When you choose a gift, we know you like to go the extra yard to find something that suits the recipient that feels special, bespoke, or unique.
A lot of thought goes into the perfect gift. You want it to be special, bespoke, and to suit the recipient's taste and personality.
This time of year especially, when you're going out of your way to find the best holiday gift, is the perfect chance to purchase from small businesses, independent makers, creatives, innovators, and small shops. Shopping small helps individuals, communities, and supports one's craft or entrepreneurial dreams.
We scoured the internet, social media, and friends and family for some of the very best gifts from small businesses that you could give this year, and we still feel like we've only just scratched the surface.
Below, discover some of the products that we think are among the best small business gifts you can buy this year! There's something for everybody.
1. For the scent lover
Sweet Water Decor Warm and Cozy Candle | $20 at Amazon Handmade
There's nothing quite like a cozy scented candle to lift a mood. The Warm and Cozy soy candle has notes of Orange, Cinnamon, Clove, Vetiver, and Pine with a 40 hour burn time. The Sweet Water Decor brand is actually a Kylie Jenner favorite, so if it has her discerning stamp of approval, it must be good.
2. For the sustainability advocate who's keeping up with the trends
Wooj Corn-Based Biodegradable Wavy Lamp |$130 at Goldune
We're absolutely speechless about this Biodegradable Wavy Lamp that is 3-D printed from corn-based plastic. that we discovered on the sustainable marketplace platform, Goldune. It's made to order (because sustainability) and it's recommended to order before the first weeks of December for holiday delivery, otherwise, there is a 4-5 week lead time.
Goldune launched late last year with a mission to make sustainability more approachable and fun, with a carefully curated marketplace of housewares, decor, personal care items that are all sustainably produced.
Each item is rated on a "Sustainability Spectrum" from Gettig Better to Super Sustainable with transparent details about how it will be packaged and details about how to properly dispose of it once it's reached its end of life.
3. For the beauty queen
Buy: Celestial Silk 100% Pure Mulberry Silk Pillowcase | From $38.99 at Amazon
Beauty is a 24/7 commitment, and our favorite part: the beauty rest! Pamper beauty lovers with a silk pillowcase that keeps hair from tangling, reduces frizz, and keeps skin moisturized while they indulge in very necessary beauty sleep. Oh, and they look (and feel) amazing too! Celestial Silk offers 100% Pure Mulberry Silk Pillowcase at insanely affordable prices, especially for its luxurious 25 momme (smooth and thick) weave.
Choose from tons of colors, in three sizes with a zippered or envelope closure. Arrives neatly packaged in a gift box ready to pop under the tree.
4. For the doer and the maker
COLOREADY Potted Snake Plant Paint by Numbers Kit | $34 at Field + Supply
Interior designer Brad Ford launched the eCommerce marketplace of Field + Supply, perhaps more widely known by the creator community as a biannual fair in New York, last year to curate and spotlight handmade and carefully crafted goods from the talented artisans and designers of the Hudson Valley and beyond. This Modern Paint By Numbers Kit of a Snake Plant from COLOREADY includes everything you could ever need to paint a wall-worthy masterpiece.
5. For the entertainer
Estelle Colored Wine Stemware, Mixed Set of 6 | $175 at Food52
No dinner party tablescape will be complete without these colorful colored handblown stemmed wine glasses from Estelle Colored Glass that give a nod to another era. It's an homage to the owner's grandmother Estelle, whom she described as a "jewel of a person that instilled in me an appreciation of the pastime of treasure hunting for beautiful finds."
6. For coffee connoisseurs
Clara French Press| $99 at Fellow
As we spent more time at home this year, the interest in French presses seemed to skyrocket, and this svelte design caught our eye. A must-have for fellow coffee lovers. The Clara features a 360 degree pour anywhere lid, double-wall vacuum to keep coffee hot for hours, ratio aid lines so you won't need to pull out the scale, an agitator, an perhaps most important, an ultra-fine mesh filter to keep coffee sludge contained.
7. For the multi-tasking obsessed
Prepdeck 5-in-1 Multi-Tool Peeler | $12 at Amazon Launchpad
Small, but mighty, this stocking stuffer-sized tool replaces five necessary kitchen tools in one as a Julianne Slicer, Herb Stripper, Vegetable Peeler, Potato Eyer, and Bottle Opener for four fewer gadgets cluttering up a drawer; and it comes in three cute colors. Talk about a useful gift.
8. For plant lovers with an eye toward design
Bloomingtables Coffee Table | $379 at Bloomingtables
When there's no more space for plants on the window sill and shelves are full, why not turn your furniture into living, breathing That's the idea behind Bloomingtables, which offer glass-topped gardens as coffee tables, end tables, entryway consoles, and desks where you can grow herbs, cultivate microgreens, or simply enjoy succulents and vining plants in a whole new domain. Have you ever seen anything so show-stoppingly functional?
9. For the person always juggling a water bottle and a coffee cup
Hitch Bottle & Cup | $69 at Hitch
Discover Hitch, a full-size insulated water bottle with a removable, barista-approved cup and lid hidden inside to reduce single-use waste. But the best part, they can be combined together and carried together all in one hand. Never be without your hydration and caffeine at once ever again. So smart!
10. For making everyday a little more colorful
Susan Alexander Set of 4 Embroidered Linen Placemats | $98 at Nordstrom
Create a reason to set the table, throw a dinner party with these colorful and cheerful linen placemats that will give a special feel to even everyday dining.
11. For globetrotting without even leaving home
Mother of Pearl Inlay Wood Serving Tray | $53 at MadeTerra
This show-stopping Mother of Pearl serving tray is a beautiful option to adorn coffee tables, shelves, or to transport tasty delights from the kitchen to the living room. It's from MadeTerra, which works with artisans in Vietnam who make their wares by hand to share their work on a global scale, specializing in rattan, woven, and mother of pearl home decor accessories.
In addition to shopping MadeTerra directly, you can also shop via their Amazon storefront.
12. For print forward design lovers who are looking to keep it cozy
Schoenstaub Amigös Rose Blanket | $231 at The Webster
Is it a throw blanket, or a wall tapestry? It's fabulous, and well both! Swiss design brand Schoenstaub offers lively carpets, blankets and trays that are exactly what any maximalist design lover will want to have on their radar. This colorful and abstract design is a collaboration between Schoenstaub founder Nadja and Portuguese graphic designer Bráulio Amado whom she met on her first day at the School of Visual Arts in New York City for an exchange semester.
13. For the serial (porch) redecorator
Letterfolk Customizable Floor Mat | $75 at The Grommet
We all know that person who changes their porch decor with the holidays and the seasons. Here, they can personalize their own designs, patterns, and sayings with Letterfolk's timeless, vintage-inspired hexagon tiles that easily lift up when it's time for a new design. The floor mats can work outdoors, as well as in your entryway, kitchen, or bathroom.
14. For the friend who lives the cottagecore lifestyle
Buy: French Knot Vintage Chalet Hat | $74.95 at The Grommet
French Knot makes the cutest knits we've truly ever seen. They're hand-knit, hand-dyed, and hand-spun by female artisans in Nepal. This chunky mohair wool Chalet hat is also fleece-lined for extra comfort. For anyone who's all about the details, French Knot will truly delight.
15. For going on-the-go, again
Bagnet Corrinne, Leather Magnetic Bag Holder | $30 at Amazon
It's the simplest ideas that make the most waves, like this heavy-duty magnetic leather keychain that attaches to any metal surface (like a bar stool or bathroom door) to ensure a handbag never touches the ground again. One for you, and every woman you know.
16. For the foodie who's also a complete bookworm
Read it and Eat Bookish Foodie Box by Bookmarks & Breadsticks | $50 quarterly at Cratejoy
Books and food, is there a better combination? Bookmarks & Breadsticks curates four subscription boxes a year, with different themes each quarter, This holiday's theme: Spirits.
The sensory experience pairs a gently-used book about a food topic with a food product (perhaps a memoir, a cookbook, or even a guide) with a curated food item from a small/local/BIPOC business. You'll also find some sort of bonus goodie and $5 of the purchase is a donation to a food non-profit to fight hunger! Order by Dec. 1 for holiday delivery, but the Spirits box is available through Dec. 31, before moving to the spring box: Seeds. So, read it and eat!
Additional resources to find small businesses to support
- Amazon Handmade - Amazon's marketplace that supports creators
- Amazon Launchpad - Discover the latest new ideas and innovations from category disruptors looking to make a difference
- Amazon's Small Business Gift Guide - A holiday round-up of gifts that support small businesses that sell on Amazon, with the ability to sort by Black-, women-, family-, or veteran-owned businesses
- American Express Small Business Map - An amazing resource to find small businesses, including restaurants located near you. However, for inclusion, they must accept American Express as payment
- Chairish: Chairish connects over 12,000 small businesses, artists and makers for one of the most comprehensive databases of rare vintage, antique and contemporary pieces home furnishings and art.
- Etsy - The go-to marketplace for anything handmade, handcrafted, personalized, and even vintage
- Field + Supply: A curation of independent makers and creators from the Hudson Valley and surrounding areas with tons of upscale, unique finds from interior designer Brad Ford
- Food52: The lifestyle site and shop has curated an entire shop around under-represented makers, mainly made up of BIPOC entrepreneurs
- Goldune - an up and coming sustainable marketplace with fun, eco-friendly finds
- The Grommet -Original products from small businesses, with new discoveries, added each day
- Madewell - Check out the Hometown Hero Shop for dozens of giftable finds spotlighting creators throughout the United States
- Uncommon Goods - The ultimate destination for innovative and unique gifts
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Jaclyn is an eCommerce editor at Future Home Interest, where she oversees sleep content including mattresses and bedding – in fact, she has passed our five-step certification process to become a verified customer advisor on mattresses. She regularly scouts out the best of the best for buying guides to help you fill your home with only the best. She joined the team in January 2021. She has previously worked with sites like Apartment Therapy, The Kitchn, The Spruce, The Spruce Eats, and MyDomaine, but got her start at the trade mag Home Furnishings News, which fueled her excitement for innovation in the home category and seeing the newest launches. When Jaclyn's not working, she loves long strolls through HomeGoods, unwinding with a chilled glass of Rosé, and entertaining her Cavapoo Reese.
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