It's been over a week since the very-much-talked-about Eaux Claires Music & Arts Festival swept through our humble city. We're still catching our breath and coming down from the incredible experience(s) provided by the Chippewa Valley's newest large-scale music event. All of us here at Volume One and The Local Store worked incredibly hard leading up to that weekend in order to build a "mobile shop" able to showcase the best of what we have to offer – and express our overall mission in a way fest goers from around the country and the world could relate to and appreciate. Since our store's primary focus is goods evoking a sense of place here in the Chippewa Valley – or Wisconsin in general – we weren't exactly sure how our visitors would interpret it all, or frankly, if they would even care. We were blown away by what happened.

We saw thousands of visitors from all over the globe (both at the festival itself and at our downtown location) throughout the weekend. We were overwhelmed with their authentic kindness and appreciation of what we worked so hard to put on display – the Chippewa Valley's vibe. Anchoring down the festival's "Homegrown Village" was a highlight for us. At the "Village," other local makers and creators shared a space with us right inside the fest's entrance, and it was amazing to be there showing off the creativity our community loves to foster. To watch this entire project culminate in our own home was really something special. We were humbled, awed, and above else, grateful to be a part of it.   

Some of our best sellers at the festival included the new Map of Eaux Claires – an exploded look at the fest's bands and their connections to each other, Eau Claire, April Base, and beyond; one of our favorite shirts, the WI License Plate Tee; and the Music Capital of the North Tee – a concept Volume One introduced with a huge theme issue just the week before.

We're already dreaming of next year. To quote Eaux Claires creator and Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon, "See you around town!"