Dílna Modrý Hvozd is a Brno workshop making wooden desk accessories and compact storage pieces. Owner Tereza Novotná took the Buy Small pledge to make the workshop’s purchasing habits more intentional. The team had often chosen suppliers by convenience and had never calculated how much of its spending reached independent businesses. It adopted the pledge’s one-in-five target and began recording eligible supplier spend each month, while checking that quality and delivery requirements were still met. In the first two quarters, 22% of supplier spending went to independent businesses, compared with 13% during the previous six months. The workshop added a local packaging maker and a one-person sharpening service to its regular supplier list. That sharpening arrangement reduced tool downtime by an estimated six hours over one quarter. Tereza says the numbers made the goal practical: staff can see whether routine purchases are supporting a broad mix of suppliers, and they now ask existing vendors about smaller local alternatives before renewing an order.
