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NCPlenty 126 Justice Street Chapel Hill, NC 27516 (919) 942-9704 www.ncplenty.org ncplenty@ncplenty.org |
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Mission Statement NCPlenty, Inc. is a non-profit corporation working to promote local commerce, fair wages, environmental responsibility, self-reliance, and neighborliness through the implementation and support of a local currency, the PLENTY. |
For NCPlenty's main page, click here.
For the current issue of the NCPlenty membership newsletter, click here.
Recently, I had the good fortune to sit beside Laura Wilson of Blast, Inc. at a Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce event. Talk turned to NCPlenty and Laura hit on a great idea... I would come to Pittsboro to tour the Blast campus and then we would walk through downtown Pittsboro on an NCPlenty tour.
The drive from Carrboro to Pittsboro was faster than I expected, and I soon arrived at Blast. Blast has gone the extra mile to create a sustainable, comfortable enviroment and Laura's enthusiasm for her employer was apparent. Geothermal energy provides heating and cooling for the building; many areas are well-lit with skylights and large banks of windows. Employees can attend yoga class in the airy, sunlit exercise room or they can play ping-pong in the large break room. Art covers the walls and the bulletin board in the entrance is overflowing with thank-you notes from local organizations and articles about various innovative projects headed by Lyle Estill, owner of Blast. I even spied one of his famous chess sets on the Board Room table. I was amazed to learn that Blast has networked the whole downtown--and more--of Pittsboro for wireless internet service. Pittsboro businesses can connect to the Internet wirelessly for a small monthly fee and if you visit a business with a laptop, you can log on and connect as well.
We drove the short distance to downtown and proceeded on our walking tour. First stop: the Pittsboro General Store Cafe. Local artists display colorful work on consigment--on the walls, ceiling, and floors! A gift shop is tucked in the back corner. A local gardener has delightful plant arrangements for sale outside. Tables are sprinkled around the room; some are hidden in nooks behind bookshelves. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served here and Laura said it was quite a hotspot for Blast employees at lunchtime. Bands play several nights a week. Add in the Internet wireless connection, and I honestly can't see a reason to ever leave the General Store Cafe.
We crossed the street and saw Cindy Edwards of Edwards Antiques & Collectibles just opening up for the day. I have to admit antique shops generally intimidate me, but Cindy is incredibly friendly and her shop is not only welcoming but full of unique home furnishings or special gifts. I found furniture, old photographs, antique jewelry, Fiestaware and other china, and in a glass cabinet, an adorable collection of antique toys, including an old Howdy Doody marionette. Edwards Antiques & Collectibles accepts up to 50% of your purchase in PLENTYs.
French Connections is another NCPlenty member in Pittsboro, with two locations downtown. We peered through the window at the first storefront to see colorful bags and small furniture items. We found owner Wendy DuFour (she runs the shop with her husband, Jacques) at the second location in a house a little further down the main road. Items were spilling onto the porch and into the yard from all parts of Africa: furniture, lamps, masks, etchings, jewelry, art. I made our honorary NCPlenty tour purchase here: a fabulous market basket from Ghana, just perfect for a trip to the Fearrington Farmer's Market on Tuesday evenings (where you can of course find NCPlenty members, including Perry-winkle Farm).
Laura was returning to Blast to eat lunch with her coworkers (they take turns cooking on Thursdays). I was off to pick up my son at the Children's Cooperative Playschool (another NCPlenty member!) and later we would shop at member Weaver Street Market for our dinner, where I remembered to ask for some PLENTYs as change so I could find a way to filter it out to more of our NCPlenty community. I remembered it's all about community.
For NCPlenty's main page, click here.
For the current issue of the NCPlenty membership newsletter, click here.