Small Businesses

Jump to: Home goods | Art shops & galleries | Personal care | Paper goods | Clothes & accessories | Services

More collections: blogroll | interesting people | cool artists | graphic design resources | neat websites  | local Seattle resources | wishlist | big questions

I like to support independent shops, artists, and craftspeople, as well as shift away from Amazon and other chain stores when possible. Artists and small business owners have shared how much it’s hurt their business to be at the mercy of the algorithm. Organic reach has tanked, targeted advertising blows, search results suck — small businesses are running out of places to connect online.

Here are some independent / small shops I’ve purchased from, plus shops and galleries from Etsy or social media, and items on my Pinterest wishlist. I’ve added notes (in italics) for items I’ve purchased.

Home goods

• 90 West Linen (Colorado) – I got some linen kitchen towels I like here
• Renegade Collective – curated events and collective of craftspeople
• Sunwoven Marketplace (South Carolina) – curated crafted artistic homegoods – I think I got some Turkish towels here
• Reflektion Design – African patterned home goods
• Grovemade – handcrafted office goods (Portland) – leather desk pad is on my wishlist
• Fruit Super – neat modern home accessories (Seattle)
• Holy Lamb Organics – wool pillows (Washington) – own several wool pillows, pretty comfortable
• Seek & Swoon – blankets made in the USA (Portland) – have one of their blankets, a nice weight for an extra throw on the bed
• Flotsam and Fork – imported European fine home goods (Minneapolis) – I got some hand towels and a metal dustpan 
• Made Trade – sustainable (largely imported) marketplace
• Wild Minimalist – zero waste stuff
• Big Dipper Wax Works – candles
• The Citizenry – ethical imported marketplace
• Sustain Ecostore – zero waste stuff (Canada)
• Brooklinen – sheets – I got some of their heathered cashmere sheets and they are niiiiiiice

Ceramics

• Katie M. Mudd – subtly decorated mugs (Portland) – have several mugs I really like
• Forest Ceramic Co – creatively glazed and carved functional ceramics (Washington) – I have several rainbow tumblers! I use them as pencil and utensil holders
• Foxtail Pottery – patterned dishware (Washington)
• Rebecca Heasman – glaze and exposed clay swirling mugs and pots
• Micaela Sharief DeMarquez (Mimi Ceramics) – flower power vaporwave mugs (Portland)
• Ariana Heinzman – vases painted with leaves (Washington)
• Sophia SoHyun Kim – birch-inspired dishware (Canada)
• Viviana Matsuda (Mud Witch) – chonkalicious rainbow mugs (San Francisco)
• Heath Ceramics – dishware and curated home goods (California) – their bread & butter plates and shallow bowls are the perfect size
• Earthen Shop – cool crackle glaze ceramics and curated home goods (California) – have a cute little spice jar with a cork lid
• Clay Factor Ceramics – handmade porcelain dishware (Portland)

Art shops & galleries

• Factory 43 – fun screen prints – have an awesome print and bag
• Abstract Pursuits – coastal and abstract paintings by Erik Abel (Oregon) – got some fun wood stickers
• 59 Parks – screenprinted posters of national parks – have several prints and these are high quality
• The People’s Printshop – limited edition artist prints (California) – good quality, own several
• Black Dragon Press – printshop (London)
• Nucleus Portland – I’ve gotten a lot of little prints from here
• Treason Gallery (Seattle)
• Angelarium – prints and playmats of fantasy art
• Pangea Seed – ocean nonprofit that fundraises with special artist editions (Hawaii)
• Tiny Showcase – small editions

Also see: Cool Artists

Personal care

• Portland Bee Balm – love their lip balm
• Red Leaf Bath & Body (Seattle) – I’ve been getting their unscented huge bar of soap and cutting it in thirds as shower soap for years
• L&L Soap – bulk soap in gallon jugs (Oklahoma) – I’ve been buying their goat milk soap and refilling my soap pumps around the house
• Milk Barn Farm – organic CBD oil (Oregon) – I was taking this before bed for insomnia, their orange glaze limited edition is really good – now I use the roller for muscle aches

Paper goods & stationary

Notebooks

• Denik Notebooks – notebooks with covers by artists – I like their 8.5×5″ notebooks
• Northbooks – recycled paper notebooks – I like their large softcover notebooks
• Christin Ripley – hand-marbled notebooks and home goods – got some of these cute little notebooks

Greeting cards

• Clap Clap Designs (Mimi Kim) – floral greeting cards and washi tape (Los Angeles)
• Banquet Atelier – greeting cards, art prints, and home linens (Vancouver, Canada)
• Buy Olympia – greeting cards, zines and goods by independent artists (Portland)
• Albertine Press – greeting cards and paper goods (Massachusetts)
• Paper Parasol Press – greeting cards and stickers (California)
• Rifle Paper Company – floral painted greeting cards and home goods – I’ve gotten greeting cards and some cute file folders

Other

• Kela Designs – cute corgi stickers (Seattle) – I got a cute set of ginkgo greeting cards from here
• Cary’s Cuttlefish – gothic kawaii stickers and goodies
• The Washi Station – art washi tape
• Better World Books – used books
• Yoseka Stationary – recommended on Bluesky – has cute cards and stickers

Clothes

• Tuesday Shop – handmade, hand-dyed smock dresses and kimonos (Washington) – I got a kimono robe thing and it’s *awesome*
• 2046 Print Shop – space themed illustrated prints and shirts – have a bunch of prints and several shirts, they have lasted well (no peeling or flaking)
• Bombas Socks – socks – I got a bunch of their running socks for everyday wear
• Pact Organics – organic, simple basics – I get underwear here and shirts for my husband
• TomboyX – queer friendly and body inclusive undergarments
• Pinupgirl Clothing – vintage reproduction clothing – I’ve gotten dresses, skirts, bottoms, and tops here
• Tentree – sustainable basics – got some comfy sweats here
• Oh Ok – screen printed clothes – I have a cute sweatshirt and some sweet acrylic earrings from here
• Suay Sew Shop – upcycled clothes from reclaimed fabrics (Los Angeles)

Accessories

• Hole House Bags – handmade wool bags (Lake District, UK) – sadly have not bought one of these gorgeous bags, but admire from afar!
• Lost Lust Supply – enamel pins
• Boy Girl Party (Susie Gharamani) – cute animal enamel pins and notepads (San Diego)
• Prism Seattle – accessories, jewelry, and gifts (Seattle)
• Trickster Company – Indigenous designed jewelry and accessories (PNW)
• Bird of Virtue – handcrafted jewelry from wood and upcycled material (California)
• Tomboy Toes – formal and semiformal menswear style shoes for women and queer folx (Los Angeles)
• Artetak (Kate Logan) – “satanic Lisa Frank” pins, patches, and stickers (Atlanta, Georgia)
• Rareform – bags made from salvaged vinyl billboards – I have a backpack and duffel bag – backpack has a little wear on a tight corner but it’s not spreading

Services

• CaveDay – co-working community – joining this was basically life-changing (in a good way)
• Sticker Ninja – sticker printing (Portland) – I’ve gotten a variety of stickers printed and liked the quality
• Micro.blog – paid microblogging service that can also connect with Mastodon – I use this for my short notes
• PikaPods – open source app hosting – I haven’t used this but have heard good things