Vancouver Magazine

French-born interior designer Pierre Derreumaux travelled the world before settling in Vancouver to open a gorgeous contemporary home décor boutique, where he takes equal pride in showcasing "L'art de la Table" items as he does Parisian soaps from Cousu de Fil Blanc. A dreamy collection, bien sûr.

1108 Richards 
St., 604-662-3008. Espacedonline.com

New Shop Alert!

Roberto Coin, an Italian fine jewellery company (every piece in their collection sets a small ruby, a talisman of good luck, in a hidden position on the inside of the piece so that it has direct contact with your skin), opens a stand-alone boutique at the Four Seasons Hotel this weekend.

After a month of too much food and drink, my skin needs a wake up call. Lately I'm loving Pangea Organics skincare products—they're packed with organic, botanical antioxidants (never synthetics or petroleum-based chemicals) and have a strong, fresh fragrance (all natural, natch). Your winter skin will love the Egyptian geranium, adzuki ban, and cranberry scrub, followed by the Japanese matcha tea with acai and goji berry mask. Various locations, see Pangeaorganicscanada.com

I did a quick spot on CTV's Morning Live program on last-minute holiday gifts at every price point. For all you procastinators out there (that'd be me. Christmas shopping starts...now!), it's not too late: here is the full list of gifts I pulled for the spot: 

Complete your Christmas shopping in one fell swoop while supporting local, lovable artists and artisans. The Vancouver One of a Kind Show features high-quality, handmade gifts and contemporary crafts perfect for just about everyone on your list. For stocking stuffers we suggest:

Flightpath Designs (Booth G37, Vancouver, Flightpathdesigns.etsy.com) There’s nothin’ down-home hokey about Naomi Joy Yamamoto belts and buckles (and earrings and necklaces and hairpins) adorned with vintage photographs and bold graphic designs.

Bronsino Designs (Booth B29, Burnaby, Bronsino.com) Denise Wilson’s line of buttery-soft, hand silk-screened, and often recycled, leather goods are not only beautiful, but have a conscience, too. Wilson calls her work “no waste.” She starts with a piece of leather and works her way through it, resulting in bags, belts, books, coin purses, and, finally, buttons that are functional, durable, and colourful.

The Copper Hat (Booth G18, Victoria, Thecopperhat.ca) “Feel how smooth my face is!” exclaimed owner Brad to his wife Kate after his first shave with a vintage double-edged razor. So he founded a company that hawks high-end, vintage-inspired wet shaving supplies—think horse-hair brushes, soaps, razors and complete shaving sets—with a mission to make converts out of drug store junkies.

Soulful Sister Aromatherapy (Booth A28, Victoria, Soulfulsister.com) Bath and body aromatherapy products chock full of pure essential oils and organic ingredients but without the nasty parabens and petrochemicals. The Kindness massage oil is recommended for expecting moms, while the Om yoga mat spray will appeal to yogis and yoginis.

Artech Studios (Booth C36, Tory Hill, ON, Artechstudios.ca) Cheers! Artech Studios, made up of an eclectic crew from the Haliburton Highlands in Ontario, is a traditional glassblowing studio creating far from traditional pieces. For cocktail lovers, hand-blown martini glasses feature tiny spikes…or maybe they’re horns? For beer drinkers, a pint never looked so good in one of their upcycled beer bottle glasses. —Jenn Chic

All available at the One of a Kind Show in Vancouver, running December 8-11 at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Thursday to Saturday 10am - 9pm and Sunday 10am - 5pm.