Helping Small Businesses During Pandemic

The news recently of the stay at home order extending to May 30 is hard to take. As a photographer, like all small business owners and freelancers, it's been tough. I had big plans for 2020. In 2018-2019 I took fewer clients during my pregnancy and maternity leave. I was officially relaunching the business with a new website and blog this Spring and then pandemic hit. I grieved for the plans and future I envisioned. I am guessing this isn't the 2020 vision you had either.

How can we help each other? Write reviews, share about other's businesses on your social media and blogs, buy gift certificates, and if a business is open, show up for them, and support the hell out of them!

So here are just a few businesses that I love and are open right now. I will continue to share these lists so please tell me about your business or small businesses you love.

Spilt Milk I often go on and on about how wonderful Molly and Meg. Everything they create is amazing. But today I will just let you drool over the photos. They have adapted to this season better than any business I have seen. Check out their online order system and easy no contact curbside pickup! Also, check out their retail section they carry some groceries and hard to find items! When they hear a need in the community they deliver! Yeast is now available too because it was hard to find. And as of May 6, Publican Bread is back! Spilt Milk Pastry They sell other local goods like Metric Coffee and Rare Bird Preserves.

LIfePath Therapy Associates, LLC This is a tough season and we often need someone to help us navigate these emotions and anxiety. Lifepath Therapy is accepting new clients and offers virtual session options. They have an Instagram now and have been sharing some great content. Check out the recent video by Hannah on their Instagram wonderful advice to parents working from home.

Their beautiful office space was designed by Kristina Bailey Art and Design. If you need some new artwork or a design refresh on your home now that you are spending more time there contact Kristina Bass Bailey!

Addis Cafe The Honey Nutmeg Latte is my favorite latte! Owner Kalki is warm, friendly and the kind of sunshine we all need. And that berry scone! Waffles are delicious too, wouldn't that be a great treat right now?! Currently closed Mondays I believe but otherwise open until 2 pm for carryout orders. Call ahead or order at the counter. She does a good job social distancing and sanitizing. One of the baristas, Kelsey, is making MASKS! Contact her on her Instagram account for local mask orders. https://www.instagram.com/too.by.three She has fun fabrics and both adults and kids. I got a Frozen one, see the lovely selfie of me in it.

So many others I love but hey I have to stop this local love fest at some point :)

There is a full list someone else made with the Oak Park restaurants and check out the Rewards Program too!

Sugar Beet Food Co-op This place has been our place for grocery tranquility. I feel so safe and calm shopping there. Customers required to sanitize upon entering, carts are clean, shields for the cashiers, limited people in-store, senior hours. A lot of this they were some of the first to do. So many local brands here also. http://sugarbeetcoop.squarespace.com/

Alpine Food Shop in Elmwood Park is open for pickup Tues-Sunday. So delicious. They also have deli meat, pasta sauces, potato salad, and other grocery items. https://www.alpinefoodshop.com/

Swati Saxena If you need to sell, buy or rent a home during this time (or ever) she's your girl! She's doing virtual tours. She's an amazing realtor and person. https://www.facebook.com/YourTrustedRealEstateResource/

Geppetto's Toy Box I love this place so much. They have been doing video calls with the owner to shop. They currently use a local carrier service to get amazing toys to you. I don't know for sure but I believe as of May 1st they have curbside pickup again. https://geppettostoybox.com/

The Book Table another wonderful local business I hope stays in our community a long time but also needs our help. As of May 1st they have curbside pickup again. Let's get all the books, journals, magazines, cards, and other goodies we can from them. Think Local first instead of Amazon. Any great book recommendations for me? Currently, I am loving Rachel Hollis. Anyone else doing her Next 90 Days Challenge? https://www.booktable.net/

Lively Athletics I know you all need new workout gear for all the extra running and such right? Okay okay we just all need yoga pants for comfort. HAHA. Lively has those too!

https://www.livelyathletics.com/

The Lantern Haus Have you seen the cute balloons they are doing? What a unique way to celebrate during these times! (if you do this, please let me know! I might have to go on a walk with my camera) They are posting drink recipes too, yum! https://www.thelanternhaus.com/

I know I am forgetting so many more. I will just have to make this a regular thing! Maybe a little shorter next time :)

In addition to the portraits and events that I have become known for in my career, I was quietly following my passion on the side. If you follow me personally or on Instagram: @tinaharle you undoubtedly have heard me rave about local businesses for years. Even when we travel we plan around the best local coffeeshop, bookstore, cafe/restaurant or toy store. We don't use Amazon, seriously. We shop local first as much as possible, then the bigger box stores. And when local businesses close I often cry. So you can imagine this time is anxiety-filled for me too because I love my fellow business owners. We are a community and we must raise each other up. I went into photography because I love telling stories and capturing moments in time. But also because I want to make a difference with my work.

So how can I help you right now? Do you need product photos to sell online? Do you need stock images to have something to post on social media? Do you need portraits of yourself or staff? Maybe some of your staff in masks handing out food and showing your safe practices.

I know times are very tough and you are probably thinking you can't hire a photographer. I hesitated even to mention my photography in this post because it's not about me. But a good friend reminded me recently that I have to fight for my business too with as much passion as I fight for other small businesses. I have to let people know what I do. I wish I was in the position to give away my photography services but I am a business too. I do donate sessions when I can for fundraisers and I photograph for local preschool auction. However, I limit the number of donations each year so I too can stay in business. These are unprecedented times so I am also willing to find creative solutions. I never want the budget to be the reason I can't help your business grow. So let's chat and see what we can come up with for your business. If you have an idea for a collaboration or other ways I can help please let me know. As always I will continue to promote local business and help support this community. We are in this together.

Please note I will be following social distancing guidelines as well as following a current stay at home orders. Since on May 1st the guidelines in Illinois have changed a little I will now be taking clients again. I will be following all the rules, such as maintaining 6+ feet distance, wearing a mask when inside a public place or distance can’t be kept, and taking home as much as possible. I can recommend creative solutions like independently photographing your products in my home or taking portraits out front of your business from a safe distance.

Yes, I am now offering the popular porch photos, or as I like to call them At Home Sessions. I will send out more information soon, but if you are interested please let me know to get on the list.

Oh, If you are interested in a full portrait session you can purchase a gift certificate now and we will book a session as soon as I have the all-clear to be in those spaces. Future portrait sessions make great Mother's Day gifts!

Follow me on Instagram: tinaharle Right now I post a lot about my kids, getting through this season and local businesses.

"But First Coffee..."

Today (and by that I mean January 30 when I first wrote this) I was at Addis Cafe and ran into a friend who was trying the coffeeshop for the first time. She was just telling her friend that she was checking out the coffeeshop because I am always posting about it (in my Instagram stories and feed). I was so excited that sharing my love of this local place helped bring in a new customer--and new fan. She said the coffee and waffles were perfect. I am happy she had an enjoyable meal and coffee. It feels so good to share new places we discover and our favorites. This is one of the reasons that I am finally following through on this blog.

Photo of me and Annabelle in the Grand Floridian before our Princess Character Dining dinner at 1900 Park Fare.  We loved meeting Cinderella, Prince Charming, the Stepsisters and StepMother (note characters are different at this location at Breakfast and Lunch). Photo by Jon Harle (thanks love for this!)

Also today I received a text from another friend saying she loves the photos of Disney and what was the name of that character dining place again she was recommending it to a friend. I realize what many have been trying to tell me. I have information and experiences that people are interested in. It is time to put the planning into action. 

I struggled with how to start this. I tried to plan it out. Wrote a reintroduction about five times. (maybe more) I often try to do too much. (Applies to other areas of my life too) I want to tell it all in one post, I want it to be perfect. A good friend of mine, Emily, reminded me to keep it simple not everything has to be a long post.

On January 24 another local photographer Joey @littlebittyproductions posted a photo with the quote, "Just Do the Damn Thing."  I immediately felt a sense of guilt and also inspiration.  It was like she was talking to ME!  I began working on getting my act together and planning to relaunch this blog.  --And by beginning I mean continuing the planning I have been doing for the last year or two but kept holding back from actually publishing.  

If you have followed me on Instagram or Facebook for the last couple years you know I basically run on coffee and that I have a great love of local coffeeshops.  So it is only fitting to start there.  My daughter and I have been working on a little side project for the last few years CoffeeShop Park.  --More on that officially later but in the meantime you can follow #coffeeshoppark on Instagram for a sneak peek.

S'mores Latte (seasonal) at Addis Cafe in Oak Park.  Photo by Tina Harle

Addis Cafe in Oak Park is my current favorite Oak Park area coffee shop.  You will find me there several times a week.  I love to edit my photography, meet with friends and just relax there especially in those couple hours a day I get while my daughter is in preschool.  Annabelle calls this "the coffee waffle place"  because well that's the two main things they are known for.  Oh my do they do both of these right!  

Love sipping Honey Nutmeg Lattes while I edit photos at Addis Cafe 

I promised to keep this brief and simple (see so tough for me!) so while I could go on all day about my love for Addis Cafe I am going to give you my Top 5 favorites! --Yes that's a High Fidelity reference.  If you do not know what I am talking about please go watch that movie right now! (well finish this blog, grab some coffee then snuggle up and watch it)

Tina's Top 5 things she loves about Addis Cafe

1. Honey Nutmeg Latte.  One of the best lattes I have ever had.  It's perfectly spiced and not too sweet.  This has been my go to drink since I first tried it.  I have mine with almond milk cause me and regular milk are not best friends anymore. The almond milk does complement the drink.

2. The 206 Special--Mixed Berry Compote waffles with whip cream. Oh my they do this one right!  The berry compote is sweet from the berries but doesn't have that artifical or too sweet syrup like flavor because it's made from real berries and homemade.  Best berry compote I have ever had.  See a close number 3.

3. Berry Compote Scone this is a new addition to the menu this winter and oh my it's delicious.  When I want to eat all that berry compote but not have a full waffle this hits the spot for sure.  Just look at it...

Cherry Scone with Berry Compote.  Photo by Tina Harle

4. Okay ALL the waffles.  It's really hard to pick one.  The Gusto with nutella, bananas, almonds and whip cream has been my favorite for a long time.  The savory waffle with sun dried tomatoes, avocado and spicy (yet mild) sauce--oh and cheese.  It is a perfect balance of sweet, spice, and savory.  I haven't tried the others because they are so good I have a hard time deciding as it is.  But I have no doubt that they are all amazing!  Annabelle loves one with just nutella and whip cream (a modified Gusto) and I ask for an extra plate for us to split.  She just loves licking the nutella out of the little waffle holes, eating the whip cream with a spoon then making a huge mess picking the rest up.  Some day she will use a fork, right?  Until then I giggle at the big adorable mess she makes.

Gusto waffles (Nutella, bananas, almonds and whip cream) and Turmeric Latte Addis Cafe.  Photo by Tina Harle

5.  Turmeric Latte (again with almond milk) This is slowly making it's way into the number 1 spot especially in the winter months.  Turmeric I hear has nutritional benefits which is a bonus.  But this spice that is in the ginger family has a little kick to it that I just love.

How are we already at the end of the list?  There are so many things I didn't mention.  One of the best parts of Addis Cafe is that it is such a neighborhood place. The owner lives in the area. She can be seen in the cafe with her friendly smile. She knows you and your order after only a couple times. This is in walking distance from my house--in good weather of course.

I will share with you more of our local favorite places (of course includes coffeeshops), our travels and my photography.  Wow I did it, published, actually blogged again.  Please tell me what you want to see more of to help me decide what to post next.