Put Your Money Where the Magic Is: 9 More Women You Need to Know
Share
Put Your Money Where the Magic Is: 9 More Women You Need to Know
Bold, unapologetic, deeply intentional — meet the female founders who deserve your dollars.
Okay. I need you to hear me for a second, because I'm not going to say this gently: we have to stop letting brilliant women build incredible things while we mindlessly swipe our cards at faceless mega-corporations. This is not a drill. This is not a vibe check. This is a rallying cry in the form of a shopping guide, and I need you to be all the way in with me.
You know what it costs to start something from nothing? Not just money — though yes, that too — but the hours spent on a hobby that turns into a hustle that turns into a business that becomes your entire identity. The learning curve of figuring out taxes and shipping and packaging and marketing and customer service and quality control. All of it. These female founders have done all of that. They did it alone, or with a small crew of people who believed in them, and they are showing up every single day to keep it going.
And here is the wild, beautiful truth: when you support women-owned businesses, you are voting with every dollar for a world where that story gets to keep going. You are making it possible for someone to grow. To hire. To innovate. To pass something down to her kids someday if she wants. That is real power. That is actual change. And it starts with where you choose to spend your money this week.
I found nine more women whose work I am deeply, genuinely excited about. Different industries, different stories, different aesthetics — but the same underlying quality of this was made by someone who really cares. That quality is unmistakable when you know what to look for. And once you start buying from people who have it? You stop settling for anything less.
Let's go. Here are nine more women-owned small businesses that deserve to be in your cart right now.
Tanya Flemister had an idea in a workout class. Her headband kept slipping, she was frustrated, and instead of just buying a different one and complaining quietly, she went and invented a better one. What came out of that frustration is now a patented, US-made innovation — the SWAY headband system with a six-clip grip that genuinely does not move. Tanya manufactures in Yuma, Colorado, employing local women on flexible schedules that work around their families and lives. That's the kind of business model that deserves a standing ovation before you've even seen the product.
Reviewers who are healthcare workers, fine-haired women who have tried everything, and moms who need their headband to stay put through a full school pickup — all of them say the same thing: this is the one. The Short Stretch is moisture-wicking, lightweight, and built around Tanya's patented six-clip system so it grips without pinching, holds without headaches, and looks like it belongs in your outfit rather than just on your workout. You can wear it rolled, knotted, or flat. It works for the gym and works for the grocery store. When you shop small and buy a SWAY, you're also supporting a woman who created a whole industry in a rural Colorado farming town. That is extraordinary.
Shop This Product →Karen Mok started making soap during the pandemic, fell completely in love with the nerd-magic of skincare formulation, and ended up studying organic chemistry at her local city college because she wanted to actually understand what she was putting on people's skin. That level of dedication shows up in every product. Dear Naura is a small-batch, handmade skincare brand built on clean ingredients, eco-conscious packaging, and formulas that actually work for real people with real skin. Karen oils are slow-infused for six months or more before blending. Six months. That is care you can feel.
The best place to start with Dear Naura is the collection her customers keep coming back for, and Karen's best sellers are exactly where you want to begin. Her formulas are shelf-stable, non-toxic, and free of unnecessary fillers — designed for sensitive skin, for busy people who want a simple routine that actually does something. Most products are packaged in glass or low-waste materials, and her deodorant is 100% plastic-free. This is clean beauty that doesn't ask you to sacrifice results for ethics. Among the best gifts from women-owned businesses for the person in your life who is quietly building a better skincare routine and deserves a serious upgrade.
Shop This Product →Dana is a mama and maker based in Wasaga Beach, Ontario, and she has figured out something the children's fashion industry just doesn't want parents to know: you don't have to replace kids' clothes every three months if they're made right. Year After Year makes small-batch bamboo and cotton clothing designed to fit for up to a full year longer than store brands — which means fewer purchases, less waste, more wear out of every piece. Dana hand-sews everything herself, uses eco-friendly materials, and the company even has an upcycling mission baked in at the core of the business.
One reviewer said their daughter begs to do laundry so she can wear her Year After Year sweatshirt again, and honestly, that review says everything. Made from Dana's signature 67% bamboo, 28% cotton, 5% spandex French terry blend, these sweatshirts are impossibly soft — the kind of soft where you put your hand in the package and just go "oh." The oversized fit means it stays in rotation for a full year or more, the prints are genuinely charming, and the fabric is breathable and moisture-wicking so it works across seasons. A standout in small business shopping for parents who are done with fast fashion that falls apart in two washes.
Shop This Product →Madison Riddolls started Flirty Pineapple because she could not find a scrunchie that actually held her hair. She wanted to create something better — and she did. What began as one frustrated woman with a sewing machine and a clear eye for what was missing has become a full hair accessories brand covering scrunchies, claw clips, headbands, and barrettes. Madison runs almost every part of this business by herself: design, marketing, distribution, and fulfillment. The community she's built around Flirty Pineapple is a real testament to what happens when a founder stays genuinely, personally invested in every customer experience.
Madison has developed scrunchies in multiple sizes and fabrics specifically engineered to actually stay in different hair types — fine, medium, thick, curly — because she knows that "one size fits all" is often shorthand for "fits nobody well." The fabrics are rich and the colors are the kind that make you feel good every time you catch a glimpse of yourself. They sit on your wrist like a bracelet when you're not using them, which means they're quietly stylish even when they're technically just doing a job. Great for everyday wear, fantastic as stocking stuffers, and the kind of low-cost treat that feels disproportionately cheerful. Shop women-owned businesses like Madison's and get something that genuinely works.
Shop This Product →Tara's whole philosophy can be distilled to three words: simple, natural, life. Shade Tree Naturals makes body and home products using only natural ingredients — the finest oils and butters, additives straight from nature, nothing she can't explain and stand behind. Every product is made in small, quality-controlled batches to ensure freshness. Tara is also deeply committed to sustainability in her packaging and material choices — recycling and reusing wherever she possibly can. This is the kind of brand that exists because someone really thought about what she was putting in the world.
Tara hand-blends her essential oils, which means these are not the generic pre-mixed blends you find everywhere — these are thoughtful, intentional combinations developed by someone who has spent real time understanding what plants can do. Her collection includes diffuser accessories and oils designed for everything from energy to calm to a good night's sleep. These are the kinds of products you discover and then start replacing everything else with. They make your home smell incredible and they do it without the synthetic fragrance load that bothers so many people with sensitivities. A perfect entry point into truly natural living from a women-owned small business that keeps it genuinely simple.
Shop This Product →Tatiana has been studying herbs and food as medicine since the early 1990s. She took a skincare formulation course, studied organic chemistry, and has been making cold-process soap since 2002 with the Olympia Ladies Soap Collective. Apothecuryous was born in 2015 out of Tatiana's commitment to premium products with recognizable, food-grade ingredients — things you can actually understand when you read the label. Everything is formulated with certified organic ingredients wherever possible, and the entire line is designed for people who are done guessing what's in their body care.
This product has been used since at least the 8th century in Morocco, and Tatiana has formulated it into a genuinely modern, deeply effective liquid hair cleanser using Rhassoul clay from the Atlas Mountains alongside organic aloe vera, herbal-infused apple cider vinegar, and thoughtfully chosen floral waters. It cleans the scalp and hair without stripping them — adsorbing dirt and excess oil while leaving behind the beneficial stuff. Reviewers describe it as life-changing for scalp health, oil balance, and hair growth. It's available in multiple scents, each built around a different floral water. A truly special find from a female founder who has spent her whole life earning this kind of expertise.
Shop This Product →Jenna Bee built her swimwear brand on a premise that feels almost radical in the swimwear market: that it is possible for a woman to feel stylish, supported, and genuinely confident in a bikini. Not just one of those things. All three, at the same time. Every piece in the Jenna Bricher Swim line is constructed with premium Italian fabric — two full layers of it — and the fits are engineered with real bodies in mind, with proper under-bust bands and thoughtful cut lines. This is a luxury swimwear brand with a female-empowerment ethos that runs all the way through it.
The Gigi is a balconette-style bikini top with an under-bust band that actually works — meaning it provides real support without digging in, without sliding, without requiring you to readjust every twenty minutes at the pool. Two layers of Jenna's signature silky-soft Italian fabric give it structure and a gorgeous drape, while the lace-up back makes the fit fully adjustable so it works for a genuinely wide range of body types. This is the kind of swimwear top that full-bust women describe as a revelation. It's an investment, and it is worth every penny. When you choose to shop women-owned businesses like this one, you choose confidence on purpose.
Shop This Product →Terri started making soap when she moved to Arizona and her skin became so dry and uncomfortable that nothing on the market helped. She made her own soap, her skin transformed, she started gifting it — and then people started asking to buy it. That's the best kind of business origin story: a real problem, a real solution, and a community that recognized it. Terri makes everything in small batches with Tussah silk, avocado oil, cocoa butter, shea butter, and other genuinely skin-loving ingredients. Her husband and son are roped in to help with packaging. When her son says "I want a whole bar of that one," she knows it's going in the lineup.
Terri's Coffee Soap smells like hazelnut and vanilla and coffee all swirled together in the most indulgent possible way — and then it goes to work leaving your skin softer than it was before. Real coffee grounds in the bar give it a gentle exfoliating quality, while the base of skin-loving oils and butters does the moisturizing. Reviewers talk about the scent lingering in their bathroom long after they've put the bar down, which is exactly the kind of detail that makes people order six more. This is the soap for someone who treats their morning shower as a moment worth savoring, not just a task to rush through. Life is short. Use the good soap — Terri says so herself.
Shop This Product →Brooke Happe was a medical professional who became a stay-at-home mom of three, picked up a crochet hook to cope with the messiness of early motherhood, and made one beanie to cover greasy mom hair. That single beanie turned into a brand, a community of knitters across the country who work from home on flexible schedules, and a monthly giving program that donates to Child Life Services at children's hospitals nationwide. Brooke has also lived full-time in an RV with her family, homesteaded in Texas, and built a business through all of it. The woman is extraordinary. The beanies are equally so.
The Happe Hearts Hat is Brooke's best-selling design, and one look at it tells you why. The little knit hearts work their way around the band in the most quietly charming way, the wool blend keeps it genuinely warm without overheating, and the faux fur pom pom on top is the kind of finishing touch that makes you want to wear this hat immediately and everywhere. Reviewers wear them to the gym, on hospital stays, on school pickup, on road trips — it's the beanie that goes everywhere because it makes everything feel a little more intentional. Every purchase supports real women knitters and children's hospitals. Among the most meaningful gifts from women-owned businesses you can give this year.
Shop This Product →The Most Radical Thing You Can Do This Week Is Choose Where You Spend
Nineteen women. Nineteen businesses built with their hands and their hearts and their relentless refusal to give up on themselves. That's what this list is. And if you've made it to the bottom of Part 2, I think you already understand what's at stake when we talk about choosing to support women-owned businesses.
These aren't charity purchases. These are genuinely excellent products from people who care more than any corporation is capable of caring. The scrunchie that actually stays put. The clay hair cleanser that changes your scalp. The bamboo sweatshirt your kid refuses to take off. The handknit hat that someone made by hand so a child in a hospital can have something a little better. This is what small business shopping looks like when you're paying attention.
Share this post. Tag someone who needed to see this. Tell me in the comments which of these nineteen women-owned small businesses you're shopping first — I read every single one. And if you missed Part 1, go back and meet the other ten. Your new favorite things gifts from women-owned businesses list starts there.
← Back to Part 1