Tag: independent book shops

2026 est merde but there are small ways to show your loved ones some love and support your local community, band, label, bookshop, record store, chocolatier, venue, and letterpress genius on this most corporate and silly of holidays. It has never been more important to vote with every dollar you spend, so consider putting it back into your local community to keep the lights on for musicians, artists, photographers, designers, writers, and other small businesses. Rescue a pup, go birdwatching, build a hummingbird sanctuary or adopt an endangered animal!

You could give them experiences (photography class! a lesson in making fresh pasta! a private karaoke party!), handmade or homemade gifts (how about some protest sign-making materials), incredible edibles, original artwork from an artist you may know, or something that gives a chunk to charity. Skip the red roses (give them living plants or a tree instead!) or the mainstream chocolates! World peace begins with having each other’s backs. We have to right the ship, and it starts with LOVE.

Support an artist! Card by David Shrigley from Shrig Shop (based in Copenhagen). 

Support your favorite band while also getting them a classic album.  

 

Support the greatest artist of all time! Yayoi Kusama tea towels. 

Support your local makers! Rebecca Pearcy tea towels.

Give them your heart along with this one, from Tatty Devine (London). 

 

This guy is so much cuter than those weird little normie plushies. 

Vinyl slipmat that supports musician Mary T and Merge Records. 

A Yoshitomo Nara snowglobe? Yes please. 

For those on a budget: stickers (that also support artists)! This one by Leigh McKolay. 

Red roses die. Books are forever: Support yr local independent bookshop! 

Big box stores are satan, especially right now. Hit up your local small biz like Hatch Show Print in Nashville for swoonworthy letterpress prints. 

As the worst people in the country try to destroy the US Postal Service, strike back by sending your loved ones snail mail. Stamps by Portland Stamp Company. 

Use your imagination and get them something that gives back, like a T-shirt from Bitter Southerner – many of their products benefit good causes. 

Experiences! Get your sweetie concert tickets for upcoming shows like Snail Mail (pictured), The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Belle and Sebastian OG album double-header shows, Isobel Campbell, or one of so many great indie pop festivals happening this year! Also: movies, book events, memberships to your local art museum, season tickets for a women’s soccer team, etc. 

 

Snoopy using a vinyl record as a frisbee tote bag! 

Artist Mark Reynolds makes original art based on so many bands and albums. We want them all. Stuff by Mark (based in the UK). 

Books are magic. They last long after the relationship ends (kidding!) 

I NEED one of these. So does your paramour. 

Preorder them this wonderful reissue from the mysterious Connie Converse. 

Even the goths deserve handmade cards.  By Westland Press from BuyOlympia. 

D.C. deserves statehood! Support Free D.C. in their effort to regain control over Washington, D.C., with this cozy hoodie for your galentine. 

Support your local indie labels and bands. It’s a no-brainer.

Get them tickets for upcoming Bikini Kill shows or an ace shirt. 

Precious Recordings of London mines the past and makes the present better. Get any one of these great, beautifully packaged records here.

You can never have too many badges/buttons, and you can also afford them while supporting small labels and bands. 

I mean, DUH. 

Handmade, letterpress, homemade, artist-made cards always rule. These are from Hatch Show Print in Nashville. 

Kawaii AF AND in support of one of the most important nonprofits of our time. See you in court! 

Analog is all the rage, we hear, so why not get them a subscription to one of the few paper magazines worth reading, like Bitter Southerner. Or zines. 

Gorgeous vegan truffles from Missionary Chocolates, just in case anyone wants to know what I WANT. 

Rollbahn notebooks from Little Otsu and many other sweet items for your mid-century desk.