Small Business Christmas Gift Guide

 Somehow the year has once again flown by and our attention is turning to Christmas. This is likely to be a tough one for many and I thought it would be nice to produce a guide to some of the small businesses and sole traders who are fighting against huge brands to be seen and heard in the marketplace. Many of us would like to support more small businesses, but it's not always easy to find them, so I'm hoping this will be a good place to start. I can update this guide at any time so if you know of a great small business that you have used or think could benefit from a shout-out, drop me a comment or email me via my contact page and I will add as many as I can. 

Victoria is the artist behind Woolley Wildlife. She is a wildlife researcher, photographer, artist and writer with a passion for the smaller species. She creates artistic images of flora and fauna from her own original photographs and hand-makes unique, original needle-felted animals and mythical creatures to order. My favourite item from her shop is this Gloucester Old Spot pig, which would make a fabulous stocking filler, but there are lots of other items to choose from, including jewellery, clothing and accessories to suit all budgets. 

WildeandSinclair is the place to go for beautifully designed unique cards and homeware. The designs are all handdrawn and printed here in the UK, with free UK postage and packing included. With Christmas in mind, you will be enchanted by the fabulous Christmas card and hanging decoration designs. They are sure to bring a smile to anyone who receives them and the hanging ornaments are the perfect size to pop in the post to a distant friend or relative. 

Andrea is the talent behind AndreaLeminDesign where she illustrates and prints her own charming creations onto postcards, notebooks and other paper goods. These include beautiful wall prints for children, comical designs for the grown ups, as well as postcards and notebooks. She also produces some incredible festive designs for cards and brilliant unique wrapping paper, like this awesome Christmas avocado pattern. 

Rachael, from MishMashMuddle is an excellent photographer and artist (I'm a little bit biased, because she designed my blog header, but, honestly, take a look!), she has an amazing array of printed items in her Redbubble shop featuring every kind of design you can imagine in many different art styles. There's something for everyone, from cute and charming designs for children to cheeky, humourous adult designs. The range of stock is vast, from stickers at just over £1, to phone cases, clothing and everything in between, you're sure to find the gift you need for that difficult relative! 

Blooming Heck is a fairly new venture which I spotted on Facebook and absolutely love the idea of. For anyone, like me, who is looking for a more sustainable alternative to Christmas cards, whilst still wanting to maintain the tradition of keeping in touch with distant friends and relatives during the holiday season, this could be the answer you've been looking for. Blooming Heck have made it their mission to revolutionise gift sending and greeting cards and pride themselves on a zero-waste concept. They produce lovely greeting cards that can be planted both indoors and outdoors, where if nurtured properly, they will bloom into beautiful wildflowers. They use recycled envelopes and compostable vegetable starch cellophane bags to keep the cards protected, continuing the sustainability goal. 

Another lovely artist friend of mine is Gail, who paints amazingly detailed tiny animal portraits at Natural Odyssey. I bought one from her a few years ago as a gift for my brother, it was an astonishingly accurate portrait of his dog painted beautifully onto a pebble. They make great gifts, especially for men, who can be tricky to buy for. She can also paint onto slate hearts, which have a ribbon to hang them up, as well as these very festive hanging Christmas decorations. 

Jess, from Loadofolbobbins, is a textile artist and illustrator inspired by nature, books and coosplaying pigeons. Her newest ’Birds of a Feather’ range is sold in aid of the RSPB. Aside from her inexplicable fondness for beady eyed winged critters, she also makes the most fabulous embroidered art, including a 'Classic Literature' range which is just wonderful and easily my personal favourite, she even makes them into jewellery! 

Whether it's morning coffee, afternoon tea, or a warming hot chocolate Wyeside Warmers in Herefordshire are busy hand knitting all kinds of colourful, cosy creations, to help keep your beverages warm this winter. Choose from; tea cosies, egg cosies, mug warmers and so much more, all ensuring that your drinks are better dressed than you are to keep out the winter chill. 

Andy at Create England is the brains behind Letter Catchers, which attach to your letter box and do exactly what it says in the title. This is brilliant if you have a mutt with a taste for pizza flyers, or a toddler who finds joy in destroying your bills. They also provide a useful  draught-excluding element, as well as hiding your post from nosey strangers, who might use it to establish how long your house has been empty for. They are easy to fit, with no drilling required and come in a range of attractive designs. 

My Etsy Recommended Round Up

BatSheetCrazy produces an extensive range of decals and homewares. Decals are stickers on a transparent background that make excellent inexpensive embellishments to decorate your stuff. You can buy them as gifts on their own, or use them to add a personal touch to another item, such as a jar or mirror. The decals come with easy to follow instructions and the seller is particularly lovely and very efficient at sending out items and replying to queries. What I love about the decals is that you can pick out something really specific to the person you are buying for. If they have a favourite TV show or film, you may well find something suitable out of the 258 designs available, and if you're not confident applying a decal yourself. there are lots of homewares to choose from featuring the same images. I bought a Good Omens decal for my daughter's mirror and she was so fond of it that when she moved out, I bought her another one for her new house. 

I bought an incredible Among Us hoodie for my teenage son, from SnapItToday. The quality is great and I really love the design. It was also very reasonably priced and is sure to appeal to gamers of all ages who are looking for a colourful and fun addition to their wardrobe. There are lots of designs to choose from in the Etsy shop, not all related to gaming, and there's also an impressive line in biker jackets, if that's more your thing. 

TheArtLifeofShan features handcrafted prints, on various products including tote bags, bookmarks and greetings cards. She uses an unusual art style called Cyanotype which is a photographic printing process that produces unique and beautiful results. Prices start from just £2 for seconds and £4 for a set of two bookmarks. I bought a lovely bookmark featuring a pair of feathers and it arrived beautifully packaged and I'm really pleased with it. 

If you are (or know someone who is) keen to become more sustainable, reusable make- up wipes are a great place to start. I bought a few different sets of make up wipes more than three years ago from LoadsOfLoveByLou and they're still going strong. I pop them in a drawstring bag with the rest of my laundry and wash them as normal, they keep their shape and dry really quickly. I can't imagine how much money I've saved on disposable wipes or cotton pads during those three years! The wipes are made of soft fleece and colourful fabrics and all the designs are unique. This Etsy shop also creates and sells pretty hair accessories.