Shopping in Grosse Pointe Park

Christine Dinney, the creative leader behind Crafty Candles, first discovered her love of melted wax and her gift at creating beautiful candles when she received a candle-making kit for Christmas. The gift launched her career, one that’s dedicated to the making and sharing of Canadian-made artisan candles. Crafted from local supplies whenever possible, the richly scented, lead-free flickering forms light up rooms with their unusual shapes, such as cinnamon rolls and fruit tarts. Crafty Candles' candle makers hand pour refined paraffin, soy, and wax gels to craft towering rustic candles that burn for more than 300 hours, as well as colourful votives made from leftover wax designed to burn for 15 hours or the duration of one dance-marathon during a blackout.

Guests can create their own waxy scents with classes held in the cozy store, learning to thread their own wicks to adorn handcrafted brownie candles or image-transferred hurricane candles. In addition to the fragrant, meltable goods, Crafty Candles also offers customizable handcrafted jewellery.

Not too much. Not too little. Just right. Since 1981, the knowledgeable Maidstone Tree Farm staff have been insistent on finding the goldilocks zone: that unique balance of water, sunlight, and fertilizer that helps every type of plant and tree in their garden thrive. They begin by hand-selecting flora—20-foot maple trees, many-coloured hydrangeas—that flourish in Windsor-Essex County's soil and climate. Across their 15-acre garden, they arrange their plants based on how much sunlight the plants need, clustering Asiatic lilies in sun-dappled patches of soil, and huddling green, blue, and yellow hostas in the cool shade. Then, they fine-tune their drip-irrigation system to quench the thirst of the trees, shrubs, and perennials without over-watering them. The great pains taken by the green thumbs at Maidstone Tree Farm result in plants that leave the garden centre at the pinnacle of health, ready for rearing and teaching multi-branch high fives.

At Anne’s on the Avenue, proprietor Anne Waters and her staff of fashion experts curate a collection of women’s styles from well-known labels and up-and-coming designers from Europe and Canada. Trendy wearables from Joseph Ribkoff, Frank Lyman, and Spanner grace the racks, dressing guests to the nines for formal or casual events with seasonal dresses, sweaters, scarves, and jewellery. Consultants employ Anne’s passport for style during private consultations to help clients assemble flattering ensembles for any occasion, from classy office cocktail parties to runway-style sashays to the mailbox.