Shop Canadian: Support What’s Close to Home

When you shop for gifts this holiday season, where you spend your money matters.

At What a Jewel, we are proud to be a Canadian-owned and operated gift shop, and supporting Canadian businesses has always been an important part of who we are.

We are a small business, just like many of the Canadian makers, artists, artisans and manufacturers we are fortunate enough to work with. When you choose to shop with us, you are not only supporting us, you’re helping support the many Canadian businesses behind the products we sell.

More Than 60% of Our Products Are Made in Canada

We make a conscious effort to stock Canadian products whenever we can.

More than 60% of the products we carry are made in Canada. Another approximately 20% are designed in Canada but manufactured elsewhere (Not the USA), while the remaining products are sourced from around the world.(Australia, United Kingdom, China, France, Italy)

Only a very small percentage – approximately 0.1% of our products – are made in the United States.

We believe in offering our customers interesting, useful and unique gifts while giving Canadian-made products and Canadian designers a prominent place in our store.

From gifts for men and women to children’s gifts, home décor, mugs, barware, Canadian souvenirs and unique gift ideas, we are always looking for products that offer quality and something a little different.

Why Shopping Local Matters

Small businesses are the backbone of communities across Canada.

When you shop at a locally owned Canadian business, more of your spending stays within the Canadian economy. It helps small retailers, manufacturers, designers, artists, craftspeople and other businesses continue doing what they do best.

For us, that connection is especially important because many of the products we sell come directly from Canadian manufacturers and artisans.

When you purchase one of their products from us, you are helping create a chain of support:

You support What a Jewel → we support Canadian makers → Canadian makers support their employees, suppliers and communities.

That is something worth celebrating.

The Changing Cost of Selling to the United States

For many years, we also had customers in the United States. At one point, up to 20% of our orders came from the USA.

Unfortunately, changing tariffs, shipping costs and the complications involved in sending products across the border have made selling to American customers increasingly difficult and, in many cases, simply no longer practical for our small business.

Like many small Canadian businesses, this has had an impact on our bottom line.

We understand that customers have choices about where they shop. That is why we are asking our Canadian customers to consider making a choice that can make a real difference to small businesses like ours.

This Holiday Season, Please Shop Canadian

If you are looking for Canadian gifts, unique gifts, gifts for him, gifts for her, gifts for kids or something special for someone who has everything, please keep What a Jewel in mind.

You will find quality products, many of them made in Canada or designed by Canadian artists and companies.

But more importantly, your purchase helps.

It helps the Canadian manufacturers and artisans we buy from.

It helps our Indigenous manufacturers, designers and creators.

And it helps keep small businesses and independent makers thriving.

Your Holiday Shopping Choices Make a Difference

We know that buying everything locally isn’t always possible. Sometimes the product you are looking for simply isn’t made here.

But when there is a choice, we hope you will consider shopping local and buying Canadian.

This holiday season, before automatically ordering from a large international marketplace, take a moment to look at Canadian-owned businesses and independent gift shops.

You might discover something more unique, find a wonderful Canadian-made gift, and know that your purchase is helping Canada at the same time.

Thank You for Supporting What a Jewel

We have been incredibly grateful for every customer who has chosen to shop with us.

As a small Canadian gift shop, your support genuinely matters.

So this holiday season, please keep us in mind when you are looking for gifts.

Shop local. Shop Canadian. Support small business.

And thank you for helping us continue to support the talented Canadian makers, artisans and manufacturers who make so many of the products in our store possible.

From our small Canadian business – thank you for shopping with us.