Local Buys: Winter 2024

ELEVATED TEXTILES

Darlene Hostrawser is the Mono artisan behind Handwoven Cloth Culture’s richly hued hand-woven blankets, shawls, scarves and table linens. Wool appears in wraps, while cotton and linen work best for placemats, runners and tablecloths.

“These are fabrics you will want to wrap yourself in or elevate the at-home dining experience with,” says Darlene. (Table linens $40 to $200, woollen wraps, $125 to $400, Holiday Treasures and Handwoven Cloth Culture)

MAKE A WISH

Working primarily with wheel-thrown porcelain, Orangeville potter Valerie Moore of Wishing Stone Pottery punctuates her clean, contemporary aesthetic with pops of colour, mostly blues, often as hand-drawn whimsical sketches.

“As an avid rower, I have a strong connection to water and a deep appreciation for its beauty,” Valerie says. “This inspires the surfaces of my work, from varying depths of blues to representing surface patterns with lines and circles.” (Vases $25 to $85, cups and mugs $30 to $45, Holiday Treasures and Wishing Stone Pottery)

CROCHETED CREATURE COMFORTS

Orangeville crocheting and knitting whiz Tania Da Costa stocks her line, Homespun Knits, with the sweetest stuffed animals, purses, lovies and cold-weather beanies.

“My passion is creating detailed, well-made pieces that inspire imagination and comfort. Each piece is as special to me as they are to my clients.” (Animals $45 to $65, Holiday Treasures and Homespun Knits)

ALPACA MY BAGS

Carolyn Metzger of Willow Brook Waterfowl & Fiber in Amaranth felts handmade dryer balls that help fluff your laundry sans dryer sheets or fabric softener – while shortening drying time. The secret? Fibre from the alpacas the family raises on their farm. (Set of three alpaca dryer balls $25, Willow Brook Waterfowl & Fiber)

INK AND ART

Dufferin Foraged Inks comprises creative duo Fabienne Good and Darlene Hostrawser. Each grew up on farms in Dufferin County and in addition to separate pursuits (Fabienne’s woven paper baskets, featured in our last issue, and Darlene’s shawls and table linens at the top of this page) they now harvest and produce inks made from foraged biological materials.

Alongside the inks, they also sell hand-painted cards and postcards made with the inks, as well as hand-painted wooden ornaments and postcard kits. (Cards $6 to 15, Holiday Treasures and Dufferin Foraged Inks)

BUZZY BEESWAX

Each candle from Flights of Fancy Honey Bee Company in Loretto is made from 100-per-cent pure beeswax and fitted with a cotton wick for a clean, natural burn. The holiday collection includes tea lights, pine, spruce and holly trees, fairy and casted balls, and more.

Owner Stephanie Wilding lets us in on a little holiday secret: “Every item in our holiday collection comes with a special tag featuring a QR code, so you can ‘Meet the Bees’ that made your candle.” That’s a flight even more magical than Rudolph’s journey! (Trees $4.75 to $22, balls $12 to $25, Holiday Treasures and Flights of Fancy Honey Bee Co.)