2020 Holiday Gift Guide
This is my first holiday gift guide, featuring artisanally, sustainably, consciously and often locally made goods and above ALL, highlighting small business. Shop small with big heart in mind this year.
Nucifera Body The Essentials
Nucifera Body’s, The Essentials, is the company’s skin care routine must-haves in one gift. Simple ingredients, vegan, multi-purpose and unisex. Gluten-free, cruelty free, organic, paraben free and dermatologist tested. Perfect for Winter’s dry skin. The oil leaves your skin supple and glistening, the balm is great for skin conditions like eczema and the stick is perfect for lips, cuts and scrapes on the go. 10% off when you sign up for the newsletter. Meredith the founder also writes a great blog on the site. So it’s worth subscribing.
Gara
Gara is handcrafted and distilled in Ojai by the founding couple, Paul and Emilee Barnett. They grow, forage and work with local farmers to gather the herbs, produce and products they use for their holistic skincare line. Their hydrosols smell so good and are so uplifting. The Four Sages, is a collection of 4 hydrosols made from 4 different sages grown in their garden, each with a different quality. The collection comes in a lovely wood box. Free shipping through Christmas.
Dark Horse Organic
Let me start by saying, I am in love with all of the Dark Horse Organic products but the one I turn to the most in my cooking and has become a staple in my kitchen is the Umami Powder. I use it in soups and noodle soup bowls, sauces, and in my Chipotle Mushroom Tacos recipe. It is made of a blend of smoked mushrooms, kombu, Tamari and other plants and adds so much, well, umami flavor to your dish. Great stocking stuffer for the seasoned cook in your house or added to a culinary gift basket you make with other Dark Horse organic products.
Club Magic Hour
Anything Zhena, founder of Club Magic Hour touches turns to magic including her latest tea venture. Not sure if you remember her successful tea company from years ago, Zhena’s Gypsy Tea? It was a smashing success. Club Magic Hour offers a monthly subscription box where one can try different teas, sent to you. Zhena sources from the best tea growers from around the world. Check out her beautiful Holiday Collection of gifts including the Emotional Freedom box with Matcha. It’s the perfect gift for the avid Matcha drinker and couldn’t we all use a little emotional freedom about now? And can we talk about the stunning packaging?
Botanical Toning Mist
I have been getting Daron’s amazing facials for years. She also handcrafts beautiful and effective skincare products using organic whole-plant extracts and infusions. All her products come in beautiful violet recyclable glass. I use her Botanical Toning Mist daily in my skincare routine. Can’t live without it. It is refreshing with it’s Orange Blossom floral scent and helps lock in the moisture. It comes in three sizes. 20% off storewide with code WINTERSALE20.
Riverside Tool & Dye Socks at Midland
With all this staying at home business, comfort has become a necessity. And keeping it cute and colorful can brighten up one’s spirits. Tie dye is all the rage right now and these sustainable bamboo socks are super soft and colorful. Check out the rest of Midland’s Well Chosen Goods, founded by best friends Paige and Kelly. From homewares, body care, kids clothes and toys, adult clothing and shoes, jewelry and beyond. Check out their charming kid’s section for the kiddies in your life. It may just be your one stop Holiday shop.
In the Field Black Walnut Bowl
I have admired Bianca and Channon’s taste as a friend and customer for years. Ojai’s gem, In the Field (they just celebrated their 6 year anniversary in the valley) houses , thoughtfully and meticulously chosen vintage and artisanal goods from Europe and other special places they have travelled to, including Morocco, locally made jewelry, body care and ceramics, surf boards and home goods and a super great selection of shoes and clothing from California based designers like Pietsie and Mollusk, to my personal favorite Isabel Marant. And an amazing men’s section filled with wants and needs for the well-rounded man curated by Channon. I always turn to Channon’s picks for my hubby. And I can’t get enough of their homewares. These Walnut deep dish plates from Morocco are a kitchen essential in my home. I use them for everything, salad bowls, serving bowls, main dish bowls, and as fruit bowls decoratively on the counter. I love to take them camping. They add a little bit of rustic chic to any table.
Kelci Potter Heart Ring
Kelci Potter is another Ojai Valley local who uses recycled gold to make her organic, solid yet ethereal pieces by hand. She has pieces that are ready to ship or she makes to order. I love the feminine and old world qualities of this heart shaped ring. A perfect gift for mom, wife or girlfriend or if you want to treat yourself with a special piece of jewelry. You can order direct but I know inthefield.com carries her work as well on their site.
Nate Pidduck Closed Ceramic Vessels
Nate Pidduck had a coffee mug he loved so much when he was in college, he decided to recreate it later and then went on to create a vast array of ceramics, from plates, bowls, carafes, vessels and more in beautiful earth tones and subtle colors. I use his serving bowls often when I have small dinners and also in my food photography, they are so photogenic. He shares a studio with his mother, who is a painter near Ojai, and although his studio is closed to visits at the moment he is still shipping. Contact him to see what he has available. I personally am coveting these ceramic containers with lids for the kitchen or bathroom.
Shop Zung Espresso and Sugar with Spoons
For the coffee drinker in your life, this espresso and sugar bowl set plus two small spoons are a must. Simple yet elegant in design, crafted from Terracotta, matte on the outside and glazed on the inside, this will take the coffee aficiando’s morning ritual to the next level. Designed by the Danish brand Skagarek and inspired by Greek- Egyptian craftsmanship the duo is also dishwasher safe. The spoons are Japanese inspired and designed by Ole Palsby Design. The Zung Studio design firm based in New York partners with artisans and like minded design firms to offer products which are made sustainably, artfully, with quality, functionality and with the discerning eye of a holistic lifestyle, creating sensual and luxurious design.
