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SOUTHERN GEORGIAN BAY LIVING The Local Mile Box
The Local Mile Box
BY LESLEY KENNY
An all-Canadian subscription box company that supports small, local businesses and charities.
Lorrie Gustaw (left) with sister and co-owner Sarah Davidson, making a video for their spring bloom box. Recipients of The Local Mile Box sometimes share the unique contents of their boxes on Instagram or other social media. Photo by Aaron Davidson.
The pretty summer 2021 Local Mile Box— “for the love of local.” You can purchase one seasonal surprise box at a time or subscribe to a two or a four season subscription. Treat yourself, surprise a friend or thank that special person in your life. Photo by Lorrie Gustaw.
When your sister wakes up at 2:00 a.m. and calls you with a business idea and name, you listen. Last summer, Lorrie Gustaw and sister Sarah Davidson had been talking about the popularity of subscription boxes. “I’ve long been a fan of subscription boxes,” says Lorrie. “I was talking to my sister about one that’s so popular it actually has a waiting list!” Two weeks later, Sarah had her middle-of-the-night idea and soon after, The Local Mile Box became the newest subscription box to join an enthusiastic market. In the past 10 years, the popularity of subscription boxes has taken off, in no small part due to their appearance and appeal on social media. Images and videos of delighted customers opening their personally curated, themed packages make an impression. Subscriptions can arrive weekly, monthly or seasonally. Contents include everything from makeup, to food, books, jewellery, camping equipment and plants. The list is as long as tastes are varied. The Local Mile Box offers seasonal subscriptions of contents that are all handmade in Canada, from an area that sisters and co-owners Lorrie and Sarah choose. The contents of each box are a surprise to the receiver and contain notecards describing the makers and where the items are made. The Local Mile Box fulfilled their first orders last fall with quality handmade items from the Kitchener-Waterloo area. “I wanted our subscription boxes to be about handmade, and smaller businesses that we could support,” says Lorrie. And they donate a portion of their sales to a local charity. They planned for four seasonal boxes per year. Then a company called Pfizer called with an order of 900 boxes. A company exec had seen a Local Mile Box on social media and liked the idea to thank their Canadian employees for an unusually busy year. “We were using our mom’s garage and had to bring in skids to fulfill this huge order,” says Lorrie. But their business model, to help support small local businesses, worked – one of the items to be included in the Pfizer boxes was a handmade blanket. Suddenly the Kawartha Sign and Pillow Company had an order of 900 blankets and had to hire more seamstresses and help from within their community. This summer, The Local Mile Box is supporting small businesses in the Grey-Bruce area, including hand-blown dip spreaders and wine stoppers made by Infinite Glassworks. As well as seasonal boxes, the new Canadian company curates gift boxes for special occasions like Christmas, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and is happy to take custom orders. “Right now, we’re focusing on Ontario. But Sarah and I have a vision of going across Canada. We’d like to discover new areas and artisans to support.”
SOME OF THE CANADIAN-MADE ITEMS IN THE LOCAL MILE BOX MAY INCLUDE: Copper water bottles, recycled Rebeer glasses, tea/coffee, cocktail mixes in multiple flavours, snacks (popcorn, nuts, chocolate, candy), custom candles, custom lip balm, soaps, glasses, jewelry, plants, small planters, honey, maple syrup, custom t-shirts, and restaurant gift cards.
