Category Archives: Shop Local
Local Products: Chocolate Delight
By Rachel Pavely
Celebrate Valentine’s Day with our favourite chocolate products!
Staying Warm and Cozy
On this very cold day where it feels like -27°C, check out our local products to help you stay warm and cozy including items from Elemi Organics, Presents Presents Presents, On the Lamb, The Passionate Cook’s Essentials and more…
Celebrating 2 Years: Our Favourite Foods
This issue marks our 25th copy of Uxbridge Town Talk, and our 2nd anniversary!
May 2011 Issue
When we started Uxbridge Town Talk almost two years ago, we knew we wanted a recipe page. It not only satisfies the foodies in us, but we both love new ways to cook for our families. We hear all the time how many of you flip right to From My Mom’s Kitchen when our magazine comes out, or have this page up on your fridge.
In honour of Mother’s Day this month, we wanted to share the story of how this page came to be.
In 2004 when Kirsty was four months pregnant with her son, her mom, Barb, died suddenly. Barb was a great chef and baker; a one-time cook at a daycare, she and Kirsty created a little spiral-bound cookbook of Barb’s recipes as a fundraiser for the centre. It includes kofta (curry meatballs), tea biscuits, English trifle, Barb’s funky potatoes and more.
Out of this cookbook, and Kirsty’s memories of mealtimes, cooking and laughing with Barb, came From My Mom’s Kitchen. It’s such an honour that our tribute to her is so well received.
Read on to see our readers’ love for their moms via our Facebook fan page, plus a fun contest for Father’s Day to make your dad famous. You’ll also find local products of the rainbow, a look at Uxbridge’s Chamber Choir and book clubs (one is more than 100 years old!), another packed community calendar and why Carly is struggling with her daughter’s move to a big girl bed.
We also want to welcome two interns to our team: Dana Kenedy (Durham College, journalism) and Rebecca Cranney (Loyalist College, marketing). Their work is all through the magazine this month, and they’ve both been super additions to our office.
Hollywood North
Uxbridge is gaining some star power thanks to a local business owner.
Elemi Organics owner Ginny van Veghel is attending the 2011 Grammy Awards Talent Swag Social on February 12. The event, at the famous Plush Lounge on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, is an exclusive invite-only event for Grammy Award nominated musicians, celebrities and media.
“When the invite came through, I didn’t actually believe it,” laughs the petite and spunky van Veghel. “For me, I’m just a little company in Uxbridge, so I thought, ‘Yeah, right!’”
Friends researched the info, and confirmed it was legitimate, she ads. But even after she’d signed the paperwork, it still did not hit her. Only now, as she is making product and booking hotel rooms is it finally sinking in.
van Veghel will be one of only 10 businesses on site to hand out products. At press time, she was also the only Canadian company. She uses 100 per cent pure, therapeutic-grade essential oils, combined with organic ingredients to create soaps, household cleaners, lip balms, massage bars, soy candles and more in her store at 58 Brock St. W.
She’s unsure how organizers came across her line of products in “little ol’ Uxbridge” but van Veghel wonders if it might be word-of-mouth from another event she did in 2009. Elemi items were gifted at the Canadian Country Music Awards, and she has also donated to high-end charity events. The company that produced that swag lounge was an existing customer of hers.
van Veghel is taking 300 of her signature stainless steel tins with her, stuffed with Friggin’ Lip Balms and a new product launching in the swag room: Ink Balm to help heal, protect and enhance tattoos. Her husband and two staff members are accompanying her.
“I still feel very grounded,” she says, when asked if she’s excited or nervous. “It’s a great opportunity.”
