As we quickly move into fall, we change gears.  It feels like yesterday that we were planting gardens and going on beach picnics and now we are moving into cozy season. The days are shorter, we stay indoors longer, we drink more tea and rest more.  Thanksgiving literally around the corner and then the Holidays!  Time flies when you're having fun, and fun we have had over the past year at Marigold Collective.  It's hard to believe at this time last year, we were renovating our retail studio to open mid October.  We had a surprisingly fantastic Holiday Season with friends and  neighbours coming out to shop local, and support fair trade and women makers.  And that wonderful support has carried on throughout the year.

We are currently filling our shelves so you can shop thoughtfully and ethically this gift giving season, either online or in store. We will try to put as much on our web shop as well can, for your shopping convenience but otherwise, come on in to the shop!  We look forward to meeting you and showing you around.  We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all of your support over the past year and I hope my effort would make Ruth Ginsberg pleased!

Featured Canadian Artisan Product:

Early birds get the worm or the mohair socks as it would be! We sold out of these socks three times last Holiday season and so we've stocked up early! Socks will be available online in the coming weeks, or feel free to give us a call or email and we can give you an update on what we have available (for men and women!). 

The story behind these fantastic socks:

Therese Bergeron, the founder of Thermohair Inc., began her venture in the 1980's by raising 4 Angora Goats.  She took the hair and hand spun it into blankets. Blankets were costly to produce and she wanted to develop a more affordable product and came up with socks! She found a knitting mill in Ontario that would create her envisioned socks. Therese became so successful she needed an easier more plentiful supply of mohair and eventually sourced this in South Africa. South Africa is now the main and largest producer of mohair in the world. This yarn is then knit into socks in one of the few remaining knitting mills in Canada. Socks are sized, sorted, labelled, some dyed and shipped from their home farm in Ontario, Canada.

So, why is Mohair so great?

Thermohair socks are made of 75% Kid Mohair and 25% Nylon Yarn. Kid mohair is hair sheared from the kids, during their first year of life. It is the finest, softest, most luxurious of the mohair grades and is very soft and comfy.  It's micron count is close to cashmere, giving the socks the softness of cashmere, but the strength of mohair. 

Mohair is insulating and wicks away moisture, protecting your feet from the cold in sub-zero outdoor weather.  Over the years they have been worn up every major peak, including Everest and both poles! There is minimal friction on your feet which makes them ideal for blister free trekking. There is no tougher natural fiber that can take the continual foot rubbing that occurs when you walk. They're also great for those working in steel toed boots, spending time in the cold outdoors or for those who suffer from cold feet due to health issues. Some scuba divers wear them in their suits to keep their feet warm in the icy waters. 

Also, Thermohair socks are made of renewable fibres and the goats efficiently convert plants from non-agricultural lands to fibre that grows an inch a month. They weigh approximately 80 lbs, and produce 20 lbs of hair per year!

Featured Stockist:

The Shop in the Garden - UBC Botanical Garden

Nestled at the entrance to UBC Botanical Garden, the Shop in the Garden features unique treasures for gardeners and novices alike. The Shop in the Garden showcases a diverse selection of gardening and botanical books, handy garden tools and accessories, distinctive gifts and dried flower arrangements.

Marigold Collective has sold our collections of Vietnamese and Kantha scarves here since 2017. This is a sweet little shop with great cards and gifts in a beautiful setting on UBC grounds. The Shop in the Garden and Garden Centre is operated by the garden’s volunteers, the Friends of the UBC Botanical Garden. All proceeds from the Shop in the Garden and 100% of the purchase price of the seeds fund research, education and garden improvements at UBC Botanical Garden.

Ethical Article of the Month: