Wrap up your shopping and sleigh the holidays this year with our gift guide’s selection of original, useful, and ingenious made-in-Ohio items, which will make it the most wonderful time of the year for everyone on your list.
Barb Barbee's holiday line has Christmas tree-shaped green malachite pendants; mother-of-pearl snowman earrings; and stunning Christmas spiders that channel an East European folktale.
Barb Barbee Jewelry, Delaware
At her home studio in Delaware, Worthington Craft Guild member Barb Barbee fashions jewelry using 14-karat gold-filled wire, sterling silver, freshwater pearls, and precious and semi-precious stones. Her holiday line has Christmas tree-shaped green malachite pendants; mother-of-pearl snowman earrings; and stunning Christmas spiders that channel an East European folktale.
614-206-5591; www.barbbarbeejewelry.com; Facebook: Barb Barbee Jewelry
Rubber City Soaps, Akron
Building fun and functionality into everything she makes, Gynnise Gilbert-Mills handcrafts soaps and novelty bath products like Snow Globe Bath Bombs, which feature glitter-filled bouncy balls and skin-softening cocoa butter. Peppermint-scented Miss Christmas is a cold-process soap with jolly red, pink, and white stripes, while her cupcake-shaped bath bombs conjure visions of sugar plums.
info@rubbercitysoaps.com; 330-800-0235; www.rubbercitysoaps.com
Cleveland Ketchup Co., Westlake
Matt and Lisa McMonagle started their condiment company in their kitchen with the goal of making ketchup that tastes great, has no high-fructose corn syrup, and is naturally gluten-free. Now they’ve expanded to add mustards and mayonnaise, and their products’ distinctive flavor profiles include Bacon and Bourbon Ketchup, Jalapeño Mustard, and Dill Mayo.
orders@clevelandketchup.com; 216-400-5212; www.clevelandketchup.com
Baqette, Cincinnati
Quinn Mcilhargey-Nicholson skillfully upcycles leather into luxurious handbags and accessories with luscious colors and lovely accents. Walnut and cherry handles that she designed give her Crescent Woodie bags a dash of panache, while her Party Bucket sports bespoke style with three mix-and-match options for straps: multicolor rope, leather in different lengths, and vintage glass beads that double as a necklace.
hello@baqette.com; www.baqette.com; instagram.com/baqette
Columbus Washboard Company, Logan
Founded in Columbus in 1895, the nation’s last washboard company is locally owned and operated in Logan, where a downtown building houses its factory, retail space, and antique washboard exhibits. The washboards are handmade from Ohio-grown poplar using tools and equipment dating to the 1800s. Give that person-who-has-everything their own rub-in-a-tub experience with time-honored washboards like the family-size MaidRite and pail-size Dubl Handi.
info@columbuswashboard.com; 740-380-3828; www.columbuswashboard.com
Perkie Prints, Columbus
Jonni Perkins specializes in turning mobile phone pictures of beloved pets into apparel and decorative items that their owners cherish. Hand-created and individually printed, her pet portrait products include coffee mugs, tote bags, throw pillow covers, and exclusive Pet-in-Pocket tees that are available in cropped or classic versions. And of course, Jonni’s holiday ornaments make paws-itively wonderful gifts.
hello@perkieprints.com; www.perkieprints.com
Possum Products, Newcomerstown
In his home’s basement workshop, Frontier Power Company member Russ Riggle hand-makes wooden toys that operate on brains rather than batteries. His materials all are sourced in the United States, and most of them come from Ohio. Besides his popular tractors and log trucks, Russ designs airplanes, trains, animals, and Bigfoot on wheels.
Lavender Meadows, Chillicothe
Vicki Wissler grows and hand-harvests 17 varieties of lavender on her century-old family farm. The South Central Power Company member then distills the essential oils to make lavender products ranging from room sprays and candles to body lotion and bath salts. Tip: For Christmas gifting, Vicki adorns her merchandise with little Santa hats and bells.
lavendermeadowsohio@gmail.com; 740-649-6148; www.lavendermeadowsohio.com
R & R Candles, Columbus
Brenda Recife’s small-batch candles are planet- and animal-friendly. She recycles and repurposes discarded beer, water, and soda cans into candle containers and donates a percentage of the candles’ proceeds to animal rescue groups. Tip: Use Brenda’s custom services to create a novel and memorable gift by choosing the candle’s container, label, type of wax, and fragrance.
rrcandles2@gmail.com; 614-600-7729; www.rrcandles.com
The Cat’s Meow Village, Wooster
For decades, Faline Jones has made small wooden replicas of structures and scenes that keep customers’ memories of events and places alive. Always displaying a black cat, her distinctive pieces cover national locales from Alabama’s state barn to Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park, and they capture Ohio’s Yuletide season with merrily embellished models of landmarks such as the Marblehead Lighthouse and Hale Farm’s Meeting House.
cmv@catsmeow.com; 330-264-1377; www.catsmeow.com
Hooked by Angel, Grove City
A crochet hook, high-quality yarns, and plenty of imagination are the only things Angela Doherty needs as she designs and crafts adorable canine cup and mug cozies. Although her personal favorite is the Schnauzer, Angel’s cozies cover breeds from Australian cattle dogs to Yorkshire terriers with lots of “doodles” — including the Labradoodle, goldendoodle, and Bernedoodle — in between.
hookedbyangel@gmail.com; 614-395-3214; hookedbyangel.etsy.com
Sweet Memories Vintage Tees and Candy, Girard
Chock-full of retro sweets, toys, and proprietary T-shirts whose yummy themes include Good Humor bars, Dots, and Tootsie Rolls, Linda Barton’s retail store is a fun destination. Her special “Made in Ohio” box features candies from the state — think Spangler Circus Peanuts, Original Candy Buttons, and Waggoner Buckeye Bars — plus an Ohio “Home Sweet Home” tee.
info@sweetvintagetees.com; 330-759-3500; www.sweetvintagetees.com
That Dam Jam, Milford
Barbie Hahn’s versatile jams contain pineapple plus peppers picked by Ohio farmers. While all four flavors are sweet, they have varying levels of heat. Her Pineapple Yellow Pepper Jam is an “All Sweet, No Heat” product. Pineapple Jalapeño Jam tastes mildly spicy; bestselling Pineapple Habañero Jam delivers a kick; and Pineapple Ghost Pepper Jam packs a fiery punch.
513-310-0399; www.thatdamjam.com
Farmhouse Stoneware, Chardon
Making durable, practical, and artful pottery is a vocation Jim and Betsy Anderson have pursued for more than 30 years. The Andersons’ combination studio and showroom is in a barn behind their farmhouse, and their individually crafted wares are lead-free and microwave and oven safe. Bestsellers include clever microwave bacon and egg cookers; chicken roasters; apple bakers; and French butter keepers.
farmhousestoneware@windstream.net; 440-286-1100; www.farmhousestoneware.com
The Oak Barrel Company, Berlin
In the heart of Ohio’s Amish Country, Holmes-Wayne Electric Cooperative member Chris Deffenbaugh makes unique household furnishings from used oak barrels. His bestsellers include handsome barrel sinks and leather-topped ottomans, and his serving trays and lazy servers can be personalized with a family name or crest. Tip: His Berlin retail store has gift items starting at $5.
chris@theoakbarrelcompany.com; 330-466-0636; www.theoakbarrelcompany.com
Tickled Sweet, Milford
Chocolatier Bambi Merz loves candy, and thanks to her passion for high-quality sweets, her downtown Milford shop is a delectable destination. Among Bambi’s many fine confections are supersized “Galapagos” turtles; chocolate bark with festive flavors such as pumpkin spice and peppermint; and 40 kinds of fudge that encompass everything from traditional chocolate to trendy orange cream.
bambi@tickledsweet.net; 513-880-4169; www.tickledsweet.net
