in the mean time, add one more resource to your family’s choices for living green and buying local.

Small Wonders
Lisa Knudson

7979 SE Foster Road

Tue-Fri 10am-6pm; Sat and Sun 10am-4pm

(503) 772-1920

Whether you are way past the young baby/toddler phase of parenting or still in the midst of helping a pre-verbal or just barely verbal child make their way in the world, between what Shira and Carissa are offering Swap Shop families, I think you will find something helpful and meaningful to add to your family’s life.

First and foremost, Shira and Carissa are moms passionate about raising their own children well and helping others to do the same. As you read on you can find out how they can support you, you can support them and getting us all connected to each other can help financially support our new Roost program for middle schoolers. . .

Shira Fogel specializes in working with parents to help you work with your preverbal and barely verbal child. Her one-day, two-hour workshops for parents and caregivers are taught either in your home or at several wonderful spots around Portland listed on her web site: Tiny Talkers Portland . A one-time workshop with Shira can really jump start your ability to connect and communicate. Babies are welcome in her sessions but she finds parents get even more out of the workshop if you come without your child so you can really concentrate on everything being said.

Once your child is old enough to “play along” with signing songs and games, Carissa Martos’s ongoing classes through local Portland Parks and Rec Centers and a private art studio are great for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. Even though they are often listed as infant signing classes, her classes are especially great for special needs kids who are struggling to learn to talk and also if you have older kids that could learn through songs and games right along with you and your youngest child.

I am especially excited about the arrangement we have made with Tiny Talkers that allows Shira to support our Roost program without over taxing the limited funds of her stay-at-home-mom budding business. Participation in one of Shira’s workshops costs $40 (a real bargain in exchange for the temper tantrums and melt downs that a few well learned signs can avoid). This is almost the cost of one student attending The Roost one day a week after school.

Shira will be keeping track of families that register for her workshops from our Swap Shop community and will be donating fees from one family in the month of April to the Charitable Partnership Fund to help fund The Roost. We’d love to keep this arrangement going month after month if we find there are enough of our member families and friends to keep her busy helping us learn to sign. Shira has six workshop dates in April – weekdays and weekends to fit everyone’s schedules – starting with Saturday, April 3 12:30 – 2:15pm at Alma Midwifery Service at 16th and Ankeny.

A one day workshop most of us can make time for. Not everyone has the time/transportation (and patience) to get to a series of parks and rec classes on time, fresh and ready to go. Carissa is coming in on scheduled Saturdays to our Swap Shop stage to share Signing Time classes with all ages of kids so you can add some signing to your life at any age. It’s also a great way to see how your kids respond so you know if signing up for a series of signing classes makes sense for you. She will be at our first spring open house, also on Saturday, April 3rd from 10-noon ready to gather guest and member kids into song and signing.

I don’t have to make a very big case for how sign language with your baby and toddler lessens frustration, crying, and tantrums. It’s great to know it’s scientifically proven to build more brain function, raise your child’s IQ and increases your child’s ability to pay attention and listen by teaching them to stop, look, and listen to what is being said or shown.

Both Shira and Carissa teach true American Sign Language signs (some programs do not) upping your chances that others will understand and respond to your child and giving all of you an opportunity to pursue signing even farther if any one in your family chooses. Even as adults we have more to say than we can seem to get out in words. Childhood is a hands on time and what a great way to get our hands more involved in connecting us together.

Our “know your neighbors” Roost sponsors are connecting us with a whole variety of great family resources. You can see a full list of our local business sponsors and reread a post that you remember or one that you missed at our web site sponsors page

Well, as a Swap Shop member and Board member- I would like to sing the praises of Dr. Shebani and her team and let you know why it is more than worth the drive. Dr. Amna Shebani is a pediatric dentist or a pedodontist. She specializes in dentistry for children and the minute you meet her you can feel her love for children.

I think the best way to explain why Dr. Shebani is such a spectacular pediatric dentist is to tell you a story about my oldest son, Charlie. Charlie is not a big fan of going to the dentist. He isn’t scared of the work they might need to perform, but he has a mighty gag reflex and just hates anyone sticking anything in his mouth. When Charlie was 5 or 6, a dentist was able to get x-rays and told me he had 2 cavities. 2 years later – no dentist had been able to fill and treat those cavities, due to Charlie’s gag reflex. I had taken him to every local pediatric dentist, and had not met one who could sympathize with, understand, and treat his problem.

Then, I heard about Dr. Shebani from a Sunnyside Environmental School family. I drove to Vancouver to the most spectacular kid friendly dental office I had ever been to. And, Dr. Shebani was able to get Charlie to relax, and she got his cavities filled. Both my children BEG to go to Dr. Shebani office and look forward to the dentist.

I can’t say enough about Dr. Shebani. I am secretly terrified of dental work- and I wish I could go to her! Her office is filled with great toys, trains that go through the lobby and patient rooms, a toy/prize closest that inspires awe, and a warm, friendly, helpful staff. I could go on and on, about the professionalism and caring at her office! Please ask me and I will!

Every time I’ve been to Dentistry for Children, I’ve seen a fellow Swap Shopper or a Southeast family. And, we always sing the praises of Dr. Shebani and team, and talk about why the drive to her office is so worth it!

DENTISTRY FOR CHILDREN

Dr. Amna Shebani

1405 SE 164th Ave. Vancouver, WA 98683

360-260-0511

It’s great to stay local. If you have a child without Charlie’s special needs or are an adult looking for a caring and friendly environment, we are, of course, delighted to have the services of Dr. Aaron Tinkle at Belmont Family Dentistry and Dr. Rebecca Kuperstein at Parkside Orthodontics just a hop, skip and a jump from the Swap Shop. Dr. Aaron Tinkle has already added several Swap Shop families to his practice since first becoming a Roost sponsor and Dr. Rebecca Kuperstein looks forward to meeting you when your kids are ready for that first orthodontist check around 7 or 8 years old.

BELMONT FAMILY DENTISTRY

Dr. Aaron Tinkle

5935 SE Belmont, Portland, OR 97215

(503) 234-1218

PARKSIDE ORTHODONTICS

Dr. Rebecca Kuperstein

539 SE 39th Street, Portland, OR 97214

503-236-3800

Martha Taylor, long time owner of Immortal Piano, now on 40th and Belmont, never intended to go into the business of restoring and selling vintage pianos.

Back in the 1980′s, she was fresh out of photography school in Boston and living in San Francisco when all her cameras got stolen. Her make-ends-meet job as a messenger and her friend’s as a night watchman led to “discovering” 500 pianos in a warehouse. They were going to be hauled off as trash unless someone wanted to move them all out in less than a week to another location.

So, not knowing one thing about pianos and never even playing one herself, she took on the unique opportunity she saw in front of her and rented a big warehouse in Oakland for her 500 new best friends. She invited dozens of artists in to rent studio space that helped pay the rent on the warehouse while she learned the honorable trade of piano restoration.

We would have never heard of Martha and she would still be in California – locally famous for her meticulous workmanship – if it wasn’t for a wedding in Portland 13 years ago.

Having come to Portland four years ago myself just to visit a quirky friend with a passion for community, I can understand what happened. She couldn’t go home after the wedding – she had just found home and needed to figure out how to stay.

Most of the independent piano stores that were here when she first relocated her business to Southeast Portland are gone: victims of recessionary times, competition from chain stores and a general switch to electronic keyboards.

But Immortal Piano Company, just like the name says, lives on.

Each time I go over to visit Martha, it’s just a quick walk for me from the Swap Shop to her quaint little store front – across and a little up from the 39th Street Walgreens at 4011 SE Belmont.

On my last visit Martha never stopped working on the old piano bench she was restoring in the corner of her store as she patiently explained that most people mistakenly believe that buying a new piano or digital keyboard is the only alternative once their much-loved instrument starts showing its age. While it is true that many of the old relics are not cost-effective to fix, a quality vintage piano that has lived its life well can be returned to a condition that exceeds that of a comparably priced new piano.

Most of the pianos that Martha and her apprentices (all women by the way) restore and refurbish are uprights from the late 1800′s and early 1900′s. At the turn of the century the piano was the major industry in America. You had to have a piano and a stove. That’s how houses worked back then so she has lots and lost of models to choose from when she goes looking for pianos to restore.

Martha thinks of herself as providing “Pianos for the People.” It’s a good feeling when she takes a minute to sit back and think of the 1000′s of old pianos in Portland that she has rescued from decay and put back into good use.

Not every old piano can be revitalized. In fact, most can’t. A good part of Martha’s week is spent doing exactly what you might do if you were looking for a good buy. She visits a lot of people offering up pianos for sale. A full 80% of what she finds can’t be brought back into tune. Portland weather is hard on wood. Pianos are under a lot of pressure per square inch to keep the strings taunt and have to be structurally sound to be worth investing in.

You can save yourself a lot of heartache and dollars spent in the wrong direction, if you let Martha know your price range and have her find a piano for you that will stay in tune and is worth the money you are going to pay for it.

Martha’s biggest customers right now are Southeast families with young kids just getting started in their lessons and women in their 40′s and 50′s who took lessons as children and want to return to the piano. These older pianos that Martha so lovingly rebuilds and refurbishes fit great in our older restored houses.

Not many, but a few good pianos come in and out of her shop for $1,500 and she’s happy to put you on a list for one of these gems if she doesn’t have one on the floor for you right away. If you have the money to spend, basic vintage pianos are always available in the $2,600 – $3,500 range. If your rich aunt and uncle are looking for a place to invest their nest egg – higher end pianos are $6-$12,000.

What I really like about Martha is the same thing I enjoy about our real estate sponsors, Jarrett and Tracy of Neighborhood Works and our bicycle store sponsors Demetri of Veloce Bicycles and Dean and Rachel at Clever Cycles. Yes, they are in business to sell big ticket items that most of us would purchase just once or twice in our lifetimes, if at all. But, you know and I know that if all they cared about was money, they’d be in a different part of town or a different part of the country.

They make an honest living here, enjoy Southeast Portland just as much as we do and are willing to do what it takes to make it all work. It comes across loud and clear from the minute you first start talking to them that what they really care about it the right fit. The right house or the right instrument or the right vehicle for the right person. Now, that’s good neighborhood business.

Martha has a great little toy play area right in the front of her store, so go ahead and stop by, kids in tow, whenever you are walking by on Belmont and see the beautiful pianos waiting for a new home. If you want a great read, check out the full story of Martha’s Oakland warehouse escapades in the about us section of her infoimmortalpianocom  infoimmortalpianocom   . Be sure to let her know you heard about her from the Sunnyside Swap Shop Co-op.

All of our sponsors, Martha included, have a “home” page just like this one right here on the Swap Shop web site. If you have forgotten the days or location for the after dark dessert spot, need the number for the local car repair shop, and/or are ready for that massage studio in the heart of the Sunnyside neighborhood, check out the sponsors’ page. Sponsors business cards are also lined up on the left side of every page and you can click through to their write ups and web pages. They are also all listed out under the sponsors tab as well. There is space for your comments after each sponsor post so you can add to the live local/buy local dialogue.

We all live better when each of us is better connected. Thanks for living local and being a part of the Sunnyside Swap Shop Co-op community.

Written by Karen Hery, Sunnyside Swap Shop Co-op facilitator/coordinator: sunnysideswapshopgmailcom  sunnysideswapshopgmailcom   .