One-Stop Shopping! Great Holiday Gift Giving Ideas

By Shannon Nixon, Health & Body Care Department

This year we have an abundance of wonderful holiday gift options available at our store. With so many fun things to choose from, the Wedge can help you simplify your holiday shopping because we have something for everyone on your list! We've searched far and wide for offerings that are beautiful, sustainable, fairly traded and supportive of local companies and artists.

Look for an assortment of colorful hats, gloves, scarves, leg warmers, socks and ponchos in ultra-soft alpaca wool. These products are made by skilled artisans working in knitting co-ops in Bolivia, and come to us from Andes Gifts, a company that uses only fair trade labor. Some of the knitters are even members of the business owner's extended family. Other fair trade textiles we will be offering are luxurious silk and velvet scarves, jackets and throws from the local company, Cocoon House. Other new fair trade items we are excited about are brooms made from 100 percent renewable sorghum and bamboo. The brooms are dyed in vibrant, natural, non-toxic colors. Check for seeds and buds in the bristles as they are supposed to bring good fortune for the coming year.

There are a host of products available that are made right here in our region. For starters, let us recommend some great personal care lines made from excellent, pure ingredients. The Rochester, Minnesota company, Scrub Your Butt, has a great line of products with silly, amusing packaging. Try their body soaps and moisturizing body balms scented with natural essential oils. We will also be featuring Bryn Mawr soaps from Minneapolis, which continue to be one of our top selling bar soaps. We also have yummy body polishes made from organic oils and organic shea butter made by the Wisconsin company, Trillium. They are committed to making products that are free of chemical ingredients and synthetic fragrances. Some other local items we will be offering are pottery by Peter Jadoonath and Mary Jo Schmith, both from St. Paul, and stained glass and recycled hand-made paper ornaments and holiday cards by the Sisters of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota.

Looking for something to give to the small people in your life? This season the Wedge will be carrying new items from North Star Toys, a very small family owned and operated business in New Mexico. They have been making high quality, non-toxic wooden toys since 1979. Recycled materials are used whenever possible. In addition, we will be carrying kids' books and fair trade and locally made kids' clothing.

A few other cool new items are beeswax, soy wax, and paraffin and hemp oil blend candles made with solar power. Give a gift that supports renewable energy! Look also for just-in products from the California company, Juniper Ridge. We are enamored with their wild herb bar soaps in all natural scents such as Western Juniper and Desert Pinon. They also make herbal sachets, incense and a delightful Douglas Fir tea. The owner, Hall Newbegin, deeply believes in harvesting the plants he uses in his products in an ethical and sustainable manner. Juniper Ridge donates 10 percent of their profits to groups that defend western wilderness.

Last but not least, we would like to mention the new Wedge Co-op T-shirts, reusable shopping bags and stainless steel travel mugs. The T-shirts are sweatshop-free, made in America clothing, and some of the shirts are printed on organic cotton (the baby T-shirts and onesies are unbelievably cute). The shopping bags were made with fair trade labor and printed on both recycled cotton and organic cotton. Our shirts and T's were both printed by a local screen printer. We love the new design that was produced by one of our talented employees.

These are just a few of the offerings we have available currently at the Wedge. We are looking forward to seeing you in the store and hope you have a wonderful holiday season.