As I mentioned a few gift guides ago, this year I’m doing a lot of advanced shopping for friends and family, and sending a lot of gift cards for future shopping possibilities. This year, since it’s Small Business Saturday AND Shopping During the Pandemic is Difficult, I wanted to gather some links and coupons for independent bookstores for easy shopping.
Obviously:
- The Ripped Bodice – Use code SMALLBUTMIGHTY for 10% until Monday 11/30/20
- Love’s Sweet Arrow – Use code SmallBusinessWeekend2020 for 20% off all in-stock items! Their holiday gift guide is online, too
More Books! Some of these are (sort of) local to me, and offer curbside or contactless shopping.
- Belmont Books, Belmont, MA – Amanda’s often there and can make excellent recs! She put together their entire holiday shopping catalog and it’s excellent.
- Charm City Bookshop, Baltimore, MD – Not only do they have books, but they have a collection of kitchen tools, games, toys, and SOCKS.
- Loyalty Bookstore, Washington, DC & Silver Spring, MD – Use code SAFEHOLZ20 for 10% off items in their Holiday Catalog, or on their staff picks through 11/30!
- East City Bookshops, Washington, DC – They have a concierge book service that allows you to connect with a personal shopper for everyone on your list.
- Old Town Books, Alexandria, VA – Contactless pickup and shipping, and long lists of Holiday, Thanksgiving, and Staff Picks for shopping online!
Audio folks!
- Libro.fm is giving out free audiobooks when you spend $15 or more at a local bookstore between now and 11/30/20 – in store and online! You can choose from some bestsellers, including but limited to:
- The City We Became by NK Jemisin – my spousal unit liked this so much we developed a cocktail to celebrate it
- Shit, Actually by Lindy West – Tara liked this book so much she couldn’t read it while snuggling with her child because her laughter woke the poor kid up
- When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole – Scare the poodle out of yourself with a gentrification thriller that Maya devoured
- Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo – Maya gave this one an A, too!
- Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad – A book that began as an Instagram challenge and became an international bestselling book, journal, and workbook.
And of course: Bookshop.org has free shipping this weekend, and allows you to direct your fine purchasing dollars to the indie you prefer. We’re also a Bookshop.org affiliate.
I’d love to hear about your local and what you like about them, or about any small businesses you’re supporting. Got bookstores, small businesses or suggestions to add? Drop ’em in the comments, please!
I am the owner of a small fair trade shop in Ohio, Pachamama Market. We have a beautiful curated selection of ethically and sustainably made gifts, jewelry, accessories, and apparel! Get free shipping with the code CHEERS at http://www.pachamamamarket.org. 🙂
I’ve been asking family what local bookstore they like and ordering books for them from that store- put in a big order at Literati in Ann Arbor for my niece.
Goods For Cooks in Bloomington, IN did an awesome personal shopping job for a gift for my sister in May, if you have any cooks in your life I highly recommend them, they’ll ship wherever and they’re lovely folks.
For food gifts I’m looking at Savour Seattle, they’ve pivoted from food tours to collections of goodies from Pike Place Market and are working to keep the businesses there afloat, they have local and nation wide options: https://shop.savorseattletours.com/collections/shipped-to-you/products/market-favorites-box-shipped-nationwide#
Oh, and in other Ann Arbor businesses Arbor Teas has fabulous tea at very reasonable price points, organic, fair trade and even compostable packaging.
Seconding the recommendation for Old Town Books. Love that store!
We have a family business that makes skincare products ❤️. https://skinactives.com/
Charm City Books is my preferred local indie. I love them and their Pay-It-Forward program which allows you to buy a book for local students. They also deliver!
Late to the party as usual, and most of the indie bookshops in my neck of the woods have unfortunately gone under and left us with only two big chains. However I do have a couple of recommendations:
For my family, Christmas isn’t Christmas without some treats from Taste of Britain https://tasteofbritain.com/ This is a local indie shop that sells everything from the UK, including Britain, Wales, Scotland and Ireland (and sometimes a bit of Australia.) They have a huge and ever-changing selection of foods (their pies and pasties are THE BOMB), lovely and whimsical china, jewelry, and everything you could want for your favorite footie team. They do a huge mail-order business and will ship anywhere.
Also big shout out to Mercier Orchards, a fourth-generation family owned orchard with an ever-expanding variety of apples and other fruits. Their fried pies and cider are the best, and their shipping prices are very reasonable. In the same neighborhood Panorama Orchards https://www.panoramaorchards.com/ is another fourth-generation orchard known for their unique and clever fruit-based products. Their jams and jellies are fabulous, and I also adore their Apricot Teriyaki Sauce and Apple Salsa.