Everybody say LOVE! We all are in search of love, right? With Feb. 14 approaching, so does the stir of buying the perfect gift for the loved one. Valentine’s Day is a big success for businesses whose main customer base tends to be heterosexual couples. Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be a “straight” event, even though it may be advertised as such.
Love is for everybody, it doesn’t matter if you’re in a relationship or single. Self-love is also mandatory and extremely important. The LGBT+ community may genuinely experience great liberation on Valentine’s Day. If you feel comfortable doing so, this is an opportunity to reveal your genuine self to the world. It allows gay couples to display queer love in all of its manifestations.
Even though society doesn’t portray the queer relationship as “normal” and worthy of celebration, love is still love. As the holiday approaches and the pressure grows, here are some suggestions for a Valentine’s Day present for your passionate lover.
Dabbing Angel Necklace by King Ice
A nice jewel with a cute symbol. The dabbing angel made by King of Ice is a perfect gift for your significant other. The jewel comes with a 14k gold plating or a white gold finish. The popular Dab dance move is often seen as a symbol of coolness, and hipness, is used to symbolize victory, is a carefree attitude, a gesture of triumph and playfulness. King Ice is a famous company in the hip hop culture and reliable for the quality of their jewlery.
Apple’s HomePod mini
The queer-owned company comes with a decent price for their new HomePod mini which has a range of 6 colors. With a wonderful sound that is a lot bigger than he is, it can be used as a stereo speaker, has multiroom audio, and the intelligent assistant Siri is also present. The package also comes with a 6 months free subscription to Apple Music, which is perfect for that Valentine’s night with your partner, just dancing and listening to your favorite songs.
Jecca Blac
Jecca Blac is a make-up brand founded by Jessica Blackler. It is a gender free business, its mission is to make all makeup wearers feel included. All of their products are vegan, cruelty-free, and made in the UK. It is a beauty brand for all genders, identities, expressions, sexualities, abilities, ethnicities, shapes & sizes.
Gay’s The Word
For book lovers, this is a perfect choice. But it’s more than just a bookshop. Gay’s The Word is the UK’s oldest LGBT bookshop and a focal point for the LGBT community as a whole. A group of homosexual socialists founded the bookshop in January 1979 as a communal place with all earnings going back into the enterprise. This concept lives on today, with shelves brimming with books and a room utilized for book and community activities, all overseen by five staff members: Jim, Uli, Erica, Brooke, and Jem. They have included information about their history, print, radio, and film articles, images and recordings from previous events, and their new online shop across the website.
Jannike Sommar
Jannike Sommar is a queer fashion designer whose vibrant colors and naive-yet-purposeful designs shout softly. They/she are Jannike’s pronouns. Constantly advocating for equality, the designer had the ambition to create her queer universe in fashion through her already recognizable style defined by the use of bright colors, embroideries, and signature patchwork figures. In 2020 she moved to Paris to create her brand, which is perfect for a stylish gift as the romantic holiday approaches.
Zoah’s underwear
Zoah is an inclusive underwear business that was created to meet the specific requirements of trans women, non-binary people, and gender-nonconforming people. Danielle St James, a major personality in the UK LGBTQ community, created it to fill a void in the market for items that would offer its user the greatest confidence, comfort, and silhouette.
Lily Deason – Handmade Ceramics
Bright colors and bold designs are the main factors in Lily Deason’s Handmade Ceramics. Lily is based in Walthamstow, East London and her work gravitates around mugs, expresso cups, and milk jugs. They are a pleasant piece of design for your kitchen and also for serving your favorite drink alongside your beautiful partner.
Limbo
A candle is always a nice and welcoming gift. Limbo is a small business that was launched in November 2020. Since then the owner, Winnie Matthews with the help of her mother continues to develop and create candles/homeware from their flat in South West London. Limbo was formed during a “limbo” period during the lockdown. Winnie started creating candles to keep herself busy and quickly discovered that it was quite relaxing. Her buddies then persuaded her to begin selling on Instagram. The business uses 100% eco-friendly soy wax, along with an Organic cotton wick. All of their candles are handmade and packaged using only recyclable or biodegradable products.
Their goal is to create safe and environmentally friendly products, whilst sharing their knowledge of the candle world with others.
Urania’s Children | Queer Magic Eau De Parfum
Queer Magic is a floral scent that is mysterious and otherworldly. Cardamom, Brazilian Lime, and Calabrian Lemon dominate the fragrance’s opening notes. The heart is a provocative combination of Jasmine, Carnation, and Figue that transitions nicely to the mystical woods of Palo Santo, Oud, and Sandalwood. Tobacco leaves, Vanilla, and Labdanum notes mystify the base, lending the smell a dark, smokey seductiveness. Queer Magic symbolizes the infinite exuberance of the spontaneous and unusual, inspired by opalescent self-expression and the shape-shifting mysticism of queerness.
Me.Land sneakers
ME.LAND, based in Montmartre, provides a variety of one-of-a-kind, alternative, and ethical footwear. To me. This is the first step toward singularity. The shoes are manufactured in limited editions with a distinct style and distinctive color combinations. LAND is a realm developed and sustained by a community of artists, including singers, musicians, street artists, photographers, and actors. The three points allude to inspiration, workmanship, and a dedication to becoming carbon-free. Me.Land is a visible brand that provides innovative, fair, and unique footwear for all situations.
Article by Ciprian Ciobanu
Ciprian Ciobanu is a Gen Z Editor for GAY45 and an MA student at the University of Timisoara, majoring in painting but working in a mixed media field. Ciprian is currently in finishing his studies and working on the process of developing and reflecting on the relationship between art and the trends of a given time from music, fashion, popular stories, etc.
