Black Friday Deals, Christmas offers, January sales… Big retailers can afford to bring you all sorts of crazy deals, spend thousands on getting celebrities in their ads and can really shove their products right under your noses.
But there are some much smaller businesses that I’ve discovered, most of them run by one person or very small teams that, while they can’t afford the likes of Elton John to star in their ads or leaflet drop millions of money off coupons to doors across the country, do work really bloody hard, have amazing ethics and on top of all that, deliver brilliant service. So today I wanted to share some of these with you that I think really deserve your hard earned cash, possibly more so than the big players.
1. Apples and Pips
A personal one for me, straight of the bat. Hannah has been my friend since Dexter was a year old. My first and best blogging friend. But that’s not why I’m featuring her.
As a blogger and a parent, Hannah was able to test and use many different products and so Apples & Pips was born as somewhere to showcase her favourite ones and be able to purchase them all in one place.
But since it’s launch in 2016, it has evolved to also bring people beautifully created, bespoke gift sets where items can be selected by the purchaser specifically for the recipient alongside some ready to go gift sets too.
Her IVF care set is the first of
Other charities that benefit from sales at Apples and Pips are La Leche League, Great Ormond Street Hospital, The Mama Academy and Bliss so it’s not just Hannah doing a happy dance when you place your order!
You can find Apples and Pips Online, on Twitter, on Facebook and on Instagram
2. Hello Treacle
Hello Treacle was founded to support women experiencing fertility problems by offering a series of honest, fun cards to raise a smile. Amy, the girl behind Hello Treacle, experienced infertility, pregnancy loss and a fair amount of emotional trauma while trying to start a family and so she felt that she needed to turn her experience into something positive.
Amy sells a range of items from Embroidered hoops and mugs to cards and pin badges… and like me, she doesn’t hold back on the swears!
As well as running Hello Treacle, Amy is currently working on a Kickstarter project – Viva la Vulva. Viva la Vulva is a collection of pins, patches, jewellery and totes to break taboos about the female body. Rich in feminism, body positivity and sass!
You can find Hello Treacle in all these places…
Instagram @hellotreaclestore Facebook @hellotreaclestore Twitter @hellotreacle Or the website www.hellotreaclestore.com
3. Black & Beech
Wow, Stacey is a kick ass mother and not one I would wanna mess with. Not afraid of controversial topics, her products and sales have so far helped many charities such as London Irish Abortion Rights Campaign, Abortion Support Network, In her shoes: Women of the 8th and may more.
Her products get people talking about some really important issues, issues that in 2018, shouldn’t even exist but sadly do.
Her witty slogans and powerful messages are featured on a range of products from pencils and badges to clothing, bags and prints. There is also teething jewellery and some gorgeous necklaces and even clothing for kids and dads.
You can check out
Gifts that give back
Now, I know, We all have our budgets to stick to and things like birthday and Christmas etc they all add up so of course it makes sense to take advantage of the deals when you see them.
I mean, how many money saving programs, radio shows and podcasts are there these days that focus on making your money go further? I get it.
But if you can afford to shop from small business here and there, please try. All three of these girls work so hard to create something unique, something special – and isn’t that what a gift should be? Something personal for your favourite people. The fact that buying with these three awesome women actually pays it forward to others is just the cherry on top!
Don’t forget to pin the below image so you remember to come back again.
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