Flagstaff Region Annual Gift Guide
The Flagstaff Region is a rural “Community of Communities” and has a population of 8,043, which is inclusive of 10 rural communities. The Flagstaff Crafted, a program run by Flagstaff County, launched the annual Gift Guide. This is a visual collection of products and services, intended to showcase the unique and incredible options that are available locally. Flagstaff Crafted continues to grow and expand, and the Flagstaff Crafted Gift Guide is no exception. Flagstaff Crafted is on a mission to facilitate the success and growth of local businesses and the growth of our local economy, and the Flagstaff Crafted Gift Guide allows us to further support local entrepreneurs. The Gift Guide helps establish a stronger market for unique, hand-crafted, quality-made products, and exceptional services, and reach people that may ultimately look for a similar product or service elsewhere. As consumers flip through the pages (physically or digitally), they can pause to appreciate the dedication of each business, be inspired by their journey, and recognize that they are a fundamental piece of the Flagstaff Region economy.
While the program is supported by the County and offers free participation in the Gift Guide for entrepreneurs that have joined the Flagstaff Crafted Program, the added value that is created for the community, local and external consumers is incomparable and consistently growing. What first started as an idea and only 15 local vendors and makers included in the first guide, has now evolved into 22 makers/small business and 70 unique products proudly promoted in our latest 2024 guide. The vendors featured in the Flagstaff Crafted Gift Guide are often family-owned and operated. When you support local businesses, you are helping families like yours put food on the table and pay for their children’s school supplies. While you might pay a bit more for these products and services, your money is reinvested into the business, enabling it to thrive and keeping funds circulating within the local economy.
Local businesses give an average of 5 times more per dollar to groups in their community. Furthermore, local business owners spend 25% more in the local economy than their larger competitors. On average, small business tend to pollute 15 times less than larger, non-local chains. These are all ways that small businesses positively impact the economy, and the Flagstaff Crafted Gift Guide is one way Flagstaff County proudly supports them.
To interest people in the Gift Guide we teased them with editorial content on the Flagstaff Crafted social sites, and to further interest consumers, we created a social media strategy using multiple digital channels, to ensure it was noticed by multiple demographics. Also Included in our strategy was an ad in our local paper – The Community Press. The Flagstaff Crafted Program is made up of businesses who share, support, and encourage one another to grow their business to its fullest potential. Those businesses who participate in the program authentically shared the gift guide on their own social media expanding its reach.
The Flagstaff Crafted is a hub for entrepreneurs, collaboration, and support in the Flagstaff Region. Flagstaff County is committed to supporting local small business owners. With a high sense of pride in high-quality local handmade goods and services and a goal of business retention and expansion in mind, the Flagstaff Crafted Gift Guide was created and intended to continue as an annual publication. There has been a great shift in “supporting local” that is continuing to become more attractive to both urban and rural consumers, so the Gift Guide helps to leverage this demand by creating this interactive, digital, and visually appealing one-stop-shop method to showcase the unique and incredible options that are available locally.
2024 Flagstaff Crafted Gift Guide by Kerri Lefsrud – Flipsnack – Digital Gift Guide URL
