A short stroll from the heart of picturesque downtown Paris, the Little Paris Bread Co is tucked into an historic brick building, its striped awning and – weather permitting – its punchy yellow patio sets out front offering a playful nod to European bistros. The warm and comforting vibe of the shop is airy and nostalgic, instantly, I want to say, taking me back to my grandmother’s farmhouse kitchen. Then again, this is definitely not my grandmother’s kitchen.
OPERATING SINCE 2012, NEXT TIME AROUND IS THE REGION’S LARGEST FURNITURE AND HOME DECOR CONSIGNMENT STORE. WITH OVER TWELVE THOUSAND SQUARE FEET OF SPACE ON QUEEN ST WEST IN HESPELER, THE BUSINESS FEATURES GOOD QUALITY AND ON-TREND CONSIGNMENT ITEMS,A LARGE SELECTION OF FURNITURE PAINTING SUPPLIES FOR ALL YOUR DIY NEEDS, AND AN ARRAY OF LIVE PLANTS. IT ALSO PROUDLY REPRESENTS PRODUCT BY OVER FIFTY AREA ARTISANS.
WHILE THE SLOGAN ‘SHOP LOCAL’ HAS BEEN A SORT OF CALL-TO-ARMS FOR COMMUNITY-MINDED WARRIORS FOR YEARS NOW, IT’S NEVER BEEN AS IMPORTANT AS IT IS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON. AND IT’S NEVER BEEN EASIER TO UNDERTAKE, TOO, WITH SO MANY GLORIOUS OPTIONS ACROSS OUR REGION.
IN DOWNTOWN CAMBRIDGE EVERY SEASON IS WEDDING SEASON. INDEED, THERE AREN’T MANY TOWNS IN ONTARIO WITH SO MANY DREAMY CITYSCAPES POISED TO FUNCTION AS BACKDROPS FOR THE BIG DAY. FROM FLORAL-FILLED ALLEYS TO LARGE-SCALE GRAFFITI TO HISTORIC STONE BUILDINGS AND ROMANTIC RIVERBANKS, THIS QUAINT EUROPEAN-ESQUE DESTINATION OFFERS A BROAD SWEEP OF AMBIANCE.
‘You’ve gotta see this,’ I exclaim as I poke my head into Cai's room. ‘There’s a vintage punching bag hanging in my room.’ Cai – unloading her Filson overnight bag – looks up. ‘And a fuzzball coffee table,’ I add. I can tell I’ve piqued her interest.
Travel tends to sharpen taste. It introduces new ideas, uncovers unforeseen obsessions, and offers the occasional epiphany – nudging your sense of beauty and your grasp of craftsmanship in new directions. For Ryan LeClair, founder of Makoto Watch Company out of London, Ontario, it was travel – and specifically a trip to Japan – that transformed his infatuation with watch collecting into his initiation of a brand built on craft, restraint, and everyday practicality.
Almost nothing we carry defines us more clearly than the books in our bags: tactile objects filled with ideas and stories – testimonies to time well spent. They tag along with us, mark our days, and shape the rhythm of how we move through the world. In Uptown Waterloo, three long-standing independent bookstores – Carry-On Comics & Books (46 years young), Words Worth Books (42 years), and Old Goat Books (25 years) – offer distinct ways to build this bracket of everyday carry: a nostalgia-driven comic haven built for the thrill of discovery, a curated literary hub grounded in conversation, and a densely-packed used bookstore where the search is part of the reward. Together, these enduring fixtures map a reading life – charting not just what we read, but how we come to find it.
In my line of work – as writer, photographer, editor, regional explorer – EDC isn't a trend. It's infrastructure. Most days I'm in motion: tracing backroads toward a brewhouse, mapping my way to an artist's studio, or sliding into the corner of a coffee shop where I turn field notes into final copy and RAW files into photographs that will pop on paper. My office is wherever I set my bag down. My tools make it possible.
Stratford – and, by extension, Perth County – lends itself to takeaway. A coffee to carry, a sandwich in hand, something sweet tucked alongside – then out into the streets for window shopping, into the theatres for a performance, or down to the riverbank for a nosh.
