Video: Carrie Rollwagen talks about her yearlong blogging project, Shop Small,
an experiment in buying mostly from local merchants.

A yearlong commitment to supporting local retailers and restaurants has reached the halfway mark.

Shop Small, a blog started by Birmingham resident Carrie Rollwagen, discusses the pros and cons of shopping as locally as possible for 2011. The lifestyle experiment launched on Jan. 1; today marks the middle of the year.

Rollwagen recently made a much deeper commitment to local merchants by becoming one. Church Street Coffee and Books, which she co-owns with Cal Morris, has its grand opening Tuesday.

In changing her routine, Rollwagen has gone on a series of mini-adventures, as she describes them, determining what makes a store “local” to Alabama and how far her own dollars go within the community.

Also:

• Shop Small website | Facebook
• Carrie Rollwagen on Twitter @crollwagen
• More on Church Street Coffee and Books

Video: A promotional clip for one of Rollwagen’s previous blogging ventures
was “Some New Trend,” a young adult novel co-written by her.

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