Size Matters
10 Small Businesses That Are Making Spirits Bright
In honor of Small Business Saturday, which is coming up on November 30th, I want to give special attention to some of my favorite small businesses that deserve huge holiday love. I hope this list inspires you to #ShopSmall whenever possible.
Note: all of these companies are wholly or partially woman-owned and can count me among their paying customers. Sometimes the products I love and recommend offer affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase, I may get a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you so much for supporting Motivated Clone.
There are comfy pajamas, and then there are MASONGreys. Buttery soft and chicly designed, MASONGrey’s pjs and loungewear are my absolute favorite to recommend because of how good I feel in them. Every season brings an array of new patterns, and I LOVE that the pants and shorts have pockets — bonus points for practicality! They also offer coordinating styles for babies, kids, and now men. I just added these to my ever-growing collection for the holidays.
I gravitate toward handbags that eschew logos and embrace versatility. So when I learned that Aallyn’s beautifully understated bags had straps that were convertible from shoulder to crossbody, I was sold. The styles are timeless, the leather is soft but durable, and the price points cannot be beat. I already own the Marley Hobo and have my eye on the Jolina Bucket for Xmas.
The fondness for Vancouver-based designer Melanie Auld’s jewelry is infectious. I gifted a pair of her delicate demi-fine hoops to a friend, and she gifted two more pairs to her friends. Once you discover her, you’re hooked. Auld’s “timeless, versatile, custom, and conversation-starting pieces are meant to be layered...” If you say so. Excuse me while I make some room in my jewelry box for this.
My friends know how much I love sending cards for any occasion…or for no occasion at all. That’s why I’m smitten with 2021 Co. because their cards cover all the bases. Created by best friends, 2021Co. was established “to make one-of-a-kind encouraging, uplifting (and fun!) greeting cards with the mission of making the world a little better.” Their cards are a clever mix of wit and whimsy, which is especially true of their year-round celebration collab with THE HOLIDAY JUNKIE, actress Jennifer Love Hewitt’s joyful brand. Amiright?
I have a sweatshirt problem. There, I said it. But only those meeting my very specific criteria of weight, softness, and style make the cut. Cue the Ziggy from perfectwhitetee, which checks all the boxes. It’s like your favorite broken-in sweatshirt was shrunken down and turned inside out (and I love the new holiday colors). What started out as a t-shirt company that launched just one month before the pandemic(!), perfectwhitetee has grown into a sought-after brand offering an array of “essentials made from quality fabrics that are milled in California.” Essentials, indeed.
My devotion to P.F. Candle Co. started with the rich and masculine Teakwood & Tobacco candle, which, as it turns out, was the scent that started it all for them, too. P.F.’s candles are unfussy, modern, and enchanting. The entire collection is vegan, cruelty-free, and phthalate-free and made with 100% domestically-grown and responsibly-sourced soy wax. I just ordered their Holiday Trio to warm up my home for the season and couldn’t resist adding this.
A few years ago, I started the annual holiday tradition of sending my mom an advent calendar from Vosges Haut-Chocolate. But this is no average advent calendar; it’s a work of art and imagination complete with lights, music, and 25 drawers containing the most extraordinary chocolate creations I’ve ever tasted, no exaggeration. That’s the Vosges way: elevating chocolate with unexpected ingredients (sourced from all over the world) and hand-crafted in their “Chocolate Temple” located in Chicago. I recommend starting with one of their exotic truffle collections, which offers the best of what Vosges does in bite-sized masterpieces.
I can’t resist a monogram, a personalization, or a customization of any kind, really. So when I discovered Santa Monica Threads on Etsy, I immediately ordered one of owner Melanie’s embroidered cashmere sweaters for myself (that’s mine in the photo). She offers a very extensive range of thread colors and can chainstitch just about anything -- initials, sayings, inside jokes -- on one of several soft crewnecks. I’ll be wearing mine for Thanksgiving and ordering more as gifts ASAP.
Speaking of custom gifts, finding thoughtful ones for the pet owners on my list was always a challenge, until I came across RiverryStudio. Their hand painted watercolor portraits are truly one-of-a-kind. You provide them with a few photos of Muffin or Scout, and their artists will capture his or her precious likeness in beautiful keepsake fashion. I recently had one made for a dear friend, and she was truly touched.
Partners in life and art, Brooke and Justin Rothshank are the painter and ceramist, respectively, behind Rothshank Artworks. Creating and selling a variety of pieces from political dinnerware to miniature paintings, the Rothshanks believe “that artwork and creativity are a catalyst for social change and economic improvement.” This ethos results in cool and surprising pieces that make for great conversation starters. Personally, I came for the RBG mug and stayed for the watercolor LaCroix.
