Be a better consumer for the holidays

I'm going to ask the handful of you who will read this during the holiday shopping season to do one little thing.

It's simple, really.

Avoid buying from big corporations this season, if you can, when shopping for gifts (or in general, ideally).

I'll admit it: I myself have had a hard time avoiding this entirely. We've become dependent on the Amazons and Wal-Marts of the world, and that has ended up destroying a lot of small businesses over time.

I had 2 recent purchases I had to get via Amazon; A new case for my phone (the broken case did it's job, so rest in piece), and new velcro for my patch work (I'm switching to white for the hook portion, as it'll ensure readability for longer).

Outside of that, though, I've actively avoided the big box retailers.

My new electric shaver? I actually bought that used on eBay.

I also went hard on the indie creator space when I decided to sticker bomb my laptop (shown in the header above), and would like to share with you the fantastic creators I chose to support.

First, we have Bubble Punk Possum: You can find amazing original work in the form of stickers, patches, linocut art and digital prints.

Next is an old favorite of mine, Off Color Decals. I've had a couple patches from them for a while, and they were an easy choice for stickers too.. And they've got a lot more than that, so definitely check them out.

A new one I found is Rogue Petal Designs; most of the stickers are sourced from them, and I love the art and messaging pairing. They also have diversified quite a bit on the available products, so you should be able to find something good.

Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't also plug myself - The patch in the upper corner and a couple of the stickers are mine.. And I also have t-shirts and other shit you should check out.

Here's my pitch for why you should shop the small indies this holiday season: Not only will you be getting unique shit that very few people have, but you'll also be making the creators' holidays a little better, too.

The more you support smaller folks, the more they're able to create and market, and the better equipped they'll be to stand out against the big box retailers who don't care about why you are getting somemthing, just that you consume.