Edmonton can add another such establishment to it’s growing list – the cheekily named Bling just opened up on the ground floor of City Square Tower, across the street from the west side of City Hall. It’s easy to miss, particularly given the awning above it still reads “Universal Hobbies”.

There is no trace of the donair joint that occupied the space prior to Bling. Kloy Parker, formerly of The Butler Did It,  has transformed the tiny room into an elegant cafe and shop. In addition to coffee and tea, Bling offers pastries from the Italian Bakery and Handy Bakery, and will soon add panini sandwiches to their menu.

The wares are also noteworthy – Kloy prides himself on sourcing chic, gift-worthy, and best of all, affordable items (everything in the store is priced with the GST already included). He showed me a lovely textured metallic bowl that cost just $8, and a grooved, square pasta bowl priced at $10. I also spied a Dean & Deluca cookbook on my way out.

Kloy inside Bling

Check it out while you’re in the neighbourhood – but don’t blame me if you end up with a few more items for your kitchen!

Bling
10316 100 Street
(780) 421-0000

We exchanged presents this afternoon with Mack’s family – thanks again Kim, Shane, Thom, Martin and Patti for the gifts! I originally didn’t know what to buy Mack’s parents, but I remembered Jennifer Crosby’s idea of putting together a basket of locally-accrued food items. It seemed like a good way to share some uniquely Edmonton products, so a few weeks back, we started to assemble it. We ended up with this:

Basket of locally-purveyed goods

It contains:

• Adam’s Apple wine from en Sante
• Raspberry Spread from Strathcona Country Kitchens
• A Jam Story book by Sarah Jackson
• Canola oil from Mighty Trio Organics
• Beer Mustard from Country Kitchen
• a “Tea for Two” ornament from Le Papier
• Monk’s and Christmas Blends of tea from Acquired Taste Tea Co.
• Dried fruit mix and cinnamon apples from the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market
• Sugar-free milk and dark Chocophilia chocolates from Kerstin’s Chocolates
• a tin of sugar-free candy from Sweet Tweet

Martin and Patti appreciated the gift, but I have to say, I really enjoyed looking for things that I thought they might enjoy. And though we restricted ourselves to items purchased at local businesses, it was fairly easy to find the variety that we did.

Hope everyone had a good Christmas!

Alongside many other Edmontonians, Mack and I braved the cold, and arrived at a very busy hall at the Alberta Aviation Museum. Although the Christmas season is fully upon us, I did think the weather would have played a larger factor in attendance numbers. But then again, maybe I don’t give people enough credit.

Make It!

Over 115 vendors were present, selling everything from accessories to clothing, home decor items to food, making it one of the largest craft shows of the season. Similar to the Stop and Shop (which was put on in part by one of the Make It organizers), Make It! has a DJ on site to liven up the atmosphere.

Mack looking to find a companion for Netty

Browsing the vendors, I really wish I wore more jewellery – there were a ton of unique pieces for sale. We also came across some items we hadn’t seen before, including “Metavores”, tiny creatures made from recycled computer components.

Jewellery tree

Metavores

In the end, we picked up a few gifts including A Jam Story by Sarah Jackson and Gabe Wong’s Blockheads. Mack also bought a small blueberry and peach pie from Cutie Pies, which was advertised as an “Oilers pie”, a name courtesy of its blue and orange filling. We found out later that the vendor was actually from Calgary! Clever marketing indeed.

Another Make It! is scheduled to happen at the end of May – check the website in the spring for details. Thanks again Jenna for the tickets, and great show!

For example, I love to give: bottles of en Sante, especially to those who are unaware that Alberta had a cottage fruit wine industry; Gabe Wong’s funky Blockheads, “humanoid paper toys for the people of today” that can be punched out and pieced together without glue; and boxes of Chocophilia samplers from Kerstin’s Chocolates, which must include Mocha Bean and Ecuador 72%.

But then I thought – the more the merrier, especially on a topic as subjective as gift giving. So I canvassed several local personalities for an answer to the following question: “What is your favourite locally-purveyed gift to give or get?” May their answers assist you in your holiday shopping in the coming weeks.

Jessie Radies, co-owner of The Blue Pear, and founder of Keep Edmonton Original

To receive: anything from Lux Beauty is awesome; spa gift certificates from Tonic; and Notables has a great line called Russell and Hazel that I love.

To Give:  Really depends on the person, but here are a few:

Standard hostess gift – bottle of en Sante wine, I keep a few on hand for last minute emergencies

For my foodie friends – boxes of local food and specialty items, usually a trip to the Italian Center and the farmers’ market gives me enough variety for a number of gifts.  Sometimes a run through Call the Kettle Black will score the perfect gadget to round out the gift. I also like to do a mix of coffees and teas with honey or a nice mug.  Transcend, Vitalatea or Cally’s Tea and Lola Canola are good starting points.

For the hard-to-buy-for man – A monthly Beer Subscription from Sherbrook Liquor Store

For people I know well, gift certificates for Yoga, Integration Pilates or Pause Massage.

Tickets to the Citadel are perfect for people that have all the stuff they need, and would enjoy a night out. Gift cards from Original Fare are great gifts too, as they can let you eat at a number of local restaurants.

Jennifer Crosby, Global Edmonton News Hour Final Anchor and Producer

I like to give people gifts they can use, as well as enjoy. I’m also a big fan of food grown, raised or produced locally, so I often make up packages of unique food items. I love to visit the H & R Farms booth at the Old Strathcona Market for the beautiful jams and relishes. Right now, between my fridge and my gift cupboard I have their Rhubarb Rose Petal jam (one of my favourite to give), Cinnamon-Pembina Plum jam, Cranberry Apple Pear relish, and Corn relish. I’ve mailed away a few different care packages that include the adorable little jars – to rave reviews. Add some local coffee, honey, and pastry, and you’re just bacon and eggs away from a made-in-Edmonton breakfast.

Cary Williams, financial advisor for Edward Jones and co-chair of Edmonton Next Gen

Not sure I can give one ‘favourite’ but we often get gifts from Red Ribbon in High Street. This year though I’m leaning towards gift certificates from Agency III. They’re a local lifestyle management/concierge company. I think I have people who would love having their own personal assistant to create more free time.

Jennifer Fong, staff writer for the Edmonton Journal and creator of the “52 reasons to love Edmonton”  series

My favourite item to give would have to be a box of macarons from Duchess Bake Shop. They’re light, not-too-sweet sweets that you don’t have to feel guilty about eating, they come in a million flavours, and they’re adorable. Plus, Duchess wraps them up in gorgeous gold boxes. Perfect.

My favourite item I’ve ever received was a pair of earrings by local jewelry-maker Nicole Salvalaggio. I got them at a Royal Bison fair and they’re beautiful silver drop earrings made with heart-shaped lockets that actually open. A friend of mine drew me a picture to put in one of the hearts. It’s amazing.

Michael Janz, Marketing Director for the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues

My favourite locally purveyed item to give is… the gift of talent and knowledge from the really awesome courses at the City Arts Centre. From guitar to art to wellness, there is something there for everyone and the flexibility is awesome.

My favourite locally purveyed item to get is… one of those fancy coffee machines that they have at Leva Cafe on 111th. I’ve never been given one but would love one. So if someone out there really loves me this December… *hint*

Jeff Samsonow, Editor-in-Chef and News Director for The Edmontonian

Something local that I love is Geekware. Nicola Harper has taken our e-waste and turned it into fun, funky accessories. I have a fantastic circuit board business card holder from the collection. It’s locally sourced and locally produced. She’s got the website and is at a lot of craft fairs. (We met her when she had a table beside Sally [also of the Edmontonian] at one such fair.)

If you’re looking for stores alone, we’re big fans of The Tin Box for interesting, helpful and even wacky stuff.

Sarah Bourque, the creative behind the adorable monsters of Belua Designs

My favourite gift to receive (or to treat myself) would have to be a hat from Sugar Soul Studios. I already own 3 but they are so fabulous I need more! They are universally flattering and are made from amazing fabrics. I think I need one for every outfit

Jeff Haslam, actor and Artistic Director of Teatro la Quindicina

I love love love to give or receive gift certificates from wither of my two fave Strathcona restaurants… Both family run and completely local: Gino’s Italian Kitchen (great Italian fare just south of the Varscona on Calgary Trail… Grandma is still cooking in the kitchen), and Culina (the Mill Creek branch, amazing food – a great brunch – and wonderful service too).

Dave Cournoyer, popular political blogger

My favourite local gift to give and receive is the jam made by the Strathcona Country Kitchen. I first discovered their jams at the 104th Street Farmers Market downtown this summer and I now fill up with their Raspberry Red or Strawberry Rhubarb jam whenever possible. Their jams are excellent with multigrain toast and organic peanut butter. It really is great jam.

Alex Abboud, Executive Assistant to Councillor Kim Krushell

To get – as someone who is gluten-intolerant, I like pretty much anything from local gluten-free food maker Kinnikinnick. While some of their products (and those of other companies such as Glutino) are readily available in grocery stores, the selection at their Edmonton factory store far exceeds that of anywhere else.

To give – I’ve started giving prints of photos I’ve taken. The frames are almost certainly not locally-purveyed, but the photos usually are. Otherwise, I also like to give concert or theatre tickets (or if the recipient is someone with a busy schedule, gift certificates for the Winspear or Citadel).

Nate Box, chef and operator of the forthcoming Elm Cafe

To receive:
- PORK:  Only once in my life has a friend been so confident in how well they know me, that they purchased not one, but two pork tenderloins for me as a gift.  I took it out of the bag and was (I kid you not) overjoyed!  But it doesn’t have to be tenderloin, just about any pork gets me excited.  Irvings Farm Fresh  product is definitely on the top of my wish list.
- MUSIC:  Blackbyrd Myoozik gift certificates are also at the top of my gift list.

To give:
- CLOTHES:  The girls at Nokomis are always more than helpful when it comes to finding a something unique for my wife.  They usually present three of four things, I narrow it to one, and then sneak it under the tree.
- COFFEE:  Most holiday meals, especially Christmas morning, my mom or sisters (whoever is hosting breakfast) usually receives a pound of coffee from Transcend.
- MOVIES: Tickets to the Garneau or Princess are also up their on the giveaways.  I’m always amazed at the number of friends and family that have “been before, but it’s been years”.

Sarah Chan, chic city cycling advocate and blogger

My favourite locally-purveyed item to give or get is Transcend coffee. Their shop smells delicious, the people are divine, and the only setback was their location. I’ll just say that biking on 99 street isn’t all that inspiring. However, this will be remedied with their new location! I’ll be able to enjoy their beans with just a short bike or bus ride. Two of my favourite things, together at last.

A shopping opportunity…

To help you get started (or finish) your Christmas shopping, Jenna Herbut, the organizer of the upcoming Make It Fair (December 11-13 at the Alberta Aviation Museum), has generously provided me with 10 pairs of tickets to the craft show to give away. It looks like it will be a great show, with over 100 designers in attendance offering unique gift ideas.

If you are interested in attending, please leave a comment with a valid e-mail address below (in the e-mail address field, not the comment itself) by noon on December 5. I will randomly select five names and contact the winners by e-mail on December 6.

Good luck!

Paul Kane Park, en route to High Street (or as Jim Diers would call it, a “pocket park”)

Though the sidewalks were slippery, it was a pretty nice day to spend outside, wandering in and out of some of my favourite stores in the city. Many other people thought so too, as some of the stores were jam packed with shoppers.

High Street

I picked up a few things at The Tin Box, one of the best shops in my opinion for unique gifts. They had a rack of animal hats and gloves that were ubiquitous in Banff’s gift stores.

Hats and gloves at The Tin Box

Carol’s Quality Sweets is a nice store to satisfy the kid in all of us –I love the brightness of the store, and the colourful candy jars that line the shelves. For just a few dollars, your retro candy craving can be taken care of.

Candy behind the counter at Carol’s Quality Sweets

Notables is another great store, and in recent years it seems they’ve expanded their selection of offbeat giftware. Staff are super-friendly, and you won’t find a better assortment of greeting cards anywhere else in the city.

Christmas display at Notables

My last stop was Call the Kettle Black, a kitchen retail store. I almost always end up buying something if I enter the store, so a visit is a dangerous one for me. Luckily, I balanced a purchase for myself (a lightweight Epicurean cutting board) with the purchase of a gift for someone else. What wasn’t in my shopping basket were these onion goggles – although they might be effective, I think they’d take up too much room for just a single purpose.

Onion Goggles

Other than the stores I’ve listed, Acquired Tastes Tea Company, Floc Boutique and Ginger are a few other shops I like to patronize.

Boulevard trees on High Street

In addition to finding unique gifts, it’s a nice change from wandering within the confines of a mall. Especially during Shop Local Month, I would encourage you to consider doing some of your holiday shopping at High Street.

Kingsway all decked out for the holidays

In particular, I was curious about the premiere of their Twilight Spectacular, billed as “Western Canada’s first light show” – over 100,000 LED lights synchronized to seasonal music. At 7pm, a crowd gathered at the main west entrance (next to the food court) and waited for the event to begin. Just above us, on the second level balcony, someone was delivering a speech to VIPs who were given access to a prime viewing location upstairs – it was strange that the mall authorities didn’t think the public who came out for the opening also deserved to be a part of the welcome and introduction.

After a chorus of singers opened the show, the lights dimmed. As rock versions of popular carols blared, a suspended coil-shaped Christmas tree, strings of vertical lights and star-shaped orbs flashed to the music. It’s a novel entertainment installation, but it wasn’t what I expected – perhaps if the show had been spread out over a larger area, or if animated scenes were played out somehow in lights, it would have been cooler.

Twilight Spectacular

The show will begin after dark and run every hour, on the hour, throughout the holiday season, so you can see it for yourself, but I’d say unless you were planning on shopping anyway, it’s not worth special trip.

At 8pm, a fashion show was hosted on a small runway that had been set-up in front of Aritzia. We didn’t have a clear view of the runway, but stayed to watch anyway, primarily to catch a glimpse of Canada’s Next Top Model runner-up Linsay Willier (I saw her back in September at Edmonton Fashion Week).

Besides highlighting fashion available at the mall itself, the show closed with a dozen dresses Kingsway commissioned from local designers on the theme of “luminance” (including one of my favourites – Kelsey McIntyre). The dresses will be available for purchase through a silent auction until November 22, with all proceeds going to WIN House.

Linsay Willier (it was hard to look directly at the runway with the glaringly bright lights positioned the way they were)

The models pose with the designers of their garment

While I think the name of the designer who created the outfit should have proceeded each walk off, all in all, it’s a win-win for both local designers and a local charity – bravo to Kingsway for an innovative promotional tie-in.

Edmontonians – we now have two sparkly new malls to spend our money in. Choose wisely.

CrossIron Mills, which holds the distinction of being the largest single-level shopping complex in Alberta, has put Balzac on the map, for better or for worse. Driving into the mall, Mack commented that the surrounding grey, bulldozed landscape reminded him of Mars – barren and void of life. I had to agree, but I am certain that within a year, the empty space will be populated with other big box retail.

Similar to other malls in Calgary like Chinook, anchor tenants are accessible via their own external entrances. This provides great convenience for the focused shopper, though as the centre’s location isn’t really that conducive to a quick stop, the gateways are rendered less effective.

Food court

The mall is divided into six “neighbourhoods”: fashion, ranch, resources, fossil, sport and to come in 2010, entertainment. Each district has a décor scheme that ties that distinguishes that particular wing, with a seating area highlighting the theme.

In the ranch neighbourhood

Sport seating area (with LCD panels up above, and replica trophies)

Pro Hockey Life’s stick cluster

As far as shops go however, there aren’t that many unique retailers. Jim commented that Cork is a decent wine shop, and I noted that the South St. Burger Co. looks like it is worth checking out, but the majority of stores can be found elsewhere, within transit-accessible city borders.

Mack keeping cool in a pod chair (I can’t recall the name of the furniture store; they had some funky pieces though)

One exception to this statement is the 150,000 square foot Bass Pro Shop – it seriously blew our minds. Stepping into the building that stretched forever upwards, I half-expected Vince Vaughn to pop out, dressed in full-on fishing gear, as if we were on the set of a comedy.

Bass Pro Shop

From the antler-lined entranceway to the the two-storey waterfall, the massive fish-filled tank, and the taxidermy display reminiscent of a wildlife museum, it’s an outdoorsman’s paradise. Anything you could possibly need for fishing, hunting, camping or boating is available in the store, and while I’m certain their selection is good, the fact that the store is a tourist attraction in itself doesn’t hurt matters either.

Fish tank (we didn’t stay for the feeding time)

General store (with ice cream and other classic goodies)

The store is a bit of a playground as well, as evidenced by their shooting gallery. Fun could be had for just 50 cents, and well, Mack couldn’t help himself.

Duck!

We didn’t stay at CrossIron Mills quite as long as we could have, but it was enough to experience the mall. All in all, Bass Pro Shop is worth a visit for the pure spectacle of it – the rest is nothing you haven’t seen before, or couldn’t get elsewhere.

Save-on Foods is, hands down, my favourite grocery chain. The stores are generally clean, they have a great selection of produce, and the prices are fairly reasonable (particularly if I am only there to pick up a few items). I remember being very impressed with their self-check outs when I first used them – the interface was easy to understand, vegetables were classified alphabetically by name, and an attendant was always standing by to help. Also, to encourage flow through the store on a discount Tuesday, they capped the maximum number of items at 15 for self-checkout users – a great idea. After a while though, I started to notice how particular their system was. For example, I like to use my own reusable grocery bag, and in order to do this, I must have the attendant swipe their pass to override the system. Also, the machines are very finicky about bagging the scanned item right away – they do not hesitate to remind the user of this before allowing another item to be scanned. Still, even with the minor inconveniences at the till, I find the entire shopping experience at Save-on to be the most enjoyable of the three, and that keeps me coming back.

Superstore, with their competitive prices across the board, is undoubtedly my choice when I am planning a larger-volume shopping trip. But the lines to their staffed tills, particularly late in the evenings and on weekends, stretch out into the aisles, and are always a deterrent to visiting the store. For that reason, the self-checkouts were a welcome sight. What I didn’t expect, however, was that so many of the machines would be down so much of the time. I have yet to encounter a situation where all of the machines are operational, or a time when the attendant is actually free to provide timely assistance (message to Galen Weston: get off the television and use that money to fix your self check-outs and have more staff available for troubleshooting). I also think a maximum item limit would help speed things up, as nothing is more disheartening than seeing a customer with 1001 items to check out, but no clue on how to use the machine. I will say that the Superstore machines are more forgiving than those at Save-on, as there is an option right at the start that allows users to tell the system that they will be using greenboxes or bags, and the machine automatically adjusts the weight allowance. In addition, the Superstore machines are definitely more patient, and provide the customer with more time to bag the item after scanning. And yet, in spite of these allowances, the aesthetics of Superstore and their lack of in-stock produce will keep me away for my day-to-day grocery needs.

Last but not least – Safeway. I will admit to having the least amount of experience with their machines, but they resemble, at least on the outset, the self-checkouts at Save-on. Safeway has programmed in a handy “most used codes” page for vegetables, which does save some time, but as I have only used their terminals a handful of times, I can’t pinpoint their nuances in the same way as I can for the other two stores.

Overall, while self-checkouts aren’t the reason why I visit a particular store, they have made my visits more seamless.

Have you been turned by the self-checkout revolution? Do you have your own terminal preferences?

Royal Bison Craft & Art Fair

We paid our $2 admission at the door of the Old Strathcona Performing Arts Venue (when did they change the name from Cosmopolitan Music Society?), and entered a small room to the left where a handful of tables were set up. We were expecting a lot more vendors, but thankfully, we found out there was a second larger room on the other side.

Room #2

As a whole, the fair was a lot smaller than the Holiday Stop and Shop I visited in November, but had representation from very similar vendors selling clothing, records, jewellery, cards, and decor items. I was tempted by a few items, including a tongue-in-cheek game called “Leaving Edmonton” by Adam Waldron-Blain, where the objective is to collect enough cards to allow the player to leave the city, and delicate purses made from the covers rescued from old hardcover books. We also found out about a new locally-published magazine called Display, which will feature only-Canadian content (when we asked the person about Display, she asked, “Are you creatives?” I’ve never heard that before). Flipping through the first issue, there was a story about Edmonton jewellery designers Twee, among others.

We ended up picking up a Jam Story poster (too cute) and a set of Gabe Wong’s Blockheads – “Humanoid Paper Toys”, as it is written on the package. I know I do have to show restraint at these fairs, and typically only buy one or two things, or gifts to give away. If you haven’t been to one of these craft fairs, I would encourage you to keep an eye out for the next one – a world of unique gifts await.

Netty likes Jam

Mack and I should have thought ahead and planned to take the bus, but it didn’t work out that way this afternoon, and we ended up parking in the zoo on campus. At a flat rate of $3.75, it wasn’t expensive, but it still added to the overall “admission plus” charges that day.

The Craft Sale charges $5 admission for adults, providing access to 240 vendors. We saw a ton of people coming out of the building, arms laden with bags and random knick-knacks purchased in anticipation of the holidays, and we were hoping to get some shopping done in a similar fashion.

Butterdome floor

I think what surprised me the most was the the artisans came from all over Canada – I saw quite a few vendors from Vancouver, Winnipeg and Toronto. And while we did see some very unique items (including Jim Nodge’s iron sculptures, and Tin House Design’s framed squares of reclaimed tin ceiling panels), Mack and I for the most part were disinterested shoppers. It took us just over an hour to walk through the entire floor, and we even took time to pause at the occasional vendor. All we had to show for our visit were two t-shirts Mack bought from Grimm (his favourite says “shouldn’t you be on a ledge somewhere”).

The Butterdome will hold its third Spring Craft Sale from May 1 – 3, but after this experience, I think I will stick with the smaller fairs, like Stop and Shop and the Royal Bison Craft & Art Fair. Though I’m glad the Butterdome helps to push handmade crafts into the “mainstream”, the overall feel is too “corporate” and not as personal as the smaller, grassroots fairs, in my opinion.