Roundish Mini Bowls

One of our stylists, Nicole Sjõstedt, and I are going to be at the BC Home and Garden Show next Friday, February 21, to talk about “Everyday Colour,” so I was in a colour frame of mind when I poked around Robson Street on the weekend. I fell for these candy-coloured “roundish” mini bowls from CB2. They’re right on trend with the ’80s-inspired colours and designs we’re seeing in both fashion and homewares (I also happened to be wearing a puffed sleeve top at the time, natch) and perfect for Friday night get-togethers—a few small bites alongside a glass (or two) of wine.

Roundish Mini Bowls, $2.95 each, available at CB2, cb2.com

Cool Terrarium Bowl

I’ve decided that my green thumb has officially left the building. There was a period in my teens and twenties when I was actually pretty good at raising my own greenhouse of plants (I worked at a garden centre in high school), but my last unhappy Christmas cactus gave up the ghost last week. Instead, I’m going to go for low-maintenance décor (and possibly the odd cacti), starting with this Glasscape bowl from Aruliden. It’s pretty as a fish bowl, but given my record with plants I’m not going to be introducing goldfish into the mix. Bring on the air plants.Glasscape by Aruliden, $140, available at Pomp and Circumstance in Calgary and online at aruliden.com.

Pretty Pottery

My mom lives back in Ontario, and each year I try to find her a Mother’s Day gift that’s a little slice of Western Canada. (Ten years ago it was a few glass Vancouver “raindrops” from Granville Island, but she thought they were a bit of a downer.) This year I’m going to send a few sweet bowls from Saskatoon artist Cathy Terepocki. Each wheel-thrown bowl is embellished with a touch of playfulness—a DIY tent strung between two chairs, a winking owl—so they’re bound to be a bigger hit with mom (and I know I’ll be hanging on to a couple myself). Cathy Terepocki bowls, $46, available in Vancouver at Walrus and in Calgary at Kit.

Canada Day Editor’s Picks: Modern Canadiana

Geeky past alert: I was a Girl Guide. And not just any Girl Guide—a committed overachiever on the badge-collecting front. It was the ’80s, so one of those badges was for laundry sorting (I’m hopeful that one has been eliminated from the roster), a study I immediately regretted as it meant I became charged with handling my own laundry. I’m pretty sure knot-tying was up there too, though I can’t recall a single one. And I still rock at campfire building, should you find yourself in need of a good fire builder.

IDENTITY APPAREL PILLOWS
There’s something about these wool pillows from Identity Apparel that bring me back to my Be Prepared days, so I’m loving them for Canada Day. Crafted from retired army blankets (see? It’s Girl Guide camp all over again), each hand-screened print takes our iconic national symbols—bears, Canada geese—for a sweetly Canadiana accent in the living room without being too hipster twee. $48, Available at Parliament Interiors, 604-689-0800, 115 Water St., Vancouver. Parliamentinteriors.com.
LOG BOWLS
There’s something about these log bowls from Edmonton’s Loyal Loot that bring me back to my Be Prepared days, so I’m loving them for Canada Day. Handmade from locally reclaimed trees, each bowl is turned by local crafts people (if only our Guide crafts were so stylish) for a sweetly Canadiana accent in the living room without being too hipster twee. From $68. Available at Kit, 403-508-2533, 725 11 Ave. SW, Calgary. Kitinteriorobjects.com.