Small businesses urge people to shop locally this holiday season

THEO: THE HOLIDAY SHOPPING SEASON AROUND THE CORNER. SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY IS NEXT WEEK. THIS YEAR, OF COURSE, IT’S MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER TO SHOP LOCAL. JOINING US THIS MORNING WITH MORE, LOCAL BUSINESS OWNER ALLEY VON PARIS, CEO OF ROUTE ONE APPAREL. GOOD MORNING, ALLI. >> HOW ARE YOU? THEO: I’M DOING WELL. THIS IS A CHALLENGING YEAR FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES. HOW HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN FARING? >> SO FAR, SO GOOD. YOU KNOW, IT WAS REALLY A STRUGGLE IN THE BEGINNING. AND WE CHANGED THE WAY WE MADE OUR PRODUCTS AND LAUNCHED PRODUCTS. WE PIVOTED SO WE’VE BEEN DOING WELL. >> TALK TO ME ABOUT THE PRODUCTS AND THE CHANGESES YOU’VE MADE. >> WE LAUNCHED A BUMPL OF MASKS. WE HAVE A BUNCH OF LICENSED MASKS AS WELL. WE HAVE ALL KINDS OF MASK DESIGNS. LOTS OF NEW ONES FOR THE HOLIDAYS. ALSO LOTS OF ORNAMENTS WE’VE LAUNCHED. THEO: HAS THE PANDEMIC CHANGED THE WAY FOLKS ARE SHOPPING? >> YES. WE’RE SEEING A LOT OF PEOPLE SHOPPING ONLINE AND SHOPPING MORE ONLINE. WE’RE DOING OUR BEST TO ADVERTISE THAT WE HAVE OVER 100 DIFFERENT RETAILERS THAT CARRY OUR STUFF AS WELL, IN PERSON. THEO: YOU CELEBRATE MARYLAND PRIDE. ARE YOU DESIGNING FOR OTHER STATES. >> WE LAUNCHED OUR ROAD TRIP COLLECTION AND SPENT THE TIME RESEARCHING WHAT, YOU KNOW, THE CULTURE WAS LIKE IN OTHER STATES AND WE STARTED WITH DIFFERENT KINDS OF MASK DESIGNS. AN EASY WAY TO LAUNCH A WHOLE BUNCH OF DIFFERENT DESIGNS AND SEE WHAT STUCK. AND WE ARE SEEING A HUGE RESPONSE TO THAT. THEO: WE’LL BE CELEBRATING SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY THIS COMING UP WEEKEND. NEXT WEEKEND. BUT YOU’RE ALSO, YOU GUYS ARE CELEBRATING A BIG MILESTONE FOR ROUTE ONE. IS THAT CORRECT? >> YEAH. TEN YEARS. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? IT’S CRAZY. I STARTED THIS OUT OF MY DORM ROOM, AND NOW, YOU KNOW, TEN YEARS LATER, I DIDN’T EXPECT IT TO EVOLVE INTO THIS BUT I’M SO APPRECIATIVE AND HUMBLED THAT THE COMMUNITY, SINCE WE’RE SO NICHE AND FOCUSING ON MARYLAND PRIDE HAS BEEN SO FOCUSED. I DIDN’T KNOW THE TEN-YEAR MILESTONE WOULD TURN OUT LIKE THIS. THEO: TELL ME ABOUT SOME OF THE STUFF AROUND YOU. >> I’M DECKED OUT IN HOLIDAY RELEASES. HERE IS THE UTZ KNIT SWEATER. WE COLLABORATED WITH THEM ON A LINE FOR THEM. I ALSO HAVE HAWAIIAN SHIRTS. I THINK HAWAIIAN SHIRTS CAN BE WORN YEAR ROUND, HONESTLY. WE HAVE THIS ONE AS A VACATION SAN DA SAILING WITH CRABS IN THE AIR. WE PARTNERED WITH A LOCAL DESIGN AGENCY ON AWESOME ORNAMENTS. I DON’T KNOW IF YOU CAN SEE THEM. THEY HAVE A BALTIMORE SWIFT ON THEM TO COMMEMORATE THIS YEAR, BE MORE SAFE. THE DESIGN AGENCY IS HARVEY AGENCY. WE LOVE TO COLLABORATE WITH BUSINESSES. THIS GUY, WE HAVE 3D ORNAMENTS FOR THE FIRST TIME. WHAT BETTER WAY TO CELEBRATE THAN SANTA GOING ON VACATION THIS HOLIDAY SEASON. >> WHAT’S THE HOT ITEM FOR SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY? >> IT’S HARD TO NARROW IT DOWN. I’M PROUD OF THE 3D ORNAMENTS. IT’S SILLY TO SAY WE’RE EXCITED ABOUT SOMETHIG YOU SEE, BUT WE MAKE THESE THINGS FROM SCRATCH. AND WE DESIGNED ALL THIS INTERNALLY AS OUR TEAM. SO IT’S EXCITING TO LAUNCH THE 3D ORNAMENTS. IT’S A SHOP LOCAL BAG. EVERYONE HAS TO GO TO THE GROCERY STORE AND EVERYTHING LIKE THAT. THEO: WITH THE MASKS, WE’LL BE WEARING THEM FOR A WHILE. YOU HAVE OVER 70 DIFFERENT DESIGNS AND HOLIDAY PRINTS. >> OH, YEAH. WE HAVE TONS OF MASKS CONS OF AWESOME PACKAGING. WE CAN MAKE CUSTOM MASKS. IF ANYONE WANTS A CORPORATE GIFT, WE CAN MAKE CUSTOM MASKS FOR EVERYONE. THEO: YOU HAVE AN EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT FOR OUR VIEWERS. >> YES, WE DO. AVAILABLE TODAY, IT’S 30% OFF SITE-WIDE. GO TO ROUTE ONE APPAREL.COM. THE CODE IS WBAL 30. THEO: THANK YOU

Route One Apparel encourages people to shop local this holiday season

Updated: 9:47 PM EST Nov 21, 2020

The holiday shopping season is just around the corner, and Small Business Saturday is coming up next week. This year, it may be more important than ever to shop local. Joining us with more is local business owner Ali Von Paris, CEO of Route One Apparel.

BALTIMORE —

The holiday shopping season is just around the corner, and Small Business Saturday is coming up next week. This year, it may be more important than ever to shop local. Joining us with more is local business owner Ali Von Paris, CEO of Route One Apparel.