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Best local Christmas gifts from the Handmade Parade

The Times Review hit up the Revelstoke Handmade Parade this weekend to scout out the top local gifts at the craft fair.
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Inge Anhorn models some knit mittens while she shows off one of her towels at the Handmade Parade last weekend.


Shop local is all the rage these days. With that in mind, the Times Review hit up the Handmade Parade this weekend to scout out the top local gifts at the craft fair. Here’s what we found:

Quaich, by Corin Flood

Is there a whiskey drinker in your life? They might appreciate a quaich to imbibe their drink with.

A quaich is a two-handled drinking cup used primarily in Scotland for drinking whisky. They sometimes have a hole in one handle so you could easily loop it to your belt, Corin Flood told me.

The quaich is one of several wood items made by Flood (top right), whose specialty is bowls. He makes them from scavenged local wood, most of which comes from trees chopped down in people’s yards or by the city. “I divert it from the firewood stream,” he said.

The bowls are turned twice on a lathe – first when wet, and again once they’re dried. Some are decorated using a milk and lime paint.

If you want a bowl or quaich, look for Flood at the Christmas Farm & Craft market at the community centre this Saturday.

Metal Clay workshop, with Dana Cloghesy

Dana Cloghesy’s stand at the Handmade Parade (top left)  was full of jewellery, ranging from bracelets to earings made out of silver, gem stones and more.

But the woman behind Vivid Designs Jewellery was more eager to promote her metal clay workshops as a gift, rather than her own goods. “This year the unique gift for your woman would be a $100 gift certificate to take a workshop,” she said.

Cloghesy teaches a process called silver metal clay. The process involves mixing silver with an organic binder and water. The clay can be shaped like any other clay and after firing, the binder burns away, leaving the metal behind.

“I want people to discover the magic of metal clay themselves,” she said. “To watch something go into the kiln as clay and come as silver is pretty magical.”

To learn more, visit Cloghesy’s website at  www.vividdesignsjewellery.com.

Vistige pottery, by Jacqueline Palmer

Jacqueline Palmer (bottom left) works out of her studio crafting bowls, mugs, vases and other items.

“The unique thing about my pottery is it reflects the characters and personalities of the community,” she says.

Her pottery is adorned with paintings of local wildlife, from caribou to owls to grizzly bear. She uses the ash produced from the firing process in a glaze to create the paintings.

Palmer has been creating things out of clay since she was a seven-year-old growing up in Woollongong, Australia. She has lived in Revelstoke for the past two years.

Her most unique item? Probably the travel mug that is plugged by a large cork.

You can find Palmer’s work at Talisman, the Revelstoke Museum, and the Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre.

Learn more at her website, www.vistige.ca.

Cards, by Patti and Satish Shonek

Of course, no gift is complete without a card, and Patti and Satish Shonek had a whole varity available.

The cards were made using paintings and photos by the two of them. You can find the cards at Art First Gallery.