Secular Tithing

… and where to buy The Principles of Knitting

RA Hiatt, December 2014

Tithing is traditionally defined as a commitment to contribute a regular amount of support to a place of worship. However, I like to apply the idea in an informal, secular way as a means of supporting small, local businesses that I particularly value.

I am happy to buy basic things like paper towels and cleaning products from a big discount store. I use my savings to buy fruit and vegetables from the local produce market, freshly baked bread from the baker, and most of my groceries at a nearby store where I am greeted by name and can visit with my neighbors in the checkout line.

The quality of the goods sold and the knowledgeable service extended by these stores is priceless to me. And I understand that unless my neighbors and I put some of our shopping dollars in their registers on a regular basis, these small stores will disappear, at great loss to the community.

Not only do I like having them available to me, but they also pay state and local taxes and employ people who live in my area, which makes it a better place to live. On-line discounters return nothing of this kind to a community. Furthermore, they are often willing to sell products at a loss to gain market share, or take an extremely small profit and make money on volume. Some have even been known to encourage customers to examine a product at a local store, and then go to their website and tell them the price so they can undercut the local merchant.

It is quite impossible for a small retailer to compete with this business model. If consumers constantly chase the lowest price and send their dollars elsewhere, the day could come when there are no local businesses left to patronize. I urge you to support your local community by spending more of your money close to home; the prices may be slightly higher, but you will get something of value besides the purchase itself.

Therefore, I would like to encourage you to consider buying The Principles of Knitting at your local yarn or bookstore. I understand the book is likely to cost more locally, and that many of you have budget constraints, so it is important to make very clear that my royalty is the same regardless of what you pay for the book or where you buy it.

A visit to a real store will allow you to hold the book in your hands, look at the table of contents, read the introductions, leaf through the pages, and talk to someone who is familiar with it. If you decide to buy it, you can select a perfect copy and take it right home with you, without waiting for it to be shipped. And, of course, if you buy it at a yarn store, you might also take home some beautiful yarn, sign up for a class, run into a friend, or get some help with a project.

The second edition.

As another incentive for you to buy from your local yarn store, if you email me a copy of your receipt, I will send you a signed bookplate that you can paste into the front cover. And if you want a copy of The Principles of Knitting personally signed by me, there are a limited number of copies available in our Shop.

Bookplate