It’s the most wonderful time of the year…especially for small businesses! Small Business Saturday is an event that we look forward to every single year. After stuffing yourself on Thanksgiving and all the wild bargain hunting on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday offers an opportunity to slow things down a little and give a little love to your favorite mom and pop shops.
From quirky local boutiques to one-woman Etsy shops to small teams of cocktail-lovers like us, shopping small gives you an opportunity to support passionate artisans and makers while ticking off all the boxes on your holiday shopping list. (Don’t forget to snag some goods for yourself, too—it’s for a good cause, after all.) We want to share the love with some of the small businesses that we keep coming back to time and time again (listed in no particular order, of course)! We love their goods and we think you will too.
Perfectly Cordial
This booze-loving small biz pal mixes up the most delicious cocktail and mocktail-friendly cordials! Their flavors are vegan and gluten-free (making them perfect for every guest at your happy hour) and made by a woman and minority-owned business. Pro tip: their cardamom pear cordial pairs oh-so-sweetly with our holiday infusions.
Shop: https://www.perfectlycordial.com/
Manual
Their tagline is “Manual creates home goods for slow living,” and that is a vibe we DIG. They’ve got everything from sculptural lamps to beautifully minimalistic cocktail equipment—and we are more than a little obsessed with their coffee mugs.
Shop: https://www.manual.is/
Tepotzi
This small biz shows off the very best in Mexican copper making and crafts the most gorgeous cocktail shakers we’ve ever seen. Seriously, we’ve got people asking “Where did you get that?!” every time our Tepotzi shaker makes an appearance in our videos.
Shop: https://www.tepotztli.com/
Thistle Co.
Color? Check. Glitter? Check. The most fun jewelry we’ve seen in ages? Big ol’ check. This local Chicago biz makes handcrafted resin earrings and hair clips that add a little somethin’ somethin’ to any outfit (especially when you’re wearing your warmest sweatshirt to work for the third day in a row).
Shop: https://dearthistle.com/
A. Favorite Design
Whether you’re looking to get your calendar organized (finally) or step up your holiday card game, A. Favorite Design has got you covered! This Chicago favorite letter presses their own amazing cards and stationery that give plain ol’ paper products a whole lot more personality.
Shop: https://afavoritedesign.com/
Present Tense Bar
You know we’re passionate about mixing up damn good cocktails (obviously), but sometimes you really wish someone would just do the work for you. Enter: Present Tense Bar! This local team makes and sells ah-may-zing batched cocktails and will deliver them (along with bar snacks, yum) to your next Chicago shindig or boozy night in.
Shop: https://www.presenttensebar.com/
Lemaster Family Kitchen
There’s in-the-neighborhood local, and then there’s in-the-same-building local! This fellow husband and wife duo are our neighbors and pals who make mouth-watering homemade spice blends that take your cooking from “that’s nice” to “OH HOT DAMN.”
Shop: https://www.lemasterfamilykitchen.com/
Ponnopozz
Our friend Adrianne’s local studio/store brings together some of the most fun, funky, and colorful goods around for anyone who craves a little more art in their day! It’s straight up impossible to leave the shop without a smile on your face. (And if you need a sense of this small biz’s personality, Ponnopozz got its name from Adrianne’s childhood imaginary friends, Ponno and Pozzer—which is the cutest damn thing we’ve ever heard.)
Shop: https://ponnopozz.com/
If you’re looking for even more small biz favorites, check out our list from last year! We’ve also got some killer deals running this weekend if you’re looking to score some infused booze goodies (just sayin’). Wherever you end up shopping this Small Business Saturday, we’re happy to see those dollars going to passionate makers across the map. Thanks for the small biz love, friends!