One of the many things we love so much about our community of small local makers, is how their products and their businesses are so truly personal for them. Their motivation for creating something new and wonderful is always clearly driven by a real desire to improve the health and wellness of their family, friends, and community, and to create a product that the people around them will truly love.

We love being able to provide access to truly delicious, top quality foods for those of you who are on specialised diets—foods that are so good everyone wants to eat them no matter what kind of diet they are following. Wendel’s True Foods is another West Coast classic, another homegrown trailblazer in this area. Their gluten-free baked goods have been a godsend for celiacs and a beloved treat for all since 2005, and we’ve always felt like they are extra important at this time of year when everyone is indulging and sharing goodies, because they help make sure no one has to feel left out or stuck with second rate treats! Wendel’s True Foods founder Diane Morrison answered our Meet The Maker questions for December, sharing the touching inspiration for the business, and a little slice of her life in Fort Langley.

We’re really thrilled to have the opportunity to interview Clinical Herbalist Angela Willard, co-visionary of the much beloved local botanical dispensary, Harmonic Arts. Founded in Cumberland, BC in 2008 by Angela and husband Master Herbalist Yarrow Willard, Harmonic Arts brought a super high quality selection of expertly-blended herbs and medicinal mushrooms to the small island community. Word spread fast, and so did their fledgling business! Today Harmonic Arts’ premium tinctures, elixirs, teas and blends, many of which feature wild, locally foraged ingredients, are available throughout Canada and we feel so lucky to have them right in our beautiful forested back yard.

This Meet The Maker Mini Interview is for the moms—and everyone else who loves having a super nourishing, simple and really delicious snack on hand! Lilian Umurungi-Jung was inspired to create her line of top quality, wonderfully flavour blended nut butters when she found herself struggling to find quick, nutritious snacks during her pregnancy. Now loved by her son, her mom, and legions of loyal fans, Mumgry can be spread on breads, fruits, used in breakfast bowls and smoothies, or just eaten by the very tasty spoonful! It’s so nice to have the opportunity to introduce you to Lilian so you can learn a little about who she is, and the values she puts into her independent business.

This month for our Meet The Maker Mini Interview we’re talking to Lyndsay Scott, founder of Kindred Cultures. Lindsay developed her amazing probiotic-packed, delicious, and wonderfully, naturally colourful water kefirs to help her young son’s skin successfully recover from eczema. We’re thrilled to have these delicious and beautiful beverages in our coolers at Pomme so you can benefit from their refreshing, health-boosting properties too, and we’re really happy to be able to give you a chance to learn a little more about Lindsay!

There's been such amazing innovation in plant-based foods over recent years, and we're so lucky to have tons of it happening in our own backyard. Vancouver-based TMRW Foods makes awesome, grill-ready, plant-based burgers as well as a super versatile mince that can be used for anything from lasagne to tacos to meatballs! And they are sooo tasty. TMRW Foods’ approach to plant-based meats is focussed on crafting "satisfying and nutritionally optimal products that are made from as many whole foods as possible", while centring the well-being of their employees, communities, and the environment. Sustainability is a big part of their business model. As we move into summer—otherwise known as ‘barbeque season!’—we’re excited to have company founder and Dean Blignaut answer our latest Meet The Maker Mini Interview questions!

It’s been amazing to see so many incredibly healthy, delicious products for specialized diets come to market over recent years, and Okanagan Rawsome has been some of the pack leaders. Crisp creator and company founder Afke Zonderland started developing her raw, sprouted, gluten-free crisps in 2008 and over the past decade, working with her daughter Ana, Afke has maintained her commitment to sourcing the organic produce used in her crisps from her own and local farms, to help support her community socially, economically, and environmentally.

This month our Meet The Maker Interview is with Lovena Harvey, the CEO of Gathering Place Trading, an incredible direct fair trade, BC-based, family run importer who sources products grown with sustainable earth-friendly practices. Lovena works primarily from home on Cortes Island, where her home office overlooks the garden. Their warehouse and packaging facilities are located in downtown Campbell River on Vancouver Island, and they have an incredible team of intentional staff who hand package each and every product they produce.

We might be in the middle of the most epic soup season BC has ever seen! One of the best ways to counter endless rainy grey days is a beautiful warm bowl of soup full of premium, locally sourced ingredients—and kitskitchen offers us lucky west-coasters exactly that. Their fabulous soups are also wheat free, dairy free, and additive/preservative-free! Co-founder and CEO Joni Lind has answered our Meet The Maker Mini Interview questions this month, so you can get to know the lovely local humans behind that delicious bowl keeping your spirits lifted and your body nourished.

There is definitely something kind of magical about chocolate making, especially at this time of year. And especially when you know it’s being created with true passion and truly high ethical standards. Helen and Glen moved into BC’s Rocky Mountains to follow not only a dream but a sense of responsibility. With Wild Mountain Chocolate, they create chocolate bars that inspire people with both their amazing flavour and their positive social impact. Helen has answered our Mini Interview questions so you can learn more about the Wild Mountain Chocolate project!

We’re very fond of saying “Good Food Changes Everything”, but we also very strongly believe that what you put on your skin is as important as what you put in your stomach! That’s why we love Ativo, a super local, PoCo-based, family run business who created the cleanest, highest quality skincare with your health and wellness always front of mind.

As we’re squeezing the most out of the final few weeks of another glorious West Coast summer, we’re excited to talk to Paul Underhill, creator and founder of Rumble Supershakes—the ideal fuel for a busy, active, and/or outdoor life. Rumble shakes are a simple and delicious solution for supporting good health and nutrition across the whole population, and we’re happy to be able to share Paul’s amazing personal story with you.

Barbeque season is here! There have never been so many awesome, planted-based options for the grill, and The Very Good Butchers make some of the absolute best! True to their company name, founders James and Tania approach the business with the same ethos as running a local village shop—read on to learn a little about their journey to becoming master Bean Butchers.

Shani Cranston, founder of Cowichan Valley based hOMe Grown Living Foods, has answered our Mini Interview questions this month, sharing a little about how she and her partner Willy McBride came to be living their West Coast, gardening, surfing, raw, sprouted dream life. It’s an inspiring read and you can pretty much taste the positive energy in their food!

Hoochy ‘Booch holds a special place in our hearts because we really feel like we’ve really grown with them over the past 3 years! When we brought them in to provide our on tap ‘booch, they were a brand new company based right in the heart of Vancouver. It’s been fabulous to watch them blossom into such a popular, beloved BC brand and we’re thrilled to be able to help you get to know founders Kristin and Liam a little bit better.

The awesomely named Two Drunk Witches are Brenda and Megan, two lovely very ladies who met in a Vancouver Island herbal apprenticeship program in 2015, and went on to create the natural, botanical skin care company of their (and our!) dreams. We're so pleased they were able to answer our Meet the Maker questions, and we know you'll enjoy the read!