We are big supporters of small business. They are the heart of our respective communities. They are opportunities to connect, support other local makers, keep money in our community, a more eco-friendly way to shop which includes less travel time and often less packaging. It’s all around win win in our eyes. We’ve set out a list of some of our favourite stores for shopping local. One of the many reasons we likes these stores is because they all support other local artisans, makers and small business. So visit them in person or online and see what items they have that will make that perfect gift for someone special this holiday season.
Bird on A Wire Creations has been a long time supporter of local artists and have gathered quite a collection of beautiful items from a variety of artisans around BC. If you haven’t checked out this space, we encourage you to stop by. They are located at 2535 Main Street near Broadway.
Doctor Vigari Gallery is a great space at 1816 Commercial Drive supporting visual artists. You can find array of items perfect for gift giving including pieces of art from one of our favourite artists June Hunter.
Second Nature Home is a home décor boutique located at 3565 Commercial Street in Cedar Cottage. The store has a wide range of items outside of home décor including jewellery, gifts for the foodie in your life, something cute for the new baby or new mom and much more. They currently have extended hours running up to Christmas. December 17-23rd they are open until 9:00 pm and Monday, December 24th they are open 11:00 am – 4:00 pm.
Plenty + Spare is located at 2168 East Hasting Street. It’s easy to miss by the smells of their neighbour East Village Bakery which can draw you in by your nose literally, but do stop into Plenty + Spare. They create an array of beautiful handmade bath and beauty products along with a few other items brought in for the holiday season.
Giving Gifts is a very cool space located at 4570 Main Street. The store tucked between 30th & 29th Avenue is made of up 5 rooms packed with items from 100 local as well as fair trade artists from around the world. It is a gift giving boutique so you will easily be able to pick up a few gifts for just about any age.
Tiny Finery is a sweet little shop located in Hastings Sunrise at 2629 East Hastings Street that features jewellery as well as local pottery, leather work, prints and some greeting cards. They also do custom jewellery work if you have something specific in mind.
Jackson’s General Store
Jackson’s General Store is new this year and located at 1490 Kingsway (at Dumfries) near Knight Street. Don’t be fooled on the new, this is an old store reworked and owner, Mike Jackson, has 30 years of business under his belt and eclectic mix of cool and unique items in store. Here you will find a large array of items for gift giving and lots of edibles as well as vintage and retro items. To get a sense of what they have, visit them on Instagram.
Why we should Shop Local.
For every $100 you spend with a local business, $46 is re-circulated back into the BC economy (vs $18 for multi nationals). Small business re-circulates 2.6 times more revenue in the local economy as do chains.
ILiveInEastVan.com 
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