Three Things You Should Be Buying from Small Businesses on Etsy

Ever since I became a small business I have had a new love and appreciation for other small businesses. It’s true what that age-old quote says on Pinterest: every time you order from a small business,  a seller who has spent years developing their craft into a trade does a happy dance. They – we – really do!!

Which is why I’m so delighted to be a proud supporter of small businesses on Etsy.

If you’ve been living under a rock, Etsy is a marketplace-based platform full of handmade, craft and vintage aficionados, all who use their skills and passion to channel creativity into beautiful products to make your life and your home just that much lovelier.

I’ve spent a lot of time shopping at small businesses on Etsy over the years and recently was lucky enough to do a deep dive into some of their sellers, whom I interviewed for my podcast, The Back-Up Plan. From there I’m happy to present to you the ultimate low-down of my favourite small businesses on Etsy:

What You Should Be Buying from Small Businesses on Etsy

Vintage Goodies
I recently had the biggest urge for a rattan coffee table to compliment our new house. Admittedly I didn’t even think Etsy at first: I spent hours perusing the usual high-street retailers, eventually finding one by a certain French store famed for their blogger rug. I happily ordered mine and went about my day – until they emailed me to let me know of stock fulfillment issues, cancelling my rattan table order.

Bugger.

Undeterred I kept looking, unexpectedly happening upon some small businesses on Etsy, where I found the absolute perfect piece from a seller called Grey Eyes Blue Skies that was not only in stock but also vintage, unlike its high street counterpart which was simply vintage re-production. And it was £20 less!

Our new rattan coffee table – which I love – was delivered for a small fee by the seller herself, an antique dealer living only half an hour away from us in Northamptonshire. It was lovely to not only buy a piece of furniture that was pre-loved and personally selected, but also that supported a small-business.

You don’t get those type of feel-goods from the high street, do you?

My table is one-of-a-kind, but there’s tons more vintage wicker furniture on Etsy… if you’ve got a baby on the way take a look at this incredible vintage Moses basket from Grey Skies Blue Eyes. Or this pair of antique wooden chairs – beautiful.

Jewellery
Etsy is always my go-to for jewellery: I’d much rather wear a piece that was lovingly designed and crafted by someone whose business is their passion… call me woo-woo if you like (and plenty have) but I believe those vibes are absorbed into the precious pieces we wear every day. So as far as I’m concerned, when it comes to jewellery these small makers and the love they put into their work are where it’s at.

One of my absolute all-time favourite jewellery brands is Wild Fawn on Etsy. Produced from recycled precious metals so all products are totally eco-friendly, the founder of Wild Fawn, Emma Barnes, is a minimalist fan who creates the most gorgeous dainty pieces you’ll ever see. My current favourites of hers are these mix and match minimalist earrings as well as these huggie earrings, and if someone could buy me their Leo zodiac necklace for my next birthday I would be over the moon. HOW gorgeous?!

Greeting Cards
I’m an absolute sucker for a good greeting card: in our over-digitised world of endless scrolling, I think there’s nothing nicer than hand-scribing a message to someone you care about.

Etsy is the perfect marketplace to find your perfect card for the perfect occasion. Using a few savvy search terms it’s really simple to come up with something totally unique and lovely to send to whoever it is you’re thinking of, and it was when searching as such recently that I came upon this beautiful hand-scripted card.

Having so much thought and love put into a greetings card really does make all the difference, and the recipient of mine was absolutely touched at the care that had gone into not only selecting the card but creating it, too. Which in turn made me feel like a super-charged boss at buying thoughtful cards.

As the kids say: card-based romance? Completed it, mate.

There are hand-illustrated cards a-plenty on Etsy – take your pick!

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I’m always after more small businesses on Etsy that’ll sell me beautifully hand-crafted works of art: where do you shop there?

Huge thanks to Etsy for working with More Than Toast. You can listen to The Back-Up Plan podcast, which we also collaborated on, right here.