To be transparent, like many other small businesses – holiday sales are vital to keep us afloat. Our prices reflect the true cost of ethically-made, quality goods, and unlike large-scale companies, we don’t have inflated margins we can afford to slash. As we all know, the price of almost everything has gone up, yet there is increasing pressure to significantly lower prices to try and compete with corporations. This isn’t a sustainable option for any small brand. As consumers, we have now come to expect sales throughout the year to the point that we almost feel cheated when we pay full price. This is in part why so many small businesses are hurting and why we’ve watched more and more incredible retailers and brands close their doors in the past two years.

As we sit here, we wrestle with the idea that whilst a Black Friday discount could bring a much-needed boost in immediate sales, in the long run it’s not in our best interest and feels inauthentic to the brand we’ve spent the past six years creating. 

- We stand behind the true cost of making low-impact, high-quality products. 

- We stand behind our team who put in hours of work hand-making, pouring and packaging our products. 

- We stand behind our belief in buying less and buying better. 

With this in mind, we're thinking consciously about our shopping habits and how we can practice a more mindful approach that doesn't compromise our values. We encourage you to join us as we shop intentionally and make considered gifting choices this season. We've put together a few helpful tips to consider as we move through this overwhelming season:

1 / Support local and buy direct from brands or retailers

2 / Buy less, choose quality 

3 / Shop your values 

4 / Prepare early to avoid temptation with the convenience of large corporations 

5 / Limit time spent on social media (the easiest place to get overwhelmed and make rash shopping decisions)

6 / Choose functional gifts that serve a purpose 

7 / Set a budget to prevent over-consumption

8 / Avoid rush shipping options 

9 / Make a list before shopping 

10 / Seek out local holiday markets, pop-ups to find unique, handmade gifts  

Most important of all, we hope that through the chaos of the holiday season you find moments to be gentle with yourself and with others. The end of the year is also a beautiful time to plant seeds, connect to your inner world, lean into slowness and reset. 

Sometimes, it's all too easy to forget that. 

PURCHASE, WITH PURPOSE

Whilst we never want to encourage unnecessary spending, if you’ve been thinking of a Well Kept purchase for a while — either for yourself or a loved one — this weekend we’ll be donating 15% of sales to the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre — A membership-driven organization providing a safe, inclusive space, vital services and a wide variety of programs for self-indentifying women from all walks of life who live and work in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.