Philly Gift Guide

Thank you so much for viewing our hand-picked Philly artist gift guide. The majority of these artists we have met personally over the years of networking and buying their work. Please feel free to include any links in the comments to other locals you know and love in Philly. Bookmark our page and share with others to buy year round. Support these local artists and connect with them on social media to see their upcoming events.

Accessories

Carole Kyle Handbags

Beautiful handbags and totes with artsy prints.

http://www.carolekyle.com/Spring-Handbags.html

https://www.facebook.com/carolekylehandbags/?fref=ts

Elegant Crochets

From knit hats to ponchos, this shop gives you an easy way to transform your wardrobe.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/Elegantcrochets?ref=ss_profile

https://www.facebook.com/crochetgonechic/?fref=ts

https://twitter.com/Elegantcrochets

 

The Pink Lapel

A new spin on ties and bow ties for those of style and flare.

http://www.thepinklapel.com/

https://www.instagram.com/thepinklapel/

Bath & Beauty

PiperWai Natural Deodorant

Makes are great personal gift to yourself or to friends who love natural products.

http://www.piperwai.com/

https://www.facebook.com/piperwai/?fref=ts

https://www.instagram.com/piperwai/
https://twitter.com/PiperWai

The Body Buffet

Handmade unique soaps, shampoo bars, whipped body butter and other natural products.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheBodyBuffet

https://www.facebook.com/thebodybuffet/?fref=ts

https://www.instagram.com/thebodybuffet

https://twitter.com/thebodybuffet

Clothing

Jawn Clothing

Nothing gets more Philly than “Jawn.” Shop here for Unisex Philly Gear.

http://jawnclothing.com/shop

https://www.facebook.com/JawnClothing/

https://twitter.com/JawnClothing

https://www.instagram.com/jawnclothing

Sowah Design

These colorful clothes are for those people who are full of life and joy.

https://www.instagram.com/sowahdesign/

Foodie

Affinity Confections

Divine desserts great for friends, parties, or yourself.

http://www.affinityconfections.com/

https://www.facebook.com/AffinityConfections

https://www.instagram.com/_affinityco/

https://twitter.com/_affinityco

Naturally Sweet Desserts

If you haven’t tried these divine vegan, dairy-free, low glycemic cupcakes, you are missing out!

http://www.naturallysweetdesserts.com/

https://www.facebook.com/naturalsweetsbaker/?fref=ts

Home

Don Yacovella Furniture Designs

Simply elegant furniture created that is customizable to match your decor.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/donyacovella

http://www.donyacovella.com/

https://www.instagram.com/dyfurniture/

Threet Ceramics

This beautiful stoneware makes for a practical gift that will suit those hard-to-please people.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThreetCeramics

 https://www.instagram.com/threetceramics/

Jewelry

Ilanation

Each piece is created with individual pieces of glass, semi-precious stones, and mixed metals.

https://www.facebook.com/ILANATION/?fref=ts

Lovestruck Jewelry

This is great decorative jewelry that is also light-weight.

http://www.creativeworldofsara.com/lovestruck.html

https://www.facebook.com/lovestruckjewelryCWOS/?fref=ts

Metana Jewelry  

Stunning, bold pieces of jewelry that are unique and elegant.

http://www.metanajewelry.com/

https://www.facebook.com/MetanaJewelry/

https://twitter.com/MetanaJewelry

 

Real Fruit Jewelry

For the foodie and/or jewelry-lover, all of her pieces included real preserved fruit!

http://www.realfruitjewelry.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Real-Fruit-Jewelry-155518707803063/?fref=ts

https://www.instagram.com/realfruitjewelry/

Unique Gifts

SheCre8s

Repurposed silverware makes for great key chains and jewelry.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/SheCre8s?ref=ss_profile

https://www.facebook.com/Shecre8s/?fref=nf

https://www.instagram.com/shecre8s/

https://twitter.com/barb1t1

Make Pens Over Swords

Formerly local, this artist creates pens out of wood scraps in an act of peace-making.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MakePensOverSwords

https://www.facebook.com/MakePensOverSwords/?fref=ts

Wrong World Ceramics

Handmade ceramic flasks from grotesque to decorative, it is great gift for those hard to please.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/WrongWorldCeramics

https://www.facebook.com/WrongWorldCeramics/?fref=ts

https://www.instagram.com/wrongworld/

Local Shops

Shop for wares from a variety of local artists and creatives.

Nice Things Handmade

1731 E Passyunk Avenue, Philadelphia

https://www.facebook.com/nicethingshandmade/

https://www.instagram.com/nicethingsphila/
https://twitter.com/nicethingsphila

 

Vix Emporium

5009 Baltimore Avenue, Philadelphia

http://vixemporium.com/

https://www.facebook.com/vixemporium/

https://www.instagram.com/vix_emporium/
https://twitter.com/vixemporium

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The Body Buffet creates handmade artisan soap, shampoo bars, facial bars, laundry soap and more. They use local ingredients when possible and have aimed to make conditioning skin-loving, hair-loving, clothes-loving soap since 2009. Based out of Philadelphia, they aim to live healthier, more sustainable lives inside and out.

Self-Care: 3 Ways to Survive the Holidays

I had a friend who went out of his way to work during the holidays just to avoid being available to go home and be with his family. While his motives were money-driven (he didn’t receive holiday pay), his main reason was that he would rather deal with the dysfunction of his clients than deal with the dysfunction of his own family. Was that odd? And if it was odd, by whose standards?

The last few days of social media has been buzzing with the word “friendsgiving”--this idea of spending time with those closest to you with whom you have formed intentional relationships rather than the obligatory ones via bloodlines. I don’t necessarily agree or disagree with the whole idea. I believe each person is given an ability to make their own decisions and no two people should necessarily have the same decision even if they are related.

However and with whomever you choose to spend the holidays with, just remember to take time out for things, places, and people that feed your spirit, mind, heart, body, and soul. Here are three healthy ways to survive the holidays by prioritizing self-care.

1. Don’t let your spirit be crushed

Perhaps one of the most difficult steps of self-care is learning which relationships we should leave on the table, which to make palatable for both parties, and which to walk away from altogether. Part of caring for yourself is making decisions that are good for your health and well-being, not contingent solely upon feelings or other people’s opinions of you.

Willingly entering into a hostile environment, during a time that should be uplifting like the holidays, is counter-productive; especially in situations of abuse. Why should you subject your time-off for that? Part of self-care is setting up firm boundaries and maintaining healthy relationships. However many are too afraid. Part of self-care is being confident with your decisions in how to relate to other people.Don’t spend all of your time in environments that will crush you.

2. Don’t let negativity consume you

Self-care during the holidays also involves regulating the thoughts that swim through our minds. While it’s known as a season of giving, for many it is really a season of depression and acknowledgement of depravity. It can be struggling with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), being reminded of your lack of material wealth, recalling failed and broken relationships, feeling the inner pain and loneliness and heartache from loss or alienation… Whatever your negative thoughts are, put them aside Replace every negative thought with a life-giving one. You will have to continuously do this until those thoughts are less frequent  . Changing your mindset does in fact change your life. As an adolescent I struggled with self-esteem and my entire life changed when I started thinking different. It won’t happen

overnight, but it does happen over time. More importantly, get professional help if you need to. Depression during the holidays runs rampant. Please seek professional help for example, 1-800-273-TALK. Please reach out to your support networks.

3. Don’t over-commit

There are too many holidays where I signed up for making baked goods, committed to parties, carols, etc, often in the midst of semester finals and projects just to feel like a celebrated the holidays well. But each time I did a plethora of activities, I found myself regretting not spending enough time in reflection. I regretted not having low-key moments that didn’t involve exquisite planning, expense, and time. Schedule downtime during the holidays. Don’t fall into the spell of the chaotic agenda of events that consume the end of the year. Downtime can considerably reduce the stress and strain.

Remember this

You have the power to shape your experience this holiday season. Much of life is about having a different perspective, making difficult decisions, while preserving the essence of who you are.

What brings you joy during the holidays? How do you practice self-care?

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Marquita Bell is a self-care advocate and the owner of The Body Buffet which creates handmade artisan soap, shampoo bars, facial bars, laundry soap and more. They use local ingredients when possible and have aimed to make conditioning skin-loving, hair-loving, clothes-loving soap since 2009. Based out of Philadelphia, they aim to live healthier, more sustainable lives inside and out. 

Facial Soap Bars vs. Regular Soap - 3 differences

When I first began making soap I wondered about what many people question: What are the three differences between facial soap bars and regular soap bars?

1. Facial soap usually has a lower cleansing level.
One of the many quality scores in soap making revolve around the cleansing number of the soap. Different oils produce different cleansing numbers. For example, a soap that has mostly coconut oil has a high cleansing number and will likely strip the skin of its natural oils, leaving it dry and sometimes inducing oiliness since your skin tries to over compensate for missing oil.

On the other hand, a hard oil like shea butter has a very low cleansing number. Therefore a soap made with mostly with shea butter will not strip the skin. In soap making for facial bars, you want to keep the cleansing number as low as possible. I ideally keep mine at zero. Now keep in mind, just because something is "low cleansing," doesn't mean it doesn't clean. It simply means that it strips less natural oils away.

2. Facial soap focuses on the skin properties of the face.
You're probably saying, "Well duh, hence the name Captain Obvious." But many people forget that the skin on their face is very different from their skin on their rest of their body. Facial skin has many more glands, is a lot thinner, and regenerates cells more quickly than the rest of the body. These factors make your face more oily and more sensitive to products. Hence why something that works excellently on your body, may be terrible for your face. Because of this you may be able to use a facial soap on the rest of your body, but not a body soap on your face.

3. Facial soap usually has ingredients geared toward specific skin types.
Similar to hair products, it is very rare that you find a product that truly works on all facial skin types, especially combination skin. As a result, great facial bars usually cater to specific skin types. A facial soap bar that works well for oily skin may be stripping for dry skin. Even people with similar skin types may need to try a few different facial bars to find one that works for them.  Ingredients can play a huge factor including which oils were used in the handmade soap recipe. As mentioned before, different oils have different conditioning and cleansing levels. Great facial bars take all of that into consideration.

At The Body Buffet we handcraft all of our recipes and also test them (never tested on animals!). Check out our facial bars:

 Avocado Cucumber Facial Soap

Strawberries 'n Cream Rose Clay Facial Soap