Get your commerce on. Here is PDD’s annual reminder that the real purpose of Christmas is to obtain material things … as long as they are locally made.
This being the fifth year of the PDD Gift Guide, most of you know the drill by now, but for uninitiated newbies the concept is simple: The folks behind the curtain at PDD select 15 locally-based holiday gift ideas. The community at large is free to add other suggestions and links in the comment section below, with some effort to not be too redundant and repeat items from the Gift Guides of Christmases Past.
Duluth Pack and Fitger’s Brewhouse teamed up to make a growler pack that doubles as a koozie, and also has D-rings that let you attach it to a carabiner, bike or strap it over your shoulder. It can be ordered from both Duluth Pack or the Brewhouse Beer Store.
Re-Ewes Gear of Duluth makes mittens from recycled wool, angora and cashmere, lined with recycled fleece. Available at Stone’s Throw Gallery in Bayfield, Sproutlings and Trailfitters.
Four generations of Walters family beekeeping, from southern Wisconsin to Madagascar to Duluth, lead to the start of Miel Duluth. The company makes lotions, lip balm, soaps, honey and other gifts made from beeswax and honey, available at several retail locations.
The Packingham family in Duluth’s Lakeside neighborhood attempted to develop “the best cocoa mix on the planet” with Mike and Jen’s Cocoa Mixes. The business was launched as a way to cope with their grandfather’s cancer diagnosis. Fifty percent of proceeds go to the American Cancer Society.
Purchase Wild Bill’s Run for someone who lives out-of-state to show there’s a dark side to Minnesota do-gooders. And you can feel good knowing when you buy this DVD, you’ll be supporting future locally made documentaries about competitive jigsaw puzzling and Viking lore.
As part of the Greater Downtown Council’s Pop Up Store program, glass artist Ron Benson has teamed up with printmaker Betsy Bowen and painter Lee Englund in a space at 317 W. Superior St. on the Skywalk level. You can see a list of all the pop-up stores at this link.
Duluth Preserving Co. makes jams and preserves from fruits that represent the Great Lakes — strawberries, cranberries, plums, apples and blueberries. You can find them at the Blue Heron Trading Co., Duluth Coffee Co., Food Service Marketplace, Duluth Kitchen Co. and Gardening Junky.
Nessi Knits Hats and warm, comfy hats designed by none other than Duluth’s first lady, Laura Ness, and produced at a local knitting mill. They are available at Duluth Pack, Sproutlings, Electric Fetus, Ski Hut and Happy Space.
Two of our favorites, Duluth cartoonist Chris Monroe and Twin Cities writer Kevin Kling, team up again for a sequel to Big Little Brother. Their humor and storytelling styles complement each other nicely. It’s available at local bookstores or directly from the publisher, Wild Rumpus of Minneapolis.
It’s the perfect thing to wear to any 2014 Super Bowl party. Locally Laid Egg Co. has done some of the best looking, fun promotions around, and has a good chance of getting a television ad during the Super Bowl. Show your support for the real local team.
Duluth’s Amy Burke uses a scroll saw to cut her collection of animal-shaped zipper pulls. Burke’s Sawdust Works also offers a wide variety of other animal-shaped wood products.
It’s just too hard to pick one suggestion from the long list of album releases from local bands in 2013, so we’ll have to refer you to the still-being-updated PDD post that lists all of them.
An insulated growler! Beer! In the woods! From the fine folks at Bent Paddle Brewing in Duluth’s friendly West End.
Cajeta is a caramel sauce made from goat milk, often used to drizzle over apple pie, cheesecake or brownies. It can also be used for dipping apples or topping ice cream. The milk comes from alpine dairy goats on the Berube family’s Split Rock Farms in the Split Rock Township.
Epicurean in West Duluth continues to make chopping and shopping more fun. It has several collections of shaped cutting boards, including Wild Gourmet (shown here), Modern Animal, States and Hipster.
