As Jeff Bezos’s pockets get bigger and bigger, and as quarantine and COVID last longer and longer, you might want to consider outsourcing your holiday shopping to local or small businesses to help support them during these hard times. Not only are small businesses great for the economy, but they are also great ways to find really unique and niche gifts for your friends and family!Â
Here are some businesses to get you started!Â
- Crush and Touch
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Crush and Touch is an art supply store based in LA that carries all the essentials for the artist in your life, but also cute and unique Christmas cards that you can buy and send to all of your loved ones this holiday. The gesture might make everyone feel a little closer in a time of social distancing and quarantine.Â
In addition to art and cards, they also have unique jewelry, clothing, and other accessories that they offer. I am personally in love with all of their earring options, and will definitely add some of those ot my holiday list!Â
- Culture Shock
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Culture Shock is a record store local to Rockford, IL, that sells new and used vinyl records, CDs, and vintage audio equipment. This business is perfect for any music lover looking for a new artist to discover, and Culture Shock offers a wide range of music, from popular names like Shawn Mendes and the Arctic Monkeys to classics like Pink Floyd and Tom Petty.Â
Culture Shock also offers a boutique section, which is stocked with products from other local businesses in the area. Here, you can find everything from T-shirts and mugs to candles and soap.Â
- Center for Fiction
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The Center for Fiction is a must for all readers this holiday season. This non-profit organization works with other local bookstores to help connect readers with the books that they have in stock. Simply search the title you want on the Center for Fiction page, and it tells you all of the bookstores it is available at and the price it is at each of those locations. Further, at the top of the page, it also lists how much money the organization has raised for local bookstores (which was over eight million when I checked!).Â
- Nisolo
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Nisolo is a company that makes fashionable, high-end looking shoes that are also ethically sourced. When looking at their about page on their website, they allow customers to look at how they are treating their workers, promising that they are providing them a living wage and that their methods of production are working to combat climate change. They give the locations of their factories, the statistics and facts about those places and their work methods, and links to other information to further educate their customers about their processes and the industry in general.Â
Not only does the company seem to be working against a lot of strong constructs within the fashion industry, I am also just in love with their boot line!Â
There are so many great small businesses out there that offer so many great products. Instagram and other social medias can also be really good places to find some others, since many of these businesses rely on social media to market their brands. I personally love using Instagram to find small artists so that I can gift their work to friends or to myself.Â
I know quarantine has made us feel like Amazon and other big companies are our only options this holiday season, but don’t lose that personal touch of gift-giving and think about getting your holiday shopping down through small and local businesses!