Locally sourced gifts
As your Kids’ Almanac columnist, I want to share some ideas for locally sourced gifts made by local, talented parents. Enjoy!
Whimsy Home
Jasmine Redfern, (845) 255-5465, www.whimsy-home.com, www.whimsyhome.etsy.com
I experienced lamps in an entirely new way after encountering Jasmine Redfern’s collection at Cocoon in New Paltz. Her work is part of a larger awakening that I’ve had around household fixtures: Just as some meditation instructors recommend placing special objects around the home as mindfulness reminders, Redfern’s lamps infuse joy. Not just sources of light, but elements of fun!
Best places for people to buy your work:
Cocoon or Verde in New Paltz carry some of my lamps, and they are great stores! But sometimes it can be hard to choose something as a gift, and that is why we have gift certificates on my Etsy shop: www.whimsyhome.etsy.com.
Something that you wish that people knew about the impact of buying locally, from local artists:
When you buy a handmade item, you’re getting something completely unique that was made with care and love. There’s a story behind it; you’re supporting an independent business, and that rewards creative thinking, entrepreneurship and craftsmanship. A handmade item has soul and character built into it, and it shows! I treasure the things my family has that are made by artisans, and we’ll keep them for as long as possible. That “less disposable” way of decorating your life has a positive effect on the environment. Supporting a local artist is great for your immediate community. I shop local, so I give back right away to our community.
Any roles that your family plays in your business:
My 13-year-old has a lot of design ideas. He helps out sometimes at shows and with shipping, or in my workshop if I am in a crunch. When I am too busy to hang out in the house, my husband and son come hang out with me in the workshop. We have been watching Christmas movies and Doctor Who episodes while filling orders lately. Fun!
A favorite holiday tradition in your family:
Every year for the past 14 or 15 years, when we put our holiday lights and decorations away, we write a note to “our future selves.” It is awesome to get out the decorations and find a note to us from our past selves. Sometimes we add some spending money! We save them all, and reread them every year.
A favorite holiday spot that you like in the Hudson Valley:
I love taking wintry, snowy walks at Peterskill. Snow on pine trees is my favorite!
Anything else that you’d like to announce:
Something I am excited about is that I have been doing more with vintage lamp bases lately. I have been refurbishing great old bases and pairing them with fabulous fabric. This new part of my business is called Lamp Revamp, and I love it!
Geeks and Freeks
Bill Spring, www.etsy.com/shop/geeksandfreeks
Bill Spring’s work is one of those wonderful product lines where your kids love it because his pendants, buttons and bracelets are fun and trendy with characters they adore, and you love it because they’re all locally made at a terrific price point. And because Bill can use your own images to create the pieces, you can customize your order for any occasion: bling you can believe in!
Best place for people to buy your work:
The best place right now is my online shop at www.etsy.com/shop/geeksandfreeks. I make stuff that’s very “pop.” I like sci-fi, comics, cartoons and rock ‘n’ roll, so that’s what I make. I’ve done a lot of reproduction animation cels and a new line of replica Beatlemania stuff: tickets, buttons and bubblegum cards in collage frames. I’ve got hand-painted lunchboxes, too. But the majority of my products are for kids: cool little pendant necklaces and bracelets with studs, rhinestones and buttons.
I would love to have a little shop in the real world, ideally on Main Street in New Paltz or in Woodstock. But the rents are very high for such things, and you have to do incredible volume to break even. That’s why most of this real estate goes to bars and restaurants or resellers. Artists and crafters just can’t pay those kinds of rents. Even rents for spaces at larger craft shows and fairs have gotten pretty crazy. I like doing smaller events where there’s not so much pressure, and you can take the time to talk to people about your stuff. I’d love to find a location in New Paltz to run a monthly art and craft show with little or no cost to artists – maybe just charge enough to cover whatever insurance costs and permits are involved. It’s very hard when artists have to pay big upfront fees just for the opportunity to sell their art.
Something that you wish that people knew about the impact of buying locally, from local artisans:
I’m not against buying from chains per se, but when we do this, most of our money goes up the ladder to stockholders and management, and only a tiny bit stays in the pockets of the local folks who work in the store. Once that dollar goes into the cash register of a big store, it’s gone – it goes across the country or overseas, and it’s never going to come back to your town. When you buy from a local artist or crafter, you’re making sure that almost all of your money stays in your town. Sure, some will go to the pay the artist’s bills, but a lot will also go to a local baker, a local karate school, your local coffeeshop.
But beyond this, you’re also helping someone keep an interesting and fulfilling job and live a meaningful life. Making custom jewelry is a lot more satisfying than working behind the jewelry case at Target, selling stuff made in a factory. And as a buyer, you’re a lot more likely to have a fun experience when you buy from a real person instead of a faceless supply chain.
Any roles that your daughters and family play in your business:
My two daughters are the reason for everything I do. I make things to make them happy, and then sometimes make more of the same things to sell. It’s easier for me to get inspired when I have actual recipients in mind for anything I make, and my daughters are my biggest supporters. This means, of course, that my products age with them. Five years ago I was making baby tees and onesies; now I make jewelry for older kids and pre-teens.
I also love making personalized gifts for other people in my family, and sometimes these turn out to be prototypes for items that I make to sell. Hopefully customers will have the same interests as my relatives! Last year I made my teenage niece a full-sized custom box of “Cotton-Headed Ninny Muggins” breakfast cereal, because she’s a big fan of the movie Elf. That was a one-of-a-kind, though, as I can’t really see any commercial potential in it.
Something that you have learned/appreciated/experienced this holiday season:
This year I’ve been thinking about just how hard everyone works to make something like Hanukkah or Christmas come to be. As a kid, it always felt like the holidays just “happened.” But as you get older, you understand that creating opportunities for holiday joy takes a tremendous amount of effort. My wife and I, and the rest of my family, try our very best to let the kids experience a few “wow” moments in December, and we run ourselves ragged doing it. But all the stress and fatigue are worth it when my daughters’ faces light up with complete wonder because of something that they truly believe is real magic. That’s what makes me happiest.
A favorite holiday tradition in your family:
My oldest daughter is only 8, so we’re still building our traditions, and I’m sure we’ll come up with tons over the coming years. Driving my wife crazy by constantly playing my favorite Christmas music is one tradition I always love. Another thing we’ve done recently as a family is to make reusable gift boxes. We take a medium-sized cardboard box, add a coat of colorful paint and then put Christmas pictures and stickers all over it. Gifts can go inside, and then afterwards, the box is flattened and put away with the decorations until next year. My father-in-law has gotten the same box three years running – with a new gift each time, of course.
A favorite holiday spot that you like in the Hudson Valley:
We like Water Street Market in New Paltz all year long, but it’s especially nice at the holidays, when all the great shops and cafés are decorated. I wish there were more places like it. We spend too much time in our cars, at malls and in big-box stores, and it’s nice to have pretty little outdoor places to sit or window-shop. It reminds me of a miniature version of a high street in England or Europe. I wish we could extend it all along the Wallkill for a half-mile or so: just small, locally owned businesses on our own waterfront.
Anything else that you’d like to announce:
I’d like to remind people to not overspend this Christmas. Big, expensive, impersonal gifts are not what holidays are about. It’s a better idea to buy something inexpensive, but which has some personal connection to the person you’re buying for. I try very hard to make stuff that’s cool and unique, but also very affordable. I hate going to gift events where the cheapest thing is 40 dollars. I make stuff mostly for kids, so I want kids to be able to afford it, to maybe give as little gifts to their good friends or classmates. Maybe if we can get kids to shop local, they’ll get in the habit and do it for the rest of their lives!
Join the family! 
