Local Buys: Summer 2020

I saw the sign

Erin Walmsley’s Orangeville company, Country Oak Designs, emerged after she purchased a used scroll saw and dialled up YouTube videos to learn how to use it. Now she hand cuts pieces in her garage and paints them in her daughters’ playroom. She’s especially fond of developing signs for small local businesses – even helping out with logo design. Farmhouse clocks are another forte. Order through social media and expect socially distanced deliveries or porch pickups. (From $150. Country Oak Designs)

Boxing days

In a move that dovetails with a surging interest in online shopping, Erin-based Lovin’ Local Headwaters imagines the mystery box trend as a fiercely local statement. Founders Kylie MacEachern and Jake Cuthbert offer a rotating selection of themed boxes, including an at-home spa option. The spa box is filled with a selection of feel-good products from favourite suppliers, which may include soap or bath goodies from Orangeville’s Bridlewood Soaps, lavender items from Erin’s Stonewell Farm, and essential oils and other indulgences from Shelburne’s Fragrance & Friends. (Small, $60. Large, $100. Lovin’ Local Headwaters)

All wrapped up

These sunny, cheerful beeswax wraps from Austerfield Apiary Honey & Botanicals are just the ticket as we spend more time than ever in our kitchens these days. They’re also a locavore’s dream, made with pure beeswax from Austerfield hives located across Dufferin County. Organic jojoba oil adds flexibility, while organic pine resin provides stickiness, says Andrea Chantree, who runs the business with her mother and brother. The reusable pack of three (7″, 10″ and 12″) can last a year or longer when cleaned gently with soap and water. Austerfield makes beeswax snack and sandwich bags, too.

(Three-pack, $20. Austerfield Apiary Honey & Botanicals)

Sources

• Country Oak Designs, Orangeville [email protected]. @countryoakdesigns on Instagram.
• Lovin’ Local Headwaters, Erin lovinlocal.ca. @lovinlocalheadwaters on Instagram and Facebook.
• Austerfield Apiary Honey & Botanicals, Shelburne 519-925-2869. Austerfield Apiary Honey Botanicals on Facebook.