The first weekend in December 2012 boasted the first 'Indie retail shopping crawl' for Old Amersham. This meant that the independent retail shops in Old Amersham, Buckinghamshire, UK got together and produced a map. On the allocated days you then took your map (available in all participating shops) with you and collected a stamp from each on your map. You didn't have to buy anything, just to simply go in and ask for a stamp. Of course I stopped for a chat in most shops and it took me about half a day but theoretically you could probably do it in half an hour.
This lovely little map really opened my eyes. I discovered shops I didn't know were there, bumped into friends and enjoyed a lovely breakfast out. I booked appointments and got some Christmas presents sorted. This is a great event to do with friends or family and is a lovely day/half a day out!
And as a bonus, if you completed the map and got all of your stamps, hand over your map to a participating shop and you're entered into a prize draw to win a hamper of goodies which features something from all the shops involved. Absolutely amazing!
If you missed out, not to worry! The shopping crawl will be back to Old Amersham again in 2013. Keep an eye out on here for updates and in local BUCKS and HERTS magazines and papers. You can see here about how I first got involved in this project.
The illustrations used in the map of the shops in Old Amersham were also used on Christmas cards. If you'd like to pre-order then please get in touch by leaving a comment below or emailing charlotte_vallance(at)hotmail.com
