
Alright, shopping fiends. You’ve had your adrenaline-packed Black Friday and your shop-from-home Cyber/Makers Monday and now it’s time to finish out your Christmas list with gifts that give back. In honor of #GivingTuesday, the holidays and a whole slew of socially-minded companies, we’ve found gifts for everyone on your list that not only bring joy to your giftee, but also to someone in need. Shop for good and give these great organizations your love, not just today but year-round.
1. Far & Wide Collective: Female artisans around the world are able to make a living weaving these gorgeous, traditional baskets. The company gives people market assistance so they’re able to get a wider audience for their goods.
Emerald Basket With Peach Stripes ($59): This sisal basket comes in an array of colors made from natural dye. It’s made in Kenya by women who have spent their whole lives weaving them up.
2. LUSH: This company makes tons of great face and body products without preservatives using only vegetarian ingredients and does not test on animals. They fight against animal testing in other ways too, namely through information and encouragement.
Festive Cheer Bath Kit ($17): For less than 20 buckaroos, you can get Hot Toddy shower gel that’s made with ginger and cinnamon and Yog Nog soap that smells good enough to eat… but don’t. It’s soap. If you’re getting this as a gift, you’re going to need to get one for yourself to.
3. Harry’s: From the people who brought your Warby Parker comes an equally stylish company for men’s shaving needs. 1% of all sales and time at the company goes to organizations that prep people for professional success.
Winter Winston Set ($30): Complete with razor, shave gel and back-up blades, this kit is perfect for every man in your life.
4. Sevenly: Every week, Sevenly chooses a new cause to donate to and $7 of whatever item you purchase goes to that cause. They even show a chart of how much they’ve raised each day right on their home page. This week, the cause is Mercy Ships, which provides surgery to children in the Congo.
It’s Weird Flowy Long Sleeve Tee ($36): This shirt totally speaks to us and it’s saying, “Buy me.” In fact, we’re thinking we may wear this around as our new mantra.
5. Noonday Collection: This company sells handcrafted pieces made by women in Uganda, Ecuador, Guatemala, Rwanda and other countries around the world. By providing work, good wages and scholarships, Noonday is bringing people out of poverty through entrepreneurship.
Kampala Necklace ($64): The year of orchid is almost over, but we’d wear this handmade in Uganda statement necklace right through 2015.
6. Sseko Designs: By funding Ugandan women’s education and providing employment, they’re helping families emerge from poverty. They partner with artisan groups in East Africa to create all the beautiful goods you see on their site, including footwear, accessories and leather bags.
Woven Voyage Natural Clutch ($66): The rollover clutches on Sseko are so swoon-worthy. They’re just the right size to fit your phone, your wallet and your other carry-everywhere goods.
7. Better Life Bags: This organization is helping women right here in the US, providing employment to women in Detroit who are having trouble finding work, along with 20% of the population there.
Design-Your-Own Laptop Sleeve ($75): You’ve been meaning to invest in a proper laptop bag — now’s the time! Better Life offers the option to customize your bag with different fabrics.
8. Tukula: All of the stunning items sold on this site are made by young seamstresses in Uganda who are in need of work. Not only do they get fair wages from Tukula, they receive medical care and paid internships.
The Long Headwrap ($10): Stylish turban headbands are here to stay. Wear it with a top knot, or dress up a messy hair day with this totally gorgeous wrap. Plus, it’s only $10.
9. Barnabas: 10% of all sales made on Barnabas go to The Living Room International, a Kenya-based organization that provides care to people living with HIV/AIDS through a large, comfortable inpatient facility.
Nguvu Bangle ($51): Talk about the perfect bangle for any jewelry lover (soo… anyone on your list). If you’re shopping for someone a little more #justwokeuplikethis, they have a pretty sweet selection of scarves and beanies too.
10. PopNod: This fashion site teams up with style and beauty brands you already know and love to donate a portion of every purchase to a charity of your choice.
RGB Rose Gold Polish ($18): Get a gold mani, give to charity. Baddbing, baddaboom!
11. Headbands of Hope: For every headband purchased on this site, one is given to a little girl with cancer and $1 is donated to cancer research.
The Boho ($23): Dress up your daily ‘do updo with these cute beaded bands.
12. Cole + Parker: Everyone needs socks, and you really, really need these socks. Cole + Parker’s sock pros have a one for one model, with proceeds loaned to entrepreneurs through Kiva.
Escape ($28): There’s no better time to up your man’s sock game than the holidays. Go geo with this festive pair that he’ll definitely want to cuff his jeans for.
13. Sword and Plough: All of the bags sold on this site are made from military surplus material and they work to support veteran-owned American manufacturing companies. 10% of every sale is donated back into veteran initiatives.
The Weekender ($323): It’s the perfect size for weekend getaways by car or by plane. The fabric part of the bag is made from military tents and the leather is right from the U.S. of A.
14. Toms: Their shoes have gotten cuter and cuter every season while their one-for-one mission stays the same: for every pair you buy, Toms gives a pair of shoes to a person in need.
Multi Grey Wool Women’s Slippers ($49): You can slip into these cozy foot warmers every morning. You know, they’re so cute you could probably wear them out, too.
15. LSTN Headphones: LSTN brings hearing aids to kids who are hearing impaired through the Starkey Hearing Foundation. With every pair of headphones you buy, you help fund their mission.
Beechwood Troubadours With Mic ($149): We love when people bring natural textures to tech. These wood headphones are head turners prefect for the music lovers on your list.
16. (RED): Founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver almost a decade ago, this organization gets big businesses to donate portions of their income to the fight against AIDS.
Apple iPad Air Smart Cover ($39): What’s great about each purchase made on (RED), is that it tells you the amount of life-saving medication your item provides. This one’s a pretty great bet for your favorite tech lover.
17. Ten Thousand Villages: When you buy an item from this site, you’re supporting the artisans in developing worlds who made it. Each item even comes with a back story. Believe us, you’ll want to hear it.
Fresh Mint Soap ($5): Artisan soap for $5? You can’t beat that for a stocking stuffer. This soap was handmade in India with sales helping to fund land and homes for the people who made it.
18. Miir: Clean water is a resource that’s not readily available in many areas of the world. When you buy a water bottle from Miir, you’re aiding efforts to bring clean water to people who need it.
800 ML Slate ($25): This durable, chip-resistant bottle is BPA free and ready to hydrate your favorite adventurer.
19. Hand in Hand: With each item purchased, this US-based organization donates a bar of soap and a month of clean water to help prevent diseases.
Sea Salt Candle ($32): For every hand poured candle purchased, Hand in Hand will save 50 square feet of rainforest, and donate one bar of soap and a month of clean water to a child in the developing world to help reduce deadly water related illness. Light it up!
20. World Wildlife Foundation: WWF is one of the most well known organizations fighting to conserve the habitat of endangered species around the world. With each donation, you can get a perk.
Golf Umbrella ($55 donation): This giant umbrella will shield you from that winter rain, and make you feel great about helping the animals.
21. Heifer International: For the person who doesn’t need any more stuff, give them a goat. Well… actually give a goat in their name. This foundation gives goats to families to provide milk and agricultural opportunities for impoverished families.
Give a Goat ($10-120): You can donate as little as $10 or as much as $120 to give a family a goat. You can donate in someone’s name…or ask your friends and family to donate instead of getting you a gift.
22. Krochet Kids: All of these cozy items are made in Peru by people who are employed and educated by the company.
The Becks Beanie ($26): Do not fear the pom pom. Face winter from under this stylish beanie with a little bit of quirk.
23. Laughing Man: All of the revenue made from these products go right back into education, community and business development for new entrepreneurs. Did we mention that Hugh Jackman is one of the co-founders?
Mocha Java Dreams ($100): Coffee is the gift that keeps on giving. This gift set comes complete with coffee, cocoa and glass mugs to help your favorite java lover (or tea fiend!) survive the season.
24. Warby Parker: This is one of the first popular companies to join the one for one model and since they started, they’ve distributed one million pairs of glasses to people in need. That’s a lot of stylish specs.
Quimby Sunglasses: No matter how dreary with winter weather gets, style lovers still face it with a sunny disposition. These vintage-looking frames are perfect for the holidays.
How are you giving back this holiday season? Let us know in the comments!
Artist Dev Heyrana On How Bravery, Resilience and Sunshine Influence Her Work
Ever meet someone who you feel immediate kinship with on a deep almost spiritual level? That is legit every person's experience upon meeting Dev Heyrana, the star of this edition of Creative Crushin'. A fine artist, hip hop dance teacher and constant collaborator, Dev's particular brand of creativity is one-of-a-kind. She manages to be warm, welcoming and woke, with a focus on inclusivity, social justice and motherhood that comes through in every piece of art she creates.
Anjelika Temple here, co-founder of Brit + Co and one of many humans who has benefitted from Dev's boundless generosity and kindness. We first connected at a launch event, then I asked her if she and her family would like to model for a B+C shoot (they did!), then months later, I asked the IG universe if anyone would be down to co-parent with me for a day so I could speak at a conference. Dev said yes! And for those that know her, none of these serendipitous moments are surprising.
Now it's time to delve more into Dev's story, her creative inspiration, her thoughtful approach to parenting and what makes her more passionate than ever about bringing her point of view and artistic voice into the universe.
Anjelika Temple: First, foundations. Where did you grow up? What is your heritage? What did you study in school? Where do you live now?
Dev Heyrana: Born in The Philippines and immigrated to the U.S. when I was 9 years old. Me and my family are from the island of Cebu and I'm a proud Cebuana. My childhood in the Philippines felt like freedom. I had my swimsuit in my backpack for whenever we decided to swim and I biked everywhere.
Immigrating here at 9 yrs old was a transition, to say the least. My parents had big dreams but the move was heavy on them. It wasn't easy. I had to grow up fast. I took care of my sisters while my parents worked night shifts. By the age of 12 I would cook dinner and get my sisters ready for bed. Something I didn't realize was that kids my age didn't do those things until I got older. We would play these make-believe games to make, in hindsight, our hard situation brighter.
I think this is really when art played a big role in my life. It was something I could escape in and always felt healing.
I witnessed racism towards my family and didn't know how to make sense of it. These events left a mark. I was a quiet kid and observed everything and everyone around me. I think about my grandparents, Lolo Jose and Lola Rita, a lot as I walk through life. When I make decisions. As hard as it feels, you have two choices, do you let it take you down or take it one step at a time forward. I kept going and it really shaped me as to why I am the way I am today.
I studied Fine Arts at The Corcoran in DC. I owe that decision to my art teacher, Mr Giles, in High School. He was retiring and wore a Hawaiian shirt every day during my senior year. He was a curmudgeon and I felt incredibly special since out of everyone in the school he really believed in me. As grumpy as he seemed to the class, he would tell me things like "Go into the other studio and break some glass, then put it on a canvas." He's the reason why my abstract pieces have elements like clay and sand in them.
I've had incredible mentors and all were teachers. Mr. Giles in High School and Christine George in College. Christine was the one who told me to go either to New York or San Francisco because "D.C. is no place for an artist like you." She told me to not listen to anyone, how I can still paint, be a graphic designer, and, if I choose to, have a family. I've never had anyone tell me anything like that before.
I took a chance because of her. Moved and went to Design School in 2006 and I've stayed in the Bay Area ever since, raising two girls with the love of my life.
Anj: You are one of those magical human beings that has figured out how to be a full-time artist. What was your career path like before you were able to dive fully into your creative passions?
Dev: The most radical thing I could have done in my family, I did, I went to college for Fine Arts. A mix of being so young and having to do it on my own, I went with the school that gave me more scholarships. Even then I worked three jobs to be able to get through it. Hard work is ingrained in me.
With my sculpture background, I fell in love with Print and Packaging and why I came out here to San Francisco. I appreciated the security of having a career in Graphic Design. I also learned how to work with clients and the business side of things. Even then, I never stopped painting.
A few years ago I went through a pretty hard time with my health. I dealt with six surgeries in one year and I still have to do some follow-up ones. That experience almost broke me and what got me through was my family and painting in bed while I recovered.
When I finally got back on my feet, my heart just wasn't in Graphic Design anymore. So I made a two year plan. With a toddler and a mortgage, I wanted to make sure my steps were thought out. I put myself out there as an Artist while I still worked in Design. After a year I worked part time as a Graphic Designer and stepped down from my Creative Director position. I loved it, to be creative as an Artist and as a Designer. I looked at 2018 as my year to make the jump. If my work as an Artist balances out with my salary then I would quit in the Summer of 2019. And so here we are. I also am sharing a studio with my good friend, Naomi PQ, and I feel like my creative drive is just beginning.
Anj: What do you love about painting? How do you feel when you're in a creative flow state?
Dev: Like every part of me is free. Free to express myself through the stroke of my hand. How all of it leads back to my heart. These elements I use to paint have a mind of their own and how I need to respect the process.
It centers me and reminds me that the process is just like the life we lead. I know I still have so much more to learn but while I'm painting no matter how it's going, I'll embrace this moment.
Anj: You reference your roots quite a bit in your work. Talk to me more about how your roots inspire your work.
Dev: One of my earliest memories is of my Lolo Jose teaching me how to water mango saplings. He converted to Buddhism when my mother was young, so he viewed the world with love and kindness. I didn't realize it then but watering those mango trees were life lessons. We need to take the time to nurture, practice patience, and respect all living things. I still imagine him walking beside me often, carrying his teachings as I find my way in this world.
Nature and the Sun drive my pieces. My abstract works are fragments of moments. Like the sunset I grew up with when I was seven years old in the Philippines, like how I saw the water in Cebu when I dove in as a young adult, and like when I saw the redwoods with my children for the first time.
I see earth in our skin and especially when I paint people. How our mango trees grew and blossomed because the dark earth was rich with nutrients. I imagine the Sun piercing through these women I depict. I paint their love and bravery because their resilience cannot be contained. I want to celebrate all of it.
This is the beauty of Art, I am able to paint exactly how I see it.
Anj: Motherhood and your daughters are also central themes in your work. How has motherhood changed your approach to creating artwork?
Dev: Everything. I was still deep in my Design Career and I would paint at home. One day Quinn, who was 3 years old at the time introduced me at the park to a mom. "This is my mom, she's an Artist." It struck me that my toddler knew who I was more than I knew myself. That's really when I really owned it. I am more fearless because of my girls.
I own my body, I thank people when they compliment me, and I am selective but fearless when I use my voice. I am more in tune how I speak about myself because of them. When I paint these women I want to celebrate them. I notice how I embrace myself is translated in my paintings.
Anj: What advice can you give to parents who are trying to tap into their kiddos' innate creativity?
Dev: I don't have a lot of guidelines set up. I'll say "Let's draw the biggest fish we can draw" or "how many silly lines can we make" and I let them lead me. They ask me questions, show me things, and I sit there with my coffee watching their eyes wide with excitement. Watching them in their creative process is pure joy for me. Those silly lines can turn into a dragon or waves and next thing we know, we're drawing a big beach scene. My advice would be that you can suggest something to start it off but be open to how they take it. It is such a beautiful window into their minds.
Anj: Shifting gears to HIP HOP DANCE! Talk to us about his component of your creative expression.
Dev: I loved the Hip Hop scene in DC and discovered how much fun the clubs were in college. My friends told me about this Hip Hop Crew I should try out for, I was so scared because I've never taken a dance class in my life. I got in and it was like having another family. We competed all over the East Coast, it was a blast!
I found hipline when I started my first Design Job and needed an outlet. It was exactly what I needed and one of the owners asked if I was interested to teach. I've been teaching there since 2009 and am still going strong. It's a wonderful community of women. Now we're virtual and reaching clients all over.
Anj: What does a typical [pandemic] day look like for you? How does it differ from your rhythm before COVID?
Dev: I've been practicing being kinder to myself lately. Both me and my husband work full time and so having the girls at home is a challenge. Some days we are amazed by how smooth it went and then there are others where if the girls are clean and bellies are full, it's a total win.
Now that we're on month 8 our rhythm before covid felt more chaotic to be honest. I felt like we were always rushing out the door while carrying so many bags. Now my husband and I try to have coffee together, if he has a break from his meeting, and we sit with Quinn before school to see what she has to do for the day. Rowan's preschool closed down but we were able to find a wonderful speech therapist for her and she has an Adventure Pod we go to two times a week.
The one thing we really try to do is go outside once a day. Have some magic in their childhood no matter how small. It could be just going up for a hike by our home and picking up leaves, riding our bikes, or watching the sunset from our window. Seeing how the girls' react to these adventures we have is pure magic.
Anj: When you get creatively blocked or burnt out, how do you reset? Do you have tips you can share?
Dev: I go outside. I go out for a hike or go to the beach. Even if it's 15 minutes, something about grounding yourself in Nature is really healing. I also do exercise where I doodle for two minutes because it feels doable. Judgment-free doodles, always opens the doorway to more.
Anj: I know firsthand that community-building is huge for you. Tell us more about what your support system and creative community looks like.
Dev: I feel a lot of love and strength when I think of my community. My relationship with my sister led the way what women supporting women looks like. It's listening, asking questions, remembering, cheering for all the wins, being there even if it's hard, and taking time to invest in them. The way me and my sister show up for each other is why I have these amazing women in my life. I can talk to them about my family, motherhood, and we're all trying to balance it all while sharing my most recent project. I feel really blessed especially looking back in my college years where I don't know where Art would take me.
Anj: When you need to give yourself a pep talk, what does it sound like?
Dev: I usually take a deep breath then say or think "One step forward". Most of the time, I'm scared (as shit) but the thought of not trying scares me more. That one step forward can be hard as hell and maybe even heartbreaking, but I have to try.
For more on this brilliant artist, mother and friend, follow Dev @_heyrana on Instagram and check out (and buy!) her artwork here.