2020 Shop Local Gift Giving Guide
2020 has been a year of ups and downs for everyone, especially for local and small businesses. I am a huge proponent of shopping locally and supporting small businesses because they are the backbone of our communities.
Small Businesses Saturday began in 2010 to prioritize brick and mortar as well as small and local businesses that had to compete with the large big box stores and e-commerce giants Americans shop between Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Here is my gift giving guide from some of my favorite small and locally owned businesses.
Unoeth, is a brand I recently discovered during quarantine after being showcased on the hit HBO show, Insecure. The brand is based in Oakland, CA, but the brand’s artisans work in Ethopia. The customer service provided by co-owner Xiomara is the best, and the orders are packed with a handwritten note.
I purchased the Konjo bucket bag, and I’ve practically worn it everyday since it arrived! The leather is so supple yet sturdy. It’s been my everyday, everywhere bag that I’ve used to run errands, use as a grocery bag, and so much more. Get $20 off your next purchase with them, by using my referral link, here.
Wicks Nola is my favorite candle and scent brand! This family run business creates vegan and soy based candles, flameless products including car diffusers, wax cubes, air and linen spritz refreshers, hand sanitizer, diffuser oils, and products such as the warmers and diffusers. Inspired by all things New Orleans from their scent names and scent profiles to the fleur de lis logo design, their 50 plus scents can be created in any of their candle or flameless products. For years, they were based on Etsy, but they now have their own website, and recently opened a brick and mortar location in Kenner, La. a suburb of New Orleans, La.
UpperBar Jewelry is a jewelry brand that creates affordable, luxury, quality, statement, yet minimalist pieces. The pieces are perfect for stacking or wearing solo. The jewelry is 14KT gold or silver plated and water resistant.
Jlani Jewels, another Miami based jewelry brand that you’ve seen on your favorite celebrites including Beyonce, Ciara, Keke Palmer, Issa Rae, and so many more. The stainless steel and eco friendly jewelry is customizable and trendy with inspiration drawn from architecture, nature, and fine art. You’ll find something for everyone with their collections ranging from anklets, earrings, rings, bracelets, and necklaces.
Hanifa the brand’s feminine designs, rich colors, and bold textures are a cult favorite for women across the globe. Since its launch in 2012, Hanifa has produced statement pieces in resort wear and ready-to-wear collections for women size 0 - 20. Their recent digital fashion show catapulted them to mainstream accolades after featuring 3D models in substitute for real models during the stay at home order of COVID-19.
Kai Collective, the London based woman’s wear brand is known for The Gaia design.
The Gaia design is body hugging, high-neck, mesh long sleeve shirts and dresses with watercolor designs. The owner Fisayo Longe travels the world looking for inspiration through design and fabric, and that speaks through her works since all of the pieces ooze femininity.
McBride Sisters Did you know that 1% of winemakers in the world are Black? Sisters Robin and Andrea are slowly increasing that percentage. The two sisters once based in New Zealand and Monterey, Ca. came together through their love of wine. Their brand is sold across the U.S. in many wine and liquor stores, on their website as well as Target! The duo has several wine collections including a Black Girl Magic line of riesling, merlot, zinfandel, rosé, and sparkling wine. They recently launched a canned wine collection, called She Can in response to consumers flocking to alcoholic canned spritzers, seltzers, mixed cocktails and wine.
La Fete Rose Another quarantine find, and black-owned wine, La Fete Rose has become my favorite sipping Rosé. Produced in Saint Tropez, the brand only produces Rosé, (for now) and they have truly perfected it! With notes of dried fruit, nuts, and cherry it was great to enjoy this summer on my front porch. It’s also great with grilled fish, summer salads, and brick oven pizza. Honestly, at this point in 2020, however or how much you choose to enjoy wine is totally acceptable.
You can often times find them having a 10% off sale + free shipping on bottles of 3 or more. So, this is a perfect way to gift someone a bottle, and gift yourself two bottles. If you choose to keep it all for yourself, no one will judge you.
Black Girl Sunscreen After my dermatologist told me daily sunscreen use was vital in my fight against diminishing hyperpigmentation and dark marks as well as fine lines as I got older, I went through several different brands of sunscreen trying to find the one right for me. Black Girl Sunscreen is the Black Girl’s answer to no-white cast sunscreen that leaves your skin moisturized and glowing! You can order the sunscreen on their website, and find it at Target.
The Spice Suite is an answer to everyone’s prayers of spice blends, niche flavors and spices found around the world. They don’t carry their full range of spices, teas, vinegars, olive oils or home goods online, so if you’re in the D.C. area visit their brick and mortar location. They are located in the Takoma Park neighborhood, blocks away from Maryland. Online, you can purchase their subscription service, SpiceBox curated with different spices, blends, and kitchenwear which varies month to month.
Magnolia Bakery Founded in 1996, you may remember initially seeing Magnolia Bakery make a quick cameo on Sex and The City. Now, 24 years later, the bakery has locations throughout New York, Chicago, L.A., Boston and ships nationwide. They make the best banana pudding that I’ve ever had, and the cakes are perfect! The cakes are so moist, decadent, and not overly sweet with the perfect amount of buttercream icing. They sell more than 150 desserts in store and you can create their famous recipes by purchasing one of their cookbooks.
Lewa Nails Sold on Etsy, Lewa Nails are hand-painted, custom press on nails. The various shapes and designs in vibrant colors are done with glossy as well as matte nail polish. During a time where nail salons were closed, Lewa emerged to bring back the nostalgia of the 1990s of young girls and women heading to the drugstores and beauty supply store to purchase the Kiss French tip nails. Now, you can purchase from this one woman shop your personalized nails at an affordable price.
Semicolon Book Store In a time where it is so easy for us to head to Amazon to purchase hard copy books, we’ve seemingly forgot to support our local bookstores. Semicolon is the only black woman owned book store in Chicago. The bookstore and gallery space sells thousands of books by black and minority authors. During this pandemic, they’ve held several virtual readings, discussions, and collaborations. Their main focus is community, and using books and literacy to bring us all together. Monthly, they allow Chicago Public School students the opportunity to get whatever book they want, free of charge. You can donate to the cause to keep the mission running on their website. If you’re not in the area, you can also buy from them directly on their website.
Unwrp Wrap all of your holiday gifts in this black woman owned brand of luxury paper gift wrap and gift bags. Unwrp has various prints and bags in vibrant colors, and bold prints. Unwrp also sells reusable fabric cloths that can be used to wrap gifts, then later used as a versatile scarf. The brand doesn’t stop at just gift wrapping. Their product line includes throw pillows, wall paper, as well as stationary such as notebooks and greeting cards. So, if you don’t have time to run out to buy a gift, throw cash in one of their greeting cards, and voila!
The brand is now sold online at Nordstrom.
Pear Nova Nail Polish is a cruelty-free, luxury nail polish line based in Chicago. They recently made Oprah’s 2020 Favorite Things List, but they’ve been a favorite brand of mine for a while. The brand sells gel as well as classic lacquer in addition to nail care products. For the holiday season, you can order a 6-piece essential nail set, 4-piece colorway collections, or you can opt to send your special person individual bottles of nail lacquer as a stocking stuffer. If you’re not a fan of DIY home manicures, they have a salon in Chicago, now open.
Kicky Mats Have you ever felt that people should know your personality before they enter your front door? Well Kicky Mats hand creates door mats with catchy slogans, song lyrics, custom messages and so much more. In addition, the Houston based company sells home goods such as knitted socks and neon LED wall lights to keep the cozy vibes all season long. This is the perfect house warming gift! They also host mat painting parties in Houston and Atlanta for DIY custom mats.
Y’all know that I love a good floral arrangement, and often times head to Trader Joe’s to buy my weekly bouquets. I’ve slowly but surely been breaking out of that habit and buying my flowers from local florists. I haven’t found a local florist that ships nationwide, but if you are an arrangement lover, I urge you to find a local florist in your city and support them, even if it is just once a year. You can also visit an independent florist at your local farmer’s markets.
Let me know about your favorite local and small businesses below in the comments!
