Rejected

So my sister and I wrote a story for our local community blog about supporting the small business in the community we live. We visited one of  our favorite little stores and interviewed the owner. Though I was crazy nervous about it, it was fun and I briefly felt more connected to my community. However, the blog decided not to post our story, even though we had run it past them and they thought it was a good idea. I haven't even gotten any feedback as to why they decided not to post it.

When I drive down the main street of my town, I get a little depressed. Sure, there are business that are open and doing well, but for every one of those businesses there are two that are boarded up and falling apart. I check-in with the community blog out of a sense of obligation, not be cause there is anything interesting to read on there. Most of the page is taken up by advertising and the stories that they do post are pretty boring. My hope in writing the brief story was to shine a spotlight on a business, plus give people something interesting to read. Below is the story that I submitted. It may not be the best, but I tried.

Rejected Blog Story

Recently, some friends and I decided to spend some time checking out the main, downtown area of Des Moines. We often drive past these shops and stores on our way to and from other activities, but we haven’t really taken the time to peruse these small, local businesses in our neighborhood. With “Support Small Business Day” set to occur on Saturday, November 30^th approaching, I thought it was high time to take a chance on Des Moines’ main drag. After grabbing a cup of coffee and bite to eat at Auntie Irene’s, my friends and I headed across the street to Teresa DeLeen’s Jewelry and Gifts.

Teresa’s shop is tucked away on the bottom floor of the same building that holds Entourage Salon and the Scotch and Vine. According to Teresa, the space used to be a storage and garage area, but you wouldn’t guess that now. She has created a friendly and inviting shop that is full of natural light and artistic energy. It feels as if you are walking into a hidden treasure trove. Though, Teresa says the shop originally was just a place for her to showcase her own jewelry designs, it has now grown to offer items made by many local artists. She features exquisite jewelry, fine soaps, stationary, and unique art. Teresa is friendly, knowledgeable and quite passionate about her art. While we were there, she explained how she makes her famous “Wish” necklaces. When I asked her how she would describe her jewelry/art/shop she said, “nostalgic stories in metal and stone.” She wants her pieces to start conversations and that is exactly what they do.

After stocking up on handmade soaps and adding every piece of jewelry in her store to our holiday wish lists, we made our way over to B&E Meats to buy some delicious pepperoni. All in all it was a great morning and I look forward to our next adventures in Des Moines.