Find a New Hobby on the BC Marketplace

The joke at the start of the pandemic was how we’d all be taking up new hobbies while staying safe at home. Breadmaking and learning to play the ukulele may have been mentioned a few times. If you still haven’t found your go-to hobby to see you through COVID-19, there’s no need to turn to the big online retailers. Here are a few B.C. businesses that can help you find a new passion, or just kill some time.

Imperial Hobbies, Richmond

With 5,200 sq feet of retail space, Imperial Hobbies in Richmond has pretty much every board game, comic book, model, and anything else the serious or casual hobbyist could want. Want to build a rocket? Choose from numerous kits. Looking for the latest comic from Marvel, DC, or another publisher? It’s likely they’ll stock it. Need a game to while away the long winter nights? Take your pick from hundreds of classic and new board games. If you didn’t have a hobby before you visit their website, it won’t take long to find one.

Steveston Winemakers, Richmond

No games night is complete without a suitable refreshment to go along with it. What better than some home-made craft wine? The folks at Steveston Winemakers will help you take your first steps to becoming a “vintner.” They provide a range of videos to get you started with DIY winemaking, as well as offering a free in-person course. Create a batch for yourself or team up with a group of friends. If beer is more your tipple, you can buy beer kits that will have you enjoying your first homemade beer within a few weeks.

WildWestDye, New Westminster

If you’re an avid knitter, or have always wanted to learn, WildWestDye has everything you need to feed your knitting habit or get started. Their main product is their made-in-Canada, naturally hand dyed yarn.  It’s renewable, non-toxic, and sold in CakeQuarters (25g increments), which results in less waste and less yarn just sitting around waiting to be turned into something cosy. As well as yarn, WildWestDye offer knitting kits to help you make cowls, hats, socks, and a huge variety of other woolly creations. If you get started now, you could make Christmas presents for everyone.

Studiostone Creative, Vancouver

Studiostone Creative is on a mission to turn everyone from age eight to 99 into a stone carver. All it takes is the right tools and instructions. Sculptor Oliver Hardwood started the business after a teacher approached him to teach her pupils how to carve stone. Inspired to teach more kids, Oliver created a 90-minute in-school stone carving program. Today, Studiostone sells complete carving kits that let you carve exquisite soapstone elephants, bears, lions, orcas, and other creatures to play with or just liven up your mantlepiece.

Bluesky Organics, Vernon

For those of us lucky enough to have one, our garden, balcony, or other home outdoor space became a haven when time spent outside the home was limited this past summer. If you discovered gardening, or wished you had, and want to start planning next year’s horticultural adventure, Bluesky Organics can help you out. A good place to start for newbie green thumbs is their Organic Craft Grow Kit. It’s got everything you need, except the seeds, to grow an organic garden at home.

There are lots of local businesses ready and willing to help support you in your quest to find something interesting, fun, or productive to do with all this at-home time. Find them in the BC Marketplace.