Announcing: Thomas Kuhner Jewelry!

We are very pleased to now offer the one-of-a-kind hand-wrought jewelry collection from THOMAS KUHNER

The Thomas Kuhner jewelry collection is uniquely made in his home workshop located in the historic district of a small New England village. As an established family business, Thomas Kuhner has been selling his work at juried craft fairs and in retail galleries and fine gift shops across the country since 1980.

Each piece is carefully hand-wrought in sterling silver, gold overlay or 14k gold by using the traditional, centuries-old methods of the metalsmithing trade. The metals are forged, chased or peened, then polished to a high shine. As a result, each piece reflects subtleties that make it timeless, unique, and as special as the woman who wears it. In fact, more people across the country are wearing Thomas Kuhner jewelry than ever before. We invite you to join them.

WARNING! These are NOT books!

Here is a great unique gift idea for that "hard-to-buy-for" person.

The Book Box™Company is a family Business entirely dedicated to the crafting of attractive and useful boxes from real books. All BookBoxes™ are hand made from discarded books purchased from charities and recyclers. Each one is individually hand crafted at their studio on Vancouver Island, Canada. Their products are not only secret storage boxes, they are also decorative accessories - innocuous organizers that are invisible in any decor.

To learn more about this one-of-a-kind company and their unique line of secret book boxes, click on the image above.

An Encounter of the Handcrafted Kind
One of the things I love about living in the South Surrey/White Rock area (besides the unbelievable scenery and proximity to the ocean) is the variety of summer festivals and outdoor craft markets which seem to take place every weekend. Just this past Saturday, my wife and I had the opportunity to leave our four kids with her mom and dad while we went out for breakfast at Poultry In Motion to celebrate her birthday (a tasty little place on Marine Dr. in White Rock. If you ever get the chance and you're in the area, you should definitely check it out). Since the annual 'Spirit of the Sea' festival was taking place just across the street, we decided after we ate to take a stroll down on the promenade and take part in some of the festivities. Although there were numerous tents pitched with vendors selling their wares, I wasn't really prepared to search out any new products for Heartwood Gifts. After all it was my wife's birthday, and my desire was to just be with her. And then it happened. My wife caught a glimpse at one particular unassuming vendor display and immediately pulled me in to take a closer look. On the table was a variety of some of the most unique wood carved pendants I have ever seen. Upon striking up a conversation with the artisan, Rob, a Vancouver Island resident, I learned that both he and his artisan wife, Debbie, collect naturally fallen arbutus tree branches (a rugged tree unique to the pacific northwest) from the forest floor to create the individually hand-carved pieces free-hand on a scroll saw. Debbie and Rob use a special rare micro blade which enables them to make unusually fine and detailed cuts. Because of their laid back pace as Islanders, they suitably call themselves "All The Time In The World Handcrafting Co." The business of creating these small pieces of art to share with the world was the result of Rob and Debbie being completely inspired by extraordinary surroundings and driven to be able to spend as much time as possible at home with their children. As an eco-friendly product, the wood is hard, durable and ages well, the colour becoming richer the more it is worn. Within moments of talking with Rob, I knew that I had found the newest addition to the Heartwood Gifts collection. This was confirmed shortly after when my wife and I began to notice many other festival-goers - both men and women - wearing the popular pieces.

If you, or anyone you know has an affinity for nature, what better way to celebrate it than giving them one of these one-of-a-kind handcrafted, west coast inspired, carved wood pendants from Heartwood Gifts. You can view them here.


New Dabbawalla Kids Lunch Bags and Backpacks

New to Heartwood Gifts, we are please to introduce the full line of Dabbawalla Kids Lunch Bags and Backpacks! The name Dabbawalla was inspired by Owner/Founder Susan Given's travels in India where she was fascinated with a complex system whereby lunch boxes are delivered to office worker by people known as dabbawallas. As Susan explains, "Our mission at Dabbawalla Bags is simple: design fun, functional bags that appeal to both kids and adults while promoting social responsibility. Our bags are crafted by sewers who earn fair wages in safe working conditions, and we do business with companies who support this commitment." Check out our new Dabbawalla bags here: http://www.heartwoodgifts.com/categories/Dabbawalla-Kids-Backpacks-and-Lunch-Bags

New Free Shipping & Flat Rate Shipping!

We are pleased to announce that shipping within Canada and to the U.S.A. will now be on our dime if you order $100 or more! If your order is less, we'll still give you a great price with a low flat rate. However, depending on the item you purchase, you may still pay even less! That is why before you pay, you'll see all the different delivery options available. If there is a lesser priced option, just select it! Our ship rate tool is integrated with Canada Post's ecommerce live rates to ensure you are never over-charged.

New Lower Shipping Rates!
All shipping is provided by Canada Post at discounted rates (except for Tiffany Style products). You may attain a shipping quote by using the shipping estimation tool in your shopping cart (just above the subtotal). This shipping tool is integrated into Canada Post's software to ensure accurate quotes are generated; therefore, we do not make any profit on shipping. Alternative shipping arrangements can be made through FedEx or UPS. Contact us first to make arrangements. All orders are shipped FOB Richmond or Surrey, BC the next business day after payment is received (unless notified otherwise).

YEAH!! We Finally Have A New Website!
You've heard it said that good things are worth waiting for, but what they don't tell us is how HARD it is to wait! Case in point, our new website. It's been many months of hard work and learning, but we're excite to finally offer our customers an authentic shopping experience on a state-of-the-art secure ecommerce platform. Ever since Amazon set the standard for ecommerce shopping with features such as wish lists, personal accounts, related products, etc., there's been no looking back. In addition to offering these great features, we've also added a wonderful magnifying 'light-box' for up close viewing of each product, gift certificates and express checkout service. But what good is a great website without great products and service? Why not take a few moments to browse through our many gift categories and see why, in an era of mass production, Heartwood Gifts is fast becoming a prefered online destination for disceringing buyers seeking unique, functional and affordable handcrafted gifts. As one of our customers recently commented, "I am very impressed with the website and service. The gifts are just EXQUISITE!"

Largest Christmas Craft Show in the Lower Mainland!
This Saturday Nov 28, we are excited to be taking place in the Steveston Christmas Craft Fair from 10 - 4 at the Steveston Community Club, 4111 Moncton Street Richmond, BC V7E 3A8, Tel: 604-271-0037. This will be our 4th year at the Fair, which draws thousands of people from all over Metro Vancouver and beyond. Featured gifts on our table will be tax free and if anyone visits us after reading this, they'll receive 13% off any purchase, for a total 20% altogether! Remember you have to mention this post.

New Journals and Greeting Cards
New leather journals are up on the site. As well, we're now offering free greeting cards to go with any order. Just tell us what to write inside and we'll send it off with your order!

Our Adventure into the World of an Online Home Based Business
Heartwood Gifts has been offering unique handcrafted gift ideas since 2006. My husband Curtis Holder started the business in White Rock, BC, Canada. We had only moved to the West Coast a year earlier from Winnipeg, Manitoba - an almost 2000 mile journey made (at that time), with our 3 children in our egg-shaped van - a 1992 Toyota Previa. Although we thought of ourselves as a normal family, many others back in "The Peg" did not. One thing which set us apart and made us different as a family was the fact that our kids were homeschooled. This, however, is not the reason we moved, but it certainly made us the topic of almost every conversation throughout our many circles of family and friends.

After the move, we immediately found the West Coast lifestyle very different than life back on the prairies. Aside from the beautiful weather, and scenery, homeschooling was accepted (and even popular) here; so much so that we actually received a annual fund from the government for each homeschooled child. Curtis was also bitten by the ‘entrepreneurial bug’, as it seemed that almost everyone we met was involved with some kind of business – either full-time or on the side. It didn’t take long to realize why this was so, since the cost of living is much higher than anywhere else in Canada. Our commitment to staying a homeschool family meant that we had to continue life as a one-income household, and this challenged Curtis to think long and hard about what kind of business venture to pursue. The result was a proprietorship called “Heartwood Gifts”. We started out selling only puzzle boxes made from exotic wood at craft shows throughout the Lower Mainland. Business surprisingly increased very quickly and we soon expanded to include other handcrafted gifts made of wood. Over the course of a year, the craft show circuit seemed to really start taking its toll on Curtis, as there was so much to always move around (table, tents, product, office equipment, etc.). It was literally a nomadic store. The natural next step was to explore the possibility of creating an online store presence. Always wanting to keep both hands on the wheel, Curtis decided to teach himself the art of web mastering instead of sourcing it out and a few months later launched Heartwood Gifts dot com. (Not the most aesthetically pleasing site at first, but it's definitely evolved with dramatic improvements!)

I can’t say that there has been a dull moment in the last three years we’ve been online. We have expanded to offer so much more now (including: leather journals, plantable seeded paper, wine bottle holders, beaded stainless steel utensils, primitive décor, jewellery, etc.) and I have taken on the task of product sourcing. It truly is amazing how the internet has opened our business to the world. Our children have also benefited by learning important business principles. Our oldest daughter, for example, has applied her talent of sewing to create therapeutic neck warmers which she has sold many. She has also donated most of her proceeds to charity. Things like this have given us a vision for the future and we hope that someday Heartwood Gifts will become a full-time family business. Although we have remained true to offering only handcrafted unique gift ideas, our customers have been a great source of inspiration and encouragement. Pleasing them (whether they are local, American or from overseas), will continue to be our main goal.