a customer came in this morning looking for a gift. she told me the rules of her christmas exchange: the gift had to be something lovely and fun, under $30 and made locally. am i in the right place, she asked?

is the sky blue?
are peanut butter and jelly made for each other?
is barney a real dinosaur?

this season, workshop is jam-packed (and those of you who know us, know how christina and bridget like to fill every inch of this place!) with weird and wonderful gifts handmade by over 60 ladies in this fab city! we have the sweetest little owls, tiny coin purses with nut-eating squirrels on them, felted brooches, great hats and, on top of that, about 15 ottawa designers making nothing but heart stopping, eyeball popping jewellery (check out the pic)!

come in, see for yourself, and buy someone special something lovely and local this christmas!

xoxo
the workshop girls

okay, i guess it’s okay to shamelessly promote someone…especially if she happens to be your very own uber-talented mother!

my mom made these lovely ceramic buttons for each and every one of you who is going to have a go at making your holiday gifts this year (and kudos for doing that, btw, handmade gifts are always better)…

they can be added to a scarf (perfect to hide a dropped stitch!), as an closure on a purse, or even as a proper button on an actual garment if you are brave enough to try a project that big (and if you are…maybe make one for me too?)!

laura actually rushed to the shop early this morning to remove the boring black buttons from her winter coat and replace them with a set of 6 of my mom’s (all different in case you were wondering)…the finished product is super cute and originally stylish!

come and get some before the best ones are gone…! (-:

i absolutely have to own this red top! i knew it was coming in, i was keeping an eye out…

then i walked into the shop, laura walked over to me and said “bridget! there’s a top that just came in and it is perfect for you!”

i’m going to say that my style is legendary…but i think maybe it’s just that i wear a lot of red blousy tops! going to have to switch it up and keep those workshop ladies on their toes!

as an added note, something that speaks to me, is that this collection is made by a mother-daughter team in st. catherine’s, ontario…now…i bet you haven’t heard that before!

xoxo
bridget.

this super sweet dress, handmade by isabella pasinato, is very cute, work wearable, made here in ontario, and…only $89! it’s like a dream!  we’ve only got a couple left…come on in!

just wanted to let everyone know that our hours haven’t changed for fall! workshop is open:

monday 10-6
tuesday 10-6
wednesday 10-6
thursday 10-8
friday 10-8
saturday 10-6
sunday 12-5

we’ll be extending our hours a few weeks before christmas to let you lovely ladies (and the men who want to please you!) have a bit more time to shop!

xoxo
workshop

yes they are! seriously…waterproof handbags and messengers – each one absolutely unique, hand sewn, hand silkscreened, with great little details like fab pockets and artful stitching, handmade by one of our neighbours in quebec! you have to come and check them out and we only got 10…so…move fast! (-: