Christmas Shopping at UK Black Owned Businesses

This year I've compilied a Christmas gift guide from UK, black owned small businesses. The most direct and sustainable ways to support the Black community is to shop at Black-owned businesses, this will help keep some small businesses afloat, strengthen the commuity and help you discover brands you wouldn't otherwise have heard about and find unique presents. During my research I'm glad that I found out about Sancho's Shop which sells sustainable and ethical fashion and found other brands to support over Christmas and beyond.

ONLINE GIFT SHOPS & HOMEWARE

Kazvare Made it

This is a London-based “illustration lab” that sells pop culture influenced prints, books and homeware online. Their products have been sold in stores such as  Oliver Bonas and Scribbler. This adult colouring book would make a good gift for a dog lover. 

KitsCH Noir

Cherelle started out designing and selling greeting cards that 'uplift and celebrate the beauty of a more inclusive and diverse society.' Since then the business has become a multi- award winning brand that has been stocked in Paperchase and Moonpig and now sells notebooks, note pads, prints and cotton lunchbags! I think that this 2021 Affirmation Diary would make a nice present to a young pre-teen/teenager. 

Avila.diana

Avila.diana is a greeting store that also has a section selling prints, notebooks and mugs. If you know anyone who is a nurse then lookout for the 'Phenomenal Women Collaboration' which has two prints to choose from. ( the prints say 'women' on them so just a warning if you wanted a gift for a male nurse. )

Self made Candle

Founded by Ricki Lawa, his shop sells candles that are vegan-friendly, soy candles that are hand-poured in London. What makes them stand out is that the label on the candles contain plant seeds and once you're done with the candle you can use the empty glass jar to plant the seed and watch it grow!  They have created a limited edition ‘Conscious’ candle which is fragranced with geranium essential oil to help de-stress and descrease anxiety. The candle retails at £24 and £5 from every candle sold is donated to the Black Minds Matter UK charity. They also sell candle making kits too!

Finding Eve's Roots

If you're looking for affordable prints then this Etsy store is the place for you. These minimalsitic inspired prints range from £6-£24 with the majority priced at £6-£8.

ONE STOP ONLINE SHOPS

Yard and Parish

Yard and Parish sells jewellery, clothing, beauty and homeware. They have a lovely Self Care Discovery box (£49.99) which contains a Minzaani Shea Sucre Lip scrub and body butter, a Tanaka handmade Earle Grey, Bergamot and Cardamom soap, a candle from Liha and a gold rimmed trinklet plate from Afton by Palm. Also check out Line and Honey, they have a gorgeous lounge satin line art scarf (£25) as well as this minimalistic Eyes to the Sun print (from £18) . I also love these Spiral Omi earrings from Relic London they are made from gold plated silver with a simulated pearl (£30.)

Sancho's Shop The Home of Sustainable Fashion

If you are after an ethical and sustainble gift then Sancho's  is the place to shop. This brass 4 ring stack (£14)  are handmade by Bombolulu, a social enterprise in Kenya who not only create beautiful jewellery but provide opportunities for people with physical disabilities. The rings are nickle free. Another option are these  unisex lioness t-shirts (£22) which are made from 100% fair trade organic cotton and are available in black and white from size XXS-XXL. Alternatively slippers make such a cozy, practial gift and these Egos slippers (£39) are handmade using pure new wool and eco friendly dyes. They are designed in Denmark and made ethically in Nepal. They have a double sole to be extra comfortable, They come in blue, black, dusky rose and natural grey. If you're looking for a pampering gift then this Organic Soothing Aphrodite Facial oil by Magic Organic Apothecary (£28) may fit the bill. It is a blend of hydrating rosehip oil, damask rose, yarrow and geranium. Rosehip is rich in antioxidants and fatty acids which help to restore skins elasticity, calm redness, irritation and protect against environmental stress that can lead to age spots, fine lines and wrinkles. 

Ebonyx  describes itself as an Afrocentric marketplace, a hub for African goods and inspiration. 

I love this Vive Con Style  'Progress not Perfection' note book (£14.99) because this mantra sets realistic, motivating goals for study or work. I love it so much I'm going to pick one up! This sustainable handmade back pack from Kirosha Krochet (£65)  is made from recycled t-shirt yarn and PU leather. If you're looking at jewellery then this flags of Africa necklace (£14.44) from Isura Jewellery is made from gold plated stainless steel with a 45cm (18″) chain that you could layer with other gold necklaces. If you're buying for someone who's into vegan beauty then  The Mango Girl bundle (£45.97) may be the answer. The bundle contains a toner and anti aging face mask and serum. The Rose Aloe toner is rich in Vitamin C to brighten and tone the skin.The anti-aging serum is blended with carrot infusion and aims to stimulate collagen production and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. The face mask contains green tea to help reduce the signs of premature ageing by improving the elasticity of the skin. It also contains cucumber, watermelon and apple extracts. On orders over £25 Ebonyx will donate to the Deworm the World Initiative.

KIDS

Our Kids Trove

This online store was set up by Pamela who felt it was important for children to have access to toys and dolls that are culturally diverse to represent, educate and empower children. They sell teddies and elephants made from African print fabric, dolls that are bi-racial/mixed, black, white with red hair or have viligo (which I imagine would start a coversation explaining and educating what the the skin condition was.) They also sell books, quizes, puzzles and games. 

Mythical Canvas

This store sells plimsols that can be decorated with fabric pens. The founder David feels that art is important for developing children's creativity and confidence. He wanted to convey the message that ‘there are no mistakes in art.' Plimsol packs include stencils, fabric pens, straps and white canvas shoes which currently retail at £22-£25.

Imagine Me Stories

Imagine Me stories sells children's books in which black and ethnic children are represented. The founder wanted to see that "every child grows up seeing their realities reflected in books and that all children are able to read diverse stories about different experiences." They also have a book subscription service and one off boxes.

FASHION

Everyday Froyo

Everyday Froday sells lots of cool slogan tees and sweatshirts, such as "I am my ancestor’s wildest dreams” “ powered by jollof!" and "Stay Woke" (£24.99) below.

Maroon Dawta

Maroon Dawta sells African inspired t-shirts with prices that range from £14-17. I like the unisex Balance T-shirt below (£17) it's available in black and navy with sizes ranging from S-3XL.

Inoir 

Inoir sells sporty, shapewear clothes. Some tops have a Calvin Klein/Armour/ millennials aesthetic and others feature African prints.

SPECIAL MENTION Alero Jasmine I love the clothes that they sell but since everything is sold out at the moment you need to wait for a restock. 

JEWELLERY

Omolola jewellery 

Faetured in Cosmoplitan, Omo Lola Jewellery is a sustainble business selling afforable, modern jewellery. They also have the popular gold cowie shell earrings  that are sold out everywhere else on sale!  

Cowie Shell Hoop Earrings £3.30  /  Gold Cowrie Shell Earrings £14.50 / Bola Earrings £16.50

Thea Smartt Henry

Thea Smartt Henry makes jewellery from polymer clay. She likes expiermenting with the different textues she can make, so pieces may look like they are made stone, metal and china. Her style is modern/ artsy, some are influenced by batik patterns, bubbles, stone and flowers. 

Link to earrings      


                                             

44 D.I.Y Christmas Present ideas When You're on a Budget

Updated May 2020

Edible Gifts 

Edible gifts are generally well received and pretty cheap and easy to make. Chocolate truffles go down a treat. There's a recipe for it here on BBC Food and you can put them in Christmas themed tins. This year I'm going to try making Chocolate Bark using these recipes from Lindsey Love at Gardenista. Wrap them up in cellophane and ribbon. Gingerbread men and shapes are also very popular at this time of year and this Jamie Oliver recipe should go down well. I saw these swan biscuits on Pixabay and they look so beautiful. You can get a small swan cookie cutter here and use this recipe from  Linzer Cookies from A Fox In the Kitchen. 

PhotoTop Left: Lindsey Love 

DIY Jewellery 

Chokers and tassel earrings are still trending and luckily they're easy to make. The wrap around suede choker tutorial can be found on Sarah Najafi's blog.  The peach and gold tassel earrings are from Honestly WTF and look very elegant. I think this lanyard bracelet from  Love Maegan looks unisex and would make a good gift for a man as well. Did you know you can make a ring from a spoon? This printable step by step from Kirsten Danielle  will show you how.

Winter Accessories

PHOTO CREDIT Top Left Kirsten Danielle Top Right Sarah Najafi  Bottom Left Honestly WTF Bottom Right Love Maegan

These dragon finger less gloves are perfect for Game Of Throne fans. You can find the crochet pattern at Heart Hook Home here. If you're a knitter then this knitted beanie might be an ideal gift for someone. The pattern can be found at Knitted Patterns. There's an easy D.I.Y faux fur scarf tutorial over at Love Maegan. However don't worry if you can't sew, crochet or knit this infinity scarf  from P.S. Heart is really easy and doesn't even require a needle! 

PHOTO CREDIT Top Left Heart Hook Home Top Right; P.S. Heart Bottom Left; Love Maegan Bottom Right Knitted patterns 

 Bags and Cases

I think this denim makeup bag can also double up as man's wash bag, see how to make it at A Pair and a Spare. This d.i.y tablet case is very smart, practical and unisex and it can be made from leather or vinyl.  The tutorial is here at Brit + Co. For the sewing phobic there's a no sew blue clutch wallet from Hot D.I.Y Tutorial and a no sew black large clutch bag from Brit + Co.

PHOTO CREDIT Top Left : A Pair and a Spare Top Right: Brit + Co Top Right  Bottom Left Hot D.I.Y Tutorial
Bottom Right: Brit + Co

Hair Accessories

These faux pearl hair pins are really simple to make but add glamour to any up do. You can find the tutorial at Yes Missy. Love Maegan has quite a few d.i.y. hair accessory tutorials but I love these gold and black hair combs the best. You can find the tutorial here. I saw this beautiful ribbon on pintrest and realised it would be a easy d.i.y, just sew or glue beads, sequins and rhinestones on to a ribbon. It can be worn as a choker as well as a head band. Another quick and easy d.i.y are these rhinestone hair clips the tutorial can be found on the Consumer Crafts Blog.  

 

PHOTO CREDIT Top Left: Yes Missy Top Right: Love Maegan Bottom Left Pintrest Bottom Right: Consumer Crafts Blog

Photo Gifts

Photos are probably the most treasured possessions and are cited as the one thing you'd rescue in a fire. Going digital means that you can do more with your photos and create lots of  thoughtful gifts. You can turn your Instagram photos into fridge magnets (tutorial by Photojojo here) coasters (see The Frugal Girls here) and even on marshmallows courtesy of Boomf. You can individually frame an Instagram image or gather all your family photos and create a collage. Photos can be turned into candle luminaries (by Our Best Bites) and personalised calendars where you can choose photos for each month or for specific days like nan's birthday. You can check for cheap photo printing deals on Money Saving Expert here.   If there's film footage of family birthdays and holidays you can download them on to DVDs to give as gifts to grandparents.

PHOTO CREDITS Row 1: Top left Our Best Bites  Top Right Photojojo Row 2: Left The Frugal Girls Row 4: Bottom Right Boomf

Body and Bath products

These fun Starbucks style body scrubs and body butters were created by Elle Sees. Choose from Peppermint Mocha Sugar Scrub, Peppermint Body Butter, Peppermint Solid Lotion, Caramel Brulee Latte Sugar Scrub and Body Butter, Snickerdoodle Hot Cocoa Body Sugar Scrub and Body Butter. You can find all these tutorials here.  This cute snowman bath bomb is just like Lush (but cheaper) and can be found under Last Minute Christmas D.I.Y.s over at Elle Sees. The Christmas inspired Peppermint Candy Cane Body Scrub is ideal for winter and the ingredients are very cheap as well (except the  essential oil.) Find the tutorial at The Idea Room. Baths are a way to relax after a hard day and gifting an Oatmeal and Lavender Bath Soak salts will make it even more luxurious. Oatmeal will make skin soft and lavender is known for its calming qualities but the best thing is these are cheap ingredients and very easy to put together just follow the tutorial from Carolyn's Homework.

PHOTO CREDIT Top Left: Elle Sees & Top Left: Elle Sees Bottom Left Carolyn Homework Bottom Right The Idea Room

Candles

Candles are popular gifts especially in winter when you just want to stay indoors and be all cozy or as the Danish say- hygge.  This very simple bark candle tutorial can be found at Just a Smidgen and you can make it for very little money. Teacup candles are easy to do and can be fairly cheap. You can pick up a nice cup and saucer from a charity shop or elsewhere and follow the tutorial by Yes Missy. If you really want to impress then try marbling plain white candles they look amazing! You can find out how to do on Ela's Box Youtube video here.   These sea shell candles can be made from scratch and even if you don't live near a beach you can pick them up from Baker Ross. Just follow the tutorial from She Knows. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Top Left Just a Smidgen Top Right Ela's Box Bottom Left  Yes Missy Bottom Right She Knows

D.I.Y Marker Mugs and Etched Glasses

There are a lot of sharpie mug tutorials on the net but the best ones show you how to make your design waterproof. For this you need buy oil based sharpie pens as seen in Four Thirty Four's Sharpie Pen Tutorial. Alternatively try using Deco Art glass paint pens like those used in My Crafty Spot to ensure that the design stays on permanently. You can also buy porcelain paint pens which will make your design dishwasher proof. Sharpies can also be used on glass like these wine glasses in gold and silver from A Belle Vie which look absolutely stunning! 

Another option is to etch a design onto glassware. Love Maegan made these cute heart glasses while Be Spangled Jewelry used the technique to personalise these mason jars with an initial.

PHOTO CREDIT Top Right; Love Magean Top Right Bottom Left: Bottom Right:

Wall Art

Wall art is something that can be very quick and inexpensive to make and yet seem very thoughtful at the same time.You can create word cloud art using lyrics from someone's favourite song, poem or quote or even words describing the qualities your special someone has using  free websites in minutes. Then all your need to do is print them out and frame them. You can find nice but cheap frames from Poundland, Wilkinson's, Ikea and Matalan. I used word it out for my word cloud below  (using lyrics from Santana's 'love of my life'). Worldle is very popular as well. You can also create pictures and quotes on free websites like Canva and Be Funky and print them off and frame. Another option is to search 'free printable quotes' into Google, print and frame them. The free printable quote below 'Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselevs' can be found on the blog Collected and is in a free printable round up on  It's Always Autumn. You can also channel your inner artist by creating scrabble tile art with photos alongside or arrange letters like a crossword or as an acrostic.  For inspiration take a look at this hobbycraft post  or hit up Pintrest. 

Top Left HobbyCraft Top Right  lipstick drawer Bottom Left lipstick Drawer Bottom Right Collection

16 Ways To Save Money When Christmas Shopping

Updated May 2020

1. Make a List and Check it Twice
No, I'm not quoting Taylor Swift lyrics. Making a list of who you need to buy for, how much money you have and how much you can spend on each person will make your life easier. Just like a supermarket shopping list it can make shopping trips shorter, saving you time as well as money as long as you stick to the list.

2. Secret Santa or Family Gift These both involve buying one gift. 

For Secret Santa, you are randomly assigned a person in the family to buy a present for. You can do this by pulling names from a hat. Once you know who you're buying a present for you have to keep it a secret until you open them on Christmas Day. If you're doing this with friends or colleagues then unwrap them on the day when you all meet up. You can have an agreed budget before you start.

Buying a family gift involves buying one present for the whole family to share. This could be a restaurant gift card, a cinema voucher, a Netflix superscription or a book of photos. It could be a board game or Nintendo Wii game that everyone can play.

3. If you have a large family or lots of people to buy presents for, then try using a 3-tiered gift-giving system. Tier 1 is family which means gift exchanges with each individual person in your immediate family, and set a budget for each person. Tier 2 is friends. You can do a single-family gift like movie tickets with free babysitting or a fun new game for them to play together. Tier 3 is neighbors and co-workers. Gifts like homemade chocolate goodies in handmade package go down a treat. Once you establish the budgets for each tier and the people in them, create a cash envelope for that tier.  Once the cash in the envelope is gone, it’s gone!

4. BLACK FRIDAY IS TODAY!
Adoped from the U.S. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are days when all the shops have huge discounts in the last weekend of November to coincide with the Thanksgiving holiday. But before you leave the house or log on, research what you want to buy. Compare the prices between the different stores before you buy to check whether a bargain is really a bargain. Money Saving Expert's Mega Shop Bot will help you scan hundreds of shops to find you the best price.

5. Shopping tips. 
Set time limits on shopping. Go in, find presents and exit quickly. Also try shopping late in the evening (7-9pm) to beat the crowds.

6. Buy the Expensive Presents First 
Then you know how much money you have to spend on the other gifts and don't run out of money or end up paying more than your agreed limit.

7. Pay with cash
You will be more aware of what you're spending.

8. Don't Touch Display Items
This is because handling an object creates possessive feelings according to researchers at UCLA and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. They found that holding an ordinary item like a coffee mug increased people's desire to buy it — and made them willing to pay 10% more for it. So "Look, but don't touch" to avoid spontaneous splurges.

9. Stop the Momentum 
The 'Momentum effect' is where we can get caught in a whirl of impulse buys. Buying one thing rushes into another and another even if they aren't on your Christmas list. To avoid this take a breather after every purchase. It's also an excuse to try out the seasonal drinks from Starbucks and Costa Coffee! This momentum effect also occurs online too so break up your shopping online as well.

10. When you shop online leave the items in the virtual basket and don't check them out. This can prompt retailers to send you discount code to get you to spend money at their store. I know Amazon lets you know if their prices go down (but also tells you when they go up which isn't so helpful.) Live chatting with customer service agents can work to your advantage if you let them know that a price  is out of your budget they may be able to come back with a discounted deal.

11. Gifts With Purchase
The guilt free way to indulge yourself and buy a Christmas present at the same time! Buying a gift with purchase is a win win all round! You often have to spend a set amount to receive the gift but it's never extortionate.

12.  Use reward points 
There's never a better time to cash in those Boots and Nectar card points to spend on Christmas presents.

13. Free Amazon gift cards
You can earn free Amazon gift vouchers for Christmas. These involve completing surveys, playing games, searching the internet and taking photos of your receipts. See Martin Lewis's Money Saving Expert for more details here and Save the Student here.

14. Ebay 
You can find lots good deals on ebay. The ebay app makes it easier to bid on the go. If you search 'Ending Soonest' on the listings, then choose ones with fewer bidders you can pick up a real bargain. However don't forget to factor in the shipping times especially if you're buying anything from China, U.S. or Australia. 

15. D.I.Y Presents
I will be writing a longer post on this but D.I.Y presents are thoughtful, handmade presents such as having someones favourite Instagram photo framed or giving someone babysitting coupons offering to babysit in the new year.

16. Pouch 
Pouch is an app that you add to your browser that lets you know about voucher codes and deals as you shop. It works with Google Chrome, Apple Safari and Mozilla Firefox. It was featured on Dragon's Den in the U.K..