When shopping for loved ones at Christmas, it can be all too tempting to run for the nearest department store and get it over and done with in one big swoop.
Post-lockdown, our high streets are open, the lights are up and there’s the unmistakable feeling of Christmas in the air. As convenient as heading down your nearest high street is, consider shopping with smaller, independent brands this year. We know how important it is to support small businesses. But there are more reasons to shop than just that.
Unlike larger corporate enterprises, run by stockholders or boards focused on market expansion, small businesses are run by people. People who put the extra bit of effort into their work. You get a different kind of care and quality in their products as they’re focused on the small details.
Smaller businesses also tend to have more ethical business models - whether it’s a slow fashion brand that finds use for its scrap fabric or candles housed in beautiful handmade vessels you can use long after the wicks run out. Because they have smaller customer base, they can give the extra attention to the details that make a difference. Like ensuring their packaging is plastic-free and reusable, or that every single ingredient is sustainably sourced and ethical.
Independent businesses are also where the most innovative ideas and interesting concepts happen. Unlike the homogenised high street options, they often offer a selection of wares that are truly one of a kind. So get your special someone a gift that they’re bound to adore with our edit of amazing gifts you can buy this year from small businesses.
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Bulan Satin Bedding Collection
Lifestyle brand Bulan specialise in luxury bedroom homewares. Its ethos is that a luxurious bedroom is one that creates the best environment for a good quality sleep. Their products are designed with this in mind from candles and diffusers, to bed linen, silk eye masks and scrunchies.
The fabrics in Bulan’s bed linen range are designed to be an investment to enjoy for years. These 400TC satin bed sheets are a gorgeous deep bottle green shade and are luxuriously soft. The collection includes a duvet cover, two pillow cases, a fitted sheet and flat sheet.
Buy now £131.50, Bulan
Floral Print Dagger Collar Top
Mancunian content creator Megan Ellaby has already won awards for her fashion blog (including Cosmopolitan Best Fashion Influencer and Instyle Best Fashion Blogger). Her love of colour and print that she in so known for in her blog is reflected in her clothing brand Saturday By Meghan Ellaby. Shop its range of colourfully designed jumpers and bold print tops and trousers to find something the fashionista in your life will adore.
Buy now £50.00, Saturday By Megan Ellaby
Notebook Bundle
Choosing Keeping, now based in Convent Garden, started out a small independent stationary shop on Columbia Road flower market. They specialise in stationary that evokes a memory and is built to last. Their ethos is that stationary should be appraised for it’s historical and cultural significance, as well as design and functionality.
Browse it’s range of beautifully designed pens, paper, and notebooks for a special gift.
Buy now £18.00, Choosing Keeping
Kemi Art Print
Dorcas Creates is a UK-based illustration brand that centers and celebrates Black women. Artist Dorcas Magbadelo uses bold colours and patterns in her range of greetings cards, art prints and jewellery, taking many elements from her Nigerian heritage to capture Black womanhood and Black girl joy.
We love this art print and there are many other amazing prints available on the website. Available in three sizes; A4, A3 and A2.
Buy now £85.00, Dorcas Creates
Botanical Body Oil Massage Candle
Shop SUN.DAY of London’s range of home fragrances for a gift they will love. There is a range of botanical candles, diffusers and mists to choose from, each one being designed to bring a sense of balance and tranquility into your home.
Founded by Natasha Garbawi in 2017, each product in the collection is handcrafted in small batches in an East London studio. All products are 100 per cent free from synthetic perfumes, chemicals and paraffins, and use only natural ingredients. Each candle is formulated with coconut and rapeseed wax, and are housed in apothecary jars. The packaging is also sourced locally.
We love this limited edition Massage Oil Candle, created by the brand in partnership with London based artist Ikuko.
The candle has been created to soothe the mind and body. The wax is a hand whipped blend of mango butter, coconut butter and jojoba oil. Once melted the balm can be applied to the body to nourish and hydrate the skin. Containing an aromatherapy essential oil blend of pink pepper, rose, jasmine and chamomile fused with orange blossom and woods.
The porcelain design was inspired to represent the body in all its shapes. Once the candle has finished, the sculpture also be repurposed.
Buy now £75.00, SUN.DAY of London
Canopy Plants Gift Subscription
Independent plant seller Canopy Plants started out from a small studio in 2019. Founder Saskia and her partner James have since had a pop up space in Selfridges and have moved to a larger studio. They believe in the importance of making business personal. They include a hand written note to each customer, making sure they learn their repeat customers by name.
They are offering a three month gift subscription as the perfect gift for the plant lover in your life. Prices start from £20.99 without a pot, or £35.99 with a pot. The plants and ceramic pots in the subscription are carefully curated. Saskia and James choose them based on their textures and shapes, creating a collection of plants and ceramics that they’d love themselves.
Buy now £35.99, Canopy Plants
Recipe Journal
For the kitchen whizz in your life, look no further than this recipe journal from independent stationary shop Papier.
Available in a varied range of colourful designs, this handy journal has pages designed for you to note down every thing you need to recreate your most impressive recipes. Jot down your family favorites and dream up new dishes.
Papier also has a huge range of beautifully designed 2022 diaries, planners, and notebooks that would also make great gifts.
Buy now £24.99, Papier
Resin Flower Hoop Earrings
Jeweller Rosa Pietsche handcrafts unique and colourful jewellry. Her designs use a combination of laser-cut materials and hand-cast resin.
Shop her range on Etsy for a range of beautifully designed statement jewellry. We love how these the flower hoop earrings are so colourful and eye catching but subtle enough for everyday use.
Buy now £40.00, Rosa Pietsch
Ivory and Sage Cuban Shirt
CHÉ Studios specialise in modern, luxurious and sustainable menswear. We love their range of Cuban-inspired Valbonne shirts. They’re made from a sustainable natural fibre called Ecovero, which is derived exclusively from FSC and PEFC certified renewable wood sources.
Also available in navy, powder blue and stone grey.
Buy now £75.00, CHÉ STUDIOS
Roobee Rhubarb Gin
This bestselling gin from independent London distillery, Jim and Tonic is sweet, fruity and delightfully pink. Each order comes with a free Rhubarb Pink Gin recipe guide that walks you through how to make four recommended serves.
Jim and Tonic produce sustainable gins, using methods that aim to reduce waste, reuse sources and regenerate their London surroundings.
Buy now £38.95, Jim and Tonic
