Scouring through the gift shops to find home-grown treasures

Tucked away in the cozy corners of the town’s gift shops are rare gems that many visitors want but few ever find.

They’re keepsakes that were made here, and they’re a way for guests to take away a genuine piece of Jasper.

“I don’t want a bear made in China,” says Carol Timbrell, a visitor from Britain who was hunting the stores with her husband Roger for something special for their grandson back home in Birmingham.

“We’re looking for a bear, and I’ve been going through them like mad because they’re all made in China,” she said. “I like to be very conscious of where things are made.”

It’s a dilemma common to visitors who want a distinctive memo of their visit to Jasper National Park, and prefer that it was made here – but it shouldn’t cost too much.

John Forabosco Jr., owner of Bearberry Photo & Canadiana, faces the same conundrum when it comes to stocking his shelves in a way that appeals to tourists.

“They want made in Canada, made in Alberta, made in Jasper, but they don’t want to pay for it,” Forabosco said. “For most things, prices don’t seem within reasonable grasp.”

Though not everyone is looking for Canadian-made or even Jasper-made souvenirs, gift shop owners do get requests for such items from time to time.

Wayne Hoffman, manager of The Christmas Store, said he’d like to see a greater availability of Jasper-made products.

“I wish there was because it’s something people are asking for,” he said. “It could be very lucrative.”

Sue Cesco, general manager of Friends of Jasper, said when tourists come in looking for local items, she’ll point them towards art cards, prints, or local history or hiking books that weren’t necessarily made here, but were at least researched in the area.

Noella Bossio, owner of Bearfoot in the Park and Tangle Creek Gifts, said she “definitely” gets customers looking for made-in-Jasper souvenirs.

“A lot of the travellers that come through town are looking for just that kind of thing, a connection they have with the mountains, they’re looking for a memento of that,” Bossio said. “Sometimes a photograph is the best way to capture it.”

Her stores sell images taken by local photographer Harry Rowed half a century ago of sights around Jasper, including bears peering into car windows at Jasper Park Lodge for up to $200 for framed shots.

“A popular one is three bears sitting at a picnic table eating after they scared the people away,” she said. Bossio said she keeps an eye out for locally-made products to sell, such as Rocky Mountain Soap from Canmore, but otherwise tries to carry items that are “Made in Canada, for sure.”

Photographer Keith Allen sells prints of not only Harry Rowed’s pictures, but also Ray O’Neil’s, who captured popular images of Marilyn Monroe during the filming of River of No Return in 1953.

For images in a traditional souvenir format, Edi Klopfenstein prints his photographs on gift cards, available in shops around town for $1.90 a piece.

Paintings are another option for travelers looking to take home a piece of Jasper, such as those by watercolour artist Sandy Robinson whose prints start at $20 at the museum, or Gerdie Carter, who paints landscapes on plates that sell for about $40 each.

Some tourists decorate their walls and some decorate themselves. Jewelry by Cindy Day and Susie Wilgosh is often taken as a memento.

Wilgosh’s beaded pieces are for sale in Mountain Air and Open Country priced from about $25-$70, and her most popular items are her key chains.

“I love local stuff,” she said. “If somebody’s made it and it’s from where you’re visiting it’s just a delight to buy.”

Some travellers, like Linda Uchima from Hawaii, don’t care about the source and pedigree of the souvenirs they buy. She picked up a Christmas ornament over her stay in Jasper.

“I look at how cute it is,” Uchima said. “I just try to get something for my collection.”