Maple soap to spruce tips, Circle Craft Holiday Market returns with all-Canadian roster, November 11 to 16
This year’s 300-plus artisan offerings include wood tree ornaments in the shape of provinces and hoodies with hand-painted West Coast vistas
Woods(wo)man Woodworking’s wooden ornaments in the shape of B.C. (left); RavenSong’s O’Kanata Soap.
Circle Craft Holiday Market takes place November 11 to 16 at the Vancouver Convention Centre
FROM MAPLE-SYRUP-INFUSED soaps to seasonings with spruce tips, the Circle Craft Holiday Market’s handmade offerings have an even more elbows-up-Canadian feel than usual this year.
Among the 2025 highlights that show Great White North pride: RavenSong’s O’ Kanata Soap, boasting a formulation with Indigenous-made Wabanaki maple syrup; Forest for Dinner’s foraged seasonings; Woods(wo)man Woodworking’s wooden ornaments dedicated to Canada’s provinces and territories; Ashleigh Green Studios’ stickers, pins, and patches paying tribute to Canadian cities. Meanwhile, A Moose in a Maple Tree has built a boutique series of children’s books based on Canadian mythology. And maple syrup itself doesn’t get much purer than the organic, amber offerings of Cosman & Webb Farm; based in Quebec’s Eastern Townships, it’s been perfecting the stuff for nearly half a century, selling it in glass bottles worthy of fine elixirs.
Cambria Logan’s Shoreline Magic.
Elsewhere, the wilderness of the West Coast abounds across B.C.–made finds at the market. Abbotsford’s the.art.shed Art + Apparel is on deck with hats and hoodies featuring hand-painted coastal vistas. “West Coast minimalist” scenes also abound within the work of Sunshine Coast artist Cambria Logan: orcas, bears, trees, and waterfalls appear across her limited-edition silkscreen prints on reclaimed wood boards. Nanaimo’s April Lacheur, meanwhile, calls her vivid-hued paintings of Arbutus and firs “a love letter to trees”. And did someone say bespoke perfume? Vancouver Island’s Flore Botanical Alchemy handblends small batches of perfume inspired by the ancient rainforests and seasides of the Pacific Northwest, distilling botanicals that are native to the area and formulating them with ethically sourced rare essences. Take Forêt du Pétrichor, meant to evoke “river rocks and musky earth after the first summer rain”, or Nuit d’Hiver, with its touches of real fir balsam and grand fir.
In all, more than 300 vendors are set to hit the Vancouver Convention and Trade Centre, with doors opening on Remembrance Day, November 11, and running through the weekend. Everything is Canada-made at the show, which still ranks as Western Canada’s largest holiday market. ![]()
Flore Botanical Alchemy’s solid perfume, Nuit d’Hiver.
Janet Smith is founding partner and editorial director of Stir. She is an award-winning arts journalist who has spent more than two decades immersed in Vancouver’s dance, screen, design, theatre, music, opera, and gallery scenes. She sits on the Vancouver Film Critics’ Circle.
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