Lifestyle

Inventory: Made-in-B.C. wares to help you stay cosy during the cold winter months

From fire starter to hot sauce, these gifts will give anyone that warm, fuzzy feeling.

By Alyssa Hirose /

Credit: Pot Inc.

The Palano Fire Bowl from Pot Inc. will heat up those patio gatherings

From fire starter to hot sauce, these gifts will give anyone that warm, fuzzy feeling

Bowled Over

Vancouver-based Pot Inc. mostly creates high-quality aluminum planters, but founder and landscape designer Todd Holloway also crafts vessels to hold a much hotter commodity (you guessed right, it’s fire). The steel Palano Fire Bowl can keep those safe outdoor gatherings going all winter long. Online

Credit: J Josue Photography

GingerSnap’s Crochet

Hot Head

Tired of tuques that were cosy (but ugly) or cute (but cold), Kristy Elden started crocheting-it-herself from her home in East Vancouver. She stitched together GingerSnap’s Crochet in 2017 and has since exhibited at many a farmers market; this fall she was an Amazon Handmade featured artisan. All that fame hasn’t gone to Elden’s (properly insulated) head, though–she still makes every piece with her own two hands. Online

Credit: Three Bees

Three Bees fire starter

Start the Fire

After developing some mean fire-starting skills on Ucluelet’s “wet coast,” Katie Richardson decided to share the heat by founding Three Bees in 2017. Her all-natural, upcycled fire starters are made in Vancouver out of cedar furniture offcuts and “dirty wax” (unrendered comb) from beehives. Use one in your campfire or wood-burning fireplace for soothing, aromatic warmth. Online

Credit: Neighbourly Pottery

Neighbourly Pottery mug

Snug as a Mug

Johanna Friesen mindfully designs her Canadian clay creations to feel good in your hands. She built Neighbourly Pottery in 2018 out of hard circumstance–pottery was a kind of therapy for her as she experienced significant health issues. Friesen’s minimalist mugs and other vessels are all handmade at her home studio in the Okanagan’s Lake Country. Online 

Credit: Sriracha Revolver 

Sriracha Revolver hot sauces

Sugar and Spice

Indigenous entrepreneur Jordan Hocking found cooking a great creative outlet when she was at home in Vancouver raising her kids, and turned her hobby into a business in 2017. Now Sriracha Revolver hot sauces are available in five flavours–shout-out to Clean Mango, a sweet and spicy blend–online and at retail and grocery stores across the country.

Credit: Saltspring Soapworks

Saltspring Soapworks

Personal Bubble

Amber and Gary Quiring took over Saltspring Soapworks in 2012 (the business was launched in 1979 by Linda Quiring, Gary’s mother). Over the years, the pair have moved from a kitchen to a barn to a small factory, but they’ve kept up their mission to provide moments of calm in our noisy world. Their soaps (including Noble Fir, Cypress Clay and Charcoal Neroli) prioritize natural ingredients and are mixed and packaged by hand. Online