Madison Area #ShopSmall Local Gift Guide

Wow-za! Look at the time, or calendar rather… Have you started your holiday shopping? Are you planning to shop local in the Madison area?
I can’t even believe it, is Black Friday Small Business Saturday really right around the corner? Having an early Thanksgiving this year is really throwing us off.
BTW, do you know how (and why) the holiday’s date is determined? Thanksgiving is always held on the fourth Thursday of November and since this year the month started on a Thursday, it falls on it’s earliest possible date. I was reading this [actually quite interesting] article from NPR, and discovered the history behind the date chosen. Did you know that there was once a month where TWO Thanksgivings were celebrated!? Bring on all the homemade mashed potatoes ya’ll!
Anyways… back to our main focus.

If you’re not familiar with Small Business Saturday, I’m happy you’re here to learn more. It’s a day to celebrate and support small businesses and all they do for their communities. It’s the annual holiday shopping tradition that gets communities everywhere out in support of their favorite small businesses. Because when they thrive, we all thrive. The small businesses are the ones working their butts off to make a living doing what they love and giving back to the local communities. This day was created to refrain shoppers from shopping the big box stores and encouraging them to shop small. To read our previous year’s local gift guide you can read more here for 2016 and here for 2017.

#SmallBusinessSaturday

In support of this movement, we wanted to continue the tradition of feature local businesses and create this fabulous list of local shops. This way, these gifts are easy to shop for and provide a great variety for everyone, regardless of where you live in the Madison area. We are bringing you our favorite spots to find local gifts and just in time for the gift-giving season!

Get ready to shop local in the Madison Area!

Shops are in order based on the distance from the Wisconsin State Capitol as the crow flies…

Good Day Collective

1925 Monroe Street #120 Madison, WI 53711

UPDATE 2019: The Good Day Shop and Wildewood both have new locations. See websites for details.
We’ll kick off the list with a pop-up retail experience by One-One Thousand, Red’s Mercantile and Wildewood. These three brands have joined forces (yay for #communityovercompetition!) to curate a one-of-a-kind shopping experience just off Madison’s capitol square! They are temporarily in the space to bring you the very best this shopping season, so shop now, they are only open until January 8, 2019.
In the shop, you’ll find a carefully curated selection of gifts including indoor plants and handcrafted home and lifestyle goods. They feature over 30 brands to explore! A special note from the owners: Check back often as inventory will change throughout the three-month pop-up!

Shopping small means everything to us! We know the people behind a lot of the brands that we carry, we know their story, their process. We’re experts on everything we carry, as we should be, which is something you just don’t get from big box stores. That also makes it so exciting to see someone come in and connect to something we feel so strongly about. All of us personally enjoy shopping small, too. It’s such a fun way to source unique and high quality items for your home or gifts for loved ones. And you get the added bonus of knowing you’re supporting someone who took the scary leap into the world of small business owning.

Kate Holl, Owner of Wildewood, Co-owner of the Good Day Market

Website  |  Facebook

Little Luxuries

230 State Street, Madison, WI 53703

A state-street favorite by many! Little Luxuries has been a part of the State Street local business community for over 25 years. They have a really fun and diverse selection of gifts for loved ones of all ages. The owner, Amy Moore, is so sweet and has brought a really fun collection of gifts. We ALSO love Little Luxuries because it is a proud supporter of the arts and local charitable programs, which we give a BIG thumbs up!
Website  |  Facebook  |  Instagram

Hazel + Hatch

1248-1250 Williamson Street, Madison, WI 53703

We love the creativity and artistic talent here! Hatch Art House and Hazel General Store are the perfect 2-in-1 gift stop! While they operate as 2 separate entities, they have a joined store which gives you double the fun. They have a lot of fun treasures to find, including an expansive collection of art pieces, beautiful prints, jewelry, apparel, and more! Hazel supports over 100 USA Makers with an emphasis on makers who give back through donations, charity or good ole kindness! I always find ready great gifts every time I stop by, sometimes they’re so good I have to keep them for myself.

My first shop, Hatch Art House opened 8 years ago in 2010. I have a passion for supporting local artists and after many years of being an artist and waiting tables, I saved enough money to finally make the leap. (I moved across the country to do it!) About 5 years in, Hatch Art House was doing great with a solid community built up around it, when the neighboring space became available. I knew our neighborhood would benefit from a modern-day general store since our art gallery customers were continually asking where to find certain products nearby and for so many things I didn’t have an answer for them. That’s when Hazel General Store was born. We opened a few months later in June of 2015 and showcase US makers and artisans.
Tammy Schreiter, Owner of Hatch and Hazel

Hazel’s Website   |   Facebook  |  Instagram

Booth 121

6203 Monona Dr, Monona, WI 53716

Truly one of a kind! It also happens to be one of my favorite places to bring out-of-town guests. There are so many fun (and inappropriate) gifts that you could probably spend all day in there. They feature many one-of-a-kind and handmade gifts, home décor, upcycled furniture, clothing, jewelry and so much more!
If you’re looking for a place to shop local in the Madison area, I would definitely recommend this shop, it’s unlike any other.
Website  |  Facebook

Ubuntu Trade

Update 2019: Ubuntu Trade is now a Pop-up shop. See website for upcoming spotes to shop!

Ubuntu Trade is a socially conscious shop that features gifts filled with unique, handcrafted items from both global and local makers and artisans. Her tagline: Trade Goods. Trade Good. couldn’t be more fitting. Her shop of truly-lovely and culturally diverse gifts aims to connect people + goods around the world in the spirit of UBUNTU. April has an incredible story and her shop was created to support the local maker whether on her travels around the world or just down the street.

“I have always loved shopping from small local makers in all of my travels around the world. After living in Uganda for 2 years and getting to know many makers personally, I wanted to give them an international platform to share their talent. Once I opened the store, I decided to add from fair trade brands along with small US-based makers. I don’t have “maker talent” myself, but if my shop can give makers a place to sell their wares, so they can keep making and earning a living, then I feel like I’m supporting and contributing to the small maker movement.”
April Joy Gulley, Owner of Ubuntu

Website  |  Facebook  |  Instagram

Lake Life Co.

Update 2019: Lake Life Co. has moved, please check their website for details

We all can appreciate the value in living a lake life lifestyle, where dreams are endless, time to relax is precious, and all you have to do is DIVE IN!… Lake Life Company features a nice blend of gifts for both your family AND furry friends. Amy’s company was founded by a hobby-turned-business with homemade candles and sugar-scrubs. In February 2018, Lake Life Co. opened its doors to its new home in Waunakee, WI!
They have a great collection of decor which would make a great gift for loved ones. Plus, with a wall full of clean-burning, 100% soy homemade candles in all kinds of great scents, you’ll be sure to find one that will make a perfect gift.

We started our business three years ago as a creative outlet for our kids. Our daughter started our business at age 11. We opened our shop to grow our brand, make more of an impact and help others with our Mission. #ShopSmall is supporting dreams. Hardwork, time, dedication, persistence all go into growing a business. Shopping with these businesses rewards these efforts…
Amy Bernards, Life Life Co. Owner

Website  |  Facebook  |  Instagram

JNJ Craftworks

1051 N Edge Trail, Verona, WI 53593

 “We don’t just serve local customers, and we showcase the work of local artists. Dane County is full of creative, talented people, and our shop is a celebration of that talent. It’s a cozy little circle: the better we support local artists, the more they’re able to create, which keeps us stocked with all sorts of interesting things.”
Jerina Vincent, Owner of JNJ Craftworks

Website  |  Facebook  |  Instagram

KELLA

118 E. Main Street, Mount Horeb, WI 53572

KELLA’s business is pretty much my dream come true! They have a storefront selling local products and a studio for their design business in the back. Their space is so well put together and I love everything they sell, including their own apparel line, Forward Apparel Co. Everything in their shop is so exquisitely designed that you will never have to turn down a shirt because of the poor kerning or crappy choice of font. (Sidenote: Do you ever think, “Wow, I love this, but the kerning is terrible!!” Yea… we know how you feel. You will not have that problem here!).
They created a really nice space and shopping experience that offers a space for local artists to highlight their work as well as providing an avenue for their apparel line.

“Even before we opened KELLA, we have always fully supported and participated in the #shopsmall movement. We know that small, locally-owned businesses are the heart & soul of every single community and want to make sure we support them in anyway that we can. When you shop at KELLA you can feel good knowing that your money stays in the community and is helping to support small artists from around the great state of Wisconsin.”
Kelly, co-founder of Kella Design

Website  |  Facebook  |  Instagram

BONUS: Nutzy Mutz & Crazy Catz

330 W Lakeside St, Madison, WI 53715

We can’t forget gift-giving for our furry friends, so we had to add a bonus feature! If you’re looking for a local pet store, we’ve got you covered. Liz says she opened Nutzy Mutz & Crazy Catz to satisfy her personal motto in life — Help People, Help Animals, Build Community. What a great motto!! She offers a large variety of locally-made goods

Continuing to #shopsmall is a legit way that people can honestly support hard working store owners, artists and entrepreneurs. It means that we can have connection, talk about our issues, solve our issues, smile, cry, have eye contact, help one another, care for one another and just plain DO GOOD. You can’t get that from a computer screen. “Buying local” is not just a catch phrase.When you do it, you are helping pay a bill and keeping your neighborhood alive. And we, as small biz owners, love you for it.

Liz, co-founder of Mutzy Mutz

Facebook  |  Instagram

Now grab your friends are family and head out for an amazing shopping trip!

Get out there and #ShopLocal