Our local holiday gift guide, leaning into decor, textiles and workshops

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One of the most satisfying ways to fight monoculture and maintain an exciting city is shopping local, and Edmonton businesses sure appreciate your support — especially in this month that makes their year.

For those of you wrapping up your holiday shopping and looking for local suggestions — let us help! Our final gift guide of the season is a wide mix of lifestyle, fashion and décor ideas in addition to our already-published, focused suggestions for books, the culinary world and local art, so we hope this helps. All aboard!

Clo’s General Leather Co. (10047 80 Ave.): Just the smell of this place is worth the visit. Locally-made bags, wallets, belts, pet accessories, leather-care products — you name it. Sweet origin story, too. “I was after a belt and a wallet and I couldn’t find one in the city here that I was really into,” owner Kyle Closen explains, so he hit a local leather shop, picked up some tools, and the rest is history. What you get here is a gift that will last, too.

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Custom Crosswords: As personal as it gets, a custom crossword could hardly be a more personal and thoughtful present. You provide the clues, answers and even a fancy title if you like — the automated robot does the rest at printablecrosswordmaker.com. And it’s free, too, unless you count your valuable time. Make sure to hit the “create crossword puzzle,” PS, instead of the big green “start” button.

Edmonton Holiday Gift Book: Simple, local and an ideal way to dole out gift cards like you’re some seasoned poker dealer. Ten, $20 gift cards from Adewunmi Skincare, Fleisch Delicatessen, Glass Bookshop, Hideout Distro (see below), Kind Ice Cream, Lot 34, Maven & Grace, Show Shine Shack, Sugared and Spiced and Take Care. Order at yegholidaygiftbook.com, then scoop it up at Glass Bookshop at 10242 106 St.

The Edmonton Holiday Gift Book supports ten local businesses, with a $20 gift certificate from each.
The Edmonton Holiday Gift Book supports ten local businesses, with a $20 gift certificate from each. Photo by supplied

Fern’s School of Craft (10350 122 St.): “Workshops for the semi serious crafter,” this textile workshop school teaches weaving, rug hooking, punch needle, embroidery, knitting, sashiko, indigo, shibori, natural dye, block printing, bundle dyeing, fabric marbling and — yes — that ol’ standard, basket weaving. They also carry supplies. In-person hours: 1 p.m. – 7 p.m. Thursday at the address above, and the full list of workshops is at fernschoolofcraft.com.  $65-$315, depending on the medium.

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Grindstone Classes (10019 81 Ave.): The emerging superstar venue of the local theatre scene also offers classes year round! These include — take a deep breath — Dance Combo, Intro to Improv, Musical Improv, Stand Up, Sketch Writing, Burlesque, Intro to Acting — each 275/two months — and kids/teen class Drama Discovery ($230), sort of a catch all that explores stage awareness, character development and improv for the little party animal in your life. Full details at grindstonetheatre.ca.

Hideout Distro (12407 108 Ave.): Besides a wonderful gallery of cool art prints, the truly hip Hideout off 124 St. has a killer, one-stop-shopping selection of incense, calendars, throw pillows, concrete coasters, Flannel Foxes shirts and toques, must-have Nasarimba artist shirts and even local magazines, tapes and stickers. And all of it’s at least indie, if not local. You’ll find something here, don’t hesitate, and dogs are welcome!

Hot Stones Spa (13075 156 St.): Open seven days a week, it’s specifically the banya — Russian bath — side of things I’m pushing here, a tradition going back at least to the 1800s, including hot bucket shower (you pull the rope), hot-stone sauna and venik platza — the beating of oneself (or another) with a paddle of remedial oak leaves. Oh, plus herbal tea! What can I say except it’s amazing. $95/hr for up to eight people; $150/two hours “romantic.”

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Mother Earth Essentials (12316 111 Ave.): Cree Medicine Woman Carrie Armstrong founded this business to “share nature-inspired teachings rooted in the sacred plants of the Medicine Wheel.” A companion to her successful book, Mother Earth Plants for Health & Beauty: Indigenous Plants, Traditions and Recipes, her in-person shop has tea, handmade soaps, essential oils, hair care and various preparations and concoctions using cedar, sage, sweetgrass and tobacco. Prices are truly reasonable, starting at $2.50 for a bar of cedar soap.

Pet love: For the person who absolutely refuses a present, good on them. But please donate to an animal assistance organization in their name. A few suggestions: ARTS Senior Animal Rescue, Little Cats Lost, Second Chance! Animal Rescue Society and Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society.

Printed with Love: You may have noticed it’s the future — there are even flying cars now — so why not get something 3D printed for the one you love the most? That “one” may well be a plant, which is totally cool, and especially great are the body-positivity and hexagon plant trellises and plant pots. Super cheap, too, starting at $6 — local pickup in Edmonton available once you order. Find them on Etsy.com, look up “printed with love YEG.”

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Some of the body-positivity wares from Printed with Love.
Some of the body-positivity wares from Printed with Love. Photo by supplied

Whyte Knight/Mars & Venus (10326 82 Ave.): Many times I’ve answered “where can I get my kid an old Transformer” or “Star Wars figure” with the reliable Whyte Knight, truly 82 Avenue’s last-standing weirdo emporium of curated pop-culture madness, from 1950s comics to Atari cartridges to first-edition Magic the Gathering cards. And, of course, a hoard of vintage Dungeons & Dragons supplies. Downstairs, Mars & Venus is also full of all things witchy, punk-horror-y and custom-sock-y (egs. Mister Rogers, George Takei, Pickle Rick). Plenty of locally made fashion, too — just ask.

Vivid Print (10342 82 Ave.): Just down “the Ave,” last stop on our ride to total gift-buying satisfaction! Besides a selection of great local artist prints, including by co-proprietor Bee Wealand, Vivid sells prints of old maps of Old Strathcona and baby Edmonton, historical photography, and metal signs including Yellowhead Trail, so you don’t have to “liberate” one! Conveniently sectioned into “YEG,” “cozy cabin” and “city lover” on at vividprint.ca, it’s still best to pop by. They also frame, so if you want a seriously nice job done, I can 100 per cent vouch for them. But hurry hard, fellow dawdler — time is running out!

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