Yvonne and Josh are a creative duo who love to make things inspired by the Northwest seasonal harvests. Instead of purchasing items for friends and family, many who live outside of Oregon, they give batches of homemade goodies that show off the bounty of the seasons – and find a place in their hearts and stomachs!
Josh and Yvonne treat family and friends with their holiday creations.
Shop local for food and supplies
For their marionberry jam, they plan ahead in the summer when the berry bounty is plentiful and either buy berries at their neighborhood Montavilla Farmers Market, or they pick berries at Sauvie Island Farms. (Both the market and farm offer winter hours too.)
Josh brews beer and roasts his own coffee. He uses old air pop popcorn makers from thrift stores for roasting coffee and buys other coffee supplies from local store Mr. Green Beans.
Yvonne bakes cookies and candies, like hazelnut toffee, that she gifts in holiday tins. She purchases tins for toffee and canning jars for jam from local thrift stores and takes them back from friends when they are empty to reuse them year after year. They also purchase food preservation equipment for the jam from small businesses like Mirador Community Store.
While their loved ones get bountiful, consumable gifts, Yvonne and Josh get the satisfaction of working together to make delicious, low-waste creations.
If you don’t have the time or inclination to DIY, you can still get the most of Portland offerings by shopping local at one of the many artisan events. The Resourceful PDX event calendar lists holiday happenings.
Find gift ideas for other hard-to-buy-for people in your life in our resourceful holiday series. #holiday
