Things I bought and liked

1231 Woodbine Ave, East York Toronto,
(on Woodbine about 1/2 way between Danforth and O’Connor)

I have followed Silver Antelope on instagram for a while though I had never made it out to their shop. Well – Silver Antelope has only existed since 2021; before that one of the founders – Lichia Liu – started Gotomago. Gotomago focuses on using environmentally friendly materials and has the most amazing (and some very twee) designs:

Some random Gotomago cards from the website:

Holiday card of toboggans going down a hill barely visibly saying Happy Holidays

baby origami elephant and larger origami elephant; text reads "welcome little one"

So back to Silver Antelope – on January 18, they posted an 18% off sale to celebrate paying back their CEBA loan (oh don’t even get me started on how large corporations also got CEBA loans and how some small local businesses lost their business because of how awfully run this government program was) and to build up their cashflow.

Seemed like a good enough reason for me to finally get some stuff. And what terrific stuff! Lots of Gotomago products and they also carry other brands: “small-batch products that are consciously made by small businesses whose values align with ours, emphasizing companies that are also women-led and/or BIPOC-owned.”

brown paper envelope inside a brown cardboard box with a sticker reading "Silver Antelope" on it — *Such a lovely package. Simple and clean.*

I am trying to use my journal(s) more and I thought some fun stickers might help 🙂

Never one to shy away from a deal – I bought two “mystery card packs.” These are assorted packages of 10 cards (for $12!!) that are either discontinued designs or have slight flaws. If there are any flaws I definitely couldn’t see them. I also bought 2 packs of “imperfect envelopes” to go with them.

A white pencil with I (heart emoji) math engraved on it.

A gift for Q – he loves it! I’m glad I got him two.

Picture of lovely red flowers on long stems with the word fuck written delicately above.

This will be going on my yellow yeti tumbler that I use for coffee 🙂

And they sent along a present too:

They have a load of stuff for lunar new year, and you can shop by brand or look through a list of zero waste and recycled products or “gifts that give back” where they make a donation of partial proceeds to a charity doing important work in local and global communities. Shipping in Canada and the US is free for $125 or more in spending; other countries and less than $125 is charged by weight. Or you can pick up from the shop — funny how far away Woodbine feels though from Broadview lol (it’s about 5 km away).

I got a couple of other cards but I don’t want to ruin the surprise for the people that will be getting them so I won’t be sharing those. Needless to say though it’s a terrific shop – and the online experience was easy and straightforward. It may take me a while to need more cards but they will definitely be one of the shops I check out when I do.

Oh and afterwards I got an e-mail saying that if I would like to leave a review on my purchases I would get a 10% off code to use next time. Now that I’ve opened everything and used some of it I will do that! Oh and I’ll leave a google review too – I think that also helps small businesses a bunch!

Indigenous Women’s Market – an intro

In early November 2020 I stumbled across a facebook group that had formed to help connect Indigenous women/women identifying artists/creators/beaders/chefs/writers/etc with those looking to purchase gifts with meaning for that holiday season. The name expanded from by dropping the “holiday” qualifier and is now “Shop Indigenous Women’s Market.” Covering all of Turtle Island, the breadth and scope is amazing. Beaded jewellery, moccasins, ribbon skirts (and ribbon shirts), soaps and lotions, dream catchers, horn, you name it and someone can make it for you.

It’s amazing to think I remember when there were less than 8 – 10,000 members in the group. And now there are close to 79,000!

I thought I would share some of the people I have met through the page, some things I’ve purchased and also some stuff I’ve learned. Because of my love of cross-stitch and embroidery, I’ve been quite taken by the beauty and intricacy of beadwork. So I have tried to learn a little and will be sharing some of that too.

But for now, here’s how it all started. An exchange with my mother that I posted in the group in December 2020:

Me: the bread wreath is from an Indigenous baker in Sudbury.
My mother: How did you find wreath bread from an Indigenous baker in Sudbury?
Me: well, I found this group on FB; and I found lots of lovely things. I bought some lip balms for our stockings (from BC), and some chocolates and a bread wreath (Sudbury) and that necklace I wear a lot now from an Inuk creator who is now in the Maritimes I think. And I bought three pairs of earrings from someone else in BC and a seal cuff from the NWT. Whew.
My mom: sounds lovely dear. And like you’re broke.
Me: yep! both! I hope it sticks around after the holidays.

Links to the people/shops in the exchange above:

The “Indigenous baker” who also makes the most amazing chocolate – https://www.ravenrising.ca/

BC lip balms – in gorgeous flavours (I love earl grey and Q loves summer love) – https://blackbirdholistic.ca/

My ulu necklace was made by Iviok Akoak – https://www.instagram.com/inuk.barbie/?hl=en

The earrings I mentioned were made by Georgia May Creations – https://www.facebook.com/groups/1716209265193558

And the amazing seal cuff from Inuk 360 – https://www.inuk360.com/

I just fell in love with the idea of buying directly from the person who made the thing. And a little bit of knowing there were only a certain number – or maybe just one – made. Though thankfully the lip balm is still around so I can buy more! (Our friends’ kids all got a special edition Orange Shirt Day lip balm from Black Bird Holistic in their Hallowe’en treat bags)

And it also hit all those feel-good points that you need around the holidays: buying locally, buying sustainably, supporting women, supporting women-owned businesses, supporting Indigenous women, supporting Indigenous-owned businesses, knowing where your money goes, and so on. In short, I’m glad I found it and will be sharing some of things I bought and people I’ve met (some of whom I am lucky enough to now consider friends).