Arts/Crafts, Victoria

1 more image

Another thing Victoris shares with its counterpart Halifax is a Christmas shop. The one here in Victoria is called Christmas Village.

What to buy: Christmas items.

The Fran Willis Gallery has a huge selection of exciting contemporary art. If you think Victoria is all about Emily Carr, check this place out and Fran will prove you wrong! There is tons of cool stuff, from sculpture to paintings to tapestries, and the layout is open and spacious. You'll never feel uncomfortable browsing, and there is truly a great variety of works of art! My parents just bought a huge painting from the gallery and they were totally satisfied with the service (and the painting, of course)!

Open Tuesday to Saturday, 11:00-5:00.

This is one of my fave gift shops in Victoria where you'll find all kind of gifts, handcrafted canadiana, clothing, etc. The store is big and what I liked about it was the first nations decoration. it has a lot of stuff for all ages and make sure to look for the sales section where you'll find a lot of stuff with great discounts. They are open daily from 8am to 11pm

What to buy: Postcards (5 for 1 buck)!, smoked salmon and Canadian maple syrup for travel

What to pay: of course depeding on what you buy, but there are great bargains

This Alley is located at Government and View. It has shops along the alley and a restaurant. The shops feature aboriginal art, clothing, jewllery, etc.

What to buy: Jewllery and stop at the restaurant to have a beer!

What to pay: as much as you want

1 more image

Fun and funk fill this Old Town gallery.
Featured artists include Kristine Paton, Kevin Snyder and Linda Heslop.

What to buy: offering original art, sculpture, jewellery, ceramics, prints, cards and contemporary gifts.

What to pay: a little expensive

This store has great Arts and Crafts, masks, totems, "Cowichan"sweaters, gold and silver jewelry and much more.

You can order Cowichan Sweaters, ask for a leaflet in the store, and it enables you to complete the mail/phone orders

I bought some lovely soft cushions, with moose head, and bear head in the corner for my grandchildren, they were so soft, and very reasonably priced, for such an authentic gift shop. No tacky gifts in this shop.

.

There are lots of shops that carry art and crafts by the First Nations of BC, and some good shops that carry only this kind of art. You'll find this artwork, painting, carving, jewellry, music all over BC, focussing primarily on the Haida tribes but there are many others as well. This art is very different from other First Nation tribes elsewhere in North America, it's very distinctive and i really like it a lot. Hill's on Government street has a very good assortment to choose from, from small items to totem poles. There are other tribes and Inuit art represented here as well as some general Canadiana but the west coast art is the main focus.

It's a bit more expensive than most of the items you find in the general tourist stores but it's of very good quality as well.

What to buy: carvings, masks, totem poles, jewellry, music, prints, books, sculptures, pottery,

What to pay: various prices