After a year like this one, supporting our local businesses, artists and community is more important than ever. That’s why we’ve teamed up with Madrid For Refugees (MFR) to put together this gift guide to help you buy sustainable, ethical, eco-friendly and local products for yourself and your loved ones this holiday season.
To compile this list, we called on our audience to share their favorite small businesses and local artists with us. Thank you for participating!
You can also take part in our holiday raffle (€6) for the chance to win one of the gifts featured on this list. All of the proceeds will go to Madrid For Refugees, a non-profit organization that has been dedicated to aiding refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in Madrid since 2015 through numerous volunteer and community-led initiatives.
10 small businesses offering great holiday gifts in Madrid 2020:
These ten businesses are all independent, family-run, and committed to sustainability, community and local products. Don’t hesitate to purchase a wonderful gift from them! They’ve also kindly agreed to donate one of their gifts to our raffle.
1. Yerbas Vivas
Yerbas Vivas is an honest brand offering handcrafted cosmetic products, which has been committed to caring for the environment and sustainability for more than 40 years. They produce certified organic soaps, solid sulfate-free shampoos, creams, perfumes and much more, all made with natural and quality raw materials.
Holiday gift raffle donation:
- Luna de Valencia (Valencian moon) massage oil
- Jabón mar muerto (dead sea soap)
- Jabón rosa mosqueta (pink mosqueta soap)
- Champú sólido coco (solid coco shampoo)
- Tónico facial naranjo (orange facial tonic)
Contact info:
- Website: www.yerbasvivas.es
- Instagram: @yerbas_vivas
- Phone: 618 83 26 00
2. Vajillas By Nuria Blanco
Artist Nuria Blanco crafts unique, hand-painted dishes, made of porcelain, earthenware and other materials. Each set comes with an exclusive and personalized design, which aims to compose a pictorial picture on the table.
Holiday gift raffle donation:
A hand-painted white plate with a fish on it.
Contact info:
- Website: www.vajillasbynuriablanco.com
- Instagram: @vajillasbynuriablanco
- Facebook: @vajillasbynuriablanco
- Workshop address: Calle Fernán Caballero, 2 bis, 28019 Madrid
- Phone: 609 17 79 14
3. SAC Studio
SAC Studio makes hand-sewn, sustainable pieces of lingerie that celebrate the female body and mother earth collectively. The designs are made to be flattering for all women, irrespective of age or body shape. All of SAC’s pieces are handmade by Sophie in her Barcelona studio. Since the pieces are made-to-order, there is practically no wasted fabric, no environmentally or ethically damaging production processes, just Sophie and her sewing machine. All fabrics are sourced within Europe from other small, independent businesses, or are deadstock fabrics from warehouses. All packaging is 100% recyclable and made locally using recycled materials.
Holiday gift raffle donation:
Handmade masks with three layers, including a filter layer in the middle. Each design is washable, reversible and made with deadstock fabric (shop cut-offs, old clothes, curtains etc). Check out their whole mask collection.
What’s more, SAC has teamed up with @baobabbooks who have given recommendations of their favorite Black, female authors, and each mask is named after one of them. 10% of all revenue made on masks will go to BLM charity “Trans Housing Coalition,” which is dedicated to helping get Black, trans women off the streets and into safe housing. Read more about the charity here.
Contact info:
- Website: www.sacstudio.es
- Instagram: @sacstudio_
- Email: hola@sacstudio.es
4. Nest Boutique
Nest is a cozy gift shop where you can find original items for family, friends or just something special for yourself. They have a wide selection of greeting cards, gift wrapping paper, home decor items, stationery and even a corner dedicated to the little ones. Now they also sell Christmas decorations.
Holiday gift raffle donation:
Christmas decorations, lavender-filled Christmas sachets, mini Christmas cards and a leopard snow globe. Everything comes wrapped inside a gift bag and the total value is €30.
Contact info:
- Website: www.nest-boutique.com
- Instagram: @NestBoutiqueMadrid
- Facebook: @NestBoutiqueMadrid
- Phone: 91 523 1061
- Address: Plaza San Ildefonso 3, 28004 Madrid
5. MAD Lola
Whether you’re looking for a piece of jewelry for a special occasion, someone special, or to treat yourself, MAD Lola’s silver- and gold-plated jewelry might just be the perfect gift. MAD Lola believes in women power and in accessories that inspire you to be yourself and love yourself madly.
Holiday gift raffle donation:
Two pairs of gold-plated earrings.
Contact info:
- Website: www.madlola.es
- Instagram: @madlola.es
- Facebook: @MadLolaEs
- Phone: 625013923
- Address: Madrid (no physical address)
6. Usar y Reusar online store
Founded four years ago in Barcelona, Usar y Reusar is a cooperative workspace and online store that aims to spread awareness about the Zero Waste movement across the globe. It provides sustainable, responsible and beautiful products for a zero waste life. You can find organic shampoos, cleaning products, reusable water bottles, an informative blog, and much more.
Holiday gift raffle donation:
A book entitled Residuo Cero. Comienza a restar desde casa (in English: “Zero Waste. Start reducing from home”) by Yve Ramírez, co-founder and author of the organization’s blog La Ecocosmopolita.
“Start reducing from home” is the guiding mantra at Usar y Reusar. This simple, entertaining and very light book is written with honesty. It aims to empower you to lead a life free of garbage and waste. From the first page, the book reminds you of the value of small actions and why putting them into practice can make a difference. More than a book of magic solutions, it’s an invitation to reflect on the way we consume food, fashion, cosmetics, and more. It will help you start consuming in a more responsible, critical and transformative way, based on reducing waste.
Contact info:
- Website (online store): www.laecocosmopolita.com/usaryreusar/
- Instagram: @usaryreusar
- Facebook: @usaryreusar
- Email: info@laecocosmopolita.com
- Phone: 623 145 547
- Hours: Mon-Fri 10am-2pm
7. HOUSE OF BIBS
House of Bibs is a brand that was born in London and grew up in Madrid, offering a combination of British fashion and classic Spanish-style children’s wear. Their contemporary designs are made of timeless and practical materials. All their products are handmade in Spain with quality fabrics, certified by OEKO-TEX and GOTTS.
Holiday gift raffle donation:
Reversible bandana bib in blue organic cotton.
Contact info:
- Website: www.houseofbibs.eu
- Instagram: @houseofbibs
- Facebook: @bibshouse
8. Heppy Designs
Heppy Designs is a Madrid-based family business that aims to bring environmentally friendly cosmetics and cleaning products to your home.
Holiday gift raffle donation:
A basket with moisturizer, lip balm, shower bar, hand soap and shampoo bar.
Contact info:
- Website: www.heppydesigns.com
- Instagram @Heppy_Designs
- Email: HeppyDesigns@gmail.com
- Phone: 622018935 (Rachel Hepburn)
9. Grabados Plaza
Grabados Plaza is a family project that allows artist and mother Josefina Plaza to make her art known to the world. The engravings and the work that you can find on this website are all made by Josefina who, with the help of her son, has created her online store.
Holiday gift raffle donation:
Original monotype print, 28×18. This unique print belongs to the Horizontes collection where geometric superposition and imperfection of shapes transport us to the intersection of two worlds.
Contact info:
- Website: www.grabadosplaza.es/
- Instagram: @grabadosplaza
- Email: info@grabadosplaza.es
- Phone: +34 678 863 665
- Address: Cea Bermudez 28, 1 Izqda, 28003 Madrid
10. Lambuza Tienda
Bar Lambuzo is a wonderful Andalucian eatery that’s lovingly run by a family from Cádiz. They prepare authentic homemade dishes that have been passed on from generations. All the siblings work alongside their parents at their two Madrid restaurant locations, as well as their store in Mercado Chamberí.
At Lambuza Tienda, you’ll find a selection of home-cooked stews made by the family’s mom (and with recipes from their grandmothers, from Villarmartín, in Cádiz). You’ll also find many classic dishes from their restaurants and delicious sweets. Everything is made daily with fresh products from Mercado de Chamberí, and ingredients brought straight from the mountains of Cádiz. They also offer delivery.
Check out all of their different holiday gift baskets to choose from, which you can order online.
Holiday gift raffle donation:
A basket with products from Lambuzo’s store (long-lasting products from Cádiz, which expire in about a year and a half).
Organic olive oil (0.5 L. bottle with dispenser), Reserva Sherry Vinegar (390 ml glass bottle), mature goat cheese (1 kg.), can of red tuna loin in EVOO (320 gr. ) and can of mackerel in EVOO (320 gr.)
Contact info:
- Website: www.barlambuzo.com/lambuza
- Instagram: @barlambuzo
- Facebook & Twitter: Lambuzo
- Address: Mercado de Chamberí. Puesto 46. C/ Alonso Cano, 10 28010, Madrid.
- Phone: 810 52 08 18
- WhatsApp: 676 17 11 01
Participate in our holiday raffle for the chance to win one of these gifts and support Madrid For Refugees!
If you’re on the lookout for unique gift items this year, and want to support sustainable, family-run and local businesses, then we hope this guide comes in handy!
You can also directly support Madrid For Refugees by participating in our holiday gift raffle. By taking part for just €6, you’ll have the chance to win one of the items featured on this list, which have been donated from the businesses to MFR.
What’s more, all the raffle’s proceeds will go straight to MFR so they can continue to develop their efforts to support refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in Madrid through ongoing education and training programs, donation drives and other community-led initiatives focused on employability and community integration.
Big thank you to all the businesses and artists that are participating, and to the volunteers from Madrid For Refugees, Naked Madrid and VeraContent for putting this together.
Happy holidays!
See also:
VeraContent unveils shared office space & partnership with Madrid For Refugees
