Monthly Archives: April 2011

It’s drizzling here in the San Francisco Bay area. The sky’s a pale grey sheet. The Polito family’s first Easter without our beloved Dad. I just checked my iPhone and–of course–it’s not raining in Southern California, where my Mom and … Continue reading →

Don doesn’t get the whole “retail therapy”concept.  He knows what he needs, period. He simply says, “I need a new blue shirt for work,” and then heads out to find one. His shopper-mind is a steel trap: find blue shirt, … Continue reading →

In the name of research, Don / Richie C and I ate dinner at Nordstrom’s Bistro Cafe. It was a warm spring evening. Easy listening music piped onto the rooftop terrace. Our Nicoise Salads with Salmon were delicious: organic baby … Continue reading →

You gotta build stuff. That’s what makes middle America. Service industry doesn’t build an economy. You gotta have “rust belt” stuff…heavy industry making steel, sending it down to the next guy. The cycle keeps the wheel spinning…        –Kevin Cadwalader, Sales … Continue reading →

Just as I was about to leave Etsy land–which like infinity, seems limitless–I came across another American purse-maker / seller. Darned if I can recall how I found her. All I can say is the hot pink camellias outside my … Continue reading →

So, as I said, my threadbare metallic-coated made in China Gap handbag has to go. A leather tote might work better for me. I log onto etsy.com, enter ”leather handbags“in the search window. Etsy’s handcrafters from around the globe offer up 99 pages of products. … Continue reading →

My {Made in China} Gap tote–age seven-months–looks exhausted. The silver metallic-coated fabric, which once attracted compliments (“Oh, I love that purse! I need one like that. Where’d you find it?”) has worn down to un-shimmery threads; as if I’d dragged … Continue reading →

He who thinks himself wise, O heavens! is a great fool. –Voltaire After three months on this Buy American journey, only one thing is clear: I know so little, and have so much to learn. I am not an economist. … Continue reading →