local XMAS gifts

So what are the best "local" gifts on the market this year - CDs, books, prints, artwork, wine, food, etc.

we didnt do this as a Xmas gift but when some friends of ours bought their house we went down to slugger and bought a bat, and had "Home Security System" engraved in it.

I will give a shout out to my friend Joy Perrine's new book, The Kentucky Bourbon Coctail Book. It's inexpensive ($15) and Ky Proud is endorsing it. Joy has been the bar manager at Equus/Jack's for 20+ years and really knows her stuff.

http://www.brigidkaelin.com/

Can't forget her !

That book looks great, and Brigid is a longtime favorite. Great suggestions.

I'm actually a bourbon drinker, so I've turnaround and passed that on to a few people buying gifts for me. Here I am looking for gifts to buy, but am getting suggestions that I want. It's a rough life.

I send my family in CA, Ky stuff they can't get out there. Country ham, peppered bacon, local honey and cherry preserves. Sorghum and Indiana popcorn. My nieces' husbands are both California guys and they go apes**t over the country ham and bacon.

I'm getting 2 lbs of beef jerky with gifty labels from LHB's Steve R. and picking them up at Gayle's Xmas gathering to break up into little packages for presents. Just a heads up (he msg'ed me that he's venturing this as of late when I posted about jerky). I haven't tried it yet, but he does a good variety of flavors and is making a special batch of spicy Jamaican as long as I purchase a pound of it (other flavors are Chipotle-Lime, Thai, some kind of BBQ maybe, etc...). He's shy about advertising himself, but says that he's been doing it for 6 months or more. The bags are $5 apiece (4oz) or $20 a pound - Maybe he would do shipping? I think they'll be awesome gifts.

I'm a chandler (candle maker, specializing in soy). My wax is made here in Louisville from soybeans grown in this region. I make my candles here in Jeffersonville. Guess my candles qualify as "local" products.

I have several customers who rely on me every year to make dozens of soy container candles for them as Christmas gifts. I've delivered or shipped out 6 or 7 cases this week alone. This has been a pretty busy December for me, but I'm about caught up with my orders. (Did a 24-hour turn-around the other night on a small order which was delivered by UPS just today in Upstate New York.)

This is just a hobby for me, along with making "Aroma Ornaments", which are scented beads formed into various shapes. If you're interested in locally made, long-burning, richly scented, hand-crafted soy candles, feel free to let me know.

Lois

Soy Candle Scent and Price List:
http://www.greytscents.com/ScentandPriceList.pdf

Visit Kentucky Museum of Arts and Crafts on West Main - great pieces from Kentucky artists. If you are near Berea, stop in the Artisan Center located just off the interstate for a huge gallery full of pieces only by Kentucky artists and craft makers, including Kentucky-produced foods.

Visit Kentucky Museum of Arts and Crafts on West Main - great pieces from Kentucky artists. If you are near Berea, stop in the Artisan Center located just off the interstate for a huge gallery full of pieces only by Kentucky artists and craft makers, including Kentucky-produced foods.

These are great suggestions. Don't assume the Artisan Center is full of the usual "crafty" sort of stuff either. They have some mind blowing pieces of art, elegant furniture that could grace a Manhattan condo and some beautiful clothing.

I send my family in CA, Ky stuff they can't get out there. Country ham, peppered bacon, local honey and cherry preserves. Sorghum and Indiana popcorn. My nieces' husbands are both California guys and they go apes**t over the country ham and bacon.

Amen! Thanks for the affirmation. Also great glass there as well as beautiful turned wood.

Thorpe Woodworks, formerly located in the Mellwood Center, just opened a new workshop and storefront in downtown New Albany. They make really nice cutting boards and knife blocks for kitchen related gifts.

http://www.thorpewoodworks.com/

137 E. Market St. New Albany, IN 47150.
Holiday Hours:
Monday-Friday: 10-7
Saturday-Sunday: 9:30-3:30

They also do a line of furniture.
http://www.thorpefurniture.com/


The Gallery on Pearl is just around the corner.
http://www.thegalleryonpearl.com

They're featuring ceramic work from members of Louisville Clay through December 31 in addition to their usual selection of locally produced arts and crafts.

Don't forget Bourbon Barrel Foods in Butchertown. Microbrewed bourbon soy sauce, bourbon smoked salts and spices, bourbon vanilla...

We usually sell a ton of fresh roasted coffee at Ray's. It is best to wait until the week before X-mas for maximum freshness. (also a convenient excuse for waiting till the last minute)...

Coffee addicts usually appreciate a bag of good coffee....It is a good gift in the ten dollar range that you can be pretty sure they'll enjoy.

My wife & I sent a ton of bourbon products & a derby pie to her family in Paris. This is actually the first time that one of our packages got through without being opened & tossed around by customs, which is probably a good thing because there was a bottle of bourbon inside.