If you’ve gotten this far, you’ve probably already noticed our logo:
You can read the post “So How Did We Get Here?” to learn about the journey this website took to become a reality. However, I wanted to take just a minute of your time to explain how this logo came about and what it really means.
The words “TryLocalFirst” are pretty self explanatory and are derived from our mission statement which reads: “Before you buy somewhere else, Try Local First!” It’s a simple concept and is more of a mindset than a mission statement. The reality is that some things will need to be purchased online or at a big box store, but if we all just made a small effort to try to do business locally, it would change our local economy.
So, to reinforce the idea, I choose the three basic colors found in a stoplight: red, yellow and green. Each color was assigned to a different word in the logo as follows:
- Try = This word was assigned the color red as a reminder to stop before you buy and at least consider looking for a local vendor to supply your need. Sometimes it is just as simple as stopping to remember that there are local vendors who are in our community ready and willing to supply any need you may have.
- Local = This word was assigned the color yellow to encourage people to slow down and search for local vendors before you automatically purchase from a big box store or from online.
- First = This word was assigned the color green to imply that once you’ve stopped and considered buying local, then go and purchase what you need wherever the best solution from you is found. The word is also displayed as lifting off to imply that once you’ve tried to consider and search for a local option, then you can take flight to whatever destination makes the best sense for you and your situation.
Our lives have become a blur and we are always in such a hurry that sometimes we forget to slow down and take the road less traveled. That’s a shame because it can make all the difference.
John Lennon once sang “All we are sayin’ is give peace a chance.” I’d like to paraphrase John and say “All we are asking is to Try Local First.”
