5 Local Goods for Holiday Gift Giving

‘Wrap local’ this year with artist-designed papers to pair with handcrafted ornaments
Nayana Design Studio
Nayana Design Studio

Provided

Nayana Design Studio

Nayana Jha’s colorful holiday paper collection features timeless totems of the winter season, featuring reindeer, foxes, moose, owls, and squirrels. Her designs highlight the animals’ symbolic meaning and the interconnections of global traditions. Holiday Fox, $10 (three sheets); nayanadesignstudio.com

El & Gray Design
El & Gray Design

Provided

El & Gray Design

Sarah Morrow, a jewelry artist and decor designer, launched El & Gray, named for her children Elora and Grayson, to feed her creative energy after a career in corporate America. Her smaller ornamental works, made primarily of polymer clay, are ideal for holiday displays and gifting. Midnight Gardens ornament, $18; elandgraydesign.com

Knots By Kerri
Knots By Kerri

Provided

Knots By Kerri

Kerri Peck thoughtfully designs each piece in her fiber arts line to honor the traditional craft of macramé, making unique patterns and textures only fiber can achieve. Made with 100% recycled cotton cord, her ornament collection features a vintage copper bell to ring in the season with a Bohemian feel. Bell ornaments, $6; etsy.com/shop/knotsbykerri

GiftyWrap
GiftyWrap

Provided

GiftyWrap

Mahogany Ellis-Crutchfield designs gift wrap that honors cultures and communities both local and global. Collaborating with other artists, her work spotlights underrepresented lives and experiences. The classic Black Santa pattern is designed by a collective of Zambian artists. Black Santa, $8.06 per roll; giftywrap.com 

Heather Donohue
Heather Donohue

Provided

Heather Donohue

Heather Donohue celebrates the holidays by making stockings, tree skirts, ornaments, and more. One charming ornament reminds us to “listen local,” featuring local music icons singer, rapper, and writer Dessa, as well as indie pop singer-songwriter Jeremy Messersmith. Ornaments, $30 each; heatherdonohue.com

Jerrod Sumner is Minnesota Monthly’s aesthetic editor. His work covers all things local in the maker community. He is sought after for his understanding and promotion of the modern, American-made maker movement, and is a contributor on FOX 9 Good Day, sharing stories and goods. Follow him on Instagram @mrjerrodscott.