Holiday Gift Guide #1: Shop Small for Small Business Saturday!

Welcome to the Mix & Match Gift Guide series! This is one of four posts that will go up each Friday through December 15th. There will be a different theme every week to help you with your holiday shopping this season! 

The Internet can be a beautiful thing sometimes - especially when it connects us to shops and people we would never otherwise encounter! I love that I can #shopsmall online and support these small businesses all over the country (and the world!). Who would've thought this would be possible 20 years ago? 

In honor of Small Business Saturday, I'm kicking off this gift guide series with a roundup of some awesome makers on Etsy*! There are some incredibly talented folks on there and if each of us committed to purchasing a gift or two from an Etsy shop this holiday season, it would throw so much support their way. Let's do this, my friends!

Bean & Bailey

Bean & Bailey makes some gorgeous slip cast ceramics in your choice of several colors. I'm a big fan of their cone mountain vases and faceted geo ice cream bowls. Be sure to order soon though since they have a 3-4 week turnaround on these pretty pieces!

Yao Cheng Design

Yao Cheng's colorful and airy style is like a breath of fresh air. She is an incredibly talented watercolorist, and applies her designs to everything from pillows to tea towels, and of course, art prints! These days, I'm loving her city prints (like this one of Charleston) and tea towels. She has so many gifts that would be great for hostesses as well as for other special folks in your life.

Pattern Behavior

Pattern Behavior is based right here in my city of Philadelphia! They design patterns to make into pillows (and a few other items), and their prices are on par with places like West Elm and Crate & Barrel. My favorite designs right now are the chunky black and white chevron, indigo batik, and coral otomi folk. Because they're made to order just for you, they do take 2-3 weeks to ship - get your orders in early!

White Orchid Prints

White Orchid Prints is a shop full of modern, minimalist art prints that are right up my alley! One thing I appreciate about them is that they offer a lot of their prints as instant downloads, so if you need art in a hurry, you can grab the file, send it off to a local printer, and frame it using a ready-made frame like my favorite brass ones from Target. This is a really affordable art option as well - especially compared to a custom-framed print! A few favorites? These blue abstracts (it's a set of three! talk about making your job easy) and this set of banana leaf prints.

Vital

Vital is a bright and modern bicycle, housewares, and clothing shop. It's a little bit quirky and a whole lot of fun! I think the "choose your state" rocks glasses would make a perfect gift for someone who is a little bit (*ahem*) hard to shop for or your friend who just loves their home state. The crafty tools art print is great for those makers in your life.

Favorite Story

Favorite Story is an adorable illustrated paper goods shop. Their holiday items - like their mistletoe gift cards and winter village wrapping paper - are simple and beautiful, and I totally fell for their adorable buildings desk calendar. Heck, I think I'd happily accept any item as a gift myself! ;)

Susan Gordon Pottery

A fun fact about Susan Gordon Pottery - I went to college with Susan herself! I re-stumbled upon her shop as I was doing research for this post and was reminded of how beautiful her pieces are, and couldn't help but include them. The ceramic ring dish and wavy serving bowls are favorites, but explore her shop yourself - she has so many different items! A lot of them can be customized with different colors as well.

Light & Paper

Lastly, it wouldn't be a holiday gift guide without including ornaments and wreaths, would it!? These laser cut snowflake beauties from Light & Paper are great gifts on their own or you could tie them onto a wrapped gift for an extra special touch. I love their merry and bright wreath as well. This shop is packed with simple, modern, and sometimes a little bit out of the box (in a good way) laser cut items.

Happy holiday shopping, y'all! Remember, a lot of these items are handmade and require a longer lead time than your typical store, so place your orders early and pay attention to holiday ordering deadlines!

*This post includes affiliate links, which means Mix & Match earns a small commission from your purchase at no cost to you.