Supermaker’s Holiday Gift Guide
Whether you’re shopping for that friend who just launched their own business, or the partner who travels often for work, there’s a little something for everyone in the Supermaker Gift Guide. This is the list for entrepreneurs, artists, activists, and anyone interested in outside-the-box gifts.
There are two kinds of people in this world: Those who wait around all year for the door-busting deals of Black Friday—likely, the same ones who are willing to stand in mile-long lines that snake through through Best Buy parking lot to stock up on highly-discounted electronics—and those who couldn’t care less about the post-Thanksgiving sales.
I am a member of the latter group, and would rather spend all afternoon giving myself curly bangs with cuticle scissors than go shopping on what I hear is the best sale-day of the year.
So how do I procure my holiday gifts? Back in the day, I might have avoided the Black Friday madness by engaging in some seemingly innocent virtual shopping: I’d direct my browser to Amazon.com and check items, one by one, off of my secret Santa shopping list while making it rain on Jeff Bezos. This, of course, was before I became seriously aware of the countless reasons to avoid America’s favorite online marketplace. And now that I steer clear of Amazon as often as possible, I’m tasked with finding other ways to discover and purchase the right presents for important people in my life.
Which leads me to why we’re here: I am honored to present you with the Supermaker Gift Guide, just in time for the holiday shopping season. Below, a highly-curated list of perfect gifts for all the Supermakers in your life.
Whether you’re shopping for that friend who just launched their own business, or the partner who travels often for work, there’s a little something for everyone here. Compiled by the entire Supermaker team, this list considers entrepreneurs, artists, activists, and YOU.
Best of all? We provide links that allow you to support small business and stockists, which is just as important to us as I’m sure it is to you.
Happy Holidays—and happy shopping!
Those who work from home have fewer incentives to leave the house, which can lead to some sedentary choices. And when you spend so much time in front of a computer, it’s a good idea to mix in desk exercises. The Gaiam Balance Disk is a wobbly little surface that sits right on your office chair, and requires you to maintain balance by making micro-adjustments to your posture and engaging your core. It requires only a small amount of energy, and while it’s not exactly a workout, it’s totally achievable while getting work done at the same time.
The Luna Display can turn any Mac or iPad into a wireless second display for Mac and is perfect for the visually-inclined creative-nomad type who may not want to invest in a clunky monitor. Great for those working in digital visual mediums (or who can't quite kick their copious tab habit and want a better, cleaner workflow).
Bestselling author, artist, and one of our fav illustrators Lisa Congdon's new book Find Your Artistic Voice features interviews with a roster of other established artists, illustrators, and creatives. It's all about finding and nurturing your own visual identity, navigating the influence of artists you admire, pushing through fear and insecurity, and appreciating the value of your own personal journey. This is a perfect gift for any creative or entrepreneur looking to find their voice.
Give a gift that will outlast the Christmas tree with a plant from The Sill! From Snake Plants to Supermaker fav the Fiddle Leaf Fig, you can get your special someone a plant delivered straight to their door. Plants are the perfect gift for offices, or anyone who works from home—living greenery can help improve indoor air quality!
The Day Designer for 2020: This is the perfect gift for the creative/entrepreneur, because it's not your average planner. Yes, it has the yearly and monthly overviews like your standard planner. But it also starts out with a goal setting section to kick off your year with a holistic view of what you want to accomplish. Anytime you're feeling like you've gone off course, it's a good place to look back at and remember what you wanted to achieve. Each day also has its own page, with space for a daily schedule hour-by-hour, to-do list (with a space for top three priorities), note section, a space to write what you're grateful for that day, and an inspirational quote. Our Content Strategist got this at the beginning of her freelance journey this year, and it's been a huge help!
The Driftaway Coffee Subscription starts out with a tasting kit of four two-ounce bags of different coffee beans, after which you rate your favorites. From there, subsequent shipments are tailored to your liking. A six month subscription (with one shipment per month) comes to $132 total—surely less than you’d spend at your local coffee shop in the same amount of time. There's also a cold-brew subscription option, which we’re all about! And for serving the coffee? This gorgeous ceramic pour-over set, hand-thrown and painted in California, is perfect for single cups and foggy days.
Our favorite new publisher of children's books approaches "difficult" subjects like racism, body image, and depression with honesty, empathy, and creativity. You don’t need to have kids of your own to know that children really are the future—and these books will help them build a bright one. I recommend A Kid's Book About Creativity, A Kid's Book About Belonging, and A Kid's Book About Racism for all the future-CEOs, artists, and world-savers out there. (Bonus: you'll save 25% when you purchase three or more books!)
Our co-founder Chris Cantino sleeps most nights with a white noise machine, and Snooz is his favorite of the bunch. Some like the convenience of smartphone apps for white noise, but Snooz has an actual fan built in, which generates frequency ranges that smartphone speakers can’t, resulting in smoother sleep (plus, you should probably avoid sleeping next to your phone if you can help it). Travel much? Grab the USB chargeable Marpac Rohm.
It's that time of year: the days are shorter, darker, and colder, so why not embrace it with the Feelin' Frosty Set from Fluide? This holiday season, Fluide is offering a limited-edition vegan, cruelty-free set of icy cool shades, including two moisturizing lip glosses, silver glitter, and nail polish. Perfect for embracing your chill now or any time of the year.
Diaspora Co.’s single-origin spices and chillis not only taste superior to your run of the mill turmeric and cardamom, they pay farmers nearly four times your average living wage. Supporting this company that’s taking ingredient sourcing to a new level is a no-brainer. But the real kicker? Their Turmeric Okra Masala Pickles, and Turmeric Popcorn Spice.
For those who like it hot, the first time tasting salsa macha chili oil is sure to be a revelation, with toasty, earthy depth and nuttiness not found in your commonplace hot sauce. And of the few purveyors who sell salsa macha online, Nacxitl Gaxiola's Xilli produces far and away the best product. Whether you're cooking directly with its rich, red oil, or scooping heaps of slow-fried morita chiles and peanuts, Xilli is guaranteed to leave your fridge-door hot sauce in the dust.
For the home chef
Brightland's Awake Olive Oil is the secret ingredient for drizzling over layers of herbed grain salad, hearty pasta, and roasted, caramelized vegetables. A glug of Brightland, zest of lemon, pinch of salt and fresh-picked herbs are sure to wake up many a home-cooked meal. And it doesn't hurt that they have the most eye-catching packaging in the industry.
For the Supermaker of any kind
I couldn’t wrap up this gift guide without shouting out our co-founder and “quintessential maker-made-good” Jaime Schmidt. In just seven years, Jaime went from making natural products in her kitchen to a nine-digit Unilever acquisition. In Supermaker: Crafting Business on Your Own Terms, Jaime shares her secrets to scaling operations, sales growth, product development, and more. A riveting mix of inspiration, the honest airing of mistakes, and indispensable business know-how, this book is perfect for anyone looking to make it on their own in a business of any size.
Want to put your money where your mouth is?
When you can, purchase directly from the brands you believe in, rather than buying from mega corps and conglomerates.
On bouncing back
Ask yourself: What’s the story I want to tell about my business at the end of this?
The care you deserve
We highlight some of the mental health apps and platforms that cater to specific marginalized communities.
