Our third holiday gift guide this season is dedicated to Kids and Pets! You can be the most cynical adult alive, however spend the holidays with children and your Grinch heart will have no other option but to grow three times its size. We also included pets in this blog because they are one of our greatest sources of joy and love and deserved to be spoiled in the holiday season (well, all year round really when you think about it). We picked five gift suggestions that we hope you will not only love for your nearest and dearest but will inspire you to do the work of actually shopping small and shopping local, not only for your holiday gifts but for all year round shopping. That is the main goal of our gift guides.
With the kids and pets gift guide we focused on small, independent brands that have a mission and a story. We included different categories and price ranges. Like all previous gift guides, there is an online store and you just need to click onto the captions for the link. We hope this starts the love and passion for hunting the treasures out there that smaller and more artisanal brands provide.
Toys for children (I bet you thought this one was for the pets) are of course at the top of this list. Mon Ami (“my friend” in French) is a child accessory brand established in 2018 that specializes in products that create a delicate balance of beauty, comfort, and emotional connection—creating treasures to cherish, gift, and grow up with. Besides toys, Mon Ami have many child related accessories. It was hard to pick our favorite plush toy so since it was the holidays we went with Jingle Holiday Dachshund, the cutest pup around! With his smart holiday sweater and festive Santa hat he is one super snuggly dog stuffed animal. Gifting this sausage puppy stuffed animal to a little one dreaming of owning a dog or the dachshund lover in your life will guarantee a lifelong childhood friend. This nine inch long bundle of love will also melts the hearts of not only children but their adults too.
MCNALLY JACKSON INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE - THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS: CLASSIC ORIGINAL TEXT PAIRED WITH MODERN ART
Books are always a favorite gift suggestion from The Local Artisan Guide, especially for children and definitely for the holidays. We always highly recommend going to independent, small book stores and McNally Jackson is one of our favorites. If you have a small local independent book store in your neighborhood it is a treasure trove for gift giving for both children and adults. We highly recommend “The Night Before Christmas: Classic Original Text Paired with Modern Art” by Hayden Goodman (Illustrator) based on the original story by author, poet and scholar Clement C. Moore. Hayden Goodman is an African American painter, illustrator, and character artist. She works primarily in gouache to paint witches, fairies, goblins, and other mysterious creatures from mythology and folklore. For this rendition, “On Christmas Eve, a little girl is woken by the clatter of Santa's reindeer on her apartment building's roof. When jolly Saint Nick comes down her chimney, she and the other children in their apartment building get swept up in a Christmas adventure.” The book features beautiful bright illustrations filled with diversity (much needed right now) in this modern twist of a classic tale where every child can see themselves in it. It is surely to become a holiday tradition and keepsake for the family of the child who receives this magical book.
MOMA DESIGN STORE - LE CHOCOLAT DE FRANÇAIS GALATIC CHRISTMAS PRALINE BALLS BOX
Chocolate will always be a holiday gift favorite, especially for children. We love MoMA Design Store because their gift merchandisers search the world for special brands that they feel will lift us up in beauty and artisanal traits. It is an amazing destination for both the brick and mortar and the online store to source spectacular holiday gifts that are easily accessible. A brand we love from France is Le Chocolat de Français which MoMA offers in their collection. This fun decorative tin contains nine milk chocolate praline balls. All Le Chocolat de Français products are made in France, using traditional chocolate-making techniques, with 100% natural ingredients. Contains 3.9 oz of chocolate. The tin is certainly a keeper and let’s face it, this is a gift for the kid in all of us.
And now for the pet portion of our program. Let’s face it, treats are the best thing that can happen in a pet’s life (besides the love of a good human). They pursue treats the way we pursue a good pizza. We found Barkin, a small independent dog brand that we feel in the future has the potential to become a huge dog brand. The company is dedicated to producing all-natural treats for dogs while championing a greater social mission. Inspired by their late English Bulldog, Marlow, who is the heart and inspiration behind this brand, Barkin also has a mission to pledge their support to causes that promote mental health and emotional wellness. We saw how dogs were going crazy for their Chicken Pot Pie Soft & Chewy Treats so we knew this had to be on the holiday gift guide for dogs. The Chicken Pot Pie is a tantalizing blend of natural goodness designed to delight your furry friend's taste buds while providing wholesome nutrition. Crafted with the utmost care, these treats are made with three key ingredients: tender chicken, luscious sweet potato, and aromatic parsley. This treat offers moderate protein, a good amount of fat for energy and taste, and fiber to support digestion. It’s balanced to provide energy and flavor while remaining shelf-stable and easy to chew. This gift is a win/win! And quite honestly, I can’t tell you how tempted I am to try it myself. One day!
LUCA THE NAPA DOG - SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA CABLE CAR DOG TOY
Besides treats pets love their toys. Lucca, The Napa Dog is another small, independent pet brand inspired by the love of a dog, in this case it’s Lucca, a big 70 lbs fluffy dog. The brand specializes in dog inspired gift baskets however they also feature other categories and pet toys are one of them. Since it’s a Napa based brand we love their San Francisco, CaliforniaCable Car Toy. Never has tug-a-war been so cute with this soft cable car that has a crinkly roof and bold squeaker. Guaranteed hours of fun for both your furry one and you.
We hope we have inspired you with these gifts. Please take a look at your local neighborhood toy stores, holiday markets, independent bookstores, pet shops and children boutiques. They contain a trove of artisanal gifts for your loved ones that they are sure to become family heirlooms.
Next week is our last blog for holiday shopping and it will be GIFTS FOR ALL! We will also be featuring in our Instagram stories special picks starting on Sunday, November 30th for all of Advent. These will be be brands we know and love that only have an online presence. Now that the holiday season is officially on its way and Black Friday is over we hope you are enjoying the season and finding shopping for your loved ones a pleasure.
Another year, another blog on great Mother’s Day gift recommendations on The Local Artisan Guide. As always we offer curated selections that are artisanal, sustainable with stores that offer small independent brands created by artisans. Your mother will appreciate that you have given great thought to unique gifts that show how much you care. No robe from Sears here! All are available online just click onto the captions under the photos.
Rothy’s has been a longtime favorite of The Local Artisan Guide for years. The brand has been at the forefront of offering stylish footwear made from recycled materials that are comfortable and easy to clean. We are again recommending Rothy’s for this Mother’s Day as they just introduced espadrilles! Imagine a comfortable and stylish espadrille that is also made from recycled materials? We couldn’t resist! Rothy’s offers the espadrille in many colors and patterns so mom will have so many choices.
In our recent trip to San Miguel de Allende we fell in love with Mexican White Ceramics for home decor. The beautiful creamy glaze is perfect for all decor and color schemes. Made my local artisans of Mexico, Marquesa de Mancera offers a stunning and affordable selection of the ceramics. I guarantee your mother will be happy to have one of these handmade, artfully created pieces in her home.
If your mother loves jewelry (whose mother doesn’t) we selected this lovely necklace of multicolored gemstones from Dana Blair Design. Dana Blair always designs not only with aesthetics in mind but how the energy of the gems affect our lives. “This necklace is inspired by the meanings of the 27 individually wrapped stones used to create it. With its myriad colors, the Symbolic necklace pairs so well with any ensemble that you’ll never want to take it off. It looks great alone or layered with other necklaces. Available in 14k gold fill or sterling silver, on a 17″ chain.” All those colors will definitely fit in with mom’s wardrobe.
Res Ispa (legalese for “the thing speaks for itself”) is a brand that focuses on globally-designed one-of-a-kind products made from vintage and repurposed materials. Trust me your mother will love this handmade Cactus silk patchwork kimono made by hand in their atelier in Marrakech. Each kimono's front collar is trimmed with handwoven fabric, cactus silk fabric, or West African mud cloth. It is an original design that will go with everything you have in your wardrobe whilst being sustainable as all the fabrics are repurposed materials. She will be the envy of her friends and you might find yourself asking to borrow it yourself. Think of this gift as the much elevated version of the robe mom usually got for Mother’s Day when you were younger (that was dad’s idea of a gift for sure).
One of the problems you have with perfumes and fragrances is that it is quite common that others can easily share your fragrance (remember the 80’s when everyone and their mother was wearing “Obsession”?). When you seek out small independent perfume brands you drastically decrease this possibility and having a fragrance that is practically your own. That is why we love Widian perfumes. We picked “Granada” by Widian as it is the closest you can come to being in Granada without buying your mother a plane ticket (not that we are discouraging that). The copy alone for the fragrance had us running to try it out: “Resting beneath the majestic Sierra Nevada mountains, with multiple World Heritage Sites dating back over a millennia, Granada sits at the crossroads of nature and history. A tribute to this rich legacy in all of its contrasts, the newest fragrance from Widian is a symphony of fiery passion and tranquil breezes, an exquisitely constructed parfum that combines exotic spices, lush florals, and a rich amber base to create an unforgettable, wholly unique experience. Delicately calibrated between he softness of rose and the freshness of juniper, the opening harmoniously blends with the intense heat of black pepper and cinnamon supporting a robust cedarwood heart. The luxurious scent is deepened with rich undertones of amber, musk, vetiver, and patchouli, creating a captivatingly perfect balance that sets you on an historic olfactory journey.” It actually makes for a great unisex fragrance so dad may be seeking a few dabs too!
In our last blog we mentioned visiting 2 Note in Kinderhook, NY and how we fell in love with their fragrance boutique. If you don’t feel confident enough to buy your mother perfume for Mother's Day this candle in the universally loved scent of “Opus 1”Lavender Black Pepper Sandalwood is a no brainer. There is also a “Opus 2” Balsam Fir Frankincense in case you want a woodsier slightly more masculine fragrance. The packaging makes it possible to travel with the 10 oz candle that is made with 100% pure beeswax. The candle is made locally with pure botanical essences, hand poured in small batches. It’s a gift she is not only sure to love, but to actually use.
Our last gift recommendation is the very affordable Mother’s Day Gift suggestion is a book by author Chris Power entitled “Mothers” (how appropriate). Available at one of our favorite independent book stores, McNally Jackson, the synopsis reads as: “A woman uses her mother’s old travel guide, aged years beyond relevance, to navigate on a journey to nowhere; a stand-up comic with writer’s block performs a fateful gig at a cocaine-fueled bachelor party; on holiday in Greece, a father must confront the limits to which he can keep his daughters safe. Braided throughout is the story of Eva, a daughter, wife, and mother, whose search for a self and place of belonging tracks a devastating path through generations.
Ranging from remote English moors to an ancient Swedish burial ground to a hedonistic Mexican wedding, the stories in Mothers lay bare the emotional and psychic damage of life, love, and abandonment. Suffused with yearning, Power’s transcendent prose expresses a profound ache for vanished pasts and uncertain futures.” If your mother is an avid reader and perhaps can’t travel so easily these day, Mothers is a gift that will let her travel in her mind.
While flowers, chocolates and greeting cards will also make her happy, we hope these recommendations show your mother that gift giving is an art form and one that leaves the recipient with feelings of gratitude for being fondly thought of. Let that be, there is no greater gift to mom than your actual presence, that is the best present of all. Happy Mother’s Day to the women who do the hardest job on earth where you never get a day off!
