My sister is the absolute QUEEN of finding unique, independently designed stuff on the internet. I don’t know how she does it! She has a delicious.com page here where you can look at all her links that she’s saved and tagged as “shopping” or “cute.” A lot of the sites will link to other designers’ sites as well.
Another thing you could do is try to find an independent craft show in your area. If you happen to live in an urban area, there are usually some going on once or twice a year. I’ve been to the Bazaar Bizarre and the Felt Club here in LA and the Maker Faire/Bazaar Bizarre in San Mateo (which is near San Francisco). I know they have similar ones in Seattle, Boston, and NY.