Our favorite places to shop small

Shopping small and supporting independent, local businesses has never felt quite as important as it does this year.

We’re all about #supportingsmall, and we wanted to share some of our favourite [mostly Melbourne-based] brands we’ll be looking to for Christmas gifts this year. If you’d like to share your own small business or a personal favourite we might like to check out, please tell us in the comments below. 

Buy well, buy only what you need and #shopsmall this Christmas. 

Stationary and cards.

Hello Kit Co for a super fun and colourful range of decorations, gift adornments, cake toppers, paper and pom craft.

Lovely Paper Co for stunning stationary and cards, including a new letterpress Christmas card range. 

In the Daylight for super sweet illustrated paper goods.

We also love K-Rae Designs for hand-lettered cards, prints and more.

For home.

Happy Society for handcrafted natural fragrances, candles and mists. 

Commonfolk Collective is a personal favourite for beautiful candles (and also a Mornington Peninsula local). We also love Stump & Co for candles [Bush Walk is our top pick].  

Fox & Ramona for original concrete homewares. 

Bonnie and Neil for beautiful hand-printed textiles.

Lisa Atkinson and Tash Carah are local peninsula-based photographers who also have prints [we have works from both hanging proudly in our home].

Verdant Dwellings and Into the Wild both have an incredible range of indoor plants. 

For ceramics we love Benna Co, Made by Bowie and Kaz Morton Ceramics

Bon Lux for artisanal perfumes and scented goods.

And Babs Bodycare for natural skincare products.

For little ones.

The Rest offer ethically made, organic sleepwear for babies and kids.

Halcyon Nights for super cute printed clothing and bedding designed by independent artists.

Food and wine.

Hey Tiger. Hands down, the best chocolate.

Commonfolk Coffee our go-to for coffee and coffee-related gear. And they do gift cards. 

Dillicious, another local family business, with the best pickles going 'round!

Bass & Flinders Distillery and That Spirited Lot, both Mornington Peninsula based, both awesome gin.

Retail.

A couple of our favourite locals are The Little Nook for beautiful things for your little ones and The Colour English for homewares, artwork and gifts. We're also big fans of Think Thornbury and Pinky’s Store in Preston, both have beautifully curated a range of independent and local brands.

Still need more ideas? Check out Spend With Them or Buy From The Bush or Click for VIC, all featuring lots more talented makers and small businesses.

Happy browsing!

Simon and Bec | Woodruff and Co