“Buy local.” It’s something that consumers hear a lot this time of year. But Brian Haines, Canby Music owner, feels like the mandate should apply to him, too, when he’s acquiring inventory.
That’s why his store carries as many Oregon-made — or at least, American-made — instruments as possible.
“I’m a local guy, who started a store here in my hometown,” Haines says. “And I strive to carry as many local products as I can.”
That includes many of the high-end guitars (Breedlove, made in Bend), ukuleles (Kala, made in California) and banjos (Deering, also from California) you can find at Canby Music, as well as as a few things you might not expect. Like the World’s Loudest Acoustic Kazoo™, manufactured by Kazoobie right here in the good old U.S. of A.
For that matter, most of the accessories he carries — from guitar stands and strings to drum sticks and reeds — are American-made.
Buying local is important, especially when a place like Canby, where so many place high value on community identity and tradition. Home-grown, family-owned, brick and mortar businesses are the backbone of the local economy, and also provide the structure that helps preserve a community’s history and supports a vibrant culture.
Local businesses give to civic organizations, local charities, sports teams, schools and other causes at much higher rates than those owned by out-state-corporations. For every dollar spent at a locally owned business, 67 percent stays in the community and gets recirculated.
“If you’re buying something that was manufactured in some far-off place, then has to be shipped, those dollars — however much you spent on that product — get split up all over the place,” Haines says. “But if you buys something here that was also made here, all those dollars stay in the community.”
Sometimes, buying local might mean paying a little more than it would cost you to get the same product on Amazon or eBay. But, Haines says, even that is not always the case.
“I think it’s a myth that buying local means you have to pay more,” he says. “There is stuff that’s local that is high-end, and there’s stuff that’s local that’s entry-level and much more affordable. There’s all kinds of variations with this stuff.”
For more information about the products carried by Canby Music, visit their website.
