This holiday season is truly unlike any other. 2020 taught us all some important lessons about caring for one another, and that while change can be uncomfortable, it can also be a beautiful opportunity to take better care of ourselves. Here are this year’s holiday gift picks, inspired by and geared towards women founders, and compiled with love.
Founders x Infinite Possibilities. Think Virtual Reality. For most of us, living in a 2D world of Zoom, Teams, and Hangouts is not as exciting or engaging as IRL. In reality, VR headsets are the next best thing. Aside from the obvious games and rollercoaster experiences, there is so much more to experience in VR. You can hold virtual meetings and conferences in virtual spaces like Virbela. You can immerse yourself in masterful 360 documentary films, with powerful stories, like Traveling While Black. You can create art. You can meditate or do yoga on a virtual beach. The possibilities are endless, and I implore you to see for yourself. The once-perceived barriers to entry are long gone: the devices have vastly improved, the software pairs with your smartphone. You can use it while sitting down, standing up, and walking around your home (or office). It’s fun. It’s profound. And it’s the next logical step in how we connect. A relatively affordable all-in-one VR headset is the Oculus Quest 2, starting at $299.
Let it also be known that women are actively shaping this industry. According to VIAR, “…VR is such a young technology, women have been able to participate in it from the start. There are a lot of activists and organizations that support and encourage women to join the VR circles, for example the Women in VR platform. Jacki Morie, a VR scientist at NASA, has researched the creative VR experiences between 1985 and 2007 where as much as 70 % of those creators were women.”
Founders x Nurturing. In the heart of winter, it’s tough to part ways with nature. Nurturing a plant or indoor garden is a great way to stay connected with Mother Earth, and the positive impacts on your mental health are real. In researching women-founded gardening companies, I came across greenery goddess, Tishana Richards, founder of Coco & Seed. I’d be remiss if I tried to simplify her story, so here is an excerpt from her website:
Hi, I’m Tishana. I always wanted to garden but I couldn’t keep a plant alive to save my life! One day, my complete neglect of a plant for a couple weeks showed signs of survival and prosperity. I had no idea how it survived but after seeing it bear over 20 fruits I had to figure out how and was hooked. I watched videos, read articles and books, and experimented (which was the most fun)!
Through trial and error and research, I found a great way to grow herbs indoors using a mason jar. Around the same time I found out about hydroponics and wondered if the same idea would work. Turns out it worked out amazingly well and my business was born. I wanted others to experiment with me and enjoy this crazy phenomenon of urban gardening, especially those of you out there with “black thumbs”. But I also want it to be a stylish, low maintenance, recyclable planter!
Since the early business beginnings in 2013 it has grown into much more than that, but still a love of gardening and nature. My creative muscles have been flexed and my mind has been opened to this world of plants and nature and it’s a beautiful thing.
Visit Coco & Seed and check out their Hydroponic Mason Jar Garden Kits, starting at $17.50
Founders x Wellness. Helmed as a company “for women by women,” Equilibria is a Chicago-based CBD company offering premium, farm-fresh, full-spectrum CBD products. This holiday season, Equilibria is committed to offering you gifts that keep on giving through thoughtful self-care gift sets and meaningful donations that do more than just say, “Happy Holidays.
They say:
- “You deserve peace of mind”…Cranberry Elderflower Daily Drops, Dynamic Roller Duo – $79 ($128 value)
- “Feel the comfort of calm after a long day”…Relief cream, Mindful Mineral Soak, Daily Treatment Oil – $99 ($152 value)
- “Allow yourself a joyful night’s sleep”…Daily Softgels, Mindful Mineral Soak, Spiced Bergamot Daily Drops – $129 ($176 value)
- “You deserve it all”…Daily Softgels, Mindful Mineral Soak, Daily Treatment Oil, Cranberry Elderflower Daily Drops – $189 ($244 Value)
5% of each gift set purchase will be donated to Black Girl Ventures. Founded in 2016, Black Girl Venture’s mission is to provide Black/Brown woman-identifying founders with access to community, capital, and capacity building in order to meet business milestones that lead to economic advancement through entrepreneurship.
View the full holiday collection here. Use code WTF for 15% off your first order!
Founders x Self-care. Miss Spa® is on a mission to bring the very best skin care right to your doorstep. Working with a team of world-wide cosmeceutical experts, Miss Spa® is able to deliver cutting edge innovations, globally sourced ingredients, and advanced benefits that let you achieve professional skin treatment results at home. The Miss Spa® brand was founded by Kate Kimmerle, a beauty care explorer and devotee, who has a passion for helping women look and feel more beautiful every day. A decade young, Miss Spa® continues its devotion to bringing safe, simple, and truly efficacious skin care to all.
Miss Spa® was the first brand to bring Korean beauty inspired sheet mask treatments to U.S. retailers. Their curious founder was on a discovery trip to Asia, scouring local markets for beauty secrets when she came across paper masks offering a variety of deep penetrating skin serums and valuable, highly efficacious skin benefits. These finds from Kate’s globetrotting adventures continue to inspire the development of Miss Spa® masks and treatments. Each one wraps your skin in luxurious, good-for-you ingredients that quickly and effectively penetrate the skin for visible signs of improvement. The overwhelming response from our customers encouraged the development of treatments that focus on specific skin care needs.
You will fall in love with the Miss Spa® product range. Whether you’re looking to complement your current skin care routine or on the hunt for solutions that target specific areas of concern, Miss Spa® masks and treatments have you covered. Because Miss Spa understands that these products are being used on your FACE, they take skin safety seriously. Each Miss Spa® product is dermatologist tested and free from parabens and sulfates. And of course they never test their products on animals.
Visit their website for amazing Cyber Week deals and product bundles that will help you practice self-care this season.
Founde
rs x Story. What would we do without podcasts? There is endless content that feeds our mind and soul. If you’ve ever thought about launching your own podcast and don’t know where to start, consider teaming up with a company like PodTechs. This female co-founded company provides clients with the support needed to design and develop without worrying about the technical, tedious things. PodTechs’ mission is to focus on busting the barriers to entry for podcasting. They will help you develop your podcasting concept, plan your podcasting content calendar, write your scripts, record and edit your podcast, and provide strategic distribution support. Starting at $99 per episode.
Founders x Art. Consid
er gifting a memorable experience with Mishkalo’s Virtual Paint and Sip. Give a unique gift to your friends or family by booking them a night full of painting, drinking and relaxing! Included is an art kit, canvases, and an hour art class with a professional artist. The event is BYOB. Let your creative juices flow while sipping your favorite drink.
Book your private Paint & Sip night for two fromMishkalo for $150
Founders x Swag. After having to work-from-home for the past several months, many of us have become more accustomed to more comfortable and casual attire. Women Tech Founders has partnered with CLOZTALK to create some stellar WTF swag to add your wardrobe! Our track jacket, hoodie, and winter hat are popular options to stay warm during the winter months and make great gifts. All orders for $100 or more receive free shipping. What’s more, CLOZTALK donates 20% of net profits back to its nonprofit partners.