Shop Local Stocking Stuffer Guide (December Gold Book)

For this month's Gold Book, I wrote about some fun gifts that you can find locally. 

Here's the round-up!

If you’re like me, the Christmas stocking is sometimes a holiday afterthought that doesn’t occur until after the bulk of the gifts have been purchased and ribbons tied. This leads to grabbing a few small trinkets here and there and then raiding the fruit basket on Christmas Eve, hoping to find a grape fruit and an orange or two to round the stocking out. And yet, the stocking is a delightful tradition that can be a holiday highlight if you plan it right. This year, I’m trying to do better.

Below are a half-dozen small pleasures to tuck into a stocking for someone special in your life. Each of these tiny treasures can be found locally—the purchase of some support local artists and craftsmen directly, while others will help local businesses thrive.

1. Merry and Bright

Davenport artist Mary Talbert sews, quilts, and collages items into unique accessories for home and self. Her background in graphic design lends to her unique combinations of bright colors and patterns in her work. A small, coiled, handmade fabric bowl ($15) is a perfect vessel for tiny items such as jewelry. Crafted from a collage of vintage and new cotton prints, wrapped around rope and zigzag stitched, these petite, colorful bowls can be easily tucked into a stocking. Contact Ms. Talbert through lilsqueeks.com or look for lil squeeks on Facebook. Her work can also be found at the Quad Cities Food Hub and she’ll have a booth at Handmade City, which is on December 13^th from 2–7 p.m. at the Freight House in Davenport.

2. Pampering Products

I love the TokyoMilk collection of lush lotions and fragrant candles for not only the richness of the product, but also for the handsome packaging. Both shea butter hand cremes (Tainted Love – Dark Vanilla Bean is my favorite, $23) and deeply scented soy wax candles (the mint and basil leaf is enchanting, $12), as well as TokyoMilk lip elixirs ($8) and perfumes ($37), are available at Abernathy’s, a delightfully quirky boutique full of unique clothing, handmade jewelry, and other curious accoutrements. (Abernathy’s is located at 315 E. 2^nd Street, Davenport.)

3. Sparkle and Shine

Ann Hartley is a metal smith and jewelry designer whose expert and artful craftsmanship makes me swoon. For a stocking stuffer with some significance, consider a ring made of untreated rose cut yellow sapphire set in a hammer textured bezel in solid 18k yellow gold ($575). Another beautiful piece currently available at Hartley Studios is a pair of sparkly Moissanite earrings ($272). You’ll find a wide variety of tasteful, handcrafted pendants, necklaces, earrings, rings and bracelets at her Etsy shop.

4. Good Cheer

I love poking around Mint Green and Adventure Orange in the Village of East Davenport and think the collective of women who stock the store are absolutely brilliant. This season, I’ve got my eye on Anne Brown’s hand letter-pressed greeting cards. They are clever, stylish, and sold in sets of six ($15). Also adorable are the local collage blocks, which are intricate pieces of art that highlight local Quad City places on a decorative block ($8). Artist Shizzy Powell carefully creates these tiny gems by hand and they’re just the right size for a stocking. (2208 East 11^th Street, Davenport)

5. The Most Wonderful Time

Coffee lovers will appreciate finding a package of Redband Coffee stuffed into their stocking. A pound of coffee is available for you to grab from the counter and ranges in price from $17–$22. If the stocking you’re filling is on the small side, ask for a half-pound instead and the barista will fill a crisp foil bag on the spot. All Redband coffee is fresh and roasted on site and packed into a shiny, heat-sealed bag. Swing by one of Redband’s two Davenport locations to pick up this local stocking stuffer. (And treat yourself to a latte while you’re there—you won’t be disappointed). (329 E. 4^th Street or 110 W. 13^th Street, Davenport)

6. Socks for the Sock

Open the door to SIS International Shop and you’ll soon realize you’ve landed in stocking-stuffer (and fair-trade) heaven. The colorful shop has lots to choose from (jewelry, trinkets, mittens, ornaments, and more), but something that stood out on a recent visit was the bright and warm Solmate Socks ($20). Perfect for men and women alike, these socks are knit (in the US) from recycled cotton yarn, the production of which decreases the amount of cotton waste sent to landfills, and the amount of water, pesticides, and herbicides used to grow new cotton fibers. Plus, there’s another bonus to shopping at SIS. According to Becke Dawson, SIS owner, if everyone would purchase just one fair trade item as a gift during the holidays, the world would change overnight. (108 E. 2^nd Street, Davenport)

Paula Sands invited me to come on the show and share all of these great finds yesterday. Check out the segment here!