10 gift exchange ideas from Kansas City startups
November 27, 2019 | Startland News Staff
Editor’s note: Below you’ll find a list of 10 ideas for your next office or family holiday gift exchange — each from a Kansas City startup or maker. Click here to check out the rest of Startland News’ 2019 Gift Guide.
wlle drink sweater
Made by Sandlot Goods, the WLLE drink sweater uses the insulating power of wool to keep drinks cool. Click here to read more about Sandlot Goods and WLLE.
Price: $13
Where to buy: Made in KC or online
Maker: Chad Hickman, wlle, Sandlot Goods
Follow: wlleusa, sandlotgoods
Craft Beer Jerky
Craft Beer Jerky is made using local, craft beers including Boulevard’s Tank 7.
Price: $10
Where to buy: Made in KC or online
Maker: Danny Kueser, Chase Schaffter, Craft Beer Jerky
Follow: craftbeerjerky_
Positive People Posse mug
Handcrafted by local Kansas City Maker Mckenzie Grabish Stanley of Driftwood Ceramics, each mug is imperfect — just like people. Fun Fact: This product features the iconic logo of Kansas City’s Positive People Posse.
Price: $20
Where to buy: Made in KC or online
Maker: Mckenzie Grabish Stanley, Driftwood Ceramics, Postive People Posse
Follow: positivepeopleposse
Green Bee Tea Towels
With 100 designs in multiple colors and styles, Green Bee Tea Towels are hand-printed on 100 percent cotton flour sack material.
Price: $5-$10
Where to buy: Midcoast Modern, Amy’s Hallmarks, online
Maker: Rena Krouse, Green Bee Tea Towels
Follow: greenbeeteatowels
Monarch wallet
A newly redesigned, slim, three-pocket, hand-sewn wallet with dual-sided push card slots produced by Sandlot Goods. Click here to learn more about Sandlot Goods and the redesign of the monarch wallet.
Price: $45
Where to buy: Made in KC or online
Maker: Chad Hickman, Sandlot Goods
Follow: sandlotgoods
‘Find Your Toddler Ambition’ book
Touting a different approach to entrepreneurship, Kansas City startup founder Jy’Juan Maze offers guidance on how leaders can find their “toddler ambition” and apply it to building a business. Click here to read a Startland News Q&A with Jy Maze.
Price: $13
Where to buy: Online
Maker: Jy’Juan Maze, Maze Freight Solutions, Maze Publications
Follow: jyjuan_n_chrg
Power Frother + Creamer
A durable, electric milk frother, pair the Power Frother with any of Omega Power Creamer’s keto coffee creamers or the Omega Power Creamer bundle. Click here to read more about Omega Power Creamer’s relocation to Kansas City from St. Louis.
Price: $18-$20
Where to buy: Online, Walmart
Maker: Omega Power Creamer
Follow: powercreamer
Megh Makes Art yoga mat
Megh Makes Art — and yoga mats. Bold colors and the signature, Megh Knappenberger Art, palette style add personality to the traditional yoga mat. Click here to read more about Knappenberger.
Price: N/A
Where to buy: Made in KC Marketplace on the Country Club Plaza
Maker: Megh Knappenberger, Megh Makes Art
Follow: meghmakesart
Made in KC Boozy Box
Each Boozy Box contains two pieces of glassware and your choice of J. Rieger and Co. whiskey, KC Wineworks wine, Amigoni Winery wine or Boulevard beer.
Price: $35-$65
Where to buy: Made in KC Marketplace on the Country Club Plaza, Made in KC Cafe downtown
Maker: J Rieger & Co., KC Wineworks, Amigoni Urban Winery, Boulevard Brewing Company, Made in KC
Follow: madeinkc_
N-Gage Grips
A Kansas City crafted solution to pain and discomfort in weight lifting. From the maker: Humans didn’t evolve to lift heavy, perfectly-straight barbells. N-Gage Grips make barbell movements more natural by putting your hands in a slightly more neutral position.
Price: $40
Where to buy: Online
Maker: Matt Leadbetter, N-Gage
Follow: ngagegrips
The Startland News 2019 Gift Guide is possible thanks to support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a private, nonpartisan foundation that works together with communities in education and entrepreneurship to create uncommon solutions and empower people to shape their futures and be successful.
For more information, visit www.kauffman.org and connect at www.twitter.com/kauffmanfdn and www.facebook.com/kauffmanfdn
Startland News 2019 Gift Guide
• 10 ways to wear (or gift) KC’s maker scene
• 5 Kansas City-crafted gifts for kids
Featured Business

2019 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Randy Wasinger wanted the 1952 Topps of NFTs; so the lifelong baseball card collector started coding (and Mark Cuban came calling)
Editor’s note: The following includes excerpts from “The Corporate Couch” podcast as part of a collaboration between host Jeff Pelaccio and Startland News to highlight Web3 companies and founders in the space. The 15-year-old boy within Randy Wasinger — so obsessed with baseball cards that he opened a card shop in downtown Russell, Kansas, to sell…
Kansas legislation banning DeepSeek passes to state Senate after swell of support in House
Editor’s note: This article was written for a class at the University of Kansas’ William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications and distributed through the Kansas Press Association. TOPEKA — A bill seeking to ban DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence chatbot, from state devices has advanced in the Kansas Legislature. HB 2313 passed…
Transportant picked a lane; now the Lenexa bus tech startup wants to conquer even more of the road
From the driver’s seat, Martin Staples is steering Lenexa-based Transportant toward rapid growth with its real-time, tech-driven approach, he said, bringing greater safety, communication, and efficiency to school buses and expanding the startup’s reach beyond its Midwest home region. Fueling Transportant’s plans to leave coast-to-coast tracks — and beyond — will be key, said Staples, who…
Pitch winners step into spotlight as PHKC helps emerging small biz owners shine on stage (Photos)
Jacquinta Nelson stood before a packed crowd at The Porter House KC’s Pitch Night this week, sharing her vision for S.T.E.P. Movement, a community-based step team designed to uplift young girls. Moments later, she was awarded a $4,000 grand prize. The recognition was deeply personal for Nelson, who is dedicated to mentoring youth to be…











