our story

2020 was a year of many things.

From new schedules, to no schedules, to anxiety about what was going to happen next, we spent a chunk of that year reflecting. Where and how we were spending our time came to the forefront and we realized we were ready to do something challenging and new.

Truth be told, we’ve spent many reunion trips and glasses of wine talking about working together. This idea of working with friends and creating something meaningful has always been a pie-in-the-sky goal.

Women-owned East Third Collective team.
Solene blanket from Care by Me in a blue and white stripe.

It took the search for the perfect blanket to give as a gift to get us started.

We started talking about sending gifts and how searching for that perfect thing was such a cumbersome task. We began asking lots of questions. How can we make gifting as fun (and easy!) of a process as the gifts themselves? How can we support small businesses that make really great things? How can we create a small-shop experience in an online world?

And so, in a nod to the place where our friendship began, East Third Collective was created.

Our goal is to simplify the gifting experience in a meaningful and beautiful way for you.

We look forward to growth, doing hard things, learning new things, and we are immensely thankful for the growing group of people who are supporting us and our new small business.

Darcie, Kat + Nikki