I am not immune to mass-corporation Halloween cheer. I walk into a Walmart decked out in aisles of candy corn colored, light-up spiders and walk out with bags of fake webs. Spirit Halloween sightings are met with great cheering and celebration from whoever’s in the car with you at the time. Even the racks at Goodwill start filling up with kitschy crap, accept it’s not even the usual pre-owned kitschy crap—it’s the stuff they order brand-new in the hopes that you’ll throw that sword coated in blood into your cart of used cookware.
It’s an infectious thing, Halloween cheer. But we don’t necessarily need to let the already mega-rich have all of our tricks and treats. This Halloween, consider purveying some of your decor, costumes and general spookiness from independent artists who certainly need the money more than some CEO.* Costume accessories, general Halloween accessories, decorations—if you’re interested in it, I have an independent artist who makes it. Get some year-round Halloween cheer and rest assured that your money is going to someone who’s supporting themselves directly—it’s a win-win.
* Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got the same debt as you, and I’m not advocating that you only buy from independent artists. It’s not practical for us (or our wallets). But consider seeing what you can afford to splurge on, if anything, or if one of these artists is offering a product that the big chains are not. Many times, independent artists such as the ones below create unique products that bigger companies steal and replicate for cheaper in their stores. Help to prevent this practice from being profitable by buying from artists themselves! As well as, y’know, just helping someone making awesome things to make ends meet.
- SunBasilGardenSoap’s Brain Soap, $3
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Give your bathroom a spot of color apart from all the oranges and blacks with these spooky soaps. Other fun Halloween-themed creations in stock include brain cupcake soaps ($7) and vampire teeth soaps ($6.95). Yada yada, get so clean it’s scary, yada yada.
- Camille Chew’s Halloween Prints, $25.99+
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Set a witchy dorm vibe that will last throughout the semester with these art prints.
- TheMillersCloset’s Ghost Garland, $20
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Fewer things better to decorate your desk with than a string of cute ghosts.
- Yumiland’s Black Devil Horn Headband, $25.42
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Because as we all know, the only appropriate time of the year to let these bad boys out is Halloween night. Sure, it’s a “headband” …
If you’re looking for certain colors or shapes, Yumiland has quite a few horn options in their shop. - Appleminthouse’s Maleficient Headband, $19.99+
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For if you want your horns to be a little more Anglie Jolie themed.
Specializing in headbands, Applemint House has plenty of crowns, mouse ears and more in stock. - Halloween Crochet, $24.00+
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More squeezable than spooky!
- CoquertyClothing’s Elvira Dress, $120
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I’ll freely admit, I put this one on the list despite the price tag because wearing this thing would meet, at an absolute minimum, three of my deepest fantasies. The store boasts a pretty impressive catalog of well-made dresses, if the style catches your eye.
- LittleRubi’s Starbucks Tutu Dress, $17 (for adult sizes)
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Do the people in your life keep devouring you, only to promptly throw you away? Maybe you should go as a Starbucks cup.
- AlvordApparel’s Sheetfaced T-Shirt, $21.99
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Wear this and feel yourself spiritually transforming into the older mother three houses down the block that blacks out all of her windows on Halloween so she doesn’t have to deal with trick or treaters.
Happy Halloween shopping!