All about the Canadian subscription box and the founder who started it all.
Today, HOLR is chatting with Jessica Avellino, founder of The Gift Refinery. The Gift Refinery is a curated and elevated Canadian subscription box that helps individuals discover quality, Canadian-made products, which are delivered directly to your doorstep.
Keep reading to learn all about Jessica and her journey to founding her brand. You definitely need to check out The Gift Refinery, as each season, the brand delivers 7-10 full-size lifestyle products ranging from beauty, jewelry, wellness, and pantry items – each from exceptional small businesses.
Why did you start The Gift Refinery?
The Gift Refinery (TGR) is a Canadian Subscription Box and Lifestyle gifting brand founded from a place of genuine passion for helping others discover quality, Canadian products.
After a successful career in nursing, I decided to pursue my dream of launching TGR which evolved out of my love of shopping locally and sharing the stories and products of the many amazing Canadian and local artisans that I would discover. I was always in pursuit of the next up-and-coming Canadian brand, and always felt especially connected to the founders’ stories.
This passion evolved into a season of creating curated holiday gifts, and from there, the idea to launch our Seasonal Subscription box was born.
Today I am driven to find seasonal products, selected from a place of purpose and intention. Each product perfectly complements another, offering an elevated subscription box experience that feels hand-picked, thoughtful, and luxurious.
You have a strong passion for supporting Canadian artisans, so can you talk to us a little bit about your process as it relates to hand-selecting the products that go into each seasonal box?
Each season I select a colour palette and this colour palette flows through all aspects of the season: from the box colour to product colourways and booklet design.
When it comes to selecting the products that go into each seasonal box we recognize and celebrate diversity in Canada. When selecting artisans and brands we love to feature products and companies from coast to coast. We also place a focus on selecting seasonally appropriate products, of premium quality, ethically sourced, and sustainably packaged.
All of the products that go into the TGR seasonal boxes are hand-selected by me and tried and tested before selecting and placing them into the boxes.
TGR also collaborates with artisans and brands that have been highly vetted to ensure they reflect our core values: Curated, Conscious & Canadian, as well as the values of our community.
Can you tell us about the Canadian products featured in the holiday box?
The TGRHelloWinter 2021 Box features 9 amazing products from Canadian Artisans and Brands:
- Aija Candle Studio Travel Organic Soy Candle (Customers will receive one of the following surprise scents: Earth or Warmth)
- Eluo Beauty Forma Rosea Facial Polish
- EVIO Beauty Group Did I make myself clear? Lip Serum
- Imaya Beauty Retinoic Face Oil
- Lake & Oak Tea Co. Cacao Mylk
- Lithe Lashes 02 Everyday Round Lashes & White Lash Bond
- MIFA Eucalyptus Coco Body Wash
- Mintier Oil-based Breath Mint
- Pokoloko Solid Fringed Alpaca Throw
You can learn more about each of our amazing artisans and brands by visiting our Brand Partnerships Page.
Talk to us about the importance of donating and giving back to local charities, and how The Gift Refinery supports this notion.
Giving back to our local community has been a key driver behind TGR since our first Subscription Box launch. We proudly partner with Noelle’s Gift, a charity based in Sarnia, Ontario. Each season, a portion of our Subscription Box proceeds are donated to Noelle’s Gift.
We also have a line of one-time purchase boxes called TGRCares and past charitable donations have been made to: Noelle’s Gift, That Girl’s got Moxie, and Food Banks Canada.
When producing the company name the word “Gift”, symbolizes the gift of discovery, opportunity, charity – but also, appreciating the gifts that we encounter every day, when we boldly decide to start making the time to notice.
TGR shows our customers that supporting their community – or nation, on a broader scale – can be easy, chic, and charitable.
With the holiday season right around the corner, where can we shop The Gift Refinery?
You can shop The Gift Refinery online at thegiftrefinery.ca.
Published by HOLR Magazine.