Written on November 30, 2006 6:20 PM
Whether you joyfully celebrate the season or can't wait for it to be over, chances are you will need a gift or two for family, friends, colleagues or a secret snowflake. Crafty purists prefer to make something for everyone on that gift list, but sometimes it just isn't possible. The next best thing? Buy indie. Your recipients will get handcrafted goodness, and you'll be supporting a fellow artisan. What could be better?
There are a number of websites and bloggers who have carefully compiled handmade holiday gift guides. The links below will take you to these treasure chests of gift ideas, but beware! you may very well find more inspiration for your own wish list.
*Port2Port's Art for the Holidays Gift Guide: A delicious selection of holiday gifts helpfully organized in categories like "art for the wall," "under $50" and "art for the little ones."
*Craft Revolution Holiday Gift Guide: A slew of gifts all designed and made by woman artisans, and organized according to recipient, be it mom, dad, brother or friend.
*Miss Doxie's Holiday Gift Guide: Here you will find under-$10-gift inspirations, special discounts and much to giggle about (miss doxie is hilarious, if you haven't found her blog before you're in for a treat). She has also just opened Shop Doxie featuring her witty weiner cards and handmade jewelry.
*Modish Holiday Gift Guide: Fabulous indie shopping blogger Modish has put together a compendium of great finds for everyone on your list (including your pet!).
*The Glass Doorknob's Handmade for the Holidays: If you prefer to virtually "meet" the artist making your gifts, you can thank Shari of The Glass Doorknob for her insightful interviews of artists like Blair Stocker of Wise...handmade goods and Abby Hayes of abbytrysagain, who are keeping their etsy shops stocked with limited edition and one-of-a-kind gifts.
*If you like to shop in person and don't want to miss a local craftstravaganza, look no further than
Indiecraftshows.com to find an event near you.
In addition to the wealth of gifty inspiration in these guides, here are some gems you shouldn' t miss:
*Treasures both vintage and beautifully, whimsically handmade can be found at Alicia Paulson's web shop Posie. Check out her holiday postcards, bags of gorgeous vintage ornaments and original crochet patterns.
*Artist Susie Ghahremani has also stocked up her shop boygirlparty for the holidays. With her awesome selection of owl and octopus t-shirts, buttons, pocket mirrors, stationery, wallets, recipe cards and more, you're bound to find something for the choosiest giftee. If someone on your list has been especially good, consider buying them a piece of Susie's original artwork, currently part of her Bird Call show at Giant Robot Los Angeles.
*Eireann Lorsung is re-opening her bara web shop for just a few days starting on the 2nd of December. Get over there quickly to snap up one of her lovely pieces, which will wing its way to you from France!
*Hillary Lang's cards, stickers, put-together books, embroidery and softie patterns at Wee Wonderfuls are perfect for the crafty mom (or dad, or grown-up kid) in your life. If you have time to craft, the finished products make great gifts too! Word is she's going to be putting up some seriously cute free holiday embroidery patterns, so keep an eye out.
*For luscious oversize holiday cards (with a hedgehog!) head over to The Black Apple, then stay to browse through the original art, prints, paper dolls, and postcards. Her handmade dolls come and go fast, but you might manage to grab one if you're quick enough!
Another good thing about buying indie for the holidays? You don't have to feel guilty about giving in to the urge to go forth and shop.
*Budget too tight for crafty shopping? Check out the latest West Coast Crafty column for great holiday gift tutorials, and stay tuned right here next week for budget-friendly crafty gift ideas*
