Nik’s Naks

The Place to Scoop Up the Best In: hostess gifts (and gifts of any kind)

You’ll Love It Because: The summer season brings plenty of soirees, and buying hostess gifts can be a bit of a stumper—Nik’s Naks takes the guesswork out of giving by offering something for every occasion. Owner Nicole even does free gift-giving consultations to help you find the perfect present for anyone.

Check This Out: Dabney Lee products are a fun and fresh way to celebrate summer in style. The Monogrammed Square Lucite Tray delivers glasses of lemonade and hors d’oeuvres with a fun flair, while the Monogrammed Salt & Pepper Shaker Set is a gift you can almost be certain she’s never received before—and will love.

Something Else You’ll Think Is Cool: Hit the road with a new toiletry or tote bag for everyone in the family. Moms will find a Monogrammed Tote Bag to fit all the essentials in, guys will go for the black or navy Toiletry Bag with initials added, and kids will go cuckoo for the sturdy canvas Duffle Bag from Shoots & Ladders that’s personalized with their name on it.

Contact: www.niksnaksonline.com, 617.714.4173

Taut Canvas

The Place to Scoop Up the Best In: modern wall art for tiny tots

You’ll Love It Because: Frustrated by all the purple dinosaur and princess nursery artwork out there, Rodney and Crystal Jerabek took matters into their own hands to create pieces for the room of their new addition that matched the modern yet classic aesthetic they had decorating the rest of their home. If you want something contemporary yet age-appropriate to adorn your child’s walls, this is the company for you.

Check This Out: The Stretched Canvases are cute without being cutesy, and each illustrates a value you’ll want to teach your kids, like honesty, individuality, compassion and courage. As an added bonus, 10 percent of all the profits from the Core Values Series go toward children’s charities.

Something Else You’ll Think Is Cool: Taut Canvas’ Toddler Tees feature the same sweet designs that the wall art does. In blue, brown, pink and white and with worthwhile messages, these are shirts you’ll want to snatch up.

Contact: www.tautcanvas.com, 877.683.6434

eDaddyStyle

The Place to Scoop Up the Best In: everything for dads

You’ll Love It Because: Men aren’t easy to shop for, but eDaddyStyle makes the task way less challenging with unique gifts for dads that come in all price points and categories. So whether he’s into beer, business, baseball or bowling, you can find something he won’t boo at.

Check This Out: Diaper bags can be a drag for dads—especially when they’re pink, frilly and adorned with flowers (hey, we love pink and frilly, but we can understand why the look doesn’t jive with some dads’ style). For something a little hipper and more masculine, check out the diaper bags on eDaddyStyle.com, which feature prints he’ll be happy to sport.

Something Else You’ll Think Is Cool: NFL- and MLB-themed sunglasses that will keep the summer sun out of his eyes while he root, root, roots for the home team. The logos bonded to the lenses let everyone know who he’s cheering for, but, like magic, don’t obstruct his vision.

Contact: www.edaddystyle.com, 888.494.5264

Save 10 percent off with code father10

Bloume Baby

The Place to Scoop Up the Best In: organic baby clothes

You’ll Love It Because: “Babies come to us completely pure,” says owner Annie Totten. “I believe it is our daily duty and our place to protect them. It is our responsibility to take care of each other and our planet.” And so the retail veteran created Bloume Baby, which melds her passion for fashion, the earth and children into one cool concept: a specialty retail brand of healthy and sustainable products.

Check This Out: Their extensive array of organic baby clothes means you don't have to sacrifice style for substance. With wardrobe staples like super soft coveralls by Kicky Pants, made from bamboo and minus any synthetic or chemical processing, your budding eco-warrior will walk (or crawl) the talk when it comes to safe and sustainable fashion.

Something Else You’ll Think Is Cool: An easy-to-use baby registry helps you start Baby's life out on the green foot. The user-friendly service takes the guesswork—aka stresswork—out of registering by offering helpful tips and a handy check list, in addition to a comprehensive selection of latest and greatest in eco-chic. 

Contact: www.bloumebaby.com

Searcey Designs

The Place to Scoop Up the Best In: hot jewelry

You’ll Love It Because: Art meets nature in this line of jewelry, all influenced by the wonders of the world and infinitely wearable. And the makers aren’t just inspired by the earth but committed to it—all the company’s correspondence is done with 100 percent recycled paper, and reclaimed silver forms the basis for their pieces.

Check This Out: Birthstone Bars. These handmade necklaces are elegant and meaningful, complete with your birthstone and four words hand-stamped vertically along the sides of the long rectangular bar that represent that stone—like August’s, which says confidence, balance, vision and purpose and features a peridot.

Something Else You’ll Think Is Cool: The Circle of Life Earrings (cue Lion King music here) are simple yet make a bold statement. They’re versatile enough to wear every day and a good reminder that “the sun rolling high / through the sapphire sky / keeps great and small on the endless round.”

Contact: www.searceydesigns.com, 310.749.9436

My Baby’s Green

The Place to Scoop Up the Best In: green gear for babies (and anyone you want to baby)

You’ll Love It Because: This small family-owned company does due diligence for you, sorting through the masses of green products and separating the wheat from the chaff. They write on the site: “We always have to sort through the fads and hype and try to see what choices we can make that will truly benefit the future generations. We believe that a very small contribution made by many can result in a very large difference in our future.”

Check This Out: Bear Teething Blanket. This soft-as-butter plush velour bear blanket is one your baby will love to snuggle with, and you won’t mind—it’s made with certified-organic plant-based corn fibers. All the knots, tags and little bear ears on the blankie are ideal for tugging and teething.

Something Else You’ll Think Is Cool: Don't let the name fool you—there's a lot of green goodness on the site for adults, too. The designer reusable bags featured on the site make lunch a lot less wasteful. We love the Sesame Street Series for both kids and adults (you can carry them in a retro-cool kind of way), but they also have patterns that are a bit more professional and just as cute.

Contact: www.mybabysgreen.com

My First Organics

The Place to Scoop Up the Best In: organic gardening kits

You’ll Love It Because: Studies have shown that when kids have a hand in growing food, their understanding of it and its relationship to their health increases—so get them started loving broccoli and snap peas early with these kits and create lifelong healthy habits.

Check This Out: The Cherry Tomato Kit is a best-seller and sure to be a hit with your kids, who will love eating this sweet fruit (yes, it’s a fruit!) straight off the vine. The kit includes certified-organic seeds and soil, eight organic biodegradable pots, certified-organic plant food and illustrated instructions. Watch seedlings sprout on your windowsill inside your own reusable, recyclable, lead-free, food-grade plastic mini-greenhouse, proudly made in the USA.

Something Else You’ll Think Is Cool: Give your little ones info about sustainable food in a format they can understand with the book How a Garden Saves the Earth. The story follows two kids—one who eats locally grown food; one who buys at the supermarket—and introduces fun facts that help abstract concepts become more concrete.

Contact: www.myfirstorganics.com, 831.688.1088

EmmyDoodlesToo

The Place to Scoop Up the Best In: girls’ dresses, skirts and tops

You’ll Love It Because: With a background in education, two young’uns and a passion for stylish fabrics, EmmyDoodlesToo owner Jennifer Burkhart knows what clothing a girl wants—and what clothing a girl needs.

Check This Out: The Sun Halter Tops are an easy, breezy way for your little girl to float through summer. Choose from cool patterns like peace signs and flower pinwheels for the machine-washable, fully lined frocks, which look great on their own, over a T-shirt or under a jacket.

Something Else You’ll Think Is Cool: The Pillowcase Dresses are a cool and comfy way to hop through the hot months—plus you can get a matching dress in a teeny-tiny version, so your little one and her fave doll can both be stylin’.

Contact: www.emmydoodlestoo.com, 319.310.6258

Butterscotch Blankees

The Place to Scoop Up the Best In: personalized blankets and pillows

You’ll Love It Because: Butterscotch Blankees doesn’t make run-of-the-mill creations—these blankets and pillows have an old-fashioned sensibility but are completely at home in a modern life.

Check This Out: The Collection blankets come in 11 designs, with your choice of font and two colors. You can also personalize the snuggle-uppers with initials, names or dates. From peace signs and polka dots to footballs and flowers, there’s a design that will look dashing on your blanket of choice.

Something Else You’ll Think Is Cool: The packaging. Each blanket comes wrapped like a piece of candy, with foil paper and bronze tulle ribbon on each end. It’s so prettily packaged, you’ll feel bad opening it—but you’ll be glad you did once you see what’s on the inside.

Contact: www.butterscotchblankees.com, 561.289.5535