The Everyday Opinionista: Shop Spotlight: HipHopHippos

A few weeks ago, my lovely friend Marisa asked me for some ideas for birthday gifts. I sent her a few things on my Etsy Favorites list, including a simple hand-stamped star necklace from the shop HipHopHippos. That happened to be the necklace she ordered for me, which I received yesterday. I {L O V E} it! It's small and pretty, and it features my birthstone, which is one of my favorite gemstones {it's a Peridot}. I initially found HipHopHippos by doing a random search on Etsy for hand-stamped jewelry, looking for something unique that could be personalized. I really liked what this shop was offering, and it looked like they use high-quality materials and put a lot of thought into their work.

Here's a little bit about the seller, from their description page:

"The Hippo is associated with birth, motherhood and the protection of young. The Hippo represents an intuition for truth that leads to our goals in life."

"Welcome to HipHopHippos! - Where personalized jewelry is lovingly hand stamped and made with high quality materials. Each creation is made with great attention to detail and can be packaged beautifully upon request. I would love for you take a moment and check out my line. If you don't see exactly something you are looking for, please don't hesitate to ask. I welcome custom orders and I would love to design something special and unique just for you"

Since I didn't order from HipHopHippos myself, I can't speak for the customer service aspect, but I do see that the item I received is listed with free shipping, which is really nice. Assuming that Marisa purchased it shortly after I sent her the ideas, the shipping would have been average to slightly above average in terms of how long it took to make the necklace and then ship it to me directly — as an estimate, under two weeks total.

Aside from the necklace I received, there are a number of other designs that I really liked, including this Sweet Little Baby Feet necklace, this Love Cupped necklace and this Initial Tag necklace. Depending on what you're looking for in a personalized necklace, I think HipHopHippos has something for everyone.

Here are some pictures I took of my necklace... it's very sturdy metal, polished nicely and the gemstone and pearl are securely attached. It came packaged in a cute ivory organza pouch and with a handwritten note included. Overall, it's pretty perfect and just what I was looking for!