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Gifts That Count

How to give back to small businesses this festive season by consciously shopping local.

Concrete Playground
November 27, 2020

From Concrete Playground's Founder Rich Fogarty

At Concrete Playground, supporting the people and businesses that make our cities such vibrant and exciting places to live is our reason for being.

Running a small business is the single greatest challenge of my life. With constant curveballs and spot fires to overcome, starting and scaling a business at the best of times is demanding. Then a year like 2020 comes along and all of a sudden your proven business model is under threat, and you’re forced to reinvent your products and processes just to try and tread water long enough to figure out what’s next.

So it makes it all the more exciting to be partnering with Square, the company that provides resources and payment tools to small businesses across Australia, to present our curated list of makers, creators and experience providers so that you can shop directly with local businesses in your area. Whether you’re looking for Christmas stocking fillers or grander gift ideas, these are products crafted by hand, made with love and compiled with care.

Please help us by showing extra support to those local, independent shops that create handmade products and tailored experiences in and around your city.

At Concrete Playground, supporting the people and businesses that make our cities such vibrant and exciting places to live is our reason for being.

In partnership with the City of Sydney, we’re celebrating what makes our inner city suburbs so incredible to live in and visit: the small, local, independent businesses. It’s been a tough year, and these bars, restaurants, shops and cultural spaces need your patronage more than ever. It’s time to hit the streets, spend consciously, and throw your support behind these local gems.

Step 1 / 3 Who are you buying for?

A family member

A partner

A mate

A colleague

Step 2 / 3 What type of gift?

Something to eat

Something to keep

Something to wear

Something to remember

Step 3 / 3 How much do you want to spend?

Under $50

Under $100

Under $200

Not sure yet

Gift Generator

It has been a year like no other for small businesses, but we’ve been consistently impressed by the resilience and innovation we see from Australian entrepreneurs. In the run-up to the holiday season, being present and available online is vital for businesses of all types and so we’re delighted to partner with Concrete Playground to highlight brilliant businesses from across the country. We’ve also launched a range of tools and resources to help businesses run and grow their business online this Christmas — you can find out more here.

Jessica Cook, Head of Marketing, Square Australia