Localism

One of the (many) reasons Yulia and I appreciate locally sourced things is because they make traveling more interesting. We just love going to a new place and finding something new. When we are in the States we like to try locally made kombuchas. Our favorite is NessAlla kombucha from Madison, Wisconsin. It is the most "real" tasting store bought kombucha we have come across. We also learned about the existence of another tasty fermented beverage called jun when we were traveling through Mount Shasta, California in February. It is made by Wylie's Honey Sodas of Phoenix, Oregon. Their turmeric ale blew our socks off. We now add turmeric to our own homemade kombucha.
This morning I dug out my Pendleton wool shirt from the cardboard box that Yulia and I shipped from the States before we left for Ukraine in June. I also donned my linen hat that I got from the Hat People.

Yulia (looking put together, as always) with her boyfriend, Shrek (wearing a Hat People hat)

Pendleton is based in Portland, Oregon, and the Hat People make their hats in Talent, Oregon. I got the Pendleton shirt at Three Penny Mercantile in Ashland, Oregon. The clerk at Three Penny Mercantile described the workers of the store as "Pendleton nerds." I guess they try and stock as many Pendleton products as they can. Three Penny Mercantile is a used/vintage clothing store, by the way. They really do have a great taste in clothes.
I initially thought about the rarity of owning and wearing two American made pieces of clothing at once. I can't say I do that all that often. Then I realized that they are not only American made, but Oregon made. I've got to hand it to Oregon. They do local stuff well--whether it is clothing, food, or whatever. Seeing locally produced things while in Oregon this past spring was a breath of fresh air. I could go on about the economic and environmental benefits of localism, but I have to admit that locally made things simply make life more interesting. And there is nothing wrong with that.

With all the hyperlinks to businesses I have inserted in this post, it may seem that I am being paid to push product. I assure you, I am receiving no monetary compensation for the name dropping. BUT what I am here to push is for all of our readers to keep checking in to our blog because Yulia will be posting a piece about one of our excursions in Lviv. She will be talking about some of our favorite places in the city, like visiting Sisters clothing store and ПРАВДА,Б (PRAVDA,B) art store. Sisters is a clothing store that sells Ukrainian designed and made products (I guess we don't need to go to Oregon to find locally made clothes). Pravda,b is probably the most funky and interesting art store I've ever seen. Yulia got a most creative, yet tasteful, jacket there. We also saw a steam punk suitcase on sale there replete with valves and dials. I don't know how they think this stuff up, but I like it!

This is what a steam punk suitcase looks like