Keep It Local Blog
Stories, interviews, and local insights that we hope will inspire you to support the local shops, restaurants, and services that make Oklahoma unique.
4 Q's with Katie & Melissa Morgan
What’s your favorite part of your job?
We have always viewed Katiebug’s as our canvas. We have endless opportunities to create, whether it’s by creating new menu items, coming up with crazy flavor combinations, designing our new space, events that we plan, or packaging our products. We love that we get to express our creativity through all aspect of our business. It is so fun for us!
What do you love about being a small business owner in Oklahoma?
Definitely all of the relationships that we have built through Katiebug’s. From businesses to customers we’ve made some amazing friends along the way. We are always taken back at how amazingly sweet our customers are and how far they come to see us. We feel a huge responsibility to them. They’ve made our business what it is today.
What’s your go-to shaved ice flavor?
Two flavors that are staples for our family are raspberry and blackberry cobbler with sweet cream. I’m also a fan of the hibiscus lemonade.
What are you most excited about in the new location?
We’re just so excited to finally get to share it with everyone! We renovated the whole thing ourselves. We designed and installed every detail from hand painting the floor to the kitchen cabinets. When we were designing it, we were constantly envisioning how we hoped our customers would enjoy the space. It’s so fun now to see it filled with all of our favorite people enjoying sweet treats. We’re also really excited about our new bakery items. Since, we have a full kitchen in the new space we are able to offer baked goods that we’ve been dying to add for years!
Katie & Melissa Morgan are the mother-daughter duo behind Katiebug's Sips & Sweets, a sweets shop which can be found at 7 NW 9th Street in Oklahoma City's historic Automobile Alley. Follow them on Instagram at @katiebugsokc. "4 Q's with Katie & Melissa Morgan" was originally featured in the Keep It Local OK Summer 2018 Zine. If you find yourself wanting more, please check out this slightly out of date episode of "OK Originals sponsored by Oklahoma's Credit Union" that we shot with Katie & Melissa about a year ago.
#keepitlocaler: Services
Living on a tight budget, my husband and I don’t utilize too many services on a regular basis. We clean the house, do the yardwork and try to troubleshoot and fix any problems that come up on our own. But, there is always something that comes up and we can’t always do everything. When it comes to services, I wouldn’t even think twice about selecting a local provider. Many industries are just naturally locally-owned. However, there are some services you may not think of a local provider for, or some you may not have needed yet. Here is a sample of services you can locally source and tips on how to "keep it localer."
Beauty
Instead of Supercuts, Dry Bar, and Massage Envy, support your local hair salons, barber shops, nail salons and spas. I go to Well Beauty for hair and nails, and Dusty can be found at Hank’s and Lakeside Barber Shop most frequently.
Health & Wellness
Doctors, dentists, optometrists and specialists. These are rather hard to not keep local, but you’d be surprised what’s out there. As more and more “virtual visit” services come on board, local providers are utilizing technology for more accessible patient care.
Home
Skip Stanley Steamer, Roto-Rooter, Terminex and the like. Support your local contractors, plumbers, electricians, yard services, cleaning services and security providers. We had to have our roof replaced this year and Jenco Roofing was so patient with our pesky insurance process. We’ve used Acenetic for yard treatment, and Crown Plumbing was kind enough to tell us we’d be better off to do a project ourselves and gave us advice about how to do it.
Automotive
Mechanics, dealerships, detail and repair shops. Dealerships may represent a national brand, but many are locally-owned and operated. I happen to work for one, and my entire job is focused on giving back to the community. Do your homework to make sure your area dealerships are locally owned and invest in your community. Get your routine maintenance done by a trusted, locally owned dealer or mechanic.
Pets
Groomers, veterinarians. Instead of Petsmart, support your local vets and groomers. Check out my pets blog for recommendations
Clothes
Dry cleaners, tailors, shoe repair. A great way to support these services is to just get your shoes and clothes repaired rather than just purchasing new ones. You can support a local service and go easy on the earth and your budget at the same time. I use Dee’s Boot Repair and Helena’s Tailoring.
Finance
Banks, Credit Unions, CPAs, Investment services. Local banks and credit unions have been working to update their technology to compete with major financial institutions. Anything you can do with Chase or Bank of America, you can do with a locally-owned institution. I actually took the free Financial Peace class offered by Oklahoma’s Credit Union which helped us become debt-free! I’ve enjoyed the events they sponsor, and the great things Citizen’s Bank of Edmond has been doing for the community.
I know I have missed so many categories, but these are the services that come to mind for our day-to-day and month-to-month lives. Build relationships, get to know your providers and keep supporting them. With technology distancing us from interacting with people and a retail climate that is difficult to thrive in, services are so important to keep locally-owned.
Services Notes
What does shopping more local mean for a millenial(ish) couple who are striving to have a more minimal lifestyle when it comes to material things?
Services go hand-in hand. Get things fixed, don’t buy new and enjoy the experiences offered by local service providers.
What is the feasibility of a commitment to shop local for those that do not have much flexibility or resources? For the single mom, the family living paycheck to paycheck, the person without access to reliable transportation?
Local services providers are much more inclined to be flexible on price for someone who may be in need. Many travel as well!
Tweet your recommendations, tips, tricks or questions for Kristen to @kristenvails with hashtag #keepitlocalok or #keepitlocaler
Oklahoma Wildflowers
Every summer I look forward to growing wildflowers in my backyard. Developing my gardening and landscaping philosophies has been a long, enjoyable process for me. I really believe in planting things that flourish in their environment with very little care. Maybe because I am lazy. Maybe because it feels more natural. For sure because growing native plants is an excellent predictor of gardening success.
My favorite thing to grow in my Oklahoma backyard garden is wildflowers. They take very little watering and they grow like crazy, especially when you clip them often. This is the dream of an interior stylist who loves to have fresh blooms in her home.
It's late summer now and too late to plant wildflower seeds because of the heat, so you should find a friend with a wildflower garden and ask for some flowers. AND you should also ask that friend what their favorite flowers are and which grow best. I've been walking around my neighborhood noticing which plants are thriving, which direction they face, and how much light they get, so I can plan my flowerbeds for next year. It's time to take notes and ask questions so you can have allllll the flowers next year.
If you want to make a plan for next summer, here's my trusty starter guide to planting an Oklahoma wildflower garden.
Ashley Daly co-owns Retro Den, a home store in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that buys, sells, and trades vintage home goods and furniture. Also find locally crafted homewares, as well as air-plants and regionally grown succulents. Everything you need to make your home a place that gives you energy and joy. Follow them on Instagram at @retrodentulsa.
Asking for help can make you Stronger
I remember when I was pregnant with my first son, I had all of these dreams and plans on how balancing a baby at the shop was going to go. It went something like this: I would have the cutest outfit on while wearing my precious, sleeping baby who wore a darling handknit romper that never got spit up on it and I would calmly be helping customers shop. Baby would never cause a scene and my customers would be so understanding if I needed to close the shop for a few minutes while I breastfed him. It is so comical to think on now. Somehow (and I really don’t know how) I took both of my sons with me to work every day until they were around two, when I put them in Mother’s Day Out. I had a pak-n-play in the bathroom where they took naps. I lived in a constant state of fear that a customer was going to trip (and sue me) on one of the million toys that were scattered all over the store. There were sooo many evenings where I closed an hour early because I was done and they were losing their minds and I didn’t want someone to come in and see me crack. Sorry if you were one of those people who came in while we were unexpectantly closed. Having children "period" is probably one of the most difficult things in life. Bringing your children with you to work is just pure insanity. I think I did it for two reasons: The thought of my kids spending a good chunk of their day away from me was too hard. I know every mom struggles with that. I was lucky enough to have the option to bring them to work with me. The other reason was that a friend told me I wouldn’t be able to do it. That is probably the main reason. I was bound and determined to prove her wrong. My husband always jokes with me that the thing I say more than anything is “I can do it by myself”. And that is probably my biggest takeaway as I look back at having to close my shop, Collected Thread.
Trying to balance having my kids at work with me AND run the shop AND provide engaging customer service was too much for one person. I wish I had asked for help more. I wish I had taken people up on their offer to help with the kids or help me with my window display installation or pay for someone to do my freaking bookkeeping! I wish I had been able to take some of the load off my plate because then, instead of treading water and barely staying afloat, maybe I could have looked more objectively at the whole situation and made it better. As much as I love doing the bookkeeping (I know, I know, Big Nerd), and the buying for the shop, and talking with customers, and making new displays, and promoting our brand, and everything else; there were people in my life already who could have done a much better job and made my business much stronger.
Am I saying not to bring your children to work with you if you have that opportunity? No! I would make that choice again in a heartbeat. You CAN do it. But make sure you are leaning on others for help. You can’t do it all well. Something is going to get lost or sacrificed. Make sure you have people in your life (who you will listen to) who will call you out when it starts to become too much. Take a step back every so often and ask yourself if there are areas that someone else could be doing a better job. Moral of this story: Asking for help can make you stronger, not weak.
Lindsay is a talented creative and the former owner of Collected Thread, a local retail shop that was located in Oklahoma City's Plaza District for nine years.
#keepitlocaler: Gifts
If I’m being honest, gift-giving is the least of my love languages. The same goes for my husband. Together, we don’t make a great gift-giving pair but we try our best! Luckily, I find that shopping for gifts is one of the easiest things to do locally. While it would have been easy to focus this blog around the holidays, I thought it might be more helpful to focus on gift-giving year round. From baby births to loved ones passing, and all the gifts that happen in between.
Friends
For the most part, my friends and I have pretty similar interests and styles, so I don’t usually fret too much about where to shop. Books, records, candles, barware and vintage treasures are what I tend to lean toward. Some galfriend shopping staples for me are Plenty Mercantile, Guestroom Records, Commonplace Books, RINK Gallery, DNA Galleries, Shop Good and Chirps & Cheers. Booze and restaurant gift cards are also my go-to. I usually grab a Good Egg Dining card so the recipient has lots of choices and Broadway Wine Merchants is always a great place to find something special.
Family
For the kiddos: Green Bambino, Porch Art Supply, Commonplace Books.
For the parents: Curbside Flowers, TLC Garden Center, Native Summit, Coki Bay, The Plant Shoppe
For the siblings: local restaurant gift cards, Easy Freezy Meals gift card
Love & Babies
I’m pretty practical when it comes to gifts, so I don’t want to ignore the realistic necessities that babies and new homes bring. With people out of town, it’s so easy to just ship the gifts right off the registry. So, when I’m shopping for someone locally I try and find something small and special at a local store to add along with the crib sheets or hand towels on a registry. My favorite places to shop for something special: Plenty Mercantile, Green Bambino, Urbane. I also discovered The Lingerie Store for bachelorettes for the brides-to-be.
Loss & Caregiving
For the loss of a loved one: A Date with Iris, donation to local charity
For the loss of a pet: Donation to OK Humane
For meals: Provision Kitchen, and any local restaurants
Holidays
For the last few years, we’ve decided on a theme as a way to help us narrow gift shopping down. Picking a broad theme such as books allows us to go fewer places but still find something that interest the individuals. Last year we bought most of our gifts at Commonplace Books, the year before we made our own art, and the year before we bought booze from local liquor stores.
Gift Notes
What does shopping more local mean for a millenial(ish) couple who are striving to have a more minimal lifestyle when it comes to material things?
For this reason, we really like to make gifts super practical or super sentimental. If we can’t find a gift that meets either of those categories, we tend to give experiences and gift cards...which can all be found locally!
What is the feasibility of a commitment to shop local for those that do not have much flexibility or resources? For the single mom, the family living paycheck to paycheck, the person without access to reliable transportation?
No matter your budget, there is a local store that offers something affordable. Mix and match smaller gifts, homemade gifts and gifts from big box stores. It’s not the size or price tag of the gift that matters!
Tweet your recommendations, tips, tricks or questions for Kristen to @kristenvails with hashtag #keepitlocalok or #keepitlocaler