When I consider what I’ll write about in this weekly blog, my thoughts sometimes drift to the negative. How could it not in the times we live in? But when my instinct is to turn dark, I challenge myself to look for the light.
And the world has enough negativity as it is. I want to be a force for good, not an amplifier for what’s wrong with the world. In my little corner, I’m concentrating on one of the best things in life: being Canadian.
A FEW RECENT FINDS
I happened to stumble on some cool, Canadian sites I’d like to share. I don’t know any of these people and haven’t received (or been promised!) any incentives for mentioning them. I’m starting to think about Christmas shopping and I want to make sure I shop Canadian. And these are a few I’ve been to and plan to revisit.
This downtown Kelowna, BC studio recycles plastic and makes truly cool items. It’s mostly a collection of homewares including kitchen and bath accessories, plant pots, and more. They also sell filament (recycled plastic on a spool) for anyone who wants to put their own 3D printer to use. Their prices are very reasonable. And their designs are really fun little works of art.
I’ve been on their email list since they launched. I recently went through their offerings again and they have really grown since we first put our elbows up. They have products from all over the country, from clothing, to stationery, to personal care items and more. All suppliers are Canadian and you can filter out anything not made in Canada. There are some funny and fantastic things there.
Want to know how Canadian your favourite brand of whatever is? This is the place. For example, you’ll find that although Philadelphia Cream Cheese is a product of US-based Kraft-Heinz, cream cheese sold in Canada is locally made. Then you can make an informed decision about whether or not to buy it. The site is transparent about how it scores and labels brands and products. It’s a game-changer.
There are other sites, of course, but these are the ones I gravitate back to time and again. I feel I can confidently vouch for them. Feel free to add to the list of Canadian content in the comments.
Some people don’t care or understand this desire to block anything American from our lives right now. That’s fine. But I don’t want a dime of my money to contribute to any totals (tourism, retail/online spending) that might make the Cheeto-in-chief look good. His tariffs, his war, his many policies have directly affected my life and business in a negative way. I never would have imagined it, but it’s true. So any gifts I give this season will be as Canadian as possible. Mittens on and elbows up, friends!
I have an app on my phone created by Fair Intuition called Canadian Product Scanner. It doesn’t have every product on the grocery shelf in it — yet — but it’s helpful. Here’s their website: https://fairintuition.com/scancanada/