You can take to the road to find handmade Christmas gifts

NEWS RELEASE
YORK DURHAM HEADWATERS
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Get into the spirit and plan a weekend road trip, gathering treasures for your loved ones along the way! Find unique handmade gifts by adding these stops to your road trip treasure hunt. We’ve sent our elves out ahead of time to scope out the scene, and they have put together a list of featured finds that are sure to please everyone on your list.

Lavender Blu

Lavender-Blu is a small family business comprised of a hobby farm, a lavender garden and a lavender artisan studio. Their mandate is to beautify their community, to create unique hand-made artisan products as well as to educate individuals on the subject of lavender. Learn how to restore and sustain a healthy balanced lifestyle all year round using natural Lavender. Have trouble sleeping? Prized for its calming and stress-reducing qualities, lavender makes restless nights a thing of the past. Want to soothe tired muscles? Lavender has pain-relieving properties! It can help alleviate pain due to rheumatism, arthritis, muscular aches and pain, cramps, toothaches, earaches, period pain and indigestion. Want to establish a calming bedtime routine for your baby or child? Lavender’s balancing and harmonizing nature will help children relax. Add lavender to the bathwater or use lavender massage oil.

Dufferin County Goods

The idea behind The Dufferin County Goods Co. is to showcase the story of Dufferin County. Every design is based on a piece of their local history. With a little humour and a lot of pride, Dufferin County Goods has made shirts that bring Dufferin County to life. Hockely Valley was one of the first small settlements in Dufferin County over 150 years ago. It was a rest stop with a tavern and hotel established by John McFarlane. The hills provided shelter from the wind and elements in the valley and the river provided fish, freshwater and path to follow when the land was too wild. Even the Jesuits stopped here in the 1600s guided by their Indigenous scouts. Fast forward to today…a winery, ski hill, community hall and general store make the perfect backdrop for a hit TV show….now if only the river was actually called, Schitt’s Creek.

Too Good General Store

A modern twist on the General Store will connect Canadian artisans who create small-batch goods with creative and thoughtful consumers. Products will be of the highest quality, making them a joy to give (and receive!). Too Good General Store is located in Unionville. Luke’s Pancake Special – that aromatic smell of breakfast in the morning! That maple syrup dripping down your pancakes and the side of bacon is a breakfast of champions! 8 oz hand-poured soy wax candle. Candles come in soft square glass mason jar with a farmhouse antique style round lid. Each candle is hand-tied with a piece of twine.

Heatherlea Farm Shoppe

Heatherlea Farm’s mission is to raise and craft the highest quality artisan meats, meals, snacks and treats using clean ingredients and local products. Heatherlea Farm Shoppe is also a fresh butcher, food shoppe and cafe in Caledon, Ontario. Three bars of our pasture-raised tallow soap from their Angus cattle. Soap has always been traditionally made with tallow because of its great lather and excellent moisturizing properties. Handmade locally by Bridlewood Soaps in Orangeville. Ingredients: Tallowate, Sodium Hydroxide (Lye), Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil, & Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Oil.

The Lemonade Stand

The Lemonade Stand is a Creative Vintage Studio located in beautiful downtown, Historic Uxbridge, Ontario. Their inviting studio specializes in restyled furniture, wooden signs (handmade by them), farmhouse decor, handmade items and workshops. This stunning and incredibly cozy fleece-lined thrown is the ultimate must-have for any addition to your room. With a brazen collection of pyramid pattern and premium quality Turkish Cotton, this blanket is truly a treasure worth saving. It comes in two unique colours to choose from. Size 50″w x 70″.

Redefined Finds

Redefined Finds is located in Stouffville. They have a long list of workshops available, as well as a selection of gift items from local artisans to provide you with a unique space to do your shopping! Redefined Finds also does custom painting so if you have that piece of furniture that needs to be ‘redefined’.Place all three balls in the dryer at the same time. The wool absorbs the moisture while the balls are circulating the laundry. This is what reduces your drying time by 30-50 per cent and well as wrinkles and static. While the wool is absorbing the moisture it is creating a humid environment. Ethically sourced and cruelty-free Canadian wool.

Maplelea

Based on the knowledge that toys and books can be powerful educational tools, Newmarket's Maplelea was developed with a primary objective to enlighten and entertain our daughters. Their mission is to make a difference in the lives of Canadian children by providing age-appropriate dolls and activity products that promote creative play and healthy, active lifestyles while fostering a love and interest in Canadian culture, heritage and geography. This super soft and very huggable 18” Marvellous Maplelea Moose can wear many Maplelea outfits and accessories! Perfect gift for any kiddo on your list.

DesBarres Chocolate

DesBarres Chocolate is a micro-batch manufacturer of single origin, bean to bar chocolate, sourcing direct trade cacao from around the world. DesBarres chocolate is made with uncompromising attention to detail in order to create the very best chocolate experience. Using only cacao, organic cane sugar, and on occasion fresh spices or flavourings, their chocolate is pure unadulterated flavour. The beans for this rich and delicious bar come from the Bejofo Plantation, part of the 2000 acre Akesson’s Estate in northwest Madagascar. This estate, run by Bertil Akesson, and started by his father, has been producing fine cacao and spices for a generation. This 85 per cent bar is a blockbuster of flavour. Powerful and unruly in the bean, it takes time to tame the wilder notes during processing. The end result is pure chocolate flavour seen through a kaleidoscope of red fruits. This is a bold bar with complex flavours.
Ingredients: organic cacao, organic cane sugar gluten-free, vegan.

McMichael Canadian Art Collection

Twenty minutes north of Toronto, surrounded by 100 acres of northern landscape and hiking trails, the McMichael’s 6,500-piece Canadian art collection, including works by Tom Thomson, the Group of Seven, their contemporaries, and First Nations, Metis, Inuit and contemporary artists, attracts over 100,000 visitors annually from all over the world. Experience the art of Canada at the McMichael. This book, accompanied by an exhibition at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, will examine the aesthetic achievements of Maud Lewis’s paintings — her serial repetition of images and motifs and the dizzying variety that she brought to the problems of picture-making. From her black cats and kittens to her cart horses and oxen hauling logs, to her quayside scenes of ships in port and the Maritime landscape in all seasons, Maud Lewis made paintings that still delight in their optimism and buoyant vitality. Current Exhibition at McMichael through Jan. 5, 2020.

This Is Made

This is Made Inc. is the first collective boutique located in Vaughan. Providing a space for makers artisans and online businesses to share/sell their products and grow their audience. They strive to provide the makers with the opportunity of ‘owning’ a storefront without the high overhead expenses. You will experience that well-known marketplace vibe in a boutique setting. Looking for that perfect one of a kind gift for someone who appreciates beautiful craftsmanship? Well, look no further! These wooden cutting boards are works of art and would dress up any kitchen. Visit This is Made boutique in Vaughan to pick one (or two) up.

Oshawa’s only Tobacconist. Specializing in pipes, cigars, accessories and humidors. Also men’s shaving supplies, home fragrance lamps and gifts. Victory cigars carry a wide range of Cuban cigars, as well as cigars from the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua. Big Rock Brewery presents Beard Beer Soap, a premium natural bar soap for your beard. Made with Calgary’s own Big Rock Warthog English Style Ale, and scented with Big Rock’s Cedarwood blend.

Ann Randeraad Pottery

Ann creates pieces for everyday use. Enjoy their beauty as you use these pieces regularly. Ann Randeraad has been a part of the clay world for more than twenty years now and continues to absolutely enjoy the journey. These porcelain & stoneware pieces are dishwasher and oven safe. They are created, dried, bisque fired, glazed and made ready for the glaze firing. They are then put in a kiln fueled by wood alone. Typically the pieces include bowls, sushi trays, mugs, drinking vessels, vases, pitchers, platters and chip and dip plates and more. To see more of Ann’s new works check her out on Facebook under Ann Randeraad. To purchase Ann’s pottery, visit her Studio in Amaranth.

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