Swell Social
1291 Lonsdale Place Victoria, BC, Canada

Our next maker that you can shop from now via the link in our bio (!!!) is Erin from @kismetessentials Erin, the co-founder of Kismet Essentials, launched her business based on her belief that your self-care products should only contain the essentials, and nothing more. She likes to keep things pretty simple, so you won’t find any harmful fragrances or toxins in any of Kismet’s products. Instead, you’ll see only effective all-natural and organic ingredients. All of their products are handcrafted in small batches in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

OPEN NOW! You guys, I’m so excited to share this special market with you. Some of the makers in this market I’ve looked up to for years, and I am so excited that I now get to connect you to them. There are limited quantities of some of the products, so get yours orders in ASAP! The market is open from now until July 29 at midnight. See you in the market!

Next up, @batiqua Linda, the SOULpreneur & social entrepreneur behind BATIQUA, is a proud Zimbabwean-born entrepreneur. She brings to you amazing handmade textiles for home decor. She's directly involved in the design process, bringing to market textiles of a premium aesthetic, and elevating the handmade craft. Her designs are inspired by the contemporary influences from her global travels and her rich African heritage.

While we work hard to put the finishing touches on our market launching at 7PM TONIGHT (!!!), we’ve teamed up with our friends at @virtualcfosolutions for a little giveaway It’s giveaway time! You may have noticed that over the last few months @virtualcfosolutions has been doing something called Small Business Saturday’s on our story and featuring various local companies. During these challenging times it’s important to support the small businesses we love in any way we ...can. That’s why Virtual CFO Solutions, a cloud based accounting firm in Victoria with a great appreciation for local products, has created a shop local giveaway basket! And some of our products have been included! This basket is valued at nearly $300, and they will be giving it all away to one lucky BC-based winner! The idea behind this is to promote various companies like us, across as many platforms as possible - so that we can thrive during this difficult time. The shop local basket will include: - Rooted tree mug: @handsonclaycollective - Size medium doing swell sweater: @theswellmarket - Honey Tobacco candle: @picotcollective - Cocoa Cafe body butter, Dead Sea bath salts, organic Sleepy Balm: @nezzanaturals - Botanical mist, lavender & blackBerry honey, lavender roll on essential oil: @bilstoncreekfarm To enter: 1. Follow all of these companies on Instagram: - @virtualcfosolutions - @bilstoncreekfarm - @handsonclaycollective - @theswellmarket - @picotcollective - @nezzanaturals 2. Like this post 3. Tell us your favourite local shop and why - tag them! 4. Tag a maximum of 4 friends in separate comments! (Each tag counts as an entry) 5. For a bonus entry, share this post on your story and tag @virtualcfosolutions ! This can be done once every 24 hours. Details: Contest closes July 27th at 10:00pm. The winner of the giveaway will be chosen by random selection and contacted by DM Wednesday July 29th. If you’re a business and wish to support these local companies without entering feel free to share this post on your story and tag us with the caption support your local businesses. Good luck! @ Victoria, British Columbia

IT’S MARKET LAUNCH DAY! As we work to get everything perfected for our 7PM launch, our features continue with Kanako of @ease_natural_remedy EASE NATURAL REMEDY is a natural beauty & wellness brand handcrafting 100% natural products formulated with the highest quality pure and organic botanical ingredients. They are on a mission to promote your health and well-being with their products. ... They handcraft their products thoughtfully in small batches on beautiful Vancouver Island, Canada. They provide you with completely safe and gentle products for your skin and the environment. See more

Our next maker to feature is @kiligcandleco You might be wondering, what does "kilig" mean? Kilig is a word in Tagalog that means the "butterflies in one's stomach". The feeling of excitement, happiness, and love. All of the feelings Kilig Candle Co. makes us feel... Kilig Candle Co. was created because of their undying love for candles and how they can evoke a memory, set a mood or transport you to a place you've never been to before.... They use all natural products that include 100% soy wax, lead and zinc-free cotton wicks, organic and phthalate free essential oils + fragrance oils, recyclable glass jars + containers, and are all hand-poured in Vancouver B.C. See more

Next up is Jess from @nakedsagejewelry Jess is a self-taught metalsmith. Her work is built on an insatiable need to express herself through art. The creative process is something she has always loved. Before jewellery she worked in fibre arts, clay then onto paint, charcoal, pastel and installation work. When she found metal and minerals something just clicked. Her inspiration comes from many parts of her life. Nature is always an abundant source she draws from... in colour and form. Her travels have also influenced her work a great deal. And at the centre of her work is her love and commitment to personal development and embodiment of one's truth. She uses minerals and metal to create an expression for the human experience. Her hope is that her work will act as a reminder to all of the unique light we each possess. See more

Our next maker to introduce is Erin from @hairofthedog.scrunchies Erin is the founder of Hair of the Dog Scrunchies based out of Victoria, B.C. Using natural fibres like linen and silk, she makes the ultimate cool girl hair accessories so you can look cute no matter what kind of hair day you're having. Only a couple more days until you can stock up on these scrunchies for yourself!

Introducing our first (beyoncé approved) maker @Mumgry was created out of necessity. While grocery shopping hungry and pregnant with her son Apollo, the creator of Mumgry, Lilian, noticed that there was a lack of snacks that considered the dietary restrictions and needs of women during pre-pregnancy, pregnancy and beyond. Finding delicious snacks that supported her health and the growth of her baby was challenging. Reading labels and deciphering if snack products were g...ood or bad was time consuming and took all the fun out of eating for 2! Questions such as Will this give me heartburn? Does it have soy? Is it low in sodium and sugar? Does it have protein? Is it rich in vitamin D, omega 3, iron and calcium? Is it yummy? were constantly in Lilian’s mind. At 3 weeks postpartum she began snack prepping to stay nourished and energized as a new Mum. Tired of eating cold meals and microwaved food - homemade snacks became Lilian’s saviour between meals. After a few tasty experiments Mumgry was born. We’re so excited to have Mumgry in this market. Two more days until you can stock up for yourself! See more

THEY’RE HERE! Here are the makers for the first edition of the market. Starting Wednesday, July 22, you can shop all of these amazing small businesses right here in The Swell Market Thanks to everyone for their recommendations on makers to include in this market... we can’t wait to introduce you to all of these brands! Time to get excited

The market is about to come back in a BIG way. We are beyond excited to share with you our new roster of vendors for this month’s market. Each maker is BC based and are making impacts in their communities and beyond. Keep an eye out for a post Sunday morning announcing all the new makers... there may even be a little giveaway

So. Some big changes are coming. The market will still be a place that celebrates small business & supporting local, but the market itself is about to change. Here’s the new set up: The market will open for one week once a month (around the 15th of each month) During that week, there will be a curated selection of 10 makers to explore and purchase products from There will be a theme each month that will weave the makers together ... These makers will be sourced from all over British Columbia There will be a focus on BIPOC owned/operated/designed businesses At the end of each of the weeks, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to a charity that is affiliated with the theme (e.g. after a Mother’s Day themed week I would make a donation to help postpartum depression, for example) Doing Swell sweaters will still be available 24/7 in the market This change is bittersweet, but all current makers will be featured in upcoming markets, so don’t worry! I hope to share so many interesting businesses with all of you while celebrating the diversity and beauty of British Columbia. Who knows, maybe one day we’ll include small makers from little towns all over Canada! Of course, a gigantic thank you to all of the makers that are part of the current market. I hope that all of you got to find a new favourite small business or two, and I continue to encourage anyone with the means to shop as local as possible! Also a huge thank you to all of you for supporting the market in it’s current form. As a thank you, everything is 20% off until next Sunday night. At that point every product will be removed from the market... so stock up now! Time to get to work! See more

Your new favourite summer sweater is here Introducing our Throwback Swell Sweater. These sweaters are lighter than our traditional sweaters, making them the perfect companion for backyard s’more roasting, surfing, and whatever else you love doing in the summer. Get yours now!

Hey everyone! Connor here. I’ve been a little absent from this page in the past couple weeks. I’ve been having tough conversations, asking myself uncomfortable things, and learning as much as I can. I want to commend this community. Everyone has (and is continuing to) use their platforms to amplify voices of those who deserve to be heard, and publicly challenging the voices of the assholes (for a lack of a better word) among us. I’m proud and inspired by the change th...at the community is calling for and participating in. No matter how difficult or uncomfortable this revolution is currently, or becomes in the future, I, and everyone at Swell, vow to do our part to help create and contribute to change in any way we can. We’re big believers in backing up our words with actions, which is why we’ve waited a while to make this post. We wanted to be able to draw out tangible steps on how we can and will help BIPOC. The first step to this is to introduce more diversity into the market. This is where I need your help. Please tag or DM me your favourite BIPOC owned Vancouver-island business and I will do my best to get them into the market. The team and I are also working on several different initiatives aimed at helping BIPOC businesses grow. These will take longer to enact, but we are working on them. Whether these initiatives come in the form of grants, programs, or something else, we are committed to using our platform, expertise, and connections to create an equitable environment for BIPOC creatives. There is work for me, you, and everyone else to do today and everyday to come. Whether you use your voice by sharing Instagram stories, talking with friends, marching in protests, or however else, I implore you to keep going. Keep finding ways to use your voice to contribute to this change... however that looks for you. -Connor See more

You guys. We couldn’t wait. THE NEW WEBSITE IS LIVE!!! Go check it out and let us know your thoughts. We’re so so so excited!

Father’s Day boxes are here, and we’re having a little giveaway to celebrate. Based on the suggestions we got from all of you, we’ve put together a box that we think every dad (and/or husband) will love. Here’s what’s included: Twilight ‘75 Mountain Mug from @hands Two chocolate chip cookies from @thecookie Your choice of either 1936 Espresso from @fernwoodcoffee or Earl Grey tea from @waterover... The boxes are available now in our market, with delivery two days before Father’s Day. We can’t wait to help you spoil your pops! Also, in the spirit of spoiling pops, we’ll be giving away one of these boxes. Here’s how to enter: Follow us Tag a few friends (each comment is an extra entry) Share this post to your story And that’s it! You’re entered! Happy almost Father’s Day everyone! See more

Tonight’s guest on The Swell Show is yet another creative Victoria powerhouse - Alexis Kastner of Jovee Handcrafted (@lexyouup). Lex left the world of finance just a few short years ago to focus on her leather goods practice and has quickly become a steadfast part of our local community. Tune in at 8 to hear Lacey chat with Lex about big career moves, Covid pivots, and their bygone days creating in a victoria tourist hotspot.

Happy May long weekend! We hope you are able to celebrate it in whichever way works best for you these days. Regardless, we wish you lots of health and happiness! And, if you’re in the mood to do a little local shopping, we’re offering 20% OFF SITE WIDE! Use the code ‘MAYLONG’ to redeem. Also, we now have a rewards system! Click on the little shopping bag at the bottom right of the website to sign up. You get points for purchases, and gift cards for referring friends! As always, thanks for your continued support. We love this community so damn much

We can’t choose a favourite @handsonclaycollective mug, but the Aurora is a strong contender. These beautiful mugs stole the show in our Mother’s Day boxes. Have you purchased a mug from our market? Which one did you buy (or which do you want to buy)? Please note that the glaze varies from batch to batch

The Mother’s Day rush is over- time to breathe a little! It was so exciting to see everyone getting their orders and sharing with mom last week, but boy oh boy, did the anxiety ever hit hard. After I dropped off my final order, I didn’t have a moment of omg yay! We pulled it off! I had a moment (a full couple days, actually) of crippling anxiety. I care so much about what we’re doing here, and the thought of things that I may have messed up, forgotten, or otherwise not ...done perfectly. It can be so hard to focus on the great things that we ALL pull off everyday. But it’s so important. I’m working on being gentler with myself. And I’m so happy to have a platform in which I can openly talk about these things. Thank you all for following along, sharing your stories, and helping to destigmatize mental health conversations. We’re all Doing Swell See more