Last Updated on November 5, 2024 by Marybeth
While some of our nation’s gift givers are busy ordering the latest trendy frigid-weather presents – Capes? Pettable faux fur outerwear? (Is feather knit truly pettable?) we who live with summer in our souls remain in a sunshine state of mind when it comes to giving gifts.
65% of travelers are dreaming of a warm coastal getaway. We are here for you with tropical vacation vibes all year long, and our gift-giving ideas from Florida makers and creators will put sunshine in your step. Whether you live here and are still wearing tank tops and flip flops (we’ve had our A/C off and windows open, so far this fall season, exactly two days) or your giftee is shivering under a fleece blanket and needs a shot of sunny dopamine, we’ve got you covered. Literally: we actually have A BLANKET in our gift guide!
As a travel blog and TV show – Beaches, Bars, and Bungalows travel series on Discover Florida Channel – we’re all about places and experiences, not products. Along the way we’ve purchased, experienced, or have a personal connection to these small business Florida makers and creators, and we want to share them with you.
Here at Triple-B we only recommend independently owned places to stay, dine, and shop. Places where families, moms and pops, and small business owners put their creative spin and hard work into giving you a singular experience or product. We believe Small Business Saturday should be every day of the year! Support local, shop independent, shop small.
We do not receive compensation for our recommendations: we do this just because of the above paragraph. If you do make a purchase, tell them Beaches, Bars and Bungalows sent you!
View our 3 page guide and keep reading for more details about each maker and creator.
J. Cecile | The Sleepy Seahorse | Living the Dream, New Smyrna Beach
Discover Florida Channel | Retro Mermaid Shop | Flamingo Magazine
Dunavant Decor | Sunshine State Goods | Freehand Goods
Slow fashionable attire made with our Florida climate and lifestyle in mind. Easy care quick-dry fabrics, SPF 50+, flattering styles for you, and some are designed for you to match your “mini.”
Feast your eyes on all the patterns and styles – fab frocks, tops, jumpsuits, mini and maxi wrap skirts, kaftans – on J. Cecile’s Instagram. We’re betting you’ll be adding some J. Cecile stylish whimsy to your vacation vibes wardrobe!
Owner Julie designs the styles and many of the prints, and also offers an Artist Series collaborating with artists like Brook Page, for the Florida’s flora and fauna print. (Child’s dress, above.) To be more specific about this print: birds and a GATOR. See Page 1 of our Gift Guide for a close-up of the gator, back of my top, on the left.
Fun nostalgic holiday prints, in “Holiday Baubles,” “Paris Holly,” and “Vintage Grid” are available now.
To order visit J. Cecile on Instagram and shoot her a DM.
Multiple award-winning artist and photographer, Cindy, was born and raised in Florida, and spent many happy hours on the water in her dad’s boat and on the beach. As an adult her love for nature and photography simultaneously grew and fed each other. “Learning about birds and nature has been incredibly rewarding for me, and I feel privileged to have witnessed even a fraction of the private natural world that birds and other wildlife inhabit. Through photography, I am passionate about sharing that with people because I believe the more we know about the natural world around us, the more we care about preserving it.”
I “met” Cindy on Instagram when her simply beautiful images slowed my scroll. Two photos in particular gave me inspiration for a re-design of one of our guest bedrooms for our first grandchild, Ellis. Ellis has now been joined by baby sis, Rhoda, and their room is complete. Thanks to Cindy for helping me move forward with the new look! Visit Sleepy Seahorse on Instagram, and view her gorgeous seashell art on her website, The Sleepy Seahorse.
Living the Dream, New Smyrna Beach
If you’ve visited this quintessential laid-back surfing town, you’ll know how friendly and welcoming the locals are. Living the Dream is a years-long project written, designed, and photographed by a proud NSB local, Cathy Rose Rader, who is truly “living the dream.” Her story of how she came to be a local proves the amazing pull of this welcoming community. Visiting Florida for vacations as a child, Cathy longed to live here but wasn’t able to convince her parents to move. As an adult she visited a friend in New Smyrna Beach, fell in love with this particular coastal paradise and the people who live here. She went back home, packed up her stuff, and moved to New Smyrna Beach two months later.
“I recently met a local retired international flight attendant, who said ‘There is nowhere in the world like New Smyrna Beach, and I’ve been everywhere.'” You’ll see why in the 250-page large format hardcover coffee table book filled with gorgeous photos of beautiful beaches, wildlife, sealife, historic main street areas of Canal Street and Flagler Avenue. You’ll meet surfing legends, musicians, artists, First Responders and so much more.
We were happy to add the New Smyrna Beach fleece blanket to our gift guide, as a nod to “yes, sometimes it gets chilly in Florida.” And it’s so pretty! Machine-washable long lasting photo print from a watercolor/oil painting, the eco-friendly manufactured blanket can be ordered by DM on Instagram or email cathy@nsblivingthedream.com.
Even before we began our epic collaboration with Discover Florida Channel for the Beaches, Bars, and Bungalows travel series we were huge fans. Founder Chad Crawford has a great origin story for the channel, including trying to find a host for the show that made him famous, How to Do Florida. Flamingo Magazine details Chad’s fun journey – you’ll laugh – but also tells the somber tale of our state’s most dire environmental crisis, and how the docuseries Protect Our Paradise came to be.
With so many viewing opportunities for premium Florida content – kids’ shows like The Outsiders Club, foodie shows, Flip My Florida Yard, For the Love of Honey, Saltwater Cowboys, fishing, diving, history, camping and way more – the gift of a subscription for your fellow Florida lover will be this season’s favorite holiday present!
Anything retro Florida, and anything mermaid – how can you resist? What an innovative idea: to create outfits for moms and kids made from groovy vintage towels! Founder, designer and maker Jessica and her three girls breezily model the boho surfer chick – and surfer chic – styles on their Instagram. Inspired by retro floral prints in the quilts her grandma made, Jessica brings beach-dreaming days to life.
Order from the website, here, and check out the new Florida fall-vibe styles here. You can also find Retro Mermaid in person at pop-ups like Marineland Market hosted by Ragga Surf Café.
Longtime super fans of Flamingo Magazine, we’ve been subscribers from the beginning. Flamingo Magazine continues to be at the forefront of an experience we recommend to everyone who lives here and everyone who just loves Florida. Written for Floridians by Floridians, full of vibrant, informative articles covering travel, food, style, art, Florida-made goods, musicians, notable Floridians, and our environment.
My favorite segment of the magazine is probably Wading In: Just Hatched; Debuts to Peruse. By region, Flamingo Magazine shows us new restaurants, shops, bookstores, fashion ateliers, speakeasys, hotels, and ice cream bars. I try to be at the forefront of all the new openings in our sunshine state and this is my prime resource.
For those of you who love the tactile heft of a gorgeous glossy, subscribe for yourself! There is nothing like the pure pleasure of your favorite magazine arriving in the mail. I pour myself a celebratory glass of wine and settle in. My husband says my face is like that of a child on the first day of summer vacation.
An Instagram friend and follower since our own humble beginnings, Dunavant Decor’s coastal style custom-built patio furniture and house shutters always make us smile. The colors, craftsmanship, and the humble character and high standards of owner Alan Dunavant are evident in each carefully made item. Look through his Instagram for more fun photos.
Dunavant’s lifeguard chairs and surfboard benches can be seen all around the Jacksonville Beaches area in front of many businesses including In the Pink, Lynch’s Irish Pub, TacoLu, Angie’s Subs,The Surf Restaurant & Bar, and Two Dudes Seafood Restaurant as well as in front of many homes and pools. Alan has donated lifeguard chairs and other items to the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Jacksonville Diabetes Research Foundation, The Tom Coughlin Jay Fund, WaveMasters, Sisters of the Sea and St. Paul’s church, and many more non-profits.
Lifeguard chair mailboxes, close-up views in middle photo above, are a big hit with homeowners. To date there are 325+ on the east and west coasts of Florida!
The furniture is made of pressure-treated pine and painted with high-gloss latex. Alan paints each one by hand and most chairs receive two coats of primer and three coats of paint to withstand the salt air at the beach. Production time is roughly 7-8 weeks; contact Dunavant Decor at dunavantdecor@gmail.com or by DM on Instagram to discuss your project.
Sunshine State Goods’ mission is to spread the sunshine philosophy “while preserving what we love most about our lucky lifestyle. We support wildlife conservation efforts in Florida and donate a part of our proceeds to the FloridaWildlifeCorridor.org to help.”
Sunshine State® was founded by Florida native and former Oprah Show producer Chelsea McMillan after realizing the need for a modern apparel brand that represents the way she feels about her home state. Sunshine State Goods is currently offering their Sunshine State Strong designs – including Pinellas Strong, Dunedin Strong, and Tampa Bay Strong – with 100% of the proceeds benefiting The Tampa Bay Resiliency Fund via Pinellas Community Foundation. View some of the designs on this post of Sunshine State Goods’ Instagram, and order on the website, here.
“Not your daddy’s gift shop” tells you from the start you’re in for some fun. “Our goods and apparel are handbuilt for true Floridians who celebrate it all—from swamp to shore, from classy to a little bit trashy. Because handmade still matters.” I often sift through their Instagram just to read their hilarious, clever captions.
Begun as a pop-up in 2017, the founders began the shop from a 1978 military trailer. Today Freehand Goods’ original store in inside East End Market in Audubon Park, and a second location that sells craft beer, boozy ice cream and their entire lineup of apparel and goods is in College Park. The leather goods, grooming and skin care, and scented goods are created in house. Apparel products are designed and printed locally as well.
Choose from Limited Edition Collections like their Love Thy Neighbor tee and stickers: “At the end of the day, we are all the same. Whether you’re a born & raised Floridian or you grew up in the sticks of Uranus, can’t we all just get along over some cheap beers & chicken tendie subs?” (Our philosophy exactly!)
You’ll find drinkeware & mugs, coolers & bags, barware, beard shave & haircare, skincare & soaps, art prints, leather wallets & belts, and way more; something for everyone on your ‘vacation vibes all year long’ gift list!
