Emily Ellis
This past year marked yet another challenging year for small businesses across Canada as our economy continues to battle its way to its long-anticipated recovery. With the holiday season around the corner, and Canadians preparing to celebrate with family and friends, our team chose to show our support for some of our top-ten favorite small businesses with this gift guide.
At K&P, we believe it’s important to support local, Canadian-made businesses this holiday. Whether it’s a gift for a special someone or picking up sweet treats for the family or friends, we’ve got you covered with some of our local favorites in both Toronto and Montreal!
Local Businesses – Toronto
1. Queen Books
Looking for the perfect gift for a bookworm? Participating in an office Christmas gift exchange? We’ve got you covered! Head on over to Leslieville at 914 Queen St. E to Queen Books, an independent bookstore in Toronto’s East End. They offer online orders and curb-side pickup to meet your shopping needs.
Looking to spice up someone’s holiday season? The Spice Trader, located at 877 Queen Street West has herbs, spices, seasonings and pantry items that will make a tremendous difference to your loved ones’ cooking! The seasonings and blends are mixed and prepared by hand and in small batches, so they are always fresh with no preservatives, fillers or MSG and are NON-GMO.
After a couple of years of working from home, you can never go wrong with comfy clothes. Mimi Island Designs is a sustainable, comfortable, Canadian-made lounge-wear company, inspired by the beautiful Georgian Bay. The clothes are knit, dyed and produced by a female-led team in Toronto and made of their TENCEL ™ Modal fibers, offering a better approach to comfort and sustainability. All products are shipped in 100% recycled packaging with 90 per cent of the fabric biodegradable and sustainably source.
Who wouldn’t enjoy an all-natural, cruelty-free candle for your friend or family member? Real Talk Candle located on 302 Carlaw Avenue offers vegan, soy blend candles that are mildly scented. To keep their candles as natural as possible, no artificial coloring is added to the candles and wicks are environmentally responsible with wood or paper wicks.
Looking to sweeten up your holiday gifts? Mary’s Brigadeiro, located at 1912 Danforth Avenue, is a black woman led business with the mission of sharing moments of happiness, joy and fun through chocolate creations – through Canada’s vast multicultural influence. The Brigadeiro is a composition of sweetened condensed milk, good quality real butter, pure Cocoa Powder and fine chocolate with up to 50 per cent cacao for a perfect balance of sweetness.
Local Businesses – Montreal
6. Weeds
Want some beautiful home décor for your home? Or looking for a gift for a new homeowner in Montreal? Mauvaises Herbes is a women-led small business with a mission to democratize the manufacture of cosmetics and household products. Located at 6260 St. Hubert, this Montreal favorite offers accessories and a range of artisanal products designed and developed within the company. From body care to home and lifestyle products, Les Mauvaises Herbes encourages you to think outside the box by making your own cosmetics and household products.
Nothing says Happy Holidays like sharing a drink or two with family and friends. This Montreal-based store, located at 307 Rue de la Montagne offers microbrewery beers, ciders and Quebec wines. Although functioning primarily as an online store, this local business makes choosing the perfect holiday beverage easier, and all in an eco-responsible way. Décapsuleur is passionate about sustainable development, healthy lifestyles as well as the consumption of Quebec products such as beers from local micro-breweries.
8. Casa Pablo
Gifting for a coffee lover? Casa Pablo is a café-boutique located in the heart of Mile-Ex at 50 Rue Jean-Talon O. This local business offers 100 per cent Colombian coffee and accessories along with a beautiful selection of indoor tropical plants, planters and new and handcrafted household items. The coffee beans are grown in Salento, Colombia and the tropical plants and cacti are carefully selected and perfectly maintained.
9. Mimz
Durable, handcrafted clothes make for a thoughtful surprise for that special someone. Mimz is a Quebec-based women’s clothing company where sustainability and transparency come first. The small business offers comfortable and stylish clothes for all seasons, but is most popular for its fabulous swimwear collection. The company, founded in 2017, focuses on one-piece swimsuits and additional pieces exclusively made in Quebec.
Be the life of the holiday party with these sweet treats! This boutique bake shop, located at 5707 Rue Sherbrooke Ouest, offers a wide variety of delicious baked goods, including cakes, cookies, cupcakes, macarons, gelato and hot chocolate bombs. Place your orders fast, as their Christmas pastries, which are too adorable to pass up, will be very popular this season.