Shopping Small - A Few of our Favorite Things
Disclaimer: if you like having money, skip this post. You're about to fall in love with shopping small, and it can be addicting. Because everything is sooooo good. But, if you continue reading, you'll soon have well dressed kids who are the talk of the town.
Over the past two years, I have slowly crept down the rabbit hole that is the small shop community. I have been a long time supporter of shopping on Etsy, even opening up my own shop making handmade baby items, but I never knew about finding shops through Instagram. I never knew about all the amazingly talented women and family run businesses I could find just by browsing through social media. It started out innocently, "oh those are adorable moccasins!" (thanks, Freshly Picked), until I found small shop clothing, jewelry, home decor, and toys. I started following these handmade/small shops on Instagram which linked me to even more makers in the community. I started buying less in big box stores (well, except Target), and more from online small shops. I started connecting with others in this community. This eventually took us down the path of "repping" for different shops, but that's a post for another day.
So, here I am spilling my secrets. Sharing the goodness that I've found over the years with all of you in hopes that you'll find that next birthday present, first day of school outfit, or baby shower gift through this avenue instead of the traditional stores.
All of these recommendations are based solely on my love for the items we own. We do happen to rep for some of them (because we love them!), but are not being compensated for a review here. Additionally, I could probably list 100 businesses that we adore, but that would bog things down, so this list is just a handful of shops that I believe make pretty cool stuff. They
are in no particular order.
1. Duchess and Fox Shoes. Tess wears these everywhere outside of preschool (not going to ruin a good thing!). We have both soft soles and rubber soles and love both equally. The leather hides are gorgeous, the shoes hold up to a ton of wear, and they are really made beautifully.
2. Annie and Daisy apparel. It's not frequent that you find a shop owner with adorably creative designs in this fairly saturated market. We have several tees from this shop and Annie never disappoints.
3. Harper August Jewelry. Ashleigh uses the best beads and comes up with gorgeous color combos. My girls both love wearing their necklaces and bracelets. They are fun additions to any outfit! You can use code 'teamfriend10' for a discount.
4. Baker Blossoms. Sarah is a master with felt and never disappoints. She makes beautiful felt headbands, bows, home decor and more. She'll even do custom orders, like the popsicle garland and headband we had made for Tess' second birthday.
5. Lady and Little apparel. Another shop that not only has creative designs, but ones with a positive message. We love everything we've ever ordered! She also puts her designs on wood signs so you can spruce up your home with her sweetness.
6. Buglet bracelets. If you or your child is a mosquito magnet, you need to try these out. My girls love them because they are slap bracelets and come in their favorite colors. I love them because my kids happily wear them (they actually beg to wear them), and they are a safe and effective way for keeping bugs away. Use code 'Buglet F&F' for a discount.
7. We love rompers. It's just a fact. Your husbands/significant other/baby daddy will also love rompers because they won't need to put an outfit together. They'll encourage you to buy more - so stock up! These generally don't have snaps, as they just pull up and down making outfit changes a breeze. I'll share a few that we love that you can find at different price ranges and styles.
8. Gathre mats. One of my go to baby shower gifts! We have several in the midi and micro size and have used for years. We use our midi ones for impromptu picnics, sideline viewing when Sienna played soccer, and for while, under Tess' highchair. We keep the micros in my diaper bag for diaper changes or as a placemat when eating out (don't worry, we clean them after every use!). I'm totally swooning over the new scalloped edge and prints they recently released.
9. Cheeky Cloth swim diapers. Another go to baby shower gift. Friends, these are ONE SIZE, REUSABLE, swim diapers. Not only do you save money in the long run as they can be used summer after summer, but they are far cuter than the single use diapers you can buy by the pack.
10. Muffin Bub Dolls. We just got these, but they are just too cute not to share. Tess always wants my coffee, and now she can have her own. The donuts are even scented!
I'll keep it contained to these ten, but I think I need to make a monthly post,because there are just so many great shops out there that deserve to have their praises sang.
I promise once you start shopping small, you won't be able to stop. But as much as I love handmade items and supporting the smaller businesses, my kids still roll up to school in Old Navy, Gap and Target, as I can't afford to stock their closet solely in these items. Plus they ruin stuff...quickly, and it would break my heart daily to see the really good stuff get destroyed.
Feel free to share some of your small shop finds in the comments!
Over the past two years, I have slowly crept down the rabbit hole that is the small shop community. I have been a long time supporter of shopping on Etsy, even opening up my own shop making handmade baby items, but I never knew about finding shops through Instagram. I never knew about all the amazingly talented women and family run businesses I could find just by browsing through social media. It started out innocently, "oh those are adorable moccasins!" (thanks, Freshly Picked), until I found small shop clothing, jewelry, home decor, and toys. I started following these handmade/small shops on Instagram which linked me to even more makers in the community. I started buying less in big box stores (well, except Target), and more from online small shops. I started connecting with others in this community. This eventually took us down the path of "repping" for different shops, but that's a post for another day.
So, here I am spilling my secrets. Sharing the goodness that I've found over the years with all of you in hopes that you'll find that next birthday present, first day of school outfit, or baby shower gift through this avenue instead of the traditional stores.
All of these recommendations are based solely on my love for the items we own. We do happen to rep for some of them (because we love them!), but are not being compensated for a review here. Additionally, I could probably list 100 businesses that we adore, but that would bog things down, so this list is just a handful of shops that I believe make pretty cool stuff. They
are in no particular order.
1. Duchess and Fox Shoes. Tess wears these everywhere outside of preschool (not going to ruin a good thing!). We have both soft soles and rubber soles and love both equally. The leather hides are gorgeous, the shoes hold up to a ton of wear, and they are really made beautifully.
 |
| Plus you get the sweetest foot prints |
2. Annie and Daisy apparel. It's not frequent that you find a shop owner with adorably creative designs in this fairly saturated market. We have several tees from this shop and Annie never disappoints.
3. Harper August Jewelry. Ashleigh uses the best beads and comes up with gorgeous color combos. My girls both love wearing their necklaces and bracelets. They are fun additions to any outfit! You can use code 'teamfriend10' for a discount.
4. Baker Blossoms. Sarah is a master with felt and never disappoints. She makes beautiful felt headbands, bows, home decor and more. She'll even do custom orders, like the popsicle garland and headband we had made for Tess' second birthday.
5. Lady and Little apparel. Another shop that not only has creative designs, but ones with a positive message. We love everything we've ever ordered! She also puts her designs on wood signs so you can spruce up your home with her sweetness.
6. Buglet bracelets. If you or your child is a mosquito magnet, you need to try these out. My girls love them because they are slap bracelets and come in their favorite colors. I love them because my kids happily wear them (they actually beg to wear them), and they are a safe and effective way for keeping bugs away. Use code 'Buglet F&F' for a discount.
7. We love rompers. It's just a fact. Your husbands/significant other/baby daddy will also love rompers because they won't need to put an outfit together. They'll encourage you to buy more - so stock up! These generally don't have snaps, as they just pull up and down making outfit changes a breeze. I'll share a few that we love that you can find at different price ranges and styles.
- Rags to Raches. These are hot ticket items, so be prepared to purchase in a millisecond if you want a new release. They have fantastic resale value and fun designs.
- Tinkadoodle. This is a new shop, but we love the fabric choices and the fact that the material has UV protection; which I think is pretty cool. You can use code 'Tessaff' for a discount
- Rad Revolution Kids. One of the first smaller shops that we found, and we've now owned at least a half dozen rompers. These are cute alone or paired with a jacket.
9. Cheeky Cloth swim diapers. Another go to baby shower gift. Friends, these are ONE SIZE, REUSABLE, swim diapers. Not only do you save money in the long run as they can be used summer after summer, but they are far cuter than the single use diapers you can buy by the pack.
10. Muffin Bub Dolls. We just got these, but they are just too cute not to share. Tess always wants my coffee, and now she can have her own. The donuts are even scented!
I'll keep it contained to these ten, but I think I need to make a monthly post,because there are just so many great shops out there that deserve to have their praises sang.
I promise once you start shopping small, you won't be able to stop. But as much as I love handmade items and supporting the smaller businesses, my kids still roll up to school in Old Navy, Gap and Target, as I can't afford to stock their closet solely in these items. Plus they ruin stuff...quickly, and it would break my heart daily to see the really good stuff get destroyed.
Feel free to share some of your small shop finds in the comments!
Comments
Post a Comment