The holiday season is upon us, and Montgomery County, Maryland is the perfect place to find a unique gift for everyone on your list. The county is home to quite a few small, locally owned businesses that sell a variety of artisan, gourmet, and exciting products and experiences. Shopping local during the holiday season is also a great way to give back to the small businesses in our community. From high-end boutiques to craft breweries, you can find it all in Montgomery County.
Visit Montgomery joined WUSA9 Great Day Washington hosts Ellen Bryan and Kristen Berset-Harris this morning to talk about the many ways you can give local this holiday season. Here are the shops and local businesses we mentioned.
Maryland Women’s Business Center Shop Local, Rockville
The Maryland Women’s Business Center’s Shop Local Retail Incubator helps support local women-owned small businesses succeed by providing free mentorship, expertise, access to investors, brick-and-mortar retail space at their storefront in Rockville Town Square, and more. The entrepreneurs featured in the store specialize in home goods and handcrafted products, like Acid Jayne, who creates wearable art, and Peacenikco, who makes handmade self-care items. These unique items make great holiday gifts.
Shafa Blends, Rockville
Shafa Blends is a woman-owned, family-run artisan shop that handcrafts specialty tea, spice, herb, botanical, and salt blends in small batches. They put care and love into their blends, packaging, and every interaction with the local community. Their focus is to produce all-natural creations that heal your mind, body, and soul, fully embodying the word “shafa,” which means “healing” in Farsi and Arabic. Pick up one of their curated blend or sampler sets to spice up your gift giving.
Brown Cow Creamery, Dickerson
Located on the Ag Reserve, Brown Cow Creamery is the artisanal cheese leg of Savage Acres, a multi-generational farm that also offers grassfed beef and pork, meal, and flours. They participate in the Million Acre Challenge, a program with the goal of achieving one million agricultural acres in Maryland using healthy soil techniques by 2030, and they give back to community food banks. Their holiday cheese box or one of their meat bundles, which are on sale for the holidays, are great gift ideas for the foodies in your life
Lone Oak Farm Brewing Company, Olney
Lone Oak Farm Brewing Company, one of the stops on the Tastemakers Trail, is a 28.66-acre farm with a brewery and a taproom that has a home-like atmosphere. They produce the ingredients that go into making their craft beer, including barley, hops, berries, and honey from the bees they raise. Their LOAKals Only Barrel Club is an exclusive, giftable barrel-aged membership club that includes access to members-only events, vintage and rare beer tastings, and other benefits.
Windridge Vineyards, Darnestown
Windridge Vineyards, also a stop on the Tastemakers Trail, is a family-owned farm dedicated to producing premium wines. You can expect to savor classic-style wines that celebrate Windridge’s Maryland roots. With rolling views of Sugarloaf Mountain, Windridge is the perfect location for a tranquil escape. In addition to bringing their wines to a holiday gathering, you can give the wine lover on your list a registration to one of their fun classes or wine workshops.
Bonus: The Shop at Strathmore, North Bethesda
Give creatively this year and spread holiday cheer! Support regional artists by gifting beautifully handcrafted items, music, and art-related gifts, creative toys, and more from the Shop at Strathmore! Visit them in-person or shop select items online. Your purchase helps support Strathmore‘s Arts and Education programs.
