I Love Charlevoix

1. Chez Léon et Lily cookie tin

We’re bringing back a treat, European-style (this time, it’s delicious homemade cookies) in a pretty little tin illustrated by local artists that’ll be passed down through the generations. The Chez Léon et Lily gourmet cookie shop and convenience/village grocery store,  across from Saint-Irénée beach, serves flavours you’ll be hard-pressed to choose among, from its kitchen: lemon shortbread, brownies, amaretti or blueberry… The boxes are decorated with the area’s attractions, and some of the family business's fantastic partners.

Small-scale artisanal production and reusable, sustainable packaging, and a company involved in the community, these are a few great points in favour of this travel souvenir!

180 chemin Des Bains, Saint-Irénée

2.  Bon Appétit drinks bag

Emmy and Sophie have always had impeccable taste, and the tote bag they’ve designed is still more proof of their flair! Made in Québec, of organic cotton by Bang Bang studio, and illustrated by Corrine Bachand, this bag for bringing along your drinks is in keeping with Bon Appétit’s gourmet mission. With 4 pockets for bottles of wine, microbrewery beer, cider, or why not even kombucha, it’s got plenty of space for a baguette and anything that can be stored at ambient temperatures, along with a little pocket for cheese and other fresh food: It’s perfect for a picnic, no question!

Relive your happy hours in Charlevoix wherever you find yourself, by ordering this eco-friendly souvenir made in Quebec.

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3. Nautical Pillows from Charlotte Atelier

A textile designer who’s always overflowing with ideas for combining something beautiful with a hint of island madness in our styles and accessories, Pascale Perron puts plenty of nautical influences into her creations. Fish whales, anchors, schooners, and sailboats appear pretty much all over her work in a patchwork of denim, traditional catalogne [woven fabric] and colourful top-stitching. We love her pillows, a playful reminder of the river and of Charlevoix’s shores once you’re back home in your cozy nest, back from vacation…

Made locally, by hand, you’ll find them at Charlotte Atelier Boutique on the Isle-aux-Coudres and at Boutique Charlevoix, if you stayed on the “mainland.”

1292 chemin des Coudriers

4. Raku Tea Mug from Ateliers Charlevoix

If you like “slow living,” and are driven by the desire to be a more aware consumer, you’ll place a lot of value on unique objects, handmade using time-honoured craftsmanship… Better still: objects that bring true happiness with regular use! Drinking your tea or espresso from a raku mug infused with the collisions between elements, that’s what we’d call “miles away from mass production!” Les ateliers Charlevoix studio has a mug that’ll fit into your hands perfectly, and warm your heart for many years to come, we promise!

Here, you’ll also find functional pottery at reasonable prices, as well as textile creations all made on-site, promoting a zero-waste lifestyle: Hello, fabric napkins!

1131 Terrebonne, Saint-Irénée

5. Earrings from Joaillerie Amulette 

Local jewellery is fun, a pair of earrings is twice the fun, handmade locally with sustainable silver is triple the fun, and made from moulds of local flowers and plants in the spirit of preserving and being aware of biodiversity is one hundred times the fun! Besides being very pretty and poetic, the jewels created at  Joaillerie l’Amulette are made of cedar, lilac or different varieties of local, native orchid picked and transported by jeweller-adventurer Bénédite Séguin. Together with established herbariums, university departments, and the conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, Bénédite’s process is not only respectful of the environment, but it also provides valuable botanical data. Lilac, thuja, campanula, fireweed, or milkweed: which will decorate the pendants on your ears?

A souvenir that will not only make you remember your time in Charlevoix, but which might also serve as a reminder to stay on the trails during your next walk, thus preserving a young plant, maybe a species of protected orchid… you never know!

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6. Cider from Les travaux & les Jours

Farm… or rather, village cider! That’s what the new cidrerie des Éboulements cidery in Charlevoix offers. In its bottles, a great drink pressed from the area’s unpicked apples, the pretty but plain labels designed by local artists Vanessa and Karine Locatelli. Abandoned hundred-year-old apple trees everywhere, forgotten family orchards; simply put, it’s the  blending of fruit from some 30 of the area’s property owners, in the fermenter! The result? Local yeast, no sulfites or other additives, and the Cidrerie Les Travaux & les Jours’ entirely natural approach provide a natural sparkle to its little rising bubbles and to the apricot, peach, and bitter almond flavours.

“To your health!” The renewal of forgotten fruit trees: tastes great, and slides easily into your carry-on at the end of a stay in Charlevoix!

Where can you find it?

7. Notebook from Papeterie Saint-Gilles

Instead of vacation souvenirs scattered across Instagram, do you feel like keeping a very personal and artistic record of your journey across Charlevoix? The creation of your own trip diary or artist’s book filled with pages and pages of sketches and bits of poetry inspired by your experiences in this place is at your fingertips. Here, even the paper is handmade and one-of-a-kind, thanks to the craftsmanship kept alive by Papeterie Saint-Gilles. A museum, paper-maker, and store all at the same time, you’ll undoubtedly spend a bit of time here, and have the urge to  “do-it-yourself.”

Take the time, appreciate, create… That's a good mantra to be mindful of even when it comes to holiday memories!

304 Félix-Antoine-Savard, Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive