The middle days Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday are shopping madness, when you finally have your chance to get the Dyson vacuum or laptop you need all year in at a price you can afford. But today is Small Business Saturday, which is not about benefiting you but more about giving back to your local community. We hope you shop small and local whenever you can, but this is a good day to show your support for the many small businesses that have managed to get back on their feet since. since the pandemic started.
Small shopping doesn’t just mean going to the stores in your downtown area — although you should too if you can. You can shop a lot of them virtual. We’ve rounded up some of our favorite small businesses with an online presence, and we encourage you to look for others close to home. Remember, it’s nice that we have a day dedicated to supporting these stores, but it’s also important to shop locally year-round.
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How to find what you are looking for
Whether you’re looking for something specific – maybe a vintage record or skateboard earrings? – or just want to browse, check out local events like flea markets. Many cities hold one-stop events for the day, and since many cities didn’t last year due to the pandemic, people are probably eager to book a table.
But if you’re not comfortable going out into a crowd, your favorite stores may have online markets for some or most of their items. You can also find new stores in the following ways:
- Etsy is an obvious source as a marketplace of individual sellers. You can find almost anything there, from custom art to vintage jewelry. To add, Etsy organizes sales, while other small or local stores may not.
- Check your local Chamber of Commerce website. It will usually list local businesses.
- Search for hashtags on Instagram if you are looking for a specific item, such as, botanical jewelry.
- American Express has a Searchable small business map, but you may have to dig. When I search for my hometown, I have a huge list of restaurants and car washes as well as a few small shops.
- Amazon might be the last place you consider a small business (and rightly so!), but the website is there Small support part. This is a good resource if you absolutely need to use Amazon, but we still recommend buying directly from small businesses whenever you can.
- For the rest of the year, check out Events on Facebook for fairs or other local shopping gatherings. Many cities hold days each month (or quarter) where local businesses are invited to set up tables on the street or in halls for the community to use their products.
Our favorite small business
WIRED employees live across the country, and we wanted to highlight some of our favorite small businesses with our online marketplace. We’ve browsed the physical shelves and shopped the offerings online so you know you’re getting something good.
A little bit of this, a little bit of that
- Chaparral Studio (Los Angeles, CA): Looking for original merchandise like t-shirts, jewelry, crystals and other accessories? You’ll find it at the woman-owned boutique in Los Angeles — many of the items are also handcrafted in-house. We especially like brass keychains that don’t have taglines like Dude, Babe, or our favorite, Feminist. In keeping with the mission of this business, a portion of every Feminism keychain sale goes to Planned Parenthood. —Michael Calore
- dark blue (Rockford, IL): This Latina-owned store highlights local women-owned small businesses and has everything from art to keychains to jewelry, clothing and beauty products. Rotation selection—Follow the store’s Instagram for updated items—And that charming downtown storefront always has something new to find. It’s right across the street from the Rockford Art Deli, also featured in this guide. Founder Evangelina Jimenez – a friend of mine – offers online gift certificates as well as a collection of Indigo-branded merchandise. —Louryn Strampe
- One million roses (New York, NY): When my partner said she couldn’t wear jewelry (and didn’t want to wear a ring), I had to think a lot about what I could propose. Enter a million roses. Started by Lucia Guzmán, a self-taught Bolivian artist, you can request custom wire sculptures of almost anything — pets, movie characters, flowers — and within weeks, the work will be ready. delivered to your home. I have a custom wire sculpture of my pet and that’s what I suggested (she said yes). —Julian Chokkattu
