Top 6 Reasons Why You Need To Buy Handmade Gifts From Local Shops, This Holiday Season

1. Locally made

Around every corner of a shopping street, there tend to be local shops that sell local produce like clothes, handicrafts and food. Despite being local, shoppers do not often make them the first choice for shopping.

Nowadays, shoppers would go to the big names and franchises that simply everyone knows. Big brands and online shops such as Ikea, Amazon or Jack Wills.

Why does everyone go to these big names as their first choice?

The simple answer is that they have heard about the shop and they can easily find it on the internet.

With Christmas and New Year coming up, this is a great time to try something new and maybe local. Locally-made products can be cheaper than these big brands, who know shoppers will buy their products.

Why not try something new and local? It’s a great way to get in touch with your local area and to support them.

    2. Environmentally-Friendly

A lot of shoppers are becoming acutely aware of being sustainable and environmentally friendly. If you are interested, we recommend trying handicrafts which are great for the environment.

Handmade products are generally crafted differently from products made in factories by machines. Unlike their counterpart, handmade products are not made in massive quantities and the crafter would take their time to ensure their craft is made as it was intended.

Creative manufacturers are usually small groups who work in small workshops or at a person’s home. This would suggest local craftsmen and the ease of purchase from local shops. 

It’s a great time to start planning on how you could become more environmentally friendly. Try handmade products that simply do not create the same level of C02 emissions as large productions of factories.

    3. Crafter's Story

When you visit a local shop, you might be meeting the person who personally gathered or crafted the produce of the shop. After all, handmade products can be very personal for both the shopper and the crafter.

As we have mentioned, these creative manufacturers tend to work in small groups in workshops. This would imply a more personal connection for each handicraft and the crafter.

The time they spent with each inch of the craft and the planning they took to make the best handmade product. 

By buying from the local shop, you have given them the appreciation and recognition that they deserve. These creative manufacturers have given their heart to each of their crafts in hope that a shopper will enjoy their handmade product.

    4. Uniquely made

There is one thing that handmade products will always have over products made by machines in factories; they are all uniquely made. Despite having a plan or consistent measurements for production, each handmade product is reproduced from scratch.

Let’s look at products produced in massive quantities. To produce this large amount in such a short time frame, many products design might be simplified for ease of production and reduce the chance of faulty outputs. 

For handmade products, these minor faults or mistakes in the crafting process are the reason why each handicraft is unique to one another. Even if it has the same product design and even if it is crafted by the same craftsman, each handmade product is not the same. 

It is these little details that give the handmade products a story. A story about the creative manufacturer and the handmade product itself. 

    5. Appreciation sharing

Aside from helping your local crafters and getting away with a unique handicraft, why else would you buy a handmade product? Well, it is currently the festive season of sharing gifts with another one and showing appreciation. This is where handmade products can come in.

As it was mentioned before, handmade products were personally made by creative manufacturers, in hope that shoppers will appreciate their handiwork. You can think of this very concept and you apply it to thinking of a gift.

Generally, gifts are a way to show your appreciation to another person. Regardless of the time and money spent, a gift is all about the thought you have put into it. This is why handmade products can be excellent gifts.

For the crafter, they have given all their thought to their handmade product so that someone can benefit from it. For the shopper or as a gift, you go through the thought of what these handicrafts mean to you or to the person you will give them to. This is the unique stand of handmade products in gift-sharing.

    6. Global support

Last but not least, there is global support behind handmade products. There is the local aspect to handicraft, but there is also a community part to it.

In developing countries, such as India and the Philippines, there are many local communities of crafters that do not have the same reach as other crafters in developed countries. Local will remain local unless shoppers give them a chance on the internet.

By purchasing handmade products from their local community, you are not only supporting them by also helping them achieve the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). This is a type of goal that many businesses aim to achieve, to become more sustainable for the future.

Despite being fairly business-centric, it falls to society and their perception of their approach to supporting local communities around the world. We find that handcraft is a great start in this process.

    Conclusion

We have given you six different reasons why you should start purchasing from your local communities. It is a fairly small act but in time, it will add up and these local communities will be able to grow and create better handmade products for many shoppers.

Especially during the time of writing this blog, where the new variant of COVID-19 is in everyone’s mind. Unfortunately, this will impact many people and especially small local communities in the creative manufacturing industry.

However, it is still the festive season for sharing gifts. So let’s take our time and find ways where we can give our support to the local communities and share unique handicrafts.

If you would like to hear more about handicrafters in developing countries or hear more about our little community with handicrafts, come visit our website and have a chat with us. 

Contact us at support@ruralhandmade.com.

We look forward to hearing your thoughts on the matter and whether you wish to support creative manufacturers in developing countries.

Let’s use this festive season to make a change when everyone is already had their fill of COVID news.