Welcome to
Angela Bull Recommends Gifts

What is Angela Bull Recommends Gifts?

This is my curated space for gift ideas that actually get used and appreciated. You’ll find ready-made collections, DIY projects, and honest reviews with an eye toward making your giving more meaningful and satisfying. Soon, you'll also find a quiz to direct you to personalized recommendations.

Who runs this site?

I’m Angela Bull, a 67-year-old mother and grandmother with decades of gift-buying under my belt. Over the years, I’ve seen numerous fads and trends come and go, and I’ve learned how to identify the lasting gifts that endure; the ones that are loved, remembered, and not destined for a landfill. I have also given a lot of bloopers. I've learned my lesson, though, and my recommendations take this into account.

Do you test every product you recommend?

Not every single one. I buy and test many of the products myself. When I can’t, I rely on careful research, trusted sources, and verified customer experiences. I’ll always let you know what my personal experience is when I've had it.

How do you choose which gifts to recommend?

I look for three things: quality, transparency in sourcing, and practical usefulness. I lean toward artisan goods, small-batch makers, and brands that are open about their labor practices. For categories like appliances and tech, where supply chains are less clear, I only include items if they’re truly useful. 

How do you calculate estimated shipping in the price?

I check out. In other words, I put the item in my basket, go to checkout, submit my info, and see if any shipping is being added to the price. I am in Massachusetts, so sometimes your shipping cost may vary. However, if you are in the lower forty-nine, it should be close enough for horseshoes.

Do you get paid to recommend products?

I don't accept free samples and sponsorships. If you purchase through my Amazon links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. For non-Amazon links, I don’t receive any commission at all.

Can I trust that your recommendations are ethical?

I do my best to recommend gifts that are responsibly made. When sourcing transparency is unclear, I’ll point that out so you know the trade-offs. My goal is to give you honest context so you can make an informed choice.

For fair labor. I rely on the fact that laws in the USA, Canada, the UK, New Zealand, Australia, Japan and the EU protect workers from exploitation. For products from other places, I am going to look for evidence such as certifications. If I can't find any, I assume they are a sweatshop and remove them from contention.

Can I trust that your recommendations are sustainable?

Not entirely. It's tough to know because today's supply chains are pretty opaque. For instance, a North American artist knits a sweater with New Zealand organic wool, but uses buttons from China, I won't know. Heck, the artist probably doesn't know. So I do my best. I avoid plastics unless they are recycled. I stay away from things that are manufactured in huge quantities (with two exceptions). I read FAQs, about pages, and write letters.

The two exceptions are electronics and appliances. I still do my best, but the supply chains for these are black boxes.

What do the tags AB-A, AB-B, AB-C and AB-X in quiz results mean?

These ratings are about the entity that makes the product, but are also product-specific. Sometimes a company might be an AB-B, but the one product I am listing is an AB-A. In this case, the product will show an AB-A.

AB-A — Fully Meets Angela’s Standard. Used when:

• Made in USA/Canada/UK/EU/NZ/Japan/Australia

• Transparent sourcing

• No ethical or sustainability red flags

• Good track record (BBB, Reddit, consumer reviews)

Examples: Simon Pearce, U.S. artisan makers, Canada/UK/EU/NZ/Japan/Australia, small workshops.

AB-B — Meets Standard With Partial Transparency. Used when:

• Mostly meets your criteria

• Some gaps, but no major red flags

• Manufacturing may be overseas, but it appears ethical

• Or USA/Canada/UK/EU/NZ/Japan/Australia with incomplete upstream sourcing disclosure

• Printed natural-fiber textiles qualify as AB-B if they avoid PVC and are produced under strong environmental and labor standards with transparent sourcing.

Examples: Small artisan overseas makers without published audits; brands with strong signals but limited documentation.

AB-C — Mission-Based Exception. Used when:

• Fails the strict transparency standard

• The mission outweighs the downsides

• No evidence of exploitative labor

• Impact is meaningful (wildlife conservation, indigenous support, etc.)

Example: Fahlo, they do major good for wildlife using inexpensive bracelets with unclear material origins.

AB-X — Complex supply chain exception: primarily for appliances or electronics

• Unverifiable parts,  labor, or material on otherwise good product.

• Some evidence of Chinese manufacturing  on an otherwise high-quality product

• The brand shows no red flags, and the product is genuinely valuable and well-made.

• I include it only when the practical value outweighs the sourcing ambiguity.

Example: A well-designed kitchen appliance with mixed-origin components but a strong safety and reliability record may receive an AB-X rating.”

Do add-on gifts have their own ratings?

Add-ons don’t receive separate tags and ratings, but when an add-on differs from the ethics rating of the main gift, I note it directly in the add-on description (e.g., “AB-A add-on”). 

Do you sell any of these products yourself?

No. I don’t sell products. I provide recommendations, reviews, and DIY ideas to help you shop smarter.

Can I request gift recommendations for a specific person or occasion?

In the future, this site will include a brief questionnaire where you can tell me about the person you’re shopping for. Using my own system of tags, I’ll create custom gift lists with no AI involved and no personal information collected. Until then, I’m available for personal shopping; reach out to me on LinkedIn if you’d like the details. 

Do you also cover kids’ gifts?

I’m skipping kids’ gifts for now. They’re actually the easiest to shop for. Most kids will tell you exactly what they want. However, so often, those toys are made of plastic and short-lived, destined to clutter a shelf or end up in the landfill. That’s not the kind of giving I want to highlight. When it comes to toddlers and babies, the gift is really for the parents, so it’s worth choosing something thoughtful with them in mind. 

What kinds of DIY gifts do you feature?

I focus on DIY projects that deliver a professional-looking result without requiring advanced skills. I spend a lot of time seeking out ideas where the effort-to-impact ratio is high: projects that are simple to make but look impressive when finished. My DIY recommendations may link to kits, YouTube tutorials, or trusted blogs, depending on what’s most helpful. I feature gifts that are creative, practical, and low-waste, such as beaded accessories, handmade trays, and consumables that won't end up as clutter. 

How often do you update your gift guides?

Almost every day. My database is still small. As of today, Nov. 12, 2025, I have 100 products that can appear in quiz results. These are just the beginning. I update the blog regularly with stories about the products I’m researching and the struggles I overcome to find them. I reject so many. If I see something nice and think the price is low, I head straight over to Allibaba, Shien, and Temu to make sure I can't find it there. It's tough for makers in the USA, Canada, the UK, New Zealand,  Japan, Australia, and the EU to compete with these unscrupulous suppliers.

Where can I follow your updates?

Blog updates are posted regularly on this website and copied to LinkedIn and angelabullrecommends.blog.