Raw Chocolate Favours

Can you imagine a chocolate that is actually good for you?  Well, technically it is the cacao that is good for you being high in anti-oxidants.  Cacao is a superfood with many health benefits.  Cacao is also reported to increase the feeling of love and can ‘open the heart chakra’.  What better way then can you say, “I love you” than with the gift of chocolate and a chocolate that everyone can eat. 

Let me introduce to you Emma of Zimt Artisan Chocolates.  A Vancouverite with a commitment to veganism ( coming up on 6 years), the raw food movement,  and of course, chocolate.  Emma drew on her passions to bring Zimt into being with a purpose of providing a local, accessible, healthy alternative unlike any other chocolate option.

Zimt Artisan Chocolates are the perfect wedding favour.  Made without dairy, with fair trade ingredients, diabetic friendly and produced locally, the petite chocolates are the best wedding favour; one that is consumable.  Zimt also has 9 different varieties of bars and any of these can be made into a mini for weddings.

When Emma began Zimt last year she had always dreamed of running her own business.  After learning about raw food and committing to healthier lifestyle she decided to begin her own chocolate line in late 2010.  She spent the following summer working in the kitchen to perfect her chocolate, her brand and her packaging.  She chose the name Zimt, meaning “Cinnamon” in German to honour her first language and her heritage.  With support from her family, especially her grandmother, Emma works hard to produce a line of chocolate that is eco-friendly and ethically made.

Zimt Artisan Chocolate is an exhibitor at The Grassroots Wedding  Mini Spring ‘Pop-Up’ Fair this weekend.  Come by and taste it for yourself.

Handmade, Repurposed, Burlaps Coffee Bags

Starting today on our handmade burlap gift bags for all of our guests.  Saltspring Island Coffee graciously gave us their extra burlap coffee sacks.  We shall make good use of them.   We visited their Richmond store and picked up a nice bundle to start with.

We are not like other wedding fair where you receive swag bags full of advertising material.  As we are a homegrown event we try to give all of our guests their own wedding favour as they leave.  In the past we have given away flower seeds and macaroons.  This year we will have a handmade 3D paper heart in our little handsewn bags to give out. 

I will give a shout out now to all my little crafty helpers who really go above and beyond the call in helping me pull all the DIY elements together.

Floral Inspirations

(photography by Simply Rose)

Onyx Harris of Amoda Flowers is on a mission.  Her mission is to create beautiful sustainable bridal bouquets for those couples looking to tread lightly on the earth.   Providing not only  bouquets, Amoda Flowers creates stunning and unique centrepieces and can help discerning couples with eco-friendly wedding favours such as herb plants, seedlings and seed packets.

(2 above photographs Simply Rose)

All floral arrangements shown here are creations of Amoda Flowers. 

“Picking flowers in season is always a good place to start. This way your flowers should be hold up well with the weather of your wedding day. Their travel has also been short therefore they are more sustainable and better quality. Here is just a sampling of the lovely seasonal flowers I’d suggest:

Spring : Peony, Iris, Anemone.
Summer: Allium, Calla Lily, Hydrangea, Delphinium, Scabiosa.
Fall: Kale, Dogwood, Solidago.
Winter: Tulips, Ranunculus, Cherry Blossom. Cymbidium Orchid.

Here are a few flowers that are available most of the year: Roses, Gerbera Daisies, Lily, Freesia, Chrysanthemum.”  Onyx Harris

(2 above photographs Snap Weddings)

Chocolatier extraordinaire

The Home Grow-In Cambie Market part II.

Wendy Boys of Cocolico has been around chocolate a long time.  Coming from a background as a pastry chef she ventured out on her own in 2008 and hasn’t looked back.  Her signature chocolate, Vanilla Salt Caramel with Peanut Butter Crunch, was voted by Vancouver Magazine in 2008, as one of the “101 Things to taste before you die”( as previously mentioned in our article, Home Grow-In Part I).  It was a good start for Cocolico.

By 2009 her distributor needed more product and her line expanded and is now in over 100 stores across Canada with 8 different chocolate products.  From the Blim Sunday Market to Portobello and Edible B.C. she has also kept her business in the local community.  She now operates as a co-operative owner at The Home Grow-In Cambie Market and has a beautiful display with many products on hand to purchase. 

And what interests us the most today is that she also makes her chocolates available as wedding favours.  Wendy is able to customize her 2 piece boxes and coordinate them with ribbon and stickers to match a wedding’s colour scheme. 

Cocolico will be at The Grassroots Wedding Fair on February 12 with a table full of chocolate goodies to sample and to purchase.  Pick up a box for your sweetheart and sample what can only be the most luxurious of wedding favours.

 

article by Shona

photos by sweet earth photographics

The Home Grow-In, part I

The Home Grow-In sits at 3010 Cambie Street and is a lovely new collaboration of 12 co-op vendors and owners bringing fresh seasonal produce, baked goods, gourmet chocolates, locally and sustainably raised meats and dairy and so much more to the Cambie Street corridor.  This co-operative store opened in December 2010 and brings with it a very welcoming and community based market experience.  Already over 300 personal community produce boxes are picked up weekly.

Weddings with many products sourced locally are the best way to be sustainable.  The Home Grow-In is a great location to find products produced in BC that can add a certain westcoast flavour to the celebration. 

Consumable wedding favours are the best wedding favours and jam, honey, soap and chocolates are great examples that guests will love.

Urban Sweet Honey is a Vancouver produced honey and the creation of Russel Godwin.  With beehives established from Kitsilano along the railway line out to Surrey they are a true reflection of the Lower Mainland’s community gardens and of course, local weeds.  The bees don’t care and Russell likes the idea of food produced from weeds. This honey  comes in 250 and 500 gram size at present.

Jolene’s Natural Handmade Soap.

And of course, a most delectable wedding favour is chocolate.  Wendy Boys of Cocolico is a pastry chef who creates award winning chocolates and is a part owner of The Home Grow-In.  More information on Cocolico will follow in Part II of this post.  Cocolico does create amazing wedding favours and will be on hand at The Grassroots Wedding Fair with samples and information on custom ordering.

These lovely chocolates were named by Vancouver Magazine in 2008, as one of the “101 Things to taste before you die”.

The Home Grow-In supports social enterprise groups such as Tradeworks and has a host of beautiful wood work on hand in the store.  The Book Nook brings sustainable gardening to the forefront and celebrates a local diet.

Wild Coast Edibles features Edible Landscapes, and treats from around the province from teas, cedar smudge sticks, skin care products and jewelry from the First Nations and other communities in the north. 

Cedar smudge sticks are not always easy to find.  The are a great tool to add an element of nature to a wedding ceremony or handfasting. 

The Home Grow-In will be a welcome spot to visit when the weather improves with a garden oasis out back.  With custom roasted coffee and yummy baked goods this new store will be the place to come, pick up your locally grown veggies, and relax.  It is a link to where our food comes from and a celebration of the bounty we can find in BC. 

The Market is open 7 days a week and offers a wide selection of food, books and gift products.  It is a completely different business model and I  highly recommend a visit to check it out.

written by Shona Dion

photos by sweet earth photographics

To Market to Market

With sustainability on the mind, farmers markets are a great place to find many vendors to green  your wedding.  Sourcing products from cakes, wedding favours to flowers can all be found at the markets.  The chance to meet the individual in person who will help bring your special day to life is a unique opportunity and fosters a sense of community. 

 The Vancouver Farmers Market is a staple in many Vancouver neighbourhoods and even in the dead of winter the market at Nat Bailey Stadium is bustling with vendors and customers alike. For going on 16 years the Farmers Markets have brought local farmers, bakers and crafters to our neighbourhoods.

Sweet Naturally Bakery is now a regular sight at the market.  With a focus on organic ingredients and simply amazing yumminess (wait until you try the maple oat scone), they are a welcome addition to the market fare. 

The delectable items they have on hand for those chilly Saturday mornings are only half of their business.  They are also amazing wedding cake creators and I have seen these lovely creations first hand. 

Frances and Dickson are committed to creating products that are not only beautiful in their presentation and taste, but that are sustainably made with locally sourced ingredients.  This past year has seen them at the Baker’s Market to The Grassroots Wedding Fair, EP!C and now to the Farmers Market.  We will also see them again in three weeks at The Grassroots Wedding Fair where Frances assures me they will have lots of samples on hand to taste!

One of my favourite tie-ins to weddings from the Farmers Market is the treats available for wedding favours.  Consumable wedding favours are the most eco-friendly and appreciated gifts to give guests.  Many couples make their own jams, bundle their own flower seeds, baked sweet treats, but not everyone is so talented or has the time.  This is when the market is ripe with ideas.  From preserves, honeys and handmade soaps, wedding favours can be found at the market that will make your guests appreciate taking a piece of the local community with them.

Sunshine Coast Natural Care Co. provides soaps for wedding favours and are expanding this year to include personalized lip balms.

Shona Dion

photos by sweet earth photographics

Green Donation Recipient – WC2

I was very excited to hear that Western Canada Wilderness Committee accepted our donation recipient request.  WC2 is a westcoast icon.  For many years they have been fighting the good fight and raising awareness of environmental issues for all of Western Canada. 

What is so great about Western Canada Wilderness Committee is that they actually have a wedding component that ties in nicely to our event.  We encourage those couples who have everything, or need nothing, to accept donations to a charitable organization in lieu of gifts.  Guests love to give gifts and what a great idea to direct those energies to something that has so much more substance.  Not only is it good for our community, it  allows friends and family of the couple to understand their passion and commitment to the environment.  

A wedding I recently photographed even had the couple donate monies to a charitable organization as wedding favours.  Each guest received a small card that advised what had been given on their behalf.  I was impressed with this progressive idea.

Western Canada Wilderness Committee can give you a display to put up at your wedding to give your guests more information on where their gift monies go. The donation can be granted to a specific cause or to the organization itself.

Sue Fox of Western Canada Wilderness Committee also told me that  the organization sells a lot of cards that are used as invitations and thank you cards.  All of the funds from the purchases go right back into the community and the photography is amazing.

I have been a member of WC2 for many years and was an eco-activist in my youth trying to save the Elaho Valley, a success story.  I volunteered with mail outs and calendars.  To give back more than just a membership now is very inspiring for me.  Western Canada Wilderness Committee will receive $2.50 from each paid entrant from The Grassroots Wedding Fair.  Money well raised, I believe.

Western Canada Wilderness Committee will be at The Grassroots Wedding Fair with cards on hand for sale and information regarding their donation program.

Shona Dion

The Green General Store

 

Scraps – The Green General Store is a new and very cool store that has only recently opened on Main Street at 32nd Avenue.  They have only been open for a few months, but already their store is an inviting gallery of eco friendly treats. 

Started by Christina and Cara, Scraps, the Green General Store, began with a mission to bring sustainable items to conscious consumers.  As local residents of the area they have a vested interest in their community.

Their Mission Statement:

“scraps mission is to offer simple, ethical and affordable solutions to conscious consumers in the community. Investors, employees and customers will benefit from their involvement with scraps as they play an integral role in attaining our vision of promoting respect, equality and awareness. scraps will continually strive to gain and share knowledge in order to lighten our carbon footprint and find solutions supporting sustainability.”

Their concept is fantastic and another sign of Vancouver’s further growing as a green city.  Scraps is also still growing.  At my visit Christina and Cara are expanding the store, bringing in new product and establishing themselves as a go-to eco-boutique store.  They have promised to keep us updated with new and exciting news.  I will be following them with interest. 

When I visited the store I was looking for wedding ideas.  I found handmade soaps, beautiful artisan hair accessories, jewelry and upcycled gifting bags.  The store also has great fashions and many unique green products. 

Scraps is located at 4770 Main Street.  You can can visit their website at: http://www.scrapsvancouver.com

photos by sweet earth photographics

Artist Profile – eikcam designs

Grace Lee of eikcam designs holds many titles that describe her efforts as an artist.  Not only is she a jewelry designer and creative photographer, she is an amazing ceramic artist.  Her work incorporates an old world feel that often mimics nature and illicits a romantic sense of style.  Her ceramic wares are both functional and artistic. 

I was invited into her studio recently to watch her work and it was an afternoon of laughter, excitement and creative vision.  It was not until I simply sat back quietly and watched her work that I saw not just beauty in the objects she created, but in the complete process.  To witness that moment was an artist slips effortlessly into that creative space was memorable for me; to document that moment was privileged.

Grace heads to Toronto in a few days to exhibit at the One of a Kind Show .  She was chosen to head to the big TO on an artistic scholarship. 

But back to the wedding connection!  eikcam designs creates beautiful table ware sets that can be given as wedding gifts.  Grace makes a complete set, numbered to your liking!  Let the rellies know and register directly with her.

One more thing… are you stuck finding a meaningful wedding favour?  Grace also creates lovely little ceramic objects that can be given as wedding favours.  She makes lovely hanging birds, tiny bowls, garden accessories and many more items.  Contact her directly at gracelee.designer@gmail.com to arrange a visit to her Vernon Street studio or keep checking in to see what markets she will exhibit at this year.

Yummy wedding favours

 

 Wedding favours come in all shapes and styles, yet many lack any lasting or even immediate meaning.  Why not give a truly unique gift to your guests that allows them to sample local, organic, home grown goodness?

Preserved BC Sunshine, a company devoted to bringing local flavours to your table, is the perfect answer to a wedding favour dilemna.  Find them at your local Farmer’s Market and online.  They make wonderful gift sets or give one beautiful jar for each guest and tantalize their tastebuds.  You can choose from a great selection of flavours and even design your own labels.  Karin Brauch works with her bridal couples to make her products stand out at your wedding and can guarantee your guests will enjoy a little sampling of B.C.