Jackson Free Press

They say that handmade gifts mean so much more to the recipient. They also mean a lot to the artists who craft the items as well as to the local economy, especially now. The Mississippi Craft Center Gallery in Ridgeland, and others like it around the country, is having a banner sales year.

Julia Daily, executive director of the Craftsmen's Guild of Mississippi, said this year's sales are up over last year. "This time of year makes or breaks a retailer," Daily said. "What we find interesting is that the country seems to be coming back to buying locally, buying green and buying handcrafted."

Nationally, craft artisans make between $1 billion and $2 billion in sales, the trade group Craft Organization Development Association reports. As large national retailers stirred consumers into a bargain-finding frenzy with low prices at holiday shopping time, local retailers responded by co-opting elements of the corporations' strategy.

The craft center, for example, held its own versions of Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping events. Its success recently merited a mention by Wendy Rosen, editor of the art and travel magazine American Style. Speaking to USA Today, Rosen singled out Mississippi's craft gallery as one of her favorite in the country.

Tonight, Tuesday, Dec. 13, the center will hold a late-night shopping event from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at 950 Rice Road in Ridgeland. The evening will feature artisans' demonstrations and discounts on some items.

Fairfield Gets It Done

Fairfield Inn and Suites held a ribbon-cutting ceremony this morning for its renovated building located at 5723 Interstate 55 N. Each of the hotel's 79 rooms got fresh paint, new carpet and flooring, furniture and televisions. Fairfield employs between 15 and 20 people. Michael Davis, the city's acting economic-development director, presented the hotel's general manager with a certificate of appreciation on behalf of Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr.

Ergon Takes It Away
 
Ergon Asphalt and Emulsions Inc. is stepping up efforts in the battle against a little-known threat to our nation: corrosion. This week, the Jackson-based company acquired Henkel Corp.'s Corrosion Engineering Division headquartered in Lester, Pa. The corrosion division will operate under the company's ErgonArmor division, which, according to the privately owned firm's website, manufactures "solutions to problems with corrosion protection, moisture infiltration, adhesion, sound dampening and surface treatments." Essentially, it makes stuff to stop problems like power-plant smokestacks and factory floors from corroding, a bigger problem than people realize. Approximately 3.2 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product, roughly $276 billion, goes toward fighting corrosion in the nation's infrastructure. The company said in a news release that existing sales and support in Pennsylvania would remain in place.