When I was in college I was fortunate enough to spend a semester in Paris. This experience changed me, forever. I developed such a deep love for that city, it's hard to put into words. What keeps drawing me to Paris and for that matter many other European cities, is the sense of community. I've since been back to Paris on vacation and, although wonderful, it isn't the same at all as living amongst the French, as one of them. I moved to Manhattan when I returned from my semester abroad and although I love New York it didn't capture my heart in quite the same way. It was missing something. What was it that drew me into Paris SO much? Of course, the history, the museums, the food, the fashion but New York was a powerhouse in most of these things as well. What makes it such a special place for me is the intimacy of it. For example, I only visited a typical "grocery store" once in all of my time there and it was on the outskirts of the city. There was no Whole Foods, no Trader Joe's. No. I made several stops each night for dinner on my way home. I went to the cheese shop, the wine store, the butcher. Each shop owner knew their respective product to its core and could tell you (as much as I could understand them) what cheese would pair better with what wine. Of course a staple for me while there was the crepe. By the end of my time there "my" crepe man around the corner was like a friend. He would ask about New York and we would talk about politics, the weather, how my French accent was coming along. Every time I stopped it felt like a short visit with a friend.
Sometimes the autonomy of New York is a wonderful thing. When you want to run to Starbucks in your sweatpants for example (not that I ever did that) you didn't worry about running into someone. But that also makes it a very lonely place to live. My husband and I just recently moved to the 'burbs. When our city friends asked how we were "surviving" our response was that everyone we met was so friendly, we were actually taken aback. I've found a wine store with an owner who addresses all of his customers by name. There's a local, family owned market. These are things that are important to me. I'll always need to buy food, wine and gifts. I'd like to have a pleasant experience while doing it. More importantly, I understand the impact of supporting local business owners, artists and buying products made in America.
When Taylor Aiden was founded we vowed to only produce our bags in America. To this day, we've kept true to that promise. It hasn't been easy - manufacturers are harder and harder to come by. This hasn't deterred us, it has only made our commitment stronger. We will continue to produce our bags here and we will also source, as much as possible, American made products. We want to support your local economies all across this country and feel comfort in the fact that the products we sell were produced ethically, by our neighbors.
We hope you join us on this journey. We've found the most amazing products and dedicated a whole section in our shop to them. Check it out here.
Check out just a few of my favorite pictures from my most recent trip to Paris (on my honeymoon!)
