I am shining the spotlight on the locals in this blog entry.
Chris and I love to take drives out into the country and visit local artisans' stores and primitives' stores as well. The past weekend we took advantage of the beautiful sunny & warm weather and brought our brand new Nokia camera with us to take pictures.
People and their furkids make the best subjects I tell you this.. the love and affection they have between themselves are just fantastic! Asking people if I can take pictures of them relaxing, talking into their phones, texting, smoking or just walking.. you would be very surprised if you asked politely, they will be happy to oblige.
I make it a cardinal rule not to take pictures of children because I believe they have their right to privacy and I know their parents just would not appreciate the fact a complete stranger took pictures of their children without permission.
We head off to Shakespeare, ON and Stratford, ON. Those two quaint towns are very beautiful and definitely in dire need to be placed on the map. There's more to Stratford than just the theatre. Granted there is an "English" theme in both cities but if you take your sweet time to walk around and enjoy the ambience, you will get lost in the environment and people just take the time to wave "HI!" to you.
The store employees are very friendly and I'm going to post a few stores I stopped by and took pictures of. Let me remind you, I had permission from individual stores and their staff members. I would also caution you that some stores have local artisans' customised craft and artwork so local artisans would appreciate you not stealing their ideas/works. I thank you in advance for this.
The first store,
The British Touch, we stopped by was in Shakespeare, ON. Now this is a must for me to stop by. My sweet tooth is always satisfied each time I visit! This is a British store that specialises in everything British.. A to Z!! Yummy-o! Palma Violets, Cadbury bars and so on, you name it, they have it. You don't even have to go on e-Bay to get the British supplies. This locale can be found on Highway 7 & 8.
We head off to Stratford, ON to the
Chocolate Barr's Candies. Ohhh, I tell you, I'm forbidden from this store now! The chocolates are so decadent! They even have the higher percent cocoa content there. The smell of chocolate practically wafts outside and you just float inside.. it is that good! ((DROOLS!))
We walked down the street and took right on York Street to
The Clay Cafe. What a bright studio to spend a good two hours of your time. DH and I didn't have the two hours and the time to come back 24 hours later to pick up our finished product. The prices are very cheap. You just pay for the product you choose and the paint(s) & firing in the kiln are included in the cost. If you are in town for the weekend, you should go first thing in the morning on Saturday for a good two hours for a relaxing time.
Next door is the
Distinctly Tea shoppe. It is incredibly aromatic outside before you walk in. As soon as you walk in the shoppe, there is an inviting scene. An oversized plush wicker sofa that even I sit on all the time, I'm a plus-sized person and I sit on it all the time without worry. As soon as you sit on the wicker sofa, you face a fireplace. During colder weather, it is a roaring fireplace with a sweet stuffed kitten sleeping on the floor. It looks realistic!
The shoppe is really open, you get to sniff the loose tea leaves and sample tea as well. The staff, oh my!, the staff.. they are extremely helpful. Loose leaf tea comes in different sized bags. There is a shoppe in Waterloo, ON as well however I prefer the Stratford, ON because you get a bigger and better variety in Stratford. It's my personal preference that the Stratford, ON locale has more to offer because in the Stratford, ON locale, you get to sit down and chat & relax as well.
We head off now to the
Family and Company, a really cute and quirky toy store that children and even adults will love! Even DH and I love this store very much and have to stop by each time we visit Stratford, ON.
The store accomodates to anyone and they have their own Soda Bar. Anyone really missing out on the particular flavour from the 70's can find it at the store, you can also find candies from the store that has been hard to find as well. This store carries unique toys that I find so interesting. I particularly like this store because I buy games & toys for my little nephew who is 3 years old now.
The last store we took in was
Treasures and this one I stress to you all about is the local artisans' skills. I ask of you all please not to abuse the local artisans' skills and use as your own. Thank you for this.
This store is beautiful! I go to this store because Mosey, my sweet cat, loves the catnip stuffed toys from Treasures. As much as I tried so hard to make the same replica, it is just not the same thing. Treasures carries one of a kind artwork and beautiful Mennonite quilts, bonnets as well. It is worth the drive to spend time in the store. You can find primitives, enamelware and so on in this store.
Click on this link to go to the website. 
