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Local Gifts for the
Season
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by Suzanne Fisher
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As fall deepens into early
winter a, thoughts turn to families, friends and traditions that gather
us together. Gifts are one way we celebrate this season, but procuring
them can often be a source of indecision and anxiety. Consider a less
stressed way of shopping — buy choosing local gifts at Honest Weight.
By availing ourselves of this locally produced bounty, we promote a
more ecologically beneficial way of life and stimulate the regional
economy as well.
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Toys
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For
young children, Keim’s Wood Handcrafts of Sulponville provides Honest
Weight with a natural pine make-your-own boat kit for bath tub fun, and
also wooden boats propelled with rubber bands and balloons. These are
made in the Amish community and are a welcome change from plastic toys
made in China.
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Candles
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Bennington
Candles in Bennington (Vt.) offers hand-poured paraffin and soy
aromatherapy candles in a variety of fragrance mixes at a reasonable
price (see February 2008 Scoop "Light Up the Winter Night"). Also
available a Sunbeam Candles from
Van Etten (just outside of Ithaca), whose solar-powered shop makes
candles made from beeswax, soy oil, natural essential oils and dyes,
and cotton wicks. Honest Weight sells their small and large pillars and
large pine cones, appropriate for the current season.
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Soap
and Other Bodycare Products
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Alabu
Soaps in Mechanicville produces a collection of goat’s milk soaps, some
of which are carried by our Wellness department (formerly known as
HaBA), that are the best cleanser for winter-time dry skin that I have
ever found. Made from fresh, farm-raised goat’s milk instead of water,
as well as all-vegetable ingredients, food quality saponified oils and
pure essential oils for scented varieties. Another local soap maker,
Syracuse Soaps, blends shea butter and other oils to create large,
all-natural bars of a wide spectrum of fragrances. Located in Syracuse,
their company consists of friends who wanted to make their living in a
way they could be proud of. Their website details all of the other
products they carry.
Just Soap in Ashfield (Mass.) is a company that sells handmade, all
natural soaps that are mixed by bicycle power. They blend saponified
olive, coconut, and palm oils, essential oils, and herbs and spices
with a bicycle blender, pour them into molds, and cut them into bars
several days later. They are then cured for two months to make them
long lasting. Wise Ways Herbals, founded by Mariam Massaro and located
at Singing Brook Farms in Worthington (Mass.), offers a line of natural
salves, oils, teas, extracts, soaps and many other products. Mariam has
directed Wise Ways for 21 years this January, and is well respected in
the herbal remedy community for her work.
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Edible
Gifts
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Tierra
Farms’ organic dried raw and roasted nuts and nut mixes to Honest
Weight, has its processing facility just outside of Kinderhook (see
July/August 2006 Scoop "Tierra Farm"). Selling only to
co-ops and food stores, they avoid
the middleman , thus reducing their carbon footprint In addition to
such nuts as curry cashews, maple glazed mixed nuts, ginger agave
cashews and tamari almonds, Honest Weight carries their dried fruit,
including blueberries, cranberries, apples, strawberries and prunes.
Divinitea teas is an organic tea blending company located in
Schenectady. Some of the varieties of these loose teas offered by
Honest Weight include Citrus Soother, Earl Green, Hibiscus, Mango
Green, Mayan Chai and Mint Rooibos. One pound of tea makes from 200 to
225 cups of tea, so you may want to try smaller amounts of several
varieties and create your own sampler.
Apples cider jelly from Woods Cider Mills in Springfield (Vt.) is made
from pure apple cider pressed from their apples then cooked in a
stainless steel, wood-fired evaporator. It takes 30 to 50 apples to
make one pound of apple cider jelly, and when you taste it, it seems as
if an apple barn has suddenly materialized inside your mouth. This
jelly, naturally preserved by the sugars of the fruit, can be kept at
room temperature.
A few other sweet gifts include bulk and jarred maple syrup from
Adirondack Maple Farms in Fonda and — recommended by our gourmet
department — Big Woods Wildflower Honey, produced by David Lord from
his small family farm in Greenville. Honest Weight carries several
varieties of their honey in jars that are the perfect size for slipping
into a basket of goodies.
Also recommended by the gourmet department is the Blackberry Merlot Jam
and the Raspberry Chardonnay Jam cooked up in Cobleskill by Healthy
Community Harvest, which is affiliated with Hunger Action Network of
New York State. They also make the Tomato Bruschetta and the Roasted
Pepper Bruschetta for a savory treat. Simple Foods in Tonawanda
supplies the Co-op with tasty carob squares and rice cakes that can be
found in the bulk section. And while there, you will see Baker’s
Daughter’s (from Albany, profiled in the February 2007 Scoop "Baker's Daughter
Confections") chocolate
and nuts in chunks at a bulk price as well.
You can personalize your gift by creating a basket or other decorative
container of several items. And consider avoiding paper wrapping paper
by selecting a reusable wrap — such as an Honest Weight Coop shopping
bag made of recycled soda bottles, manufactured in New Hampshire.
As you see, there are many possibilities for some wonderful local
holiday gifts at Honest Weight. This list really just scratches the
surface, and the selection is expanding all the time. Come on in, shop
and enjoy, do it in a eco-friendly and healthy way, and enjoy the
holidays to come!
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