Made in the USA

As we've cleaned through the barns and sheds on the farm, one thing has made us a bit sad. The majority of the items we've discovered are proudly stamped with city and state of their manufacture. They proudly declare they were made not only in the USA, but in Cleveland, OH, St. Louis, MO or Trenton, NJ...just to name a few. Sadly, that's just not something we see today.

Much of the USA manufacturing has shut down and been shipped out to other countries. We simply cannot compete with the prices of the cheap labor available in other countries. However, the craftsmanship, quality and creativity have suffered with large-scale mass production. Unfortunately, there are few willing to pay the cost for quality, crafted pieces.

At one time, here in our valley in the Ozarks, over 300,000 novelties were manufactured and sold annually. We are unsure exactly what they were, but suspect they were "Gee-Haw Sticks" or dancing men which were common Ozark toys and souvenir gifts during the time period. Cedar pencils were also manufactured from the abundant cedar in the area. None of those industries exist here today. And they would be hard pressed to compete with similar items manufactured overseas.

While there aren't as many as there were 50 years ago, or even 30 years ago... there are some manufacturers which have stubbornly stayed the course and maintained their manufacturing plants in towns across the country.We encourage folks to support local artisans and manufacturers by looking for "Made in the USA" products. And, to celebrate the past, you can repurpose the vintage items we found on the farm - now available in our Etsy Shop

As we have Arkansas Pride, here are a few we recommend:
Cavendar's Greek Seasoning - A family owned company founded in 1971 and located in Harrison, Arkansas exports this seasoning, created originally as a meat seasoning and now used by numerous cooks around the country as a "secret ingredient" in many other recipes
Juanita's Candy Kitchen -  peanut, pecan and cashew brittles, handmade in Arkadelphia.
Stone County Ironworks - America's Blacksmith Shop, based in Mountain View, uses traditional hand forging techniques to create iron furniture and accessories, one at a time.
Terra Studios -  The home of the Original Bluebird of Happiness^® and the Pink Bird of Hope^®, Terra Studios is a wonderland of art, a popular Northwest Arkansas tourist attraction and a family friendly destination.  *Watch as our collectible glass bluebirds are proudly made in the USA by skilled Arkansas crafts people. We showcase American arts and crafts, Ozark crafts, handmade collectibles and unique gifts created by local artists.