Local-only gift guide
We've made a list, checked it twice, and found a ton of naughty and nice presents from Montana businesses
by Independent StaffArticle Tools
Page 3 of 5
DIY T-shirts
$5 per hour rentals, plus supplies, if necessary
Missoula is home to some fantastic apparel companies—Statriot Designs (the Monfuckintana shirt people) and Zoo City Apparel (the ubiquitous 406 designs) come immediately to mind. But budding T-shirt creators also have a chance to thrive thanks to the Wrongside Printing Station inside the Zootown Arts Community Center (ZACC).
Wrongside rents its printing station to the public for $5 per hour. If you're planning on outfitting more than a couple of friends, you might want to have printing staff make a screen of whatever you want printed on your T-shirts. Screens run between $35 and $50.
If your Christmas budget is tight or you only want to make a shirt or two, make your own paper stencil. That's free. Wrongside also sells solid colored T-shirts for between $5 and $10, or you can bring your own. Whichever way you decide to make it, just be sure to flex your fashion instincts and give the gift of DIY garb.
Find it at: The ZACC is located at 235 N. First Street W. Zoo City Apparel is available at the ZACC, as well. Find Statriot shirts at Betty's Devine, 521 S. Higgins Avenue, or online at www.etsy.com/shop/statriotdesigns.
Hunter Bay coffee
$10.50–$12 per pound
As far as drinks go, locals take their coffee and beer choices about as seriously as a winter storm warning. And for the caffeine fiends, a pound of Moose Drool Coffee from Lolo's Hunter Bay Coffee Roasters will keep them buzzing through New Year's Day.
Developed with Big Sky Brewing, creator of the deliciously dark Moose Drool beer, the coffee is sweet with a hint of brown sugar, caramel and spice.
Bernice's Blend, also roasted locally by Hunter Bay, offers another equally tasty option. A combination of fair trade Sumatra Takengon coffee and Ugandan White Nile coffee, it's roasted three times a week and delivered fresh to the Third Street bakery.
Find it at: Most local grocery stores, or at Hunter Bay's Lolo roasting plant, 11300 U.S. Highway 93 S. Visit them online at www.hunterbay.com.
The Microwave Baked Potato Bag
$4–$9
Consider Shirley Hillberg a master of the microwave. The maker of microwave baked potato bags—available in all sorts of patterns and sizes—swears that her handmade product helps produce "just right" baked potatoes. And corn on the cob! And fried potatoes! And heated taco shells! If you have a starving college student on your gift list, this would seem to be the perfect present.
Hillberg is a regular at local craft fairs and the People's Market during the summer, and says she's sold 6,000 bags without a single complaint. She buys her fabrics locally, except when she cleans out all the muslin cotton and must trek to Spokane for more. And Hillberg makes each and every bag by hand, and includes foolproof recipes with each sale.
"My factory is right here on Mullan Road, right here in my living room," she says. "It's all just me."
Find it at: Call Shirley Hillberg directly at 406-207-9493 or 406-542-7454.
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Why are Wolves on Santa's "Naughty List"? Wolves have been framed!! They are the favorite scapegoat, but are just a predator/carnivore like you and me.
A potato bag and hunter bay coffee? You guys run out of new ideas for the Holidays or what? Some of the stuff is alright but not your best effort.
I think that your gift guide is fairly LAME. Aside from one or two things, I don't know of anyone who would be pleased to receive any of these items under the tree. Come on Independent Staff--lets do better next year!
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