I love the idea of how to support small business any time of year. But it’s even more important after what we have been through the last couple of years.
Therefore, I thought I’d concentrate on a gift guide made by my friends that sell on Etsy for this holiday season. Hopefully, you will check out these Etsy stores for any time of year, as they are highlighted in my Small Business List in the menu of my blog.
Facts: This post contains affiliate links. Just click on the highlighted pink words to shop for those items. If you shop through them, I potentially earn a commission from any purchases, but at no additional cost to you. Thank you for shopping through my links and supporting my work.
Quote of the day: “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” Viktor Frankl
With the gift-giving season upon us yet some issues for availability, you can’t go wrong with the support of small businesses and making sure that the season is more about bringing happiness to others. And I don’t mean getting the “perfect” gift. My thought is that we can help the companies that really need our help while still crossing off what we need from our lists.
Content
Why You Should Shop Small Businesses
How to Support Small Business
Sally Moonsilver
Serendipity by Tracey
Sweet Basil Ave.
Joanne Katherine
Vintage by Suzanne
Frannie & Elinor
WanderBee Prints
Theresa Rose Designs
Sand Dollar Girl
Why You Should Shop & Support Small Business
I’ve been a huge proponent for shopping small after being a small business owner myself as a cosmetic dentist. In fact, once Small Business Saturday started in 2010, we would always make sure to get out and shop small that day.
The fact of the matter is that all businesses started small. When the business is in our area, these are our neighbors that can use our support. Having your own business is a scary endeavor with no guarantees. And by spending your money with them, you are providing much-needed support for your community.
Insider info: Did you know that Small Business Saturday was started by American Express as a way to remind consumers that they play a key role in helping the small businesses in their community thrive, and encourage them to get out and shop and dine at local businesses.
Don’t get me wrong. I love Target, Amazon, and the big stores too, but with the economy, as it is, I think we can help to make the holidays better for those individuals who are counting on us.
That’s why I wanted to showcase the Etsy stores run by some of my friends. I hope you’ll give them any kind of support that you can.
BUT the BEST REASON to support small business?? Think of it as helping others which in fact helps you. Scientists have found that giving stimulates the mesolimbic pathway, which is the reward center in the brain that releases endorphins and creates what is known as the “helper’s high.” This information is from the Cleveland Clinic.
Related post: One size fits all guide for acquaintances (concentrating on small businesses)
How to Support Small Business
There are many ways to help support small business ventures and some of them don’t include spending money.
If you’ve been around here a while then you might remember I used to showcase small businesses in my Saturday emails. While I don’t usually put together gift guides, I was reminded how many of you requested them from a survey years ago.
Here are great options of how to support small businesses:
- Purchase something for you or your friends.
- Buy gift cards as gifts for others. No worries about fit or if they will like it then.
- If you do purchase something, make sure to give a review. The reviews can help strengthen a company’s credibility.
- Share the store with friends and family. For example, sharing this post on your Facebook or Pinterest will help your friends see it too.
- For Etsy, make sure to make these your favorite shops by clicking the heart button in their banner photo.
- Sign up for the company’s newsletter if there is one. Many times you benefit with extra deals and information. That’s one reason I hope you sign up for my emails. Not only do you get my eBook but also I give many personal tidbits of our lives.
- Follow, comment and like their social media accounts and posts.
Insider tip: If you have trouble finding any of these Etsy stores’ social media accounts, they can be found at the bottom of their Etsy page under the reviews. Another option is to click the contact button by their profile and ask them.
Let’s Support Small Business on Etsy
So let me introduce my nine friends who have shops on Etsy as a wonderful way to support small businesses this holiday season. I will give you a short rundown on how I know them and what they sell, but taking the time to click over to their shop and telling them I sent you would make their day. (Just click the contact button under their profile photo).
While I hope you take a gander at these shops I’ve showcased, there are over 2 million independent sellers and small businesses on Etsy at this time. So I am sure that any of them would appreciate your support.
I’ve listed my friend’s stores in alphabetical order!
Frannie & Elinor
I met Joan who is the woman behind Frannie & Elinor through my Forever Fierce Facebook group. Not only have we become friends, but I even used her earrings as examples in my post about How to Match Earrings to Your Outfit.
Joan lives in Austin Texas and makes all of her pieces with a minimalist vibe. She loves to say that it’s jewelry to wear with joy. Not only are the pieces high quality but each package is wrapped with such care, and a wonderful silver polishing cloth is included.
The pieces of Frannie & Elinor are all of the premium materials and safe for most people with sensitive skin.
Products Offered
You will find a variety of small to medium-sized earrings as well as simple necklaces on Joan’s site. The earrings are lightweight and beautiful. Of course, there is always the option of getting a gift card too.
Joanne Katherine
Joanne Katherine is the person behind this shop. I have known Joanne Katherine for a couple of years now from Instagram. It may seem crazy to meet women on social media and then call them friends. Yet the social sites are a way to connect with like-minded women just as I’ve explained in a blog post years ago.
Joanne Katherine has a clothing style very much like mine as she loves color. She will tell you that she is a little more preppy in her vibe, but I am always inspired by her print mixing.
Joanne Katherine lives in Maine and loves to create the chunkier style of jewelry. In fact, I have a pair of her “Ice Cream Cone earrings.” She’s had pieces designed for Lily Pulitzer and worn by Michele Obama, Hilliary Clinton, Blythe Danner, and other celebs.
Products Offered
You will find many different varieties of pearl necklaces along with some whimsical statement earrings. There are also some gingham stud earrings if you like yours smaller.
She will also customize anything to match an outfit. That’s something good to remember for those special occasions.
Moonsilver Designs
Sally is the woman behind Moonsilver Designs. She and I are friends on Instagram and I’ve always admired her beautiful handcrafted jewelry. And Sally lives “across the pond” in the UK.
She considers her pieces wearable art and they are all created from raw materials. Sally has been working on being more sustainable in her packaging so she is plastic-free and her items are boxed in eco-friendly boxes.
Everything you see in Sally’s shop is made from scratch and assembled by her. Much of it is inspired by her love of herbalism, along with folklore and history.
Products Offered
Not only will you find wonderful earrings, necklaces, and bracelets on Sally’s site, but she occasionally has some home decor available also.
Sand Dollar Girl
Loretta is the woman behind Sand Dollar Girl. I met her as part of my Forever Fierce Facebook group and worked together for the FierceCon events. Her name is inspired by her love of the water and the ocean. She was living in Southern California and recently moved up to Northern California.
You may remember that the three of us showcased her totes this summer after I purchased them for Charlotte and Lesley for Mother’s Day. All three of our totes are reversible and Loretta even states she will custom make either the totes or masks if there’s a color or style you would prefer.
Products Offered
There are different sizes of totes available as well as cloth masks. She even sells the PDF pattern of the masks if you want to make your own.
BTW, sometimes looking through the reviews gives you ideas of different options for styles and colors.
Serendipity by Tracey
Tracey is the founder of Serendipity by Tracey. She is the cousin of my best friend from high school, and we used to be in a book swap where we would send each other books we had already read.
This endeavor started during Covid when Tracey found that she loved crafting these one-of-a-kind wreaths. Each one is unique, however, she will try to replicate one if you see an example that you adore.
Products Offered
Tracey makes both wreaths and door hangers to decorate your front door. Of course, you can hang them wherever you want. In addition to that, she has some rare vintage Hummel figurines in her shop.
Sweet Basil Avenue
Jenny is the owner of Sweet Basil Avenue. I met Jenny at a Goodwill event and thought the idea for her shop was so unique.
Her shop focuses on one-of-a-kind children’s clothing along with other items that are made from repurposed items such as men’s dress shirts, curtains, pillowcases, and vintage fabrics as well.
The amazing part of Jenny’s creations is that any remaining unused fibers get donated to a textile recycling program to help reduce waste. Now if that isn’t sustainable, I don’t know what is.
Products Offered
Not only will you find boy’s clothing, girl’s clothes, but there are blankets, quilts, and vintage items scattered throughout the store. Jenny will also put together gift sets including 1 sunbonnet, 1 zipper bag, 1 set of pacifier clips, and 1 bandanna bib.
Theresa Rose Designs
I met Theresa at our FierceCon event as she included some of her pieces in our swag bag. After sitting next to her at dinner one evening, I was enthralled with her story and have accumulated a few of her pieces.
It’s hard to categorize her jewelry as she loves all different kinds of styles. What you see right now in the store will change from time to time. In fact, many of my leather earrings are from her shop.
One of the best aspects of her heart is how she believes that every woman deserves beautiful, customized jewelry no matter her budget. This is why nothing in the shop is over $40.00
Products Offered
There are all kinds of beautiful jewelry that includes birthstone pieces in every shape and size. There is jewelry that is focused on astrological signs as well as other simple items.
Theresa also has another Etsy store specializing in wedding jewelry for brides and bridesmaids.
Vintage by Suzanne
Suzanne runs the Vintage by Suzanne store on Etsy. I know Suzanne from the days she was blogging as well as selling her vintage items. In fact, I bought a maxi skirt from her years ago that you can see in this series of posts.
Suzanne lives in Canada and has always loved vintage clothing. It makes her happy to find other people who appreciate these older garments.
What you’ll notice looking through her shop is she categorizes the items by color which is great if you’re looking for something in particular.
Products Offered
Not only will you find women’s clothing in Suzanne’s shop, but also shoes, belts, hats, scarves, and purses. Heck, I even noticed a set of suspenders in the mix.
WanderBee Printing
Cat, who runs WanderBee Printing is the daughter of one of my Instagram friends. When I was helping to co-host a thrifting challenge on Instagram monthly, she donated one of her sweatshirts to the winner.
Most of Cat’s inspiration comes from nature as you’ll see in her shop. Cat got her BFA in studio art with a concentration in printmaking in 2019. During the pandemic with all her free time, she decided to learn how to screenprint at home (without all the fancy equipment that was available at school), and eventually opened up this Etsy shop.
Products Offered
She designs and screenprints tees, sweatshirts, and tote bags with fun designs like mountains, cacti, and even seasonal designs.
More Etsy Shops to Check Out
- Hena Tayeb Photography–Hena sells her photography of travel and architecture.
Similar Blog Posts
- Why It’s Important to Support your Friends–This focuses on other ideas besdies support of small business.
- Behind the Scenes: Revealing Logistics, Planning and Costs for Blogging–Even a blog is a business.
- Small Business Showcase–Here’s a list of the small businesses I love to support.
Get the Inside Scoop
Following me on other social sites gives you totally different outfits and perspectives about life (and it makes my day when you comment). It’s not all the same posts that you see here on the blog. You can find me on these platforms: Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and YouTube.
I include some personal tidbits in these emails along with other happenings, sales, information, and links. So I hope you join me on this journey. Just add your email address to the box that says email below.
Welcome to Jodie’s Touch of Style. I’m here to prove that it’s never too late to look great. Clothing and style are meant to showcase your inner personality. So let’s have fun and try new things.
It’s not just about me on this blog, but also my mother and friend. We get to showcase not only different decades of life but also different body shapes and unique personal styles.
Find out more about all of us here. And make sure to join the email list where I include so much more.
