Support your local small businesses this holiday season

Ideal gift for that special someone

If you’re still looking for the ideal gift for that special someone on your holiday shopping list, don’t log onto a website or head to some crowded department store. Quite often, the gift you’re looking for – and many gifts you didn’t even know you needed – are right around the corner at small merchants in town.

Gently loved items

Not only are antique stores places where gently loved items are waiting to find a new life; they’re places that specialize in unique finds that make just the right statement about the gift recipient. That’s what the holidays are all about – showing people you care and that they play a meaningful role in your life, whether they’re your Aunt Gloria in Winfield or your best friend from college, now living across the state line. In these days of disposable moments on social media, we hope you’ll hit up your local antique store for that item steeped in incredible craftsmanship and high quality – that antique that has withstood decades of Christmases and has been built to withstand many, many more.

Handmade crafts and Locally sourced goods

Or, just as thoughtful is a gift from any number of small, independently owned merchants, shops, galleries, bakeries or restaurants. In this and every issue of Discover Vintage America, you’ll find page after page of events and sales just bursting with handmade crafts and locally sourced goods lovingly made by artisans who use their talents to bring gifts to glorious life. The care put into making these items really do speak to the passion and dedication that artists and crafters pour into their creations. They’re meant to be shared, to be loved, to be used, and to be enjoyed for a long time to come. I wish I were only half as creative as the people who create such dazzling works – art, jewelry, sculpture, crafts, and clothing, to name only a few. Thankfully, their works, with their creative energy, are able to say to my friend or family member what I cannot.