Rebecca A Withey: My round up of deaf-led businesses to shop with this Christmas! (BSL)

To see the BSL translation of this article, thanks to Signly, please click on the signing hands icon at the bottom right side of the page! Then swipe on the text, or click on the play button to see it in BSL. 

It’s that time of year when most of us enjoy shopping around for a few festive treats – either for ourselves or to gift to other people. I’ve always been an advocate of shopping local and supporting small businesses and it delights me when I find deaf-led businesses to purchase from too!

So to save you the hassle of traipsing the internet, in this article I’ve rounded up a few of my favourite deaf-led small businesses along with some of your own recommendations too!

First up is one of my personal go-to’s when I want something Deaf related to wear and it is Deaf Identity, led by Luke Christian. This year I purchased the Santa Baby sweatshirt (which is fingerspelled in BSL) and the festive cards which have a range of funny sayings such as ‘Every Night is a Silent Night for Me!’ If you miss the deadline for ordering this year, you can always stock up for next Christmas! There’s lots to see over at www.deafidentity.com

Another favourite of mine is the beautiful botanical art, gifts and prints by Katrina Sophia. Katrina is a self-confessed plant lover (like me!) and her site has so much to choose from. Last year I got her eco-friendly washi christmas tape to wrap all of my gifts with. I still have plenty left! www.katrinasophia.com

Malandra Casey is based in Blackpool and owns Mally’s Crafts which comes highly recommended from a close friend of mine! Browsing her site, she produces gorgeous personalised signage and gift items. If you’re after a personalised Christmas Eve box or a personalised bauble for the Christmas tree, you’re in luck! www.mallyscrafts.co.uk

Melissa Mostyn is a deaf artist and writer who has some truly delightful Christmas card prints for sale. I’m a big fan of her pen drawings over on Instagram, so check out her shop at www.msmelissamostyn.com

Sam Egerton-Kemp, otherwise known as the Deaf Chef has his own homemade fudge which he dispatches across the country. My mouth was watering as I perused the variety of fudge which include; gingerbread, biscoff, rum and raisin and ‘death by chocolate.’ Sam offers personalised fudge as well as vegan fudge too! The Deaf Chef

Beverley Cliff is the owner of Twinkle Gifts who create personalised, bespoke items. Their BSL Christmas Eve boards are super cute and there’s a whole range of lasered wood or slate items for you to browse on their site too!

For those who are in need of sprucing up your wall space at home or work, why not check out the stunning art work by deaf artist Vicky Barber-Crimes who is one of several deaf artists whose work is featured on The Deaf Market.  I personally love the chakra colours that Vicky plays with but you may find another deaf artist you love on the site too!

T&J scents offer home fragrance and candles, which are hand poured right here in England. Made from the finest natural soy wax and fragrance oils, there’s an absolutely lovely luxurious range to choose from and a very impressive site over at www.tandjscents.co.uk

For young readers who love books, why not treat them to some fantastic fiction which has deaf characters leading the story. Deaf author Samantha Baines has a couple of books out aimed at young readers and they are bound to inspire budding writers to also write their own tales with deaf protagonists! Check out Harriet Versus The Galaxy and The Night the Moon Went Out (below) over on www.samanthabaines.com

For even younger readers you could check out the BSL books for kids here too!

And finally, if you have any deaf music lovers in the family, for something a bit different you could buy them some guitar lessons with Tom Hunt who uses BSL. www.tomhunt.co.uk

I had so many wonderful suggestions for Deaf-led or BSL featuring businesses to support over on my facebook page Rebecca A Withey so do feel free to have a nosey on there if you’d like some more ideas!

Happy Christmas Shopping!

Rebecca Anne Withey is a freelance writer, performing artist and consultant. She is also profoundly deaf, a sign language user and pretty great lipreader. She writes on varied topics close to her heart in the hope that they may serve to inspire others.