Your Bag of Holding fanny packs. Photo via the Your Bag of Holding Facebook page.
By Brittany Tiplady
@yellowbird888
In the spirit of the holidays, we’ve rounded up ten local and woman-focused businesses that are deserving of your hard-earned cash. If you’re stumped on what to gift your loved ones, surely the gift you didn’t know you were searching for can be found here.
Shop local, support small businesses, and have yourself an ethical, mindful holiday.
dIRT spindle Pottery
Spectacularly strange, Dirt Spindle’s mugs are a Loose Lips office favourite for obvious reasons. Shop Dirt Spindle’s/Emma Cannings’ East Van-made mugs, bowls, planters and more via her online shop or at Vancouver various markets year-round!
Arts Club Season Tickets
Arts Club Theatre Company, one of the best local theatre companies in the city, and the largest in Western Canada, produces a wide range of musicals, classics, contemporary comedies and new works. Treat your theatre-going loved one to a year of cultured date nights with a season tickets pass; special offers expire December 24th.
ZALEKSA Jewelry
Sylvia Tennant is the designer and CEO behind Zaleska Jewelry, creating pieces “intended to be worn as tools for energetic self care.” Her eye-catching, gorgeous handmade designs, often embellished with natural gemstones, are inspired by everything from ancient Egypt to Art Deco. Zaleska pieces are crafted by Sylvia herself and her dynamic team of silversmiths here in Vancouver and in Bali, Indonesia. Shop Zaleksa online here.
Tori Swanson prints
Swanson’s work is a celebration of the woman’s body and all of its divine femininity with beautiful figure sketches that would bring any room to life. Where to buy: Her online shop carries naked original sketches, canvas work, watercolours, and horoscope prints. Gift yourself and book a spot in Swanson’s Intuitive Painting Series, running Tuesdays in 2019 from February 5th to March 12th, OR you can book an Intuitive Nude Portrait. Read all about my personal portrait experience here.
VITRUVI
“Essential oils that elevate simple moments.” Vitruvi is a Vancouver-based essential oil company that has earned global recognition by the likes of Goop, Forbes, and most recently, Ellen DeGeneres. Pick up a chic Stone Diffuser, oils, mists, roll-ons, and Vitruvi’s new line of skincare. Read our feature on Vitruvi’s co-founder and CEO Sara Panton, here.
Loose Lips pins by studio coup
Sorry, not sorry for the shameless self-promo! Support local feminist media and snag one of our adorable enamel pins locally designed by the talented Jane Koo at Studio Coup. You can order your $12 lips pin via DM on our Instagram page; pick up and mail options available!
Ali Munn jewellery
Ali Munn creates handmade jewellery and art objects from her studio in the Dominion Building (that’s right – we’re neighbours, kind of). Her work reflects traditional craft processes as well as experimental techniques, and she creates sculptural pieces often with the addition of hand engraving as accents. My current crush is the Hand Offering Signet ring ($169 in sterling silver). Know that all orders are handmade and require two weeks to fulfill. Need it sooner? Shoot Ali an email here or check out her list of stockists.
Harlow Skin Co.
Using simple products made from complex plants and parts, Harlow Skin Co. produces products that you can feel truly good about. Made entirely in Vancouver, CEO and creative director Chrystal Macleod focuses “on building an exercise of consciousness, with intention at the core. Using only the essential ingredients, Harlow products are designed to fit into a life of intention, for believers in real ingredients grown by real people.” Shop Harlow products online or at their beautiful Mount Pleasant atelier. Read our feature on Harlow Skin Co. here.
Hecho and Co.
Next time you’re at East Side Flea, stop by the Hecho and Co. booth and support social enterprises and women of colour owned businesses. Hecho and Co is helmed by two sisters, Sam and Henrieta, “who set out to create a textiles brand that celebrates modern design, traditional craft and ethical production. The sisters work directly with artisan families to ensure fairness and transparency in each garment that is made. Each piece is made using high quality natural materials and is handwoven by artisans in Mexico.” Read their incredible story and shop their stunning collection of cozy, ethically made goods here. Bonus: if you’re in Vancouver, Heck and Co. offers a free pick-up option in Mount Pleasant.
Your Bag of Holding
My favourite purchase of 2018! Your Bag of Holding produces the handmade leather and sheepskin bags and accessories of your dreams. Locally made in Vancouver, you can find Your Bag of Holding at The Eastside Flea and in boutiques like Gastown’s One of a Few and Charlie & Lee. Grab yours quick! These beauties sell out quick.
Brittany Tiplady is a writer, editor, former ballet teacher, and the co-founder of Loose Lips Magazine. She loves the indoors, fast wifi, collecting maps, and a generous glass of red wine. She’s a self-proclaimed wizard of time management and a notorious loud talker with a penchant for all things Internet and pop culture.
