Hello, my name is Kait and I love to shop local. 

If you have been following my blog for some time, this information is most certainly not new to you, and I’m sure you’re well aware of just how passionately I feel about this. I truly believe that it is so important to try to support our local businesses in order for our local community to thrive. Which is why I try to shop local as much as I can and try to purchase from Canadian retailers when I can’t.

With that said, I totally get it — sometimes it’s difficult to shop small or local, but now more than ever it’s so important to support local businesses. Over the past year and a half and everything that has been going on as a result of the pandemic, small business owners and local makers are taking a hit. (I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again,  it’s buy local or bye local!)  For a lot of small businesses, it was incredibly hard to transition into today’s environment of online shopping — something that the pandemic accelerated and made all the more difficult. 

That’s where the Shop Durham Region Online Marketplace comes in! Funded by the Region of Durham and led by the Downtown Whitby BIA, the online marketplace helps make it easier for small businesses to offer their products online. Durham businesses, including ones without an e-store, can join the marketplace for free.