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With COVID-19 cases still increasing in Wisconsin, holiday shopping from home will seem the wise choice for many, but it’s still possible to think and buy local while online. Retailers saw this coming and many have augmented their online offerings. You can have items shipped or pick them up curbside. If you have an annual shopping ritual (the Willy Street Co-op soap section at 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve?) it may not be possible to enjoy it in 2020. This is an especially bad year to wait until the last minute. Bottom line: Amazon isn’t Orange Tree and Orange Tree isn’t Amazon, but that’s a good thing.
Speaking of Orange Tree Imports, the shop is open to a limited number of customers 11 a.m.- 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, but the shop also features online ordering of all the things, from bamboo spoons to Frank Lloyd Wright trivets. Orange Tree has a pickup option from its back porch; when you place your order, choose a pickup time. Orange Tree also features the option of personal shopping; call 608-255-8211.
For inveterate browsers, a great place to start is the Dane Buy Local holiday gifts online shopping page. Local favorites like Katy’s American Indian Arts are here, but also less expected vendors like Tandem Press, the fine art printer on Madison’s north side. Dane Buy Local also rounds up great options from area food and drink establishments like Working Draft Beer Co., Delta Beer Lab, Old Sugar Distillery, the Wine and Hop Shop, Rude Brew Kombucha and The Chocolate Caper, among others.
The gift shop at MMoCA is closed for renovations, but each week the store posts featured items on its website. Fill out an online form and a staffer will contact you to arrange payment and pickup at the museum. The gift shop at the Chazen Museum of Art has a full online ordering site and shipping service.
The Wisconsin Historical Museum gift shop is closed, but is selling state- and current event-related gifts online.
Although the Wisconsin Historical Museum is closed to visitors, its unfailingly interesting shop is open online. Wisconsin-themed gifts figure heavily here, but there’s also an excellent selection of goods from and about the state’s Indigenous peoples; material on Women’s Suffrage in this, its Centennial year; and many more surprises. Be especially sure to check out the museum’s COVID-19 poster project, which features PSA posters for the pandemic, from a WPA-style warning from Madison artist Cat Parra to a scribbled instructional print from Milwaukee artist Colin Matthes. The museum shop has even combined some of these 2020 themes, as with a “Votes for Women” face mask.
Communication’s online market is set to go live Nov. 21. In the meantime, you can make an appointment to shop in-store. The local art and craft gallery does not have general open hours at this time. Call 608-467-2618 for more info.
Anthology, home of the sticker!
Anthology is open for a limited number of customers, but the State Street shop also takes orders online, by phone (608-204-2644) and via email (anthologymadison@gmail.com), for either shipping or a contactless pickup. Some product photos can be seen on the store’s Instagram @Anthology230. Anthology will also pick out themed gift packages for customers in a small, medium or large size, featuring themes from the store’s sassy and often political posters, stickers, buttons, notecards and more.
Next door on State Street, Little Luxuries, is also open for in-person shopping for a limited number of people. It features a curated online shopping selection that can be picked up or shipped.
Sadly for those of you who love to browse for books, neither A Room of One's Own nor Mystery to Me is open for in-person shopping. A Room of One’s Own will ship books; Mystery to Me has both curbside pickup and shipping available. Room is now offering subscription boxes where the booksellers choose a book a month for you (after you fill out a Google form explaining your literary preferences). All books will have been published within the last three months to avoid the problem of you already having the same title. Subscriptions are available for six months or a year. Mystery to Me has a fun recurring virtual event called bookseller happy hour where you can hang out with and get recommendations from the booksellers.
Even Goodwill is getting into virtual shopping. The store is holding a sale for select vintage items on Instagram from 5-8 p.m. Nov. 16 and a a live auction on Facebook . Items from the auction can be picked up curbside at the Verona Road location. See the Facebook event page for more info.
If it just isn’t Christmas for you without a crafts market, the River Arts Holiday Market in Prairie du Sac is going ahead with in-person shopping, with a limit of 10 masked shoppers at a time. The market runs 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday from Nov. 13-Dec. 5, or by appointment. It’s at 590 Water St., Prairie du Sac. Do a little eagle watching along the river while you’re there.
Likewise Fitchburg Farms Winter Market (usually a weekend craft fair) has now expanded to run through Dec. 22. The greenhouse means there’s plenty of air exchange, but wear a mask of course. It’s open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily at 1839 County Road MM, Fitchburg.
The Fair Trade Holiday Festival will be held through an online portal throughout the month of November. Those looking for socially responsible gifts rely on this event, which makes giving a two-way street. Global fair-trade works from weavers, knitters, metal-workers, wood-carvers, and more world-wide are gathered together on the same website. Support familiar vendors like the Madison Arcatao Sister City Project, Madison Rafah Sister City Project, Heart of the Sky Fair and more.
The Crafty Fair has gone virtual this year with a series of online pop-ups featuring local makers, via its Facebook page. Watch the page for future pop-ups.
If your favorite area shop isn’t listed here, call and ask what the options are. Store owners are happy to help.
[Editor's note: this article has been updated to reflect a change of date in Goodwill's Facebook auction.]
