Tag Archives: buy local

How credit card fees affect local small businesses

2022 vLife blog featured image Credit Card Fees Oct 2022

Credit card fees and debt are a staple for the life of a consumer. After all, probably most of the adults you know have at least one credit card. Why? Well, because they are quite handy, if used responsibly. Buy now, pay later? That mindset is appealing to most of us. Interestingly, the origin of […]

3 Must See Halifax Local Comic Shops and Game Stores

vLife Blog Feature image 3 Local Comic Book and Game Stores Oct 2022

Luckily, there are plenty of fantastic locally owned comic book shops and game stores in the Halifax area – each with their own specialties. Some have lots of different video games, while others have a broad range of comics. Some even have a big section on tabletop role-playing games – *swoon*. As I’m passionate about […]

Sustainable Shopping that’s Affordable Too

Happy sustainable shop owner

Sustainable shopping that is also affordable is hard. But even harder is global warming – a real, looming, and ever-growing problem. Recent hurricanes Fiona and Ian are very real proof of that.  Global warming truly is a persistent and universal problem. And, for me, this knowledge gives this sense of powerlessness. I’m sure many of […]

Local Fall Products And Where to Get ‘Em

Montage of Fall Products, pumpkins decor pumpkin spice late, Fall drinks local fall products

Me, one fine Wednesday morning. Phone buzzes and I flip it over to find a text with those faithful words – “On my way to go get a pumpkin spice latte.” Fall products. They’re back. Yep. It’s that time of year again. Leaves are starting to change, mornings are getting colder, and the smell of […]

Top 5 Local Economy Growth Hacks through Buying Local

Happy small business woman with We're open sign

The local economy grows by supporting small businesses more than larger corporations. Why, you ask? Well, buying from small local businesses strengthens the local supply chain and retains more of your purchase dollars locally. Not to mention also reducing your carbon footprint. If you haven’t already, you can take a closer look at how this […]

Sustainable Grocery Shopping: What You Can Do to Help

Sustainable Grocery Shopping vLife Blog reusable produce bag

Sustainability is one of the most important issues that the world faces today. As our use of plastics increase to astronomical amounts, we are observing how our harmful use of plastics can contaminate not just our environments, but every single microbial being that inhabits it. Frankly, grocery stores are no exception to this trend. Your […]

Top 10 Holiday Season Traditions, COVID-Style

vLife You Can Do it Holiday Traditions COVID-StyleErin Elaine Casey showing surprised santa

Ah, holiday season traditions. We’ve all got them, whether we like it or not. Getting your s**t together this holiday season is a little more complicated than usual. And let’s be real — you’ve had enough self-improvement for one year. What you need is someone who understands. Someone who gets you. Someone whose holiday observations […]

Free Delivery & Curbside Pickup: Small Businesses Adapt

While we “Stay the Blazes Home” in Nova Scotia, free delivery and curbside pick-up are playing a vital role in sustaining our communities. It’s impressive how quickly and efficiently small indie businesses are pivoting to keep safely servicing their customers. I’m also heartened by the growing number of community members using these services to support […]

Zero Waste Lifestyle Transition in Halifax

zero waste life transition

A zero waste lifestyle transition can be daunting. There has been a huge shift in the number of reusable bags available at grocery stores over the past few years. This is wonderful, but when we looked at our weekly waste, the majority was still made up of single-use plastic packaging for produce and dry goods. […]

Buy-Local Shopper Survey: Motivations & Barriers

vlife Buy-Local Shopper Survery Results Love

We spoke to many buy-local shoppers when first designing our vlife solution for connecting folks with more small local businesses. When vlife was just a dream and some wireframe sketches, we conducted a buy-local shopper survey* where respondents openly shared their motivations and frustrations with us. And we found many commonalities. The main points being […]