Small Business Highlight: Mitani Designs

I know a couple of years ago, everyone was promoting supporting small businesses (including myself)! I love that every piece is considered, usually handmade and that every sale makes a difference to the seller (versus shopping at a massive corporation). I also really try to support Canadian-made so I make that a priority when looking to purchase retail. Generally I start with looking secondhand and move to small business or Canadian when I am going to purchase something retail. Etsy is a great way to find smaller brands and I've been loving looking on Etsy to find new makers this past year. People are so dang talented!

In 2021 my family and I decided to "upgrade" our Christmas stockings to be a little more reflective of our styles and age. As we've gotten older, we've outgrown our childhood stockings and they were looking a little rough around the edges. I really wanted to find nice, simple stockings that were well-made and timeless. It turns out stockings are pretty pricey and are often made with synthetic and cheap feeling materials! So I opted to look on Etsy to find a high quality, beautifully made piece... and that's when I found Mitani Designs.

Aside: I bought these stockings with my own money and Mitani Designs has no idea who I am and doesn't know I'm writing this review!

Mitani Designs is a shop on Etsy that is based in Vancouver, Canada. They sell custom Christmas Stockings (in linen and patterned fabrics) with the option of embroidery, burp cloths and little clay name tags (to add to gifts or the stockings!).

The stockings range from $38-45 and they do have sales on pre-made designs. I managed to snag my stockings during 2021 Boxing day so I did get mine with a bit of a deal, so I'd say to check out their Instagram if you want to know of any upcoming sales!

I ended up purchasing 6 stockings in various colours, but all with the same colour for the cuff: natural woven. Each stocking has a brand tag sewn in on the side, a white ribbon to hang them and are lined with a white flannel - which adds some structure to the sock. The colours for the sock itself are labeled in the photo below:

Honestly, these stockings feel like great quality and you can tell the maker behind Mitani Designs takes pride in their work! I did contact them to make sure they had the colours I wanted available and they were very responsive!

The little initial ornament you see hanging on the pink stocking is my little DIY! I purchased these wooden star ornaments from Michael's on clearance and then bought the wooden letters from a dollar store. Add a bit of paint and glue and it made a cute little "name tag" for the stocking! I really love how it turned out and made more for each stocking. It's such a cute personalization (although, I guess it wouldn't work if several people's names started with the same letter!).

Overall - I'm so happy with how these turned out - Mitani Designs did a wonderful job and I love the quality and aesthetic of these linen stockings. I know they'll be loved and used year after year! If you're in the market for a stocking upgrade - I highly recommend!