Gift giving can be an art. When buying gifts for someone’s home, you have to have the right balance of style, charm and function. From the sweet-smelling warmth of an artisan candle to the functionality and fun of a vase or textile, these LGBTQ+-owned businesses offer something for every home design lover (and homebody) on your list.
Portland, Maine-based Underdog makes soy-wax candles that have a longer burn time than paraffin candles. Underdog has a scent guide to help shoppers choose the perfect candle. Individual candles and gift sets are available, and 5% of all sales go to LGBTQ+ organizations.
With names like “Condescending Barista” and “Just A Really Intense Lesbian Energy,” this playful Brooklyn-based creator is making waves in the candle world. Owner Jesse Regis launched Virgins on Fire in June 2020 to seek “creative and financial independence. He now runs the company full-time and even came out with an illustrated book called “F*ck It, I’m Buying a Cabin.” (There’s also an accompanying scented candle.)
A new year calls for a new calendar and this one is a celebration of all things butch. The “Butches in the Wild” calender features flannel-wearing butches celebrating “butch magic.” The project was created as a safe space for butch and masculine people of all genders.
Josh Ray is behind the Bathlab in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he’s dipping into nostalgic scents from his childhood to create luxurious soaps, bath bombs, soaks and more. Handmade products like “Cereal Milk Body Scrub” and “Cute Butt Bubble Bath” are perfect stocking stuffers for the bath-obsessed person on your list.
Los Angeles-based Suay Sew Shop takes fabric from dead stock and post-consumer waste, making something new and incredible. Suay, which means beautiful in Thai, offers unique products like the “Remade Quiltlet” and the “Pride Rainbow Linen Pillow” that are beautiful, functional and sustainably made.
Started by owners David and Aiden during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic as a hobby, The Plant Gays have evolved into a notable plant and accessories shop out of Columbus, Ohio. Order vases, planters and plant accessories with clean lines and sleek designs for the plant-obsessed on your list.
Viviana Matsuda is the queer nonbinary artist behind Mudwitch. After Matsuda’s father, a ceramist, passed away, they took a ceramics class to help process their grief. A few years later, Matsuda runs a small team creating perfectly imperfect ceramic mugs, dishes and more.
Want to recommend LGBTQ+-owned home goods? Email us at newsisout@localmedia.org.