Staying local when you shop for Christmas gifts is a great way to support the small businesses in your local area. In Windsor, there are so many great independent shops to buy from that aren’t huge chain stores. Additionally, independent and small stores tend to produce less waste, utilize recyclable packaging, and carry products that are sustainably made (not in a factory somewhere). As someone who tries to support as many small businesses as possible, I have quite an extensive list of shops that make super cute products. I will be sharing some shops from that list with you!
To start off our list, we have @ hibiscushats on Instagram! She crochets her own hats and posts them for people to buy and she does commissions. I got an adorable hat from her a few months back and I’m obsessed with it, to say the least. The craftsmanship was amazing and she was so kind and helpful when I was picking my yarn. She offers different styles of bucket hats as well as beanies, and the customizable option would make her products an amazing gift!
If you like crayons, @ the_melt_market on Instagram should be your next stop. Offering customizable crayons in different colours, shapes and letters, it makes an amazing gift for kids or someone who likes art. I recently bought myself dinosaur shaped crayons and they are by far the cutest art medium I own – I’m scared to even use them! They also offer custom crayons through a link in their bio and honestly, who doesn’t want custom crayons?
For all the jewelry lovers @ aloraflora and @ shopalexisandco (both on Instagram) sell the most amazing jewelry. They both make the most adorable earrings, and shopalexisandco has made pendulums for all the crystal people reading this! The quality of the jewelry made by these businesses is outstanding and I have personally gifted people their jewelry and it’s been a huge success. I definitely recommend checking them out.
Before I talk about two of my favourite non-local shops, let’s touch on baked goods. Everyone loves a good treat, and I can vouch for @ cupcakesbycassandra on Instagram. I have purchased from her many times and everytime I purchase from her, I am absolutely floored by her work. Now, this maybe isn’t a gift but for someone in your life with a sweet tooth, her baking would satisfy all their needs! She’s so kind and worked with me on what I wanted my order to look like. The experience was absolutely amazing; I can’t stress that enough!
Getting into the cross-Canada shops, @ tossedleaf on Instagram and Etsy is an amazing shop located in British Columbia. They sell stickers, cards, pins, keychains and art prints in their adorable cartoon style. I have bought more from them than I would like to admit and I have never been disappointed! Shipping is always fairly quick and the packaging is all reusable and recyclable (a huge win in my book). I put the stickers I get from their shop on literally everything and I have gotten so many compliments on them. If you don’t mind waiting a week or two for shipping, I would totally recommend you buy from their shop.
Another non-local shop is @ ivytart on Etsy. She makes adorable stickers and holiday gift tags and it’s safe to say I am obsessed. I bought so many stickers from her earlier this year that they cover my laptop, my sister’s laptop, and even my dog’s water bowl. They are the absolute cutest and the vinyl quality is amazing. I got the juice-box set and I would buy from her again in a heartbeat.
I personally love shopping locally and Windsor has several local artist shops, including the Walkerville Urban Art Market and WhiskeyJack Boutique. This article doesn’t include all the local shops, and definitely not all the ones I’ve purchased from, but they are great places to start! I hope you all start buying more locally-made products in the future. Happy holidays and happy shopping!