Freshy Photographic Arts

New vendor Freshy Photographic Arts takes local to a whole new level.  Dierdre's prints include many local scenes such as the Toronto skyline (shot from the Island perhaps??) There are images for the sports fan (especially if you like the Jays), some local cherry blossoms and this iconic ferris wheel shot at a Toronto fair.  These sailboats could be anywhere, but we know they were shot close by.

I love both the effects and the colours of these delightful 8x10 prints.  I can imagine a collection of 3 of them with a local theme gracing my wall.  100 Mile Finds decor might have just been born......
All of the Freshy Potographic Arts prints are posted for only $31 for an 8x10, but other sizes are available by request.

Anyway, we are thrilled to welcome Dierdre and her amazing eye to the site!

Warm Fuzzies

Warm Fuzzies - what a perfect store name for one of the newest vendors to join 100 Mile Finds.  These adorable creatures created by Genevieve are not only something your kids will want to cuddle for fun, but they are heating pads for both young and young at heart.  Great to snuggle with on a cool night.

And these all natural felted balls would be the perfect ball to play with for your newest addition.  This particular guy reminds me of Monsters Inc. - one of our favourite movies a few years ago.
We are so thrilled to have Warm Fuzzies with us - welcome to the 100 Mile Finds community.

Argan Oil

A few months ago, my girl friend Lise introduced me to Argan oil. Lise is sorta famous for her fabulous hair, so if she’s using something new on her hair, I’m trying it.  All of the sudden it’s all I’ve been hearing about. Marilisa Racco wrote an article about Argan oil for the Globe in April and when I was at the Green Living Show this year there was a bunch of vendors flogging Argan Oil. It’s all the rage this Argan Oil, that’s for sure.  As a discerning shopper I want to know what to look for when buying Argan Oil, what makes one Argan Oil better than another AND of course I want to find a local company that supplies it.

First off you should know, Argan Oil isn’t just for hair, it’s a bit of a miracle cure. I use a touch on my hair everyday to keep the frizz down and make it look shiny. It’s great on your elbows and heals too. It can do everything from repair your damaged hair, reduce wrinkles and battle acne while diminishing the appearance of age spots and healing dry scalp and diaper rash! This is something you really want as part of your beauty regime.

Margaret of Beaulance Natural Skin Care, a Toronto based company, gave me a few tips on what to look for when you are purchasing Argan Oil. You want to make sure it comes directly from Morocco and it needs to be unrefined, organic and it shouldn’t be mixed with any other oils. She also mentioned that having been in business for so many years it has given her the opportunity to do extensive research when sourcing raw materials to guarantee high quality and the integrity of the product. Margaret gets her Argan Oil from a woman’s coop in Morocco and it is the purest you can get.

Another great tip Margaret passed on was if you wanted to give your hair a special treatment mix one part Argan Oil with one part Olive Oil, massage it into your hair and leave for an hour and then rinse. I know what a spritz in my hair does every morning, after a treatment like that you would be unstoppable!

Beaulance Natural Skin Care offers their Argan Oil with an atomizer which is really great. It ensures that you aren’t dumping a ton of product into your hand and wasting it and the atomizer allows for touch proof use, keeping the product clean.

Beaulance Natural Skin Care will be at the Toronto Raw/VeganFestival on June 9^th and 10^th. You should stop by and say hi! It looks like it’s going to be a great show.

Environmental Health Consulting

One of the newest vendors to 100 Mile Finds is Environmental Health Consulting.  Their slogan,

Live with joy, in the healthiest space possible. That makes sense to me.

They provide Healthy Home assessments, holistic evaluations (i.e. they look at the complete situation -the site, air flow, quality, contaminants, electric and magnetic fields...). "We provide guidance to creating healthier spaces, by identifying practical priorities, answering your questions, and conducting further research (including air sampling and laboratory testing) if needed. We will suggest common-sense, affordable strategies to improve your indoor air quality, reduce your electro-magnetic exposure, use safer products, save energy costs, and prioritize material changes in your home".

What a unique service!  The information in this field is daunting - I can feel overwhelmed about what to pick at the grocery store let alone my house.  We look forward to having Environmental Health Consulting on the 100 Mile Finds team.

The Sage Fair

June 2^nd 11-6pm & June 3^rd 11-5pm
Metro Toronto Convention Centre

Want to learn about a healthier, happier, greener lifestyle? Check out the Sage Fair in Toronto on June 2^nd and 3^rd at the Metro Convention Centre. This is going to be a really unique experience with inspiring workshops, fantastic speakers, and an amazing group of exhibitors offering a really diverse range of products and services, all designed to enhance your lifestyle.

There’s so much going on at the fair. Behind the scenes, Bullfrog Power is providing 100% green energy for this event. Arnarres and WHEN are hosting a natural cleaning booth and will be offering free mini workshops throughout the fair. Swapcity.ca  is offering an eco-swap so don’t forget to bring your books, dvds, cds,blue ray discs, and records. Brenda MacIntyre, juno winning singer and renowned healer will be performing at 2pm on Saturday and Adria Vasil of NOW magazine will be there signing copies of her book “Echolic Body” on Sunday.

The Bohemian marketplace is a place where you can find over 50 booths with everything from organic foods to natural remedies, green house wares and everything in between. KitchenCraft Cookware, Stellar Kids Yoga,  Miri Art Designs are a few of the vendors that will be setting up shop at the event.

There will also be a really interesting line up of speakers at the event. Florence Grunfelder will be talking about The Three Keys to Manifesting Abundance in your Life, who doesn’t want to do that?! BioLive Nutrition will be discussing Germination and Andrea Ramirez will be talking about  taking a natural approach to your life.
If that's not enough they've got a ton of great stuff for the whole family, for the littlest members of the family, changeMatt is providing nursing area, the Toronto and Etobicoke Monpreneurs are presenting a play area for kids and EcoParent is offering up some eco-friendly toys for the little ones to enjoy. Stellar Kids Yoga is offering a yoga class each day of the fair too.

Check out the Sage Fair  website to see everything that will be happening.

First Sunday Stroll

June 3, 2012
10am - 4pm
Harold Black Park
953 Haist Street, Fonthill

We first met Erin when she was involved with the Brocante Lux markets in St. Catharine’s.  As soon as we heard that Erin was spearheading a new market, First Sunday Stroll, we knew it was going to be something worth visiting. Erin has gathered a bunch of quality artisans, sprinkled in some activities for the kids, added the unveiling of a new arts initiative for youth and an opportunity to donate to Pelham Cares to create a great day in Harold Black Park in Fonthill.
First Sunday Stroll is a community driven arts market featuring the works of over 85 artisans. These are the best of the best, with many local artisans and others coming from as far away as Oshawa to Ottawa. Many of our favourite 100 mile finds artists will be there. If that’s not enough to get you out for a Sunday stroll...
There are a number of activities for the kids to get involved in, making this event a real family affair. Dinosaur fossils will be on hand for the kids to touch amongst other interactive events offered by Club Rex Paleopresentations. There is really something for everyone at this market, the dog park committee will also be on hand selling gourmet dog treats.
The Niagara Etsy Artisan team has even sponsored a free craft table with lots of goodies and giveaways (while supplies last). Here you can make a beautiful punch card designed by Etsy’s innovative graphics team!
If that’s not enough to entice you, “In the Orchard” is set to make the public debut of the up-cycled art creations from their Art 2 Youth arts program. This program sees items from the Salvation Army transformed into fantastic works of art. Not only with the ITO be debuting their Art-2-Market program at the show but they will providing free origami flower craft sessions for the young and young at heart.
Finally, First Sunday Stroll will be collecting donations for Pelham Cares   a non-profit, volunteer organization helping residents of Pelham to help each other in times of need. The first fifty visitors making a $2 donation will be given a swag bag full of goodies.
100 mile finds will be there with a groovy gift basket giveaway... Looking forward to seeing you there.

Take out Food

Listening to Sara Elton's Locavore radio bit on CBC a couple of weeks ago, when I heard her invited guest (and friend of 100 Mile Finds) Lisa Borden talk about her crusade to lessen take out food waste/packaging.  I have to say this has always been something I have felt guilty about if we get take out.  After one Swiss Chalet meal, my garbage can is full.  Many years ago when my parents lived in Thunder Bay, they told me that on Thursdays the Italian Canadian Club sold spaghetti take out.  Everyone brought their own container.  I thought this was hilarious - I imagined someone bringing the biggest corn pot they had trying to get away with this as a 'large size'.  Now, I realize that it was just good sense.
According to Lisa, when you call your favourite sushi/pasta takeout location, just let them know that you will be bringing a container, and most are happy to accommodate.  And my favourite tip is to bring a coffee cup in your car/lunch bag.  When you buy that 'second cup', just have them fill up yours.  It really is disturbing when you walk by city garbage bins full of cups.
Anyway, thanks for bearing with me as I clamber onto my soap box. If you would like more info on this subject, check out this link http://takeoutwithout.org/about.html