The best memento for new parents is an artifact that truly embodies the place where their baby was born. The DMV is chockful of businesses and entrepreneurs that reflect our areas innovative streek while producing remarkable products. So next time you’re invited to a baby shower, think about gifting the parents something DMV-centric and supporting a local artisan.
City Pillow
Naked Decor
Did you hear the baby’s nursery is D.C. themed? Get the expectant parents a D.C. Capital City themed pillow. The 18″x18” pillow comes in different colors or black and white and has the names of the various D.C. neighborhoods on it. It’s sure to generate plenty of pillow talk.
It's never too soon to start teaching your kid to be proud of who they are and where they're from. Enter these adorable onesies. Created by local parents of a newborn, the design features the word ‘love’ with the bars and stars of the D.C. flag forming the E (genius, right?!). But the best part? The design comes in grown-up sizes, too!
Orange orioles and bright red cardinals, crabs or dogwoods...your state is something special. Gift the new bundle of joy, a personalized birth announcement which displays your newborn's name and birth date, and celebrates their home state’s unique features. Designed and made by talented mom and artist, Jill McDonald in Missouri, it's a relic for the proud parents with plenty of hometown pride.
Cost: $55 Online: uncommongoods.com
Every new parent needs coffee! If you’re looking for coffee from a local establishment, Compass Coffee is the place to go. Compass is fanatical about making superb coffee, from espressos to blends. Their original café and roastery is in Shaw but they have several locations in D.C. As an added bonus, it was founded by two former Marines. Oorah!
Proud UVA grads becoming parents? Shower them with Cavalier love with a woven blanker by The Northwest Company. It has a sweet bear running down the field to make a touchdown! It’s made in the USA and will keep baby warm and snug.
The Etsy shop, Bannor Toys, makes handmade wooden heirloom toys perfect for babies. Among their repertoire are Virginia and D.C. organic state shaped wooden baby rattles. What a great modern gift to give as a keepsake! An organic, all natural wooden rattle in the shape of your home state. As baby plays, they develop their senses of touch, sight, and sound. Bannor Toys started by accident as Jesse Bannor set out to build a few toys in her Madrid, Iowa workshop for her own children. Local parents fell in love with her creations and, before she knew it, she was getting custom orders left and right. Bannor Toys is an eco-friendly, family owned company that makes safe, durable, beautiful, and fun homemade wooden toys.
Kristin Rapisardi of Norfolk, VA. has a fabEtsy shop named Brilliant Critter where she sells digital prints of her original watercolors. One of her cool creations is a DC custom city print. The print comes in a number of different sizes with a custom name added on a sheet of Archival heavy weight fine art paper. Brilliant Critter is filled with Kristin’s whimsical creations and although her degrees are in Graphic Arts and Marketing, her love of painting is her passion.
