Though adding items to your Amazon cart is simple, Gainesville is home to many small businesses that offer thoughtful, handcrafted and sustainable gifts for the holidays – without a whole lot of extra work.
Little Tangled Things
When Megan Alvenus’s grandmother saw her crocheting a chain on her finger as a child, she stepped in and taught her everything there was to know about the craft.
Alvenus has been hooked ever since and decided to turn her passion into Little Tangled Things this past summer. Her fidget toys, stuffed animals and other fluffy and colorful products make for great gifts for college students, young children and everyone alike, she said.
The crocheter tabled at the 4th Ave Food Park’s “$25 and Under Market”, but her work is always featured at Arise Wellness GNV, a mental health therapy practice. Her sensory toys are tools that help patients work through stressful conversations that they may have at the wellness center.
“When I share personal, emotional stuff, like being so vulnerable, I kind of need something in my hands to work through it,” she said.
Each piece is unique and Alvenus takes care in handmaking every item, from gator plushies to wallets made from plastic bags.
"Love is put into each and every single item,” she said. “You're not going to be able to find them in stores. Crochet in general is not something that can be replicated through any type of machinery.”
The Glass Onion Studio
Stained glass, as JJ Mincey said, is a bit of a lost art.
Mincey took up the craft during the pandemic, a time when he longed for a hobby. Now, as the co-founder of The Glass Onion Studio, creating stained glass is Mincey’s full-time job.
After being welcomed by the Gainesville art community with open arms, Mincey and his business partner have been featured in markets like the Downtown Art Festival and the Grove Street Farmer’s Market.
Supporting small businesses like his is the best way to keep funds local, he said, and is a more meaningful way to shop.
“Anyone can order something from Amazon or online from Target, but there's not really any thought behind it,” Mincey said. “I think receiving a locally made, or even personally made gift is just a lot more sentimental.”
At The 4th Ave Food Park’s “$25 and Under Market”, he sold macramé and print artworks in addition to his standard collection of stained-glass wall hangings and decor.
Mincey said due to how stained glass is made, no two pieces are ever the same.
Sewn Stories
After her grandmother passed away, Savannah Fenner made a memory quilt from her old clothes. She soon learned she had a knack for sewing, just like her grandmother and great-grandmother.
Fenner, a junior at UF, started Sewn Stories in March and has tabled at events like the Gator Markets and The Swamp Market.
Though she still makes memory quilts, most of her inventory consists of smaller gifts, like handmade makeup pouches, tote bags and laptop cases.
One of the main things Fenner strives for with her business is sustainability.
"I'm going to be switching to sustainable fabrics, more dead stock fabrics, to try and make things that are going to last for your lifetime, or you're not going to just find them in the landfill eventually,” she said.
Though much of her generation has left the art of sewing in the past, Fenner hopes to keep the craft alive and honor her family’s legacy.
Akasha Divine Collective
Around four years ago, Eliana Barboza began working with aromatherapy, a therapeutic exercise that started as a hobby and blossomed into a business.
Most of Akasha Divine Collective’s products are candles made from upcycled glassware and ceramics. Barboza buys the teacups at local thrift shops like the Haven Hospice Attic Retail Store and said the teacups are meant to be reused.
The candles are made from local beeswax and cleanse the air, making them a healthier alternative to buying candles made from paraffin wax or other cheap materials, she said.
“If you have any asthma or respiratory conditions or pets at home, then it's a more conscious way to burn candles,” Barboza said. “It's a lot more clean.”
She added buying local rather than from commercial chains also helps reduce wasteful shipping containers and packaging. Maintaining local power is much more beneficial, she said.
Sunburst Design Co. And Nomadic Canvas
Twenty-four-year-old sisters Hannah and Kaitlyn Tapia-Ruano have been creating since they were toddlers. They got their artistic side from their mom.
The self-taught artists have their own creative businesses, Sunburst Design Co. and Nomadic Canvas, respectively. The two tabled together recently at UF’s monthly Gator Market to kick off the holiday shopping season.
Kaitlyn Tapia-Ruano started Nomadic Canvas during the pandemic, when quarantine gave her plenty of time to brainstorm ideas for her small business. She crafts many handmade gifts, including painted wooden ornaments.
Kaitlyn Tapia-Ruano ramps up production during the holidays because it is the busiest time for her business. But regardless of the time of year, she said it is important to support small artisanal vendors.
“I view it as a way of really celebrating everyone's diverse creative ventures,” Kaitlyn Tapia-Ruano said.
While Hannah Tapia-Ruano only started branding her own handmade gifts last year, she already hopes to sell her goods to local businesses soon. Her main products are postcards, which she stamps and sends herself for her customers.
Hannah Tapia-Ruano said that particularly in America, overconsumption is common and creates a wasteful culture. She added that shopping locally brings people back to buying meaningful gifts that will have a longer lasting emotional impact.
"We live in such a digital age and everything's on text message or on the TV,” she said. “I can offer something where you can write someone a handwritten message with a handmade card, and it adds a level of intimacy and connection that I think we miss a lot sometimes.”