Downtown Phoenix Voices is an ongoing series of profiles on the many diverse and inspirational voices in the downtown Phoenix community. To read the previous installment in the series, click here.
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Kimber Lanning’s 26-year resume is impressive, but it remains clear that the driving force behind all she does for the Arizona community is her passion for economic justice.
“There’s too many people that don’t understand the economy, and so they’re buying themselves broke effectively,” she said. “I wake up every day trying to help them strengthen their understanding, grow deeper wealth and create more prosperity for all.”
Lanning does this through Local First Arizona, a nonprofit organization she founded in 2003 that, according to their website, is “working to strengthen communities and local economies through supporting, maintaining, and celebrating locally owned businesses throughout the state of Arizona.”
Lanning said she started Local First because too many bright young people did not feel connected to the place where they lived and were leaving Arizona. Instead of working in Arizona, Lanning said, they did great things in someone else’s city.
In addition to this, Lanning said the government was subsidizing too many national chain stores with taxpayer money.
“The Cabela’s out in Glendale, for example, got $68 million in subsidies before they even opened their doors,” she said. “Bass Pro in Mesa got $32 million.”
Lanning explained that these deals were bad for the public because independent or small businesses can’t compete with national chains that offer lower prices due to subsidies provided by local government entities. Most people were not aware that this was occurring.
“(A chain store) has one headquarters that runs all those little tentacles that go out,” she said. “Arizona is not a headquarter state. We don’t have very many headquarters. We have a lot of branches.”
“What that means for our economy is that those companies that were spending all of our money … will actually never provide us quality jobs. They will just provide us clerk jobs,” Lanning said.
Lanning said people need to change their mindsets when purchasing goods from national chains, because the cheapest price is not always the best.
“The business model for some of these big behemoths is, ‘Well, we don’t offer health care,’” she said. “So when they’re not paying for health care, that means the public is picking up the tab to cover their health care, and that is the No. 1 expense with businesses.”
Lanning’s economic interest sprouted from a strong appreciation for the arts and business as she grew up in Arizona. Her father is a jazz musician and her mother owns an art gallery in Sedona.
“In our household, it was pretty much required that you study art,” she said. “So all three of us siblings are self-employed in arts fields.”
In 1987, Lanning opened her first business, Stinkweeds, a new- and used-music store located on Central Avenue and Camelback Road. Lanning opened Modified Arts, a gallery space for artists with occasional performances, in 1999.
Lanning said Modified Arts is different from other Phoenix art galleries because it is a full-fledged commercial gallery that is not membership based, not a co-op and there is no way to rent her walls.
Helene Tack, development director at Local First Arizona, said Lanning was essential to the growth of the Phoenix area because she was part of a group of individuals who opened businesses in the Roosevelt Row area, which is now filled with galleries, businesses, restaurants and more.
“She sets a great example for anyone with the dream of starting their own business and that a good idea with some hard work put into it can become a successful reality,” Tack said.
The majority of Lanning’s time is now spent working at Local First Arizona, but she said she still spends 5-10 hours per week working at Modified Arts and about 10-12 hours per week at Stinkweeds.
Lanning said her time working at Stinkweeds and Modified Arts prepared her for starting Local First because she has a firsthand experience with the issues that local business owners face.
“I have a front-row perspective on what’s not working,” she said. “I’m not someone speculating on what small business means.”
Deanna Chevas, the membership coordinator for Local First in Tucson, said the biggest impact Lanning has had on the community has been changing consumer behavior with Local First Arizona.
“When she speaks about the economics of local businesses it’s so inspiring,” Chevas said. “She challenges people in a really positive way to know about and think about the choices that are out there.”
Local First has several different upcoming opportunities, including a merger with the Arizona Rural Development Council, which will expand their business even more throughout the state.
“So we’re going to have a lot more statewide presence,” Lanning said. “We’re in 13 rural communities now, but we’ll actually have boots-on-the-ground representation across the state.”
Lanning said Local First is also working on migrating their database from one management system to another. They are growing Fuerza Local, a Spanish-language initiative, and WeekendZona, a cultural tourism piece encouraging people to spend their money in Arizona. Local First is preparing to launch a localist campaign, which is a way for individuals to join Local First Arizona and to get the inside scoop on what is happening in the area.
“It’s impossible for me to say what I’m most excited about because I’m overly enthusiastic about all the programs we’ve developed,” Lanning said. “But I couldn’t be happier with what we’ve selected and made priorities. I’m excited about all of them.”
Contact the reporter at victoria.stangl@asu.edu
