Shop Canadian while you design Canadian! These immersive experiences let you flex your creativity under the supervision of Toronto designers, crafters and makers. Here are five unique souvenirs you can DIY.
Design a pint-size Raptor…
…white squirrel, trash panda, CN Tower or other iconic Toronto symbol! The Maker Bean Cafe is the place to go to learn all about 3D printing—and fabricate your own memento.
This wheelchair-accessible café in Westside offers a 90-minute beginner workshop where you’ll use a 3D design tool to create your work. You’ll then learn how to load and operate a 3D printer so it can whip up your piece in Polylactic Acid (PLA) filament, a biodegradable plastic made from renewable resources like corn starch or sugar cane.
Localistas will love that the 90-minute sesh comes complete with locally roasted coffee and locally baked snacks.
Create a foraged-botanical wall hanging
Make your own crafted-in-Toronto wall hanging at Loom Studio, located in the west end’s Junction neighbourhood. Register for their botanical circular weaving workshop, where you’ll learn different techniques for fibre-weaving on a round loom and then add foraged plant matter for extra dimension and texture.
Brush up on ethical foraging before you start collecting—or simplify things by hunting and collecting at a Toronto farmer’s market. One locally grown bouquet should provide ample flowers and leaves for your project, with plenty left over to beautify your hotel room.
Capture Toronto vibes in a bespoke scent
Scent has a way of conjuring a time and place—and transporting us back long after our vacation. Bring your olfactory memories of Toronto home with you by crafting a custom scent at Orris Labs.
Led by a perfume and cologne expert in a Midtown perfumery, this workshop introduces eager scenthounds to the art of blending, using a variety of oils and other aromatic compounds.
Best of all, your Toronto scent is unique to your experience, with aromatic influences that could include woodsy Rouge National Urban Park, the spring sakura bloom, freshly baked desserts and beyond.
Bind (and fill) your own travel journal
Level up your doodling with a handmade sketchbook that doubles as a travel journal and scrapbook. Made from quality watercolour paper, each book will be hand-stitched and bound by you, with a fancy fabric cover, to boot.
Once complete, your book will be ready for you to fill with Toronto mementoes. Think: sketches of downtown, scribbled subway poems, wayward ticket stubs and other ephemera.
The magic happens at Articulations, a Junction art supply store known for a wide array of classes, including painting, printmaking, drawing, pottery and more.
Craft your own charcuterie board
And we don’t just mean by topping it with your fave nibbles. At this Toronto Crafts workshop, you’ll woodwork your own charcuterie board. You’ll start by selecting your wood (typically locally salvaged lumber), then move on to shaping, sanding and finishing it with food-safe oil so it’s ready for service.
Located in Leslieville, Toronto Crafts is a beginner-friendly neighbourhood studio that focuses on woodworking and leather crafts. It is centred around sharing skills, and experience and building community.
What you top your charcuterie board with is up to you, but here are some foodie gift ideas to inspire you.
