Our Favorite (Local) Small Businesses for Gift Giving

Holiday season is approaching and now that we have prepared our holiday collection for the shop, we started shopping for our family and friends too. Since we are a small business ourselves, we tend to look for other small business for unique and curated gifts first.

Small businesses are vital to your local community, so it's important to support them all year. We know it isn't always easy to find them, so we listed our favorites in the hope it might help you find the perfect gift! 

If you are local to us and live in the Metro Vancouver Area, BC, here are our local picks to start your Holiday shopping. And if you are not local to us, most of these shops do offer CA/US shipping! 

Vestige Story

If you are shopping for a conscious fashionista, consider this slow fashion brand, Vestige Story. You've probably seen me wear a few of their pieces in my reels and my recent brand photoshoot. Every piece is thoughtfully designed and made by local seamsters in Vancouver, BC. 

Website: vestigestory.com

Instagram: @vestige.story

Naetal Skincare

Do you have a loved one with sensitive or reactive skin? Shop Naetal Skincare's natural and safe products to relieve irritated skin. Their products rely on the power of colloidal oatmeal and calendula to battle dry skin or rashes and are easy to use. Even my own kids love to apply their products on their skin! 

Website: naetalskincare.com

Instagram: @naetalskincare

Paragon Tea Room

Can you believe none of the Written Word Team members drink coffee? We are all tea lovers and avid fans of Paragon Tea Room. Not only can you order their tea drinks (Hojicha Oat Latte lovers here!), you can also buy tea leaves, tea powders, and any tea accessories you might need to brew your own teas at the comfort of your home. They are running their biggest annual sale of the year this month, so head over their site to start brewing! P.S. I literally drink the Hojicha oat almost everyday!

Website: paragontearoom.com

Instagram: @paragontearoom

Outform Ceramics

This past summer, our team had our teambuilding activity at Outform Ceramics and we loved this beautiful pottery studio! Before the holiday rush, I also spent over 3 months creating handmade pieces for my church and family. Truly a wonderful, therapeutic experience that's different from calligraphy. I also think it's a great idea to gift an experience - they have short one-day workshops that could work as a gift! 

Website: outformceramics.com

Instagram: @outformceramics

Simple Littles 

One of our industry friends Christine Pienaar created Simple Littles to make classy and minimalistic, capsule wardrobes for littles and we love it! Our kiddos own multiple sets and we love matching them! The monochromatic sets are just perfect for travelling and day-to-day outfits. 

Website: simple-littles.com

Instagram: @simple_littles

Simply.Homayd 

What started as a simple search for a yummy xo sauce - but then I found a favorite with Simply Homayd! I still remember when I had to pick it up directly from Charis when she would come to Richmond every weekend. And now, she has multiple locations in Makers that we could get her delicious sauces from! 

Website: simplyhomayd.com

Instagram: @simplyhomayd

Little & Brave

Now this one isn't exactly in Vancouver but it's in PNW still - so I guess it counts? I just love this Christian Kids brand clothing because it really aligns with what I believe in (and my biz, too!) If you've seen me wear a beige sweatshirt with the word "STRONG" on it, you'll know where I got it from - Little & Brave. 

Website: littlenbrave.com

Instagram: @shoplittlenbrave

Pawty Bakery

We cannot forget about our fur babies! Spoil your pet with healthy, natural, and human-grade cookies, that are almost too cute to be eaten! All their treats are made fresh and in small batches so your pet will only get the best! Pick-up in Richmond is available, but cookies can be shipped across Canada and the US. 

Website: pawtybakery.ca

Instagram: @pawtybakery.ca

Rintzy Lee Designs

Irene helped me get my favorite engraver that you've seen me use for many of our personalized products! She's the first authorized North American reseller of the Yokefellow brushless drill, and she's currently running a sale! The engravers are $50 off. Did you know she's the only one to have your engraving drill personalized? This is great if you are bringing along your engraver to live events! 

Website: rintzylee.com

Instagram: @rintzyleedesigns

Buchan's Stationery

If you have a fountain pen collector to buy gifts for, Buchan's Stationery is the place to be. Offering a wide collection of fountain pens, inks, and fountain pen ink friendly notebooks, you are guaranteed to find the perfect gift. If you any trouble finding the perfect pen or ink, their knowledgeable staff are there to help you out to decide!

Did you also know that Buchan's offers our products in their store? So if you don't want to pay for shipping, or our pick-up times don't work with your schedule, this is the place where you can shop our products as well!

Website: buchanst.com

Instagram: @buchans_stationery

Written Word Retailers

Not in Vancouver, BC, but want to shop our products locally? Did you know that there are many small businesses across Canada and the United States that offer our products in their stores? So of course we want to give them a shoutout and support them in ways we can.

Every single store has its own curated collections of unique stationery and gifts, so it's easy to shop for your loved ones. Did you know we even feature some of our retailers in our blog? If you are interested in reading their stories, read them here:

• Paper Tree (Tokyo, Japan) 
• The Mailroom (Langley, BC, Canada)
• The Paper Mouse (Newton, MA, USA)
• Eryngium Papeterie (Vancouver, WA, USA)

Find out if there's a store near you that offers our products at our Stockists Page.

Don't find any, but think we are a good fit with the store in your area? Shoot us a message at studio@writtenwordcalligraphy.com, and we'll try our best to get our products local to you. 

Hope this blog gave you the inspiration to shop small and local. If you have any suggestions and like to give a shout-out to a small business, please do so in the comments! Own a small business yourself, please drop your store's name and what you offer. We love to support you as well! 

Happy shopping,

xoxo, Karla

Founder of Written Word Calligraphy