Hi there friends! I hope your Thanksgiving was filled with as much awesome food, drink and company as mine was. Isn’t it just nice to take a step back from everything and enjoy time together? Plus, now it’s a widely acceptable time to display all of your Christmas decorations, even if I did start last week already… But, with Christmas decorations also comes Christmas shopping. Since it is Small Business Saturday, I figured I’d give you a list of some of my favorite small shops that I have either shopped with or plan on doing this season! I’m not getting any kickback from these companies, just excited about shopping small!
First let’s start with a few online companies that I love. If you’re anything like me, you’ve become obsessed with Etsy because it’s the best of both worlds! No need to change out of your pajamas to online shop, but you also get the satisfaction of helping out some smaller companies.
Favorite Small Business Etsy Shops
How cute are Mary Kay’s pillows?? Her Petoskey Pine Pillow has been in my “Favorites” folder for months now! One of my friends got us a very similar pillow and I’m hoping to match. We love showing our Pure Michigan pride in our home. And her prices are very reasonable!
I have been following Niki on Instagram (@CarpenterFarmhouse) for a while now and she is hilarious! She and her husband also run their own laser cutting business. They do custom orders if you have a request, but what they have come up with already is super cute! I’ve been eyeing this “Coffee” sign for a few weeks now, but I’m waiting until I fully convince my husband that our kitchen NEEDS a coffee bar!
For those of you who are still working on creating your 2018 Christmas Cards, please check out Penelope’s Paper Pantry. She is located in Battle Creek, MI which is pretty local for those of you in Kalamazoo. I worked with this shop to create my wedding invitations this past September and they were AMAZING to work with! I received responses to my questions within hours and they even created a unique map for our invitation suite that I got to customize exactly how I wanted. Her Christmas cards are adorable, I mean, look at this one! Or she has many more traditional versions.
Fact: men are hard to buy for. I have used this shop now to buy tie clips for my husband and for my dad. My dad’s even has a little putting green next to his initials! I love that they will even stamp on the back of the tie clip so you can include a short, personal message.
If I met Brianna from Breeations Creeations in real life, I know we would be friends because it’s obvious that she loves all the dogs! I’m a very proud (crazy?) dog momma and every season I like to get our dog, Baxter, a festive bandana so he can celebrate with us! For Halloween I purchased a personalized bandana from Breeations Creeations and it was just so adorable that I am on the hunt for his Christmas one as I type this!
These go over his collar so no need to worry about any ties. I’m thinking I want to get him another personalized one this season, but how cute are these Rudolph ones??
Since, at this point, most of my readers are local to Kalamazoo (Hi mom!), I thought I’d also share a few awesome shops here in town that I love supporting!
Favorite Local (Kalamazoo-ish) Shops
If you’re following me on Instagram [link] you already know how much I love Trove! Every time you go in there to shop, things are completely different and new treasures are sure to be found. The employees there are all so sweet and it’s fun to see how excited they get when they bag up your finds of the day! Be sure to follow them on Instagram as well for all things inspiring!
You can definitely support Kalamazoo Candle Company by purchasing online, but they just opened up a new location in downtown Kalamazoo that I’ve been dying to visit! These candles come in the most adorable glass jars or small tins, which make them super easy to style in your designs. Plus, they smell amazing! We are currently burning Sugared Spruce and I love that it blends a very sweet smell with the white pine and douglas fir.
If you live in the Kalamazoo area and have never had Taste of Heaven popcorn, let me know and I might just have to send you some ASAP! This popcorn is life changing, and I’m not kidding! Part of the proceeds from this delicious popcorn goes to support Youth for Christ which is a Christian ministry that is aimed at bringing young people together and toward the love of Christ. I like to call this, Dessert with a Cause. My favorite flavor is their Michigan Cherry Drizzled Caramel Corn, but let’s be real, every time I see them at a craft show, I taste test EVERY. SINGLE. FLAVOR. These also make great gifts for teachers, co-workers, secret Santa’s, etc. Plus, they even ship their products with a USPS Flat Rate of $9.50!
Whew! Hopefully I could help you out with your Christmas list, now get to shopping! If you end up using any of these shops, be sure to snap a picture and post it to Instagram so I can see your awesome finds! Tag me (@beauplacelikehome) or use the hashtag #beauplacelikehome. Happy shopping!