Affiliate links may be included for your convenience. View our privacy and affiliates policy for details.
It’s been a long time since I did a Things I Love post, but I wanted to let you in on my gift-giving secret.
I love UncommonGoods. If you haven’t seen it, you must go check it out. It’s a website and they also have a catalog (which I happened to get in the mail yesterday) chock-full of really interesting, handmade, upcycled and otherwise really fun items that are great for gifts.
I have some family members who are hard to shop for (and I’m one, too, I guess) but I always seem to find things at Uncommon Goods that I think people I love will like. Husband got one of their wooden 6 pack beer totes (isn’t it cute?) for our anniversary (or Father’s Day; I honestly don’t remember which). I absolutely adore their children’s gifts, too. We have a set of wooden blocks from there, the nerdy alphabet cards and I’m pretty sure that’s where the Bit’s Mary Jane baby socks (aka the cutest things ever) came from, too.
Over the years I’ve bought so many things there, and wanted so many things from there. It’s really a great place for something unexpected (a bowl made out of an old LP?) or for the person you don’t know what to get (a bracelet with a quote from the Dalai Lama written in beads that make Morse code?).
Design for UG
One thing that’s really cool about UncommonGoods is that they crowsource some of their products. There’s often a contest going on where users can vote for a project they want to see funded and sold on the site. There’s one going on right now that is really fun and I’d be entering if I wasn’t afraid I would win and then have to make product all winter long.
They’re looking for handmade accessories for winter — knit, crocheted, woven or sewn — with a good story behind them. Recycled or organic materials are appreciated, and they should be animal friendly (which means no fur or feathers, but wool is OK). Entries must come from Americans, and they’re due by the end of July. Semifinalists will be chosen, users will vote, and the five most popular will be considered for the grand prize, which is $500 and a design contract with UG. Get more info and enter here.
How cool is that? Runners up may also be considered for a contract, and of course they’ll be getting design pros to look at their work and offer advice, which just sounds really awesome.
I have way too much going on as it is, but maybe you or someone you know makes a unique winter accessory with a fun story that should have a wider audience, so I wanted you to know.
What are you loving this week?
By the way, UncommonGoods contacted me to see if I’d help them spread the word about the design contest. I said yes because I love them. No links here are affiliate links, and I was not directly compensated for this post, though I will be receiving some goodies in the future to review.
