Vancouver

CocoaNymph - Exclusive artisan corporate holiday gifts at Saul Good

Submitted by saul on Tue, 11/03/2009 - 21:25

Over the last few months we've been working closely with Rachel at CocoaNymph on a line of specialy artisan nuts. Delicious and original these are a fantastic corporate gift to send to an office or to take to a dinner party. Easy to share, unique flavours, and damb tasty the nuts are the kind of thing you probably wouldn't buy for yourself but would be happy to enjoy.

Sustainable packaging

Each selection of nuts is packaged in a PLA biodegradable tub. PLA is derived from corn. Although corn is one of the most genetically modified crops in North America and debated given its requirements for water and fertilizers I think supporting the development of biodegradable packaging is worthwhile. With more and more people thinking about what happens to waste and packaging we raise awareness and people become more conscious consumers. This is the direction we need to go as a society. We sourced the packaging from Susanna at BSI Biodegradable Solutions, the go to source for sustainable packaging in Vancouver, BC. 100% recycled gift boxes round out the package for a great sustainable corporate gift.

Artisan specialty nuts

My favorite are the local Agassiz cocoa espresso covered hazelnuts. Damb. These are delicious morsels of goodness. There's not much out there in the market quite like these little treasures. Aggasiz hazelnuts are a high end quality product from the Lower Mainland, BC. Their unique shape make each little treat a little bit different.
Dark chocolate almond culsters with sea salt. The most popular nuts in our office these ones are hard to keep around. Sweet and savoury.
Caramalized walnuts in a balsamic reduction. Soft tangy goodness. Not something that you'd expect, truely nice flavour on this classic nut.
Candied spiced pecans. The first candied nut to come out from the CocoaNymph shop. Where it all began.

Gift boxes filled with the selection of 4 artisan nuts are priced at $40 from Saul Good.

Don't forget about the chocolate!

Rachel is a fantastic chocolatier! She's got a great selection of chocolate truffles and chocolate bars. CocoaNymph is a quaint shop up on 10th Ave West in Point Grey and is a happening little music venue on occasion. If you're in the neighbourhood check it out, grab a coffee or loose leaf tea, some chocolates and kick back. It's a good vibe. In the summer they've got some great natural ice creams as well.

Top 3 reasons CocoaNymph makes an excelent corporate gift

Easy to share. One of the key ingredients to a successful client gift sent to an office. An amazing product that everyone will get a taste of.
Local. Made fresh in Vancouver these gifts not only support a strong local economy but also local farmers.
Artisan. Delicious original unique creatations. You've got to try the cocoa covered espresso hazelnuts - fantastic!

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One Planet Catering - Simply the best for delicious organic gourmet catering in Vancouver BC

Submitted by saul on Fri, 10/30/2009 - 09:58

When it comes to One Planet Catering the first thing that comes to mind is world class. Michael Kraus is best in class, not only as a phenominal caterer but also as someone who truely cares. His goal is to give people a quality dining experience, healthy nutrious and tasty meals to fuel you through the work day. I first met Michael about a year ago when he walked into Tradeworks Custom Products looking for handmade wooden presentation boxes for his locally delivered meals. His style is impecable. Creativity, unbelievable, Michael never ceases to impress.

We are stoked to be working with One Planet closely this holiday season with a line of delicious artisan holiday cookies. These are a little taste of the heavens. Man, I couldn't wipe the smile off my face when Michael brought over the first batch. Hand cut and decorated, full of buttery goodness, these are tasty treats for the holidays. Yet again, a great corporate gift for offices these cookies are great as everyone can have a taste, enjoy and think of you. Baked in a European tradition (Michael was born in Germany) there's a taste of tradition that's hard to miss. If you're looking for a quality experince Michael is your go to guy.

Top 3 things we appreciate about One Planet Catering

1. Service - Super reliable and on time

2. Experience - Meals are delivered in beautiful wooden cases filled with wooden serving boxes. Stacked neatly and protected for transportation One Planet presentation is unique in itself. Eating off nice place settings, drinking from glass and eating with silver ware give the food the opportunity to not only be eaten, but enjoyed.

3. Social conscious - Michael wants the world to be a beautiful place for everyone to enjoy. He's always looking for ways for his business to benefit the community as I've seen through his consistant enquires to procure products from Tradeworks, a downtown eastside Vancouver social enterprise that trains women in carpentry.

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Green office transportation

Submitted by saul on Tue, 08/18/2009 - 12:09

I am super lucky to have a view like this on my way home from work! Riding my bike over the Burrard Bridge in Vancouver, BC hosts fantastic views of English Bay out to the Georgia Straight and the Coast Mountains. I've been riding my bike to and from our Strathcona office and warehouse a few times a week, it's been an easy and fun way to start and end my work day. The new bike lane over the Burrard Bridge has made cycling safer in Vancouver and is a big step by Mayor Gregor Robertson and councellors like Andrea Reimer acting on their commitments for a sustainable city.

In most cities transportation is a major contributor ot green house gas emissions and there are many advantages for businesses to address this issue by engaging their employees to find alternate ways of getting to work without their cars.

Cycling saves time and money

- it's fast! It only takes me 25 minutes to ride my bike whereas it takes 45 minutes to take the bus. During rush hour it takes about the same amount of time to drive a car.

- purchasing a good bike costs way less than operating a car

- great exercise, gets the heart rate up and blood pumping to start the work day off right, increasing productivity

But I need my car during the day!

Some of us need a car during the day to run errands or hit up meetings, how can I get where I need to be if I don't have my car? A great option for this is car sharing services like the Co-operative Auto Network, a non-profit car sharing service in Vancouver, BC that let's it's members use vehicles by the hour at a fractional cost of owning your own vehicle. I've been a member for the last 3 years and for the most part the service has been great. When I first started Saul Good and was running it from my home the co-op helped me to save a lot of money by using their vehicles for big deliveries to clients. Loading a co-op pick up truck with 100 gift baskets and personally driving out to deliver them was a lot cheaper than delivery services or purchasing my own van or truck.

Top 3 things a company can do to promote sustainable commuting options

1) Offer to pay for cycling safety courses, helping to ensure that your employees feel comfortable while riding in traffic and get to work safely.

2) Provide incentives to get employees out of their cars. The Employer Pass Program at Translink gives your employees a 15% discount on public transit passes and you can kick a bit more in for added incentive. If you don't have 25 employees to sign up think about joining the Co-operative Auto Network as their members can join the program under their umbrella.

3) Remove barriers. Build showers for employees to use if they rid their bike into work. Sign up for the Company Car from the Co-operative Auto Network so employees can use vehicles during the day if need be.

Tradeworks Custom Products

Submitted by saul on Fri, 01/02/2009 - 14:49

Helping women in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside

When I started working with Tradeworks just over a year ago I have to admit, it was purely strategic. Concepts are like that. They make sense in your head but it’s not until one lives and experiences that one really feels in the heart. Let me explain, it was the fall of 2007 and with 2 ½ years until the Vancouver 2010 Olympics I was thinking about how my business could be a vendor for gifts and promotions. With sustainability high on VANOC’s agenda I knew I held a piece of the puzzle sorted and could see what I needed to fill the gap. Social responsibility and lasting benefits to the inner city, Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Before long I was introduced to Tradeworks as a potential vendor for custom wooden packaging and that’s where the story started to get interesting.

Social Enterprise

Tradeworks is a social enterprise that trains and employs women in carpentry. They make a variety of wooden products like wine boxes, tool boxes, hand turned pens and desktop accessories. Besides providing trade skills and job experience the women build confidence and self esteem by working and learning as a team. It’s a culture of support and development that I am happy to be a part of. When I arrived all the products were being made from Baltic Birch plywood, a high quality woodworking material that’s imported from Northern Europe and filled with formaldehyde. Over the last year I’ve helped the social enterprise develop a supply chain that includes a variety of sustainable and local materials including FSC certified and reclaimed woods, Stanley Park storm salvage Douglas Fir, mountain pine beetle, formaldehyde free plywood/MDF and bamboo. It was the smile on the women’s faces that first led me to believe that my work was making a difference. Seeing them start to glow when their skills advanced and problems were solved. Empowered women working to improve their lives in a business that I was helping to build. Creating value where it’s needed. That’s what social enterprise is all about.

Moving forward

Tradeworks is at a pivotal moment in its existence. To date Saul Good and Tradeworks have been working cooperatively in a social enterprise/for profit hybrid model. Tradeworks provides training and employment opportunities for women and Saul Good provides sales, marketing, strategy, supply chain and business development. A commission sales agreement allows Tradeworks to benefit from my sweat without coming up with cash. This is incredibly important for an organization that relies on external funding to operate its programs. It’s my goal to see the woodshop so busy that the revenues it generates fully supports their training programs and allows for investment to grow and develop more training opportunities.

Tradeoffs

Quality can not be compromised in an age where dollar store products are on the verge of extinction. If the goal of Tradeworks as a social enterprise is to train women, improve their lives and give them a door to create better jobs and better livelihoods for themselves, they must be ready to see their brightest and most talented people move on to new opportunities after their stint in the woodshop. How can one run a profitable business when one continuously loses their best employees? Tradeworks needs to develop programs to allow their women to move up the ladder within the organization, to gain more responsibilities and income, training new women in the new skills and culture as well as manage operations and projects. Yes, some of the women will need to move on, possibly to go for apprenticeship and trades tickets, and this needs to be a celebration and not a curse.

You can find out more about tradeworks on their website: http://www.tradeworks.bc.ca