Walking up and down the Ossington strip there is a wealth of great retailers and pop-ups selling unique and thoughtful gifts for your friend, family member or yourself this December. Since last year we’ve had many new additions in retail including Rescue Vintage, Town Moto and Gravity Pope. We’ve got some examples below of unique gifts, but make sure you take a walk of your own – you’ll also meet some very nice and interesting people in those shops.
At Macedo Wine at 30 Ossington, you can make order your own wine from all kinds of grapes. They also sell these starter kits with all the materials, including a guide book, to make wine at home. Cost: $79. Maybe the person you gift it to will give you some of their finished product!
Quasi Modo at the corner of Argyle and Ossington is a stylish furniture store, but there are some smaller items that would be good gifts for friends who like modern and artsy touches for the home. We found these Cu-clocks by Nooto Fukawasawa, a noted Japanese industrial designer, for $345.
Further south, at the new Rescue Vintage shop, there are a lot of beautiful outfits to wear to the holiday party. If you’re looking for a small gift, owner Renee has these unique leather journals for only $15. The shop is decorated for Xmas with blue and silver Christmas decorations all over the store, including balls hanging from the ceiling.
At 132 Ossington, Town Moto has a gift pack including a T-Shirt, mug, patch, hat and card all pre-packaged for your motorcycle loving friend. There are many other gift ideas in the store including gloves, helmets and various riding leathers.
Today, the brand new Gravity Pope store at Queen opened their downstairs Home and Gift department and we found these leather strapped blankets. Perfect for your friend who walks over to Trinity Bellwoods for picnics in the summer at only $120. Stylish and practical.
Most shops are open on Sundays and the people we talked to were all very friendly and had insightful and fun recommendations. Shop local!
