Have Shampoo Will Travel
A LUSH LIFE SAVER FOR NEW AIR TRAVEL RULES
Thanks to new U.S. Transportation Security Administration rules, air travelers going through the U.S. must limit the liquids they carry on. This means a couple of 3-ounce bottles of shampoo, conditioner, hairspray, etc. all stored in a 7.5x8 inch zip-top bag. Thankfully, many companies make travel-size products (even Aveda!), and Lush makes a great solid shampoo. This shampoo might look like a bath bomb, but it lathers up great and works well too. There’s the pink one for hard water, blue for soft, and a rainbow of choices in between. Each bar costs about $8, and the reusable travel tin is just $4.95.

ACCESSORY OVERLOAD?
This year’s lucite necklace, last year’s wooden bangles, your grandmother’s cameo necklace—a new Winnipeg product makes it easier to organize all of your accessories.

Frustrated by drawers of overflowing accessories, Winnipegger Charlie Toews decided to turn her dream of having one place to both organize and display her earrings, necklaces, and the rest of her increasing collection, into a reality. Using a closet door and various hooks, Toews built the first prototype of what is now The Rak.

Designed by Toews and her business partner Tanja Schuler, of Winnipeg’s Tascha Style Inc., The Rak holds everything from fine jewelry to scarves and sunglasses. The wall-mounted unit is available in three sizes, five different colours, and uses specially designed hooks to hold the smallest earrings to the largest necklaces.
The Rak is available at more than 150 retailers, including Pineridge Hollow Urban Country Gift & Home, Candie & Dolls, Poppy, Great Finds and Jigsaw Accessories. Prices range from $180 to $240, depending on the size.

SIGNATURE SCENTS
Like Marilyn Monroe, who never left home without her Chanel No. 5, many of us have a signature scent. But what would happen if after using the last of a bottle, you discovered that your fragrance had been discontinued? Well, if you live in Winnipeg, you would head to Perfume Paradise.
Lined with perfume and cologne bottles, this small store is the place to go for hard to find fragrances. The store’s owner, Ari Driver, has 30 years of experience in the fragrance business, and has made contacts all over the world. With over 1,000 different fragrances available right in the store or by special order, you can find everything from classics like Evening in Paris and Madame Rochas, to the brand new Pink Sugar by Aquolina. You can also find many of those “discontinued” brands. As Driver explains, when a department store “discontinues” a fragrance, it often means that they just aren’t continuing to sell it.
Perfume Paradise is located at 253 Vaughan Street, 275-7493 or you can visit them online at perfumeparadise.ca.

RURAL LIFELINE
Life on the farm can be difficult: the stress of working and living with family, dealing with financial worries and recurring floods, living in remote and isolated areas. It is for these reasons that the Manitoba Farm and Rural Stress Line was developed in Brandon, under Winnipeg’s Klinic Community Health organization.

For six years, the non-profit line has been helping Manitobans cope by providing counseling support, referrals, information and workshops. All calls are confidential and counselors try to help in any way they can.

Kim Moffat has been a counselor with the line since it first began, and says she is proud of her team. The four women on staff pride themselves on being from a farm or rural area, something Moffat thinks is vital to their success. “We know what (the callers) are talking about,” she says. “We have first-hand knowledge and can identify with them.”

Moffat says that she is often inspired by the strength of her callers, and is glad she can give back to an industry that she has spent most of her life being a part of.

Last year the stress line received 1,372 calls from women, and 743 calls from men.

The Manitoba Farm & Rural Stress Line can be accessed by calling 1-866-FOR-FARM or visiting www.ruralstress.ca

SPRING SHOWERS 2007
OUR ANNUAL ROUNDUP OF GREAT BABY GIFTS

Diaper Bags
Hip moms and dads are no longer satisfied lugging around a quilted diaper bag covered in babyish bears and bottles. Most of the city’s maternity boutiques now carry a variety of diaper bag lines, including Bumblebags, Kecci and Caden Lane. Our favourites include the black patent rock-chick style from Diaper Dude (below) and this fun and colourful messenger bag from Ju-Ju-Be (left). You can find Caden Lane and Bumblebags at 9 Boutique on Academy Road (9boutique.com), and Kecci, Ju-Ju-Be, Diaper Dude and others at Anticipation Expecting Style on Corydon Avenue
(shopanticipation.com).

Diaper Cakes
When you’re in the hospital room welcoming a new baby into the world, let’s face it, flowers are nice, but what you really need is diapers...a lot of diapers. Well, maybe you should drop some hints about Babycakes, a new Winnipeg company specializing in “cakes” made out of diapers and other new-baby essentials.

Lindsay Roth started the company last fall as many of her friends and family started having children. Faced with buying rounds of baby gifts, Roth came up with the Babycakes idea as a way to give something that was useful, fun, and wouldn’t be left in a vase at the hospital. Available in three sizes and colours (pink, blue and yellow) it’s a perfectly practical gift for new mothers.

Less than a year into the venture, Roth says that feedback has been very positive, especially from people who are looking for a unique shower gift or are putting together a group gift at the office. Prices range from $41.95 to $69.95 and all include toys or clothing and free delivery. Visit baby-cakes.org for more information.

For additional Shower ideas including the Baby Sherpa backpack, Health Pod Baby organizer, Funkie Baby Bibs and Tiber River baby bath products click here.