Twelve covers, twelve months, and somehow the story is always the same: our community is the heartbeat of this magazine. And the twelfth month of the year always asks something of us. For our attention and our willingness to look up from the rush.
There are so many stories in this issue that aren’t just about local businesses, but about local lives. About people rebuilding, creating, taking risks and offering second chances. Like the team at R&R Head Labs, whose work shows just how powerful a community can be when it chooses humanity over judgment, opportunity over dismissal.
That’s the heart of this season, isn’t it? Not perfection. Not productivity. But the quiet reminder that we get to show up for each other in ways that matter.
Yes, you’ll find our annual gift guide in these pages. And yes, it’s full of incredible makers, shops, and creators. People who pour their craft, their time, and usually their entire life story into what they offer. And we hope like hell that you’ll visit them; 95% of our partners are small and women-owned, and your support truly strengthens the neighborhood we all share.
But supporting local goes so much further than where we shop. It’s checking in on an elderly neighbor. Restocking a Little Free Pantry or Little Library when you walk by. Offering to watch a friend’s child so she can tackle her holiday to-do list. It’s every small, human gesture that says: We’re in this together.
Supporting local is not just an economic choice, it’s a way of moving through the world. A way of reminding ourselves that community isn’t built only through businesses, but through moments of kindness, care and connection. It’s the message we continue to thread into these pages every month for the last eight years.
So, this month, as you celebrate, gather, rest, or simply make it through, we invite you to notice the quiet good around you. The second chances unfolding. The stories being written. The people building of something hopeful, right here at home.
Your neighbors,
Shaleen and Sam DeStefano