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.
[divide]
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
[divide]
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_
[divide]
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
[divide]
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
[divide]
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
[divide]
‘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
[divide]
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
[divide]
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
[divide]
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_
[divide]
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
[divide]
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
[divide]
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
Entrepreneur of the Year honorees stepped through a wormhole of fate: Here’s what they found in KC
The ultra successful all share one common influence, said Peter Mallouk: luck. And for the president and CEO of Creative Planning, good fortune has revolved around Kansas City. It all started when his parents left Egypt and ended up in Brookside, he told a crowd Wednesday evening during the 39th University of Missouri-Kansas City Entrepreneur…
How UMKC’s top student entrepreneur found shelter (and a path forward) as a founder
Shapree Marshall’s path began with shared struggle, re-routed to survival — and ultimately made a stop Wednesday evening at H&R Block’s World Headquarters where the startup founder was honored as UMKC’s 2025 Student Entrepreneur of the Year. “My journey into entrepreneurship did not begin with a business plan or a class project,” said Marshall, founder…
First look: Made in KC’s new Union Station shop boasts all the trimmings (and World Cup timing)
An influx of holiday shoppers is just the start for Made in KC’s newly-opened store inside Union Station — positioned to take advantage of coming FIFA World Cup traveler traffic — years after the local-first retailer’s owners first envisioned making the quintessential Kansas City destination a home for one of their shops. “We’ve been wanting…
KC Tech Council reboots its visual identity, teases plans to open new downtown HQ
It’ll be new year, new look for KC Tech Council as the regional tech advocate relocates to a collaborative headquarters space in downtown Kansas City, as well as embracing a bold brand update — all coded to better reflect a modern, tech-driven ecosystem. “As KCTC powers initiatives that further establish Kansas City as a premier,…











