Topeka ? Kansas leaders and private groups are encouraging state residents to consider shopping from local artists and small businesses while looking for holiday presents.

The effort comes as the entire country is noting “Small Business Saturday” this Saturday. In signing a declaration for Kansas, Gov. Sam Brownback called small businesses “the lifeblood of our communities.

One group, called Kansas Originals Market and Gallery, represents more than 250 Kansas artists. It has a website, www.kansasoriginals.com, and two shops along Interstate 70 — near Wilson and five miles east of Topeka.

“We have had three bus tours in here a week, many of the people from out-of-state, and people rave about what we have here,” said Marge Lawson, chief executive of the nonprofit organization founded two decades ago by the Post Rock Opportunities Foundation to market Kansas artists.

“People love that we have hand-blown stained glass, wheat weavings, all kind of wood products, limestone yard art and more. We have products you can’t find anywhere else,” Lawson said.

Buying local products helps the state’s economy, said Becky Sullivan, education event coordinator for the Kansas Department of Agriculture. She is also director of the Simply Kansas program, which represents 400 Kansas companies that produce, process or grow their own products, The Wichita Eagle reported.

“When it comes to the holiday season, appreciate your state and the people working next to you by buying the products they are working on,” Sullivan said.

She said it’s worth touring the state to visit some of the businesses, such as Jinks Traditional Fruitcake in Columbus or the Alma Creamery in Alma that makes all-natural, homemade cheeses.

From barbecue sauces and jelly to lavender insect repellant, honey and jerky, the products are diverse and ingenious, Sullivan said.

“The innovation blows me away,” Sullivan said. “These companies keep on the cutting edge. Kansans have definitely learned to adapt to the times and changes.”