If you could ask for anything this holiday season, would the gifter really have to leave our fine city to buy it for you? We consulted with local retailers to curate a gift guide that knows no bounds, a round-up of covetable, extremely beautiful and — at times — outlandish products you can request for Christmas this year (or, if you’re like us, just sit on the sidelines and gawk), available for purchase right here in Edmonton. The common threads in this extravagant wish list: Exclusivity. Quality. Legacy. Bundle up, you’re in for a ride.
Made you look! No, really — you don’t have to be a car person to know the Ferrari was built to turn heads. It holds true for this 2020 Ferrari 488 Pista, even next to over 50 other luxury and exotic cars that reside inside Sherwood Motorcars’ new 24,000-pus square foot show-room in Sherwood Park. With its flashy, fiery red shell — and almost a million dollar price tag — is it wishful thinking in the dead of winter to imagine receiving this exclusive ride for Christmas? Imagine being behind the wheel, like Charles Leclerc ripping through the corners at Monza. “We’ve never had a client gift a Ferrari, but we have had clients gift vehicles,” says Christy Stevenson of Sherwood Motorcars. There’s a first for everything.
ENGINE: Twin-Turbo 3.9L V8, HORSEPOWER: 711 hp @ 8,000 rpm, TORQUE: 568 lb-ft @ 8,000 rpm TIME: 2.7 seconds, 0 to 60 mph, TOP SPEED: 211 mph or 340 kph, BEST EDMONTON DRIVING ROUTES: The backcountry; quiet roads with a little elevation, away from the hustle of the city.
No gift guide is complete without a luxury timepiece, and — arguably — no watchmaker is more with-the-times than Zenith. Although it was established more than 150 years ago, the progressive Swiss-based manufacturer now focuses on size-inclusivity rather than gender. This makes the selection simple: Are you more of an Ultraviolet kind of person, or a Midnight Sunset?
The DEFY Midnight Sunset watch has a 36mm steel case and a diamond-set bezel, featuring a guilloché-engraved dial with a vertical colour gradient shifting from red to yellow. The quick-change straps system allows for the steel bracelet to be swapped for one of three interchangeable straps.
The DEFY El Primero 21 Ultraviolet watch houses an automatic movement finished in violet tones and features two independent high-frequency escapements beating at 50Hz for the chronograph function and 5Hz for timekeeping.The chronograph can measure 1/100th of a second.
Hear us out: Discreet earbuds aren’t for everyone and full-coverage headphones have never looked so cool. This statement-making hi-fi closed- back pair in cognac and mocha full-grain leather from France-based company Focal has the acoustics to match their elevated appearance. They’re designed with a new generation of electro-dynamic speaker drivers capable of working at low acoustic load, while offering an extensive frequency response (5Hz – 40kHz). This means you’ll experience the reproduction of the tiniest sound details at both high and low frequencies. Available at Audio Ark on 124th Street, this is music to our ears.
Give the gift of sound to the music aficionado in your life with a high performance turntable. The Delphi, by Oracle Audio, first appeared in Quebec back in 1979 and has been fine tuned over the years to become one of the most exceptional turntables available, no matter the price. In an effort to help you lucky SOBs out there, we asked Audio Ark — Edmonton’s exclusive retailer of the Delphi — what song was a must-listen if you get to unbox this beauty come Christmas. “Any record will do,” says Audio Ark owner Robert Norris-Jones. “You will hear things you have never heard before on familiar pieces of music.”
Know a good dress when you see it. Own a good dress when you feel it. This 100 per cent silk number by New York designer Ulla Johnson surely fits the bill. Yeah, you can shop online, but why not try it on first before adding it to your wish list? Edmonton’s Who Cares? Wear is the exclusive local retailer of the label and has been bringing in a myriad of gorgeous designer goods for you to experience in-person for the last 26 years. A moody floral is a fitting pick-me-up in the dark days of winter and this flattering, classic silhouette will never go out of style. Sold.
La Marque Feather Jacket, $290, Who Cares? Wear; Natalie Boot, $350, gravitypope; Gucci Gold and Black Diamond Earrings, $5,730, GemOro
Let’s face it: Over the last two years the holiday party scene has been stolen from the well dressed. Re-introduce your stylish self at the next social event in a sports jacket made of cashmere from Italian clothing line, Kiton. Only available in Alberta at Henry Singer, each Kiton jacket under-goes more than 30 hours of handwork in Napoli. “It is the undeniable best of the best — plus one,” says Henry Singer menswear buyer Langford Hudjik. Plus, that classic check print makes it an investment piece you’ll hang onto forever. Cheque, please.
Isaia Turtleneck Sweater, $1,420; Marco Pescarolo Napoli Drawstring Dress Pants, $995; Crockett & Jones Hardwick Derby Shoe, $895, Henry Singer
This 18-karat white and yellow gold necklace from Gucci’s Le Marché de Merveilles (“The Market of Wonders”) collection features a darling worker bee motif (in Europe the bee is said to be a sign of nobility) alongside 114 round brilliant diamonds and the founder’s double-G initials. While there’s currently only one in stock at West Edmonton Mall’s GemOro, don’t get your bee in a bonnet: The 35-year old luxury Edmonton jeweller has been curating a unique selection of Gucci pieces for 12 years.
It’s a conversation piece to rule them all. All at once dark, playful, fantastical, and a little tongue-in-cheek, the decanter and accompanying double old fashioned glasses from Artěl’s Cabinet of Curiosities collection will up the drama at any holiday party. It’s a line only sold in Edmonton at The Artworks and each piece of Bohemian crystal is mouth-blown, hand-engraved and gilded in platinum or gold by a highly skilled group of Czech artisans. From snakes and bats to the insects they eat, the unique tumblers are destined for a good Scotch or Japanese whiskey; sip and admire how the almost-ethereal light dances through the glass.
It’s been 17 years since deVine Wines began stocking its champagne section with Dom Perignon, and that kind of loyalty has allowed the boutique wine shop to become the Edmonton destination for some of Dom’s special edition bottles. The latest is a 2006 Brut Rosé from the Moet & Chandon Dom Perignon x Lady Gaga partnership (in the past Dom Perignon has partnered with the likes of Bvlgari Serpenti, Lenny Kravitz, Jeff Koons, David Lynch and Tokujin Yoshioka, although you’d have been lucky to get your hands on a bottle). Gaga’s Brut features pink grapefruit and accents of toasted nuts, lemon thyme, smoky mineral and crystallized honey.
The packaging reflects the design of the partnership’s campaign — titled the Queendom — launched with an accompanying short film directed by iconic fashion photographer and director Nick Knight. It’s soundtracked by a Lady Gaga Chromatica song, “Free Woman,” and includes a special sculpture — all meant to be a celebration of creative freedom. Chin chin!
Truly, what else says luxury like caviar? On our local hunt for this fancy seafood, we called on the guys at Meuwly’s, typically known for its house-made charcuterie and sausages, cheeses, pickles and condiments. But this Edmonton-based marketplace is also a seller of Northern Divine caviar, which uses Fraser River white sturgeon raised from crisp mountain groundwater on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. At around $3.50/gram, it’s also certified organic and meets the Oceanwise and SeaChoice standards for sustainability. Meuwly’s co-owner Peter Kieth describes it as “smooth and buttery, perfectly salted, with a clean finish.” Serve chilled.
Listen to your inner child and ask Santa for a shiny new bike this year. “Grown-up You” won’t be disappointed with the Canadian-made Moose E Fat Bike, solely available in Edmonton at redbike. It’s one of the very few electric assist, fat tire, winter-specific bicycles to include the Shimano Steps E-assist system, which is considered to be “the best assurance of safety, reliability and performance,” according to redbike co-owner Cliff Vallentgoed. “We feel that fat bikes and e-assist are a perfect match,” he says. “The e-assist eliminates all concerns about the extra effort required to push the fat tires and emphasises the huge fun of riding on those big balloons!” Sounds like a kid on Christmas morning.
Turn up the heat without touching the thermostat in a Canada Goose jacket, perhaps the ultimate cold-weather warrior. If you live in an icy northern city like Edmonton, it’s worth every penny to invest in a winter coat from this iconic, 65-year old Canadian brand that’s heavy on warmth but lightweight in construction. This season, styles that were highly coveted last winter have been reintroduced in new hues: For her, try the Junction Parka Pastels in Sunset Pink. For him, we’re partial to the Osbourne Parka in Ozone Blue. For them, get both.
If the sky’s the limit, then we’d ask for an eternal summer. But the next best thing is a rich and vibrant floral still life piece by Edmonton artist Robert Lemay, who created this 36-inch by 48-inch oil on canvas painting of dahlias and hydrangeas just for Edify. “With my floral compositions, I capture that feeling you get when you first lean into a bouquet to inhale the scent,” says Lemay. “I’m very conscious of creating a level of realism that is poetic while still retaining the illusion for the viewer of being right in that moment.” While some passages in his work are described as more “brushy and poetic” and others more detailed, each painting contains hundreds of these types of choices so that the viewer can be immersed in the floral experience, he says. “My mantra these last couple of years has been: Art helps, beauty matters, flowers help.”
Got an extra $1.1 billion lying around? In a 2021 Forbes article, the Edmonton Oilers were valued as such. We put Oilers superfan (circa ’94), season ticket-holder and CTV News anchor Nahreman Issa on the receiving end of this far-fetched gift, and, well, “There would be a lot of screaming,” she says. Fittingly—and in the spirit of the season—she’d use it as an opportunity to give back: “I would introduce fun themes for games, like retro night, and have different jerseys for warmups corresponding with the event; then I’d sell them for charity. This city is so passionate about the Oilers and they can’t take that for granted. The fans make the team and we have to find a way to give back.” Billionaires, take note.
This article appears in the December 2022 issue of Edify
