By Emily Rice, Summer Ash, and Kelle Cruz
Hello from STARtorialist HQ! As we’ve ventured into the retail business via our conference pop-up shop, aka the BOOTHtique, we have learned first-hand how much of an impact your purchasing choices can have on small businesses and independent designers, especially during the holiday season. For this year’s gift guide, we are sharing some of our favorite startorial shops, the majority of which are small businesses, many of them women- and/or minority-owned (read more here). For full disclosure, some of the links below are affiliate links which might generate commissions for us and/or we have purchasing and promotional relationships with these companies.
Clothing & Accessories
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Left to right: Constellations glow-in-the-dark tee from Svaha, Amazing Women Pioneers canvas tote bag from Svaha, Space Lover socks bundle from Svaha, “Fleur-de-Lift-Off” Rockets infinity scarf from Princess Awesome.
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Princess Awesome is another women-owned clothing company that is defying gender stereotypes by putting “boys” themes like trains, planes, rockets, trucks, and of course science, on “girls” clothes like dresses, leggings, and skirts. Our favorite print is the “Fleur-de-Liftoff” Rockets in the Air & Space collection, and it comes in accessories like scarves and headbands for adults, too. Their new Solar System “busy” dress also looks amazing, and like all of the Princess Awesome dresses (and leggings, and shorts), it has pockets!
Jewelry
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Left to right: interchangeable magnetic necklace with galaxy and nebulae magnets from Yugen Tribe, interchangeable magnetic bracelet with phases of the moon magnets from Yugen Tribe, “Perfect Alignment” solar system statement necklace from Eclectic Eccentricity, James Webb Space Telescope necklace in 3D printed gold steel by SciChic.
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Yugen Tribe is a woman-owned business that has grown steadily since 2007, and they now offer a spectrum of interchangeable magnetic jewelry options that lets you feature your favorite phase of the moon, planet, or nebula of the day around your neck, your wrist, your finger, or even on your lapel.
Our favorite punsters from across the pond, Eclectic Eccentricity, (also woman-owned!) have taken their statement necklaces to another level with their Perfect Alignment, Give Me a Ring Sometime, Going Through a Phase, Event Horizon, and It’s About Spacetime designs.
Show your love and support for your favorite past, present, and future space telescopes with these 3D printed designs we collaborated on with SciChic (aka recent engineering grad Erin Winick) featuring the Hubble Space Telescope, the Kepler Telescope, and the James Webb Space Telescope.
Toys & More
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Left to right: plush planets of the Solar System from Celestial Buddies, LEGO Women of NASA kit from LEGO, Infinity Galaxy Puzzle from Nervous System.
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Celestial Buddies will always be at the top of our list of toys for kids of all ages. The adorableness and attention to detail are both out-of-this world! The comet and Pluto+Charon were the most popular at our DPS18 BOOTHtique, and there is a new “Precious Planet” Earth design!
You can’t go wrong with LEGO, especially space LEGO(!), like the LEGO Women of NASA set, designed by the incomparable Maia Weinstock. And if puzzles are your thing, these challenging science-inspired designs, including two featuring images of the Milky Way, by Nervous System will keep you occupied all holiday season long.
Books
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Space books for kids by Dr. Julia Kregenow.
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Emily Lakdawalla of the Planetary Society puts together a great list of kids’ space books every year. This year’s list didn’t include any for the preschool crowd, but we have you covered!
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, I Know Exactly What You Are, Astrophysics for Babies, and ABCs of Space are all written or co-written by Dr. Julia Kregenow, Associate Teaching Professor at Penn State University. We also recommend pretty much anything from her co-author Chris Ferrie’s Baby University & science ABCs series of books.
If You’re Looking For Something Completely Different...
And almost too numerous to mention are the many, many independent designers we’ve found who make their home on Etsy despite its increasing costs and other frustrations. We did say “almost” - not-to-be-missed are Chrissy Sparks Art, The Science Boutique, TEOMANDESIGN, Becky Queen of Frocks, Surlyramics, Amy Rae Hill, and Design by LizK.
You can browse through a constellation of even more examples on our blog using the tag Etsy, Etsyshop, or Etsyfave. We also encourage you to reach out to these designers on social media for custom orders - many of them make sales on Twitter and Instagram, which saves them the ever-increasing Etsy fees.
STARtorialist BOOTHtique Gift Cards
Want to let the astronomer in your life pick out something special for themselves? Buy them a STARtorialist gift card, redeemable at our BOOTHtique, where we’ll feature many of the designers already mentioned! Upcoming opportunities include: the American Geophysical Union Fall 2018 Meeting (December 10-14, 2018), and the 233rd American Astronomical Society Meeting (January 6-10, 2019). We have multiple designs available and you can load the card with any amount from $5-$500. Or treat yourself to something out of this world (we won’t tell).