By Camille Aubin
[email protected]

A new B.C. business — Townships and Tales — has launched this spring, featuring an East Kootenay-specific’ subscription’ box containing local goods made across the East Kootenay — two of them from right here in the Columbia Valley.

“Townships and Tales is a seasonal, curated subscription box supporting entrepreneurs, artisans, and artists in small towns across B.C. Every item is handmade, and each purchase is paired with a local act of kindness,” explained Adrianna Stange, founder and co-owner of Townships and Tales.

So, what is a subscription box, and how does it work? The box — which the company mails out once a season — is indeed a physical cardboard box, filled with the five to seven products local to a given region of B.C. This coming summer’s first season box focuses on the East Kootenay. Customers order the boxes (which are recyclable boxes) online, and then they arrive in the mail. 

A first blush, it sounds like shopping local via e-commerce. And it is, but there’s more to it than that, explains Stange.

“We believe that this is so much more than e-commerce, it’s really a movement. Our goal is to create a ripple of kindness so strong and powerful that it will be felt across all small towns in B.C. In the first month since our launch, we have done yard work for seniors, picked up garbage from the side of the highway, placed handwritten thank-you notes on the cars of hospital workers, and paid for strangers’ orders in the drive-thru lineup,” she said.

The five to seven products included in each box include items such as housewares and décor, beauty and personal care, gourmet foods, accessories, stationary, and artwork. “We want the products to reflect the values of the towns they come from, so the product variety will change each season,” said Stange, adding that the first box, which will be out in June 2021, includes seven products from six makers in five different towns.

Two of those makers are Valley locals — TEA etc. (Invermere) and Saunders Family Farm (Windermere). Others include the Highland Springs Soap Company (Cranbrook), Studio 501 Handmade Goods (Kimberley), The Proud Art Post (Fernie) and Wild Wolves Design (Fernie). But if you want to know exactly what products these makers are putting in the boxes, well, that stays secret until you open the box. 

“We liked Adrianna’s marketing concept and her idea to promote small local businesses to a larger audience. We’re a relatively new business, and the opportunity to market our product to potential new customers was timely,” said TEA etc., owner JoAnne Hatalcik. “We are showcasing one of our top five items, and hopefully, we will see people visit us in person or take a look at our online store.”

 “We are proud to be a local vendor with Townships and Tales. They are all about community and the people in the different communities. Townships and Tales is all about caring and sharing, and they have worked hard to make this venture a reality. Their mission is to make the province a kinder place, and we are proud to be a part of that,” said Faith Saunders from the Saunders Family Farm. 

Townships and Tales will release a new box in three months, in September, featuring a different part of B.C. The products from the previous boxes will still be available for purchase on the company’s website.

 For more information, or to place an order (by June 6), visit www.townshipsandtales.ca or find @townshipsandtales on Facebook and Instagram.