It’s Time to Reveal the Swag Bag for Academy in the City!

This wouldn’t be a Jilly Academy event without gifting each attendee a beautiful bag full of some of my favourite things! We had so much fun putting together the much-anticipated, highly-celebrated SWAG BAGS! 

We knew that Nat, the inspiring Founder of Poppy + Peonies, would be up for the task of creating the most beautiful bag that could reflect our luxurious conference experience! We came up with a design that was not only functional (hello, wine pockets!) and reversible, but GORGEOUS too! We used the soft blue that was prominently used in the colour palette of the decor, and completed the design with a stunning floral print that echoed the toile pattern used on our backdrops and graphics. We are all SO thrilled with the final product, and we hope our guests are as well!

Of course, we needed to fill that bag with the best of the best! Take a scroll below as I recap how we spoiled our attendees with quite literally the best swag bag ever.

Mandy’s Salads 

Mandy’s gourmet salads are a jewel of Montreal’s (jam-packed) food scene. What started as a 3ft counter at the back of a women’s clothing store is now a 10 (!!!) location female-founded success story, with ongoing expansion locally and internationally. We were so excited to be able to provide Mandy’s signature Olive Oil and Maple Dressing duo as part of everyone’s swag bag!

Elate Beauty 

We were honoured to have the Canadian, female-founded brand, Elate Beauty, as our Presenting Beauty Partner for Academy in the City, supporting our gorgeous Beauty Bar experience. They wanted to ensure the glam kept going, gifting our General Admission attendees with their ‘love blush balm’, and providing all VIP ticket holders with their favourite shade of Elate lipstick!

North and Little Lovables

This sweet, small business based out of Northwestern Ontario on Lake Superior handcrafted the most adorable custom key wristlets and keychains for our Speakers and VIP attendees using the most high quality and safe materials available. 

Saje Natural Wellness

I have worked with (and loved) Saje for many years now, so I was thrilled that they so generously gifted every single attendee with their ‘Liquid Sunshine’ roll-on, a mood-brightening blend of sweet citruses and gentle herbs formulated to uplift your mood! Everyone needs a little extra sunshine in their life!

Bathorium 

Baths are one of my favourite ways to relax, and I LOVE a good bath salt. Our friends at Bathorium gifted all of our attendees with their Charcoal Garden Detox Bath Crush. This crush is about detoxifying the entire body from the outside, in! The organic activated bamboo charcoal pulls toxins and free radicals from the skin while the spicy oils of basil and calming lavender soothe the mind. Epsom salts + dead sea salts relax your aching muscles while a skin softening coconut milk envelops your entire body.

SOAK Bath Co.

I love seeing how creative SOAK is with their soaps, and was BEYOND grateful to have them gift each and every attendee their ‘Rosé All Day’ Soap Bar! Something super unique and special about this brand—each of their soap bars are labelled with plantable seed paper, making this product not only beautiful, but sustainable too! 

Thirty Bench Winemaker’s Blend Rosé 2021

Located in the Beamsville Bench of Niagara, Thirty Bench Winery is led by winemaker Emma Garner and is one of the iconic brands under the Andrew Peller Ltd family of wines. Each of our attendees were gifted a bottle of the Thirty Bench Winemaker’s Blend Rosé 2021, with a flavour profile that is a fresh aroma of sweet cherry, watermelon, white peach, and summer flowers. Yes, please!

Wild Flicker 

I was SO excited about this addition to the swag bags: custom candles hand poured by Ainsley, founder of Wild Flicker candle company! These candles are made from all natural soy and coconut wax and are phthalate and paraben free! All of our attendees were treated to Wild Flicker’s famous ‘Bergamot Breeze’ scent! 

Fitzroy Rentals 

This is the place to go when you are looking for your next gala, wedding or event! I know that a number of guests who attended the Gala, including Ang & Taryn from The Atelier, rented their gorgeous dresses from Fitzroy! Each attendee received a gift card to use towards this awesome service!

Smash + Tess

Smash + Tess is a brand that is close to my heart, and when they show up for an event, they show up BIG. Not only did they provide each and every attendee with a generous gift card, they also gifted each Speaker with a cozy sweater from their Stella Sweater Collection! 

Hillberg & Berk

Our Speakers and VIPs were in for a real treat, and were gifted with the stunning Always On Sparkle Hoops from Hillberg & Berk, a brand that has been featured in a previous Jilly Box! These lightweight, narrow and versatile Sparkle Hoops were created in celebration of International Women’s Day, and are SO beautiful!

Jilly Box 

The Jilly Box is one of my proudest accomplishments as an entrepreneur, so I am beyond excited to be able to gift Jilly Box gift cards to each and every attendee of this event!

LumberJill Apparel 

These aren’t your regular scrunchies, but a LUXE version of the most useful hair accessory ever! Each of our attendees were given a custom-created LumberJill scrunchie to take home! Our incredible speakers were spoiled and gifted LumberJill’s red buffalo plaid Rundel Wrap, perfect for those cool Spring and Summer nights! 

withinUs 

WithinUs is a brand that is part of my everyday routine, so I was thrilled that they so generously gifted ALL attendees with something very special! General admission ticket holders received the Vitamin C and TruMarine Collagen Box, which is a combination of some of the most powerful, antioxidant-packed ingredients to support healthy skin and optimize your skin-care regimen! VIP ticket holders and Speakers were gifted the withinUs TruMarine® Collagen—an ultra-pure, premium select grade collagen peptide (and my personal fave!) Free from artificial colours, flavours, additives, preservatives, and stabilizers, it is simply the highest grade of collagen peptide available. 

Before Company 

I LOVED this addition to the Swag Bag: the award-winning Before Company’s toothpaste—oral care engineered with a relentless focus on product quality and environmental impact. Fun fact: this was North America’s first plant-based toothpaste tube! All attendees were gifted either a tube of their Sensitive or Whitening toothpaste!   

Kanel Spices

Our guests had the opportunity to visit with Kanel first-hand in our pop-up market, and they even had a custom collection just for Academy in the City! The team at Kanel so graciously provided everyone with a taste of their truffle popcorn during the afternoon food drop!)

Organic Traditions

All guests were treated to a delicious pick-me-up, Organic Traditions’ Matcha Latte! This absolutely delicious blend will give your gut some TLC, complete with coconut milk and probiotics! YUM!

Pilot Coffee Roasters 

Did someone say COFFEE?! I was so happy to learn of this incredible coffee roaster based out of the GTA and had the chance to sample their delicious blends in the VIP lounge! Pilot was built around the core values of sourcing ethical, direct trade coffee and building transparency in the process from farm to cup—a practice I wholeheartedly respect and appreciate! Pilot gifted all attendees a free beverage of their choice at one of Pilot’s café locations, and gifted all VIPs and Speakers a bag of their crowd-pleasing whole bean ‘Academy’ blend coffee. 

Salted 

Salted’s mission is to curate experiences that elevate the simple pleasure of salted caramel, allowing you to indulge in life’s little moments—and the VIPs get to indulge fully in their “We Rise” gift box, featuring their luxurious classic sea salted caramels. And EVERYONE had a chance to sample their decadence during the afternoon food drop!

Fancy Face

This female-founded, Toronto-based small business supported our Beauty Bar with their talented team of makeup artists, and they also have their own line of cult-level products! Fancy Face gifted all attendees with the most luxurious eye serum that brightens, depuffs and awakens tired eyes!

PURA Botanicals 

Within our VIP lounge, the creative minds behind PURA Botanicals created a truly gorgeous ‘Vanity’ experience, providing ‘glow up’ mini facials to uplift and replenish, all while sharing their skincare expertise! As a takeaway, VIPs were gifted Overnight Watermelon Mask (a personal FAVE that was featured in a past Jilly Box!) and Radiant Face Drops!

Pomme Hair Salon

Nicole, the founder of Pomme, is not only my hair stylist but also a close friend, so when she offered to provide the VIPs and Speakers with her signature ‘Pomme’ brush, I was so grateful! This brush helps you detangle without the damage, with the bristles softly invigorating the scalp while you brush to maintain good blood flow for healthy hair! 

Mini Tipi 

The Speakers were truly spoiled by being gifted with one of Mini Tipi’s absolutely STUNNING handcrafted blankets—a gift I will truly treasure. Mini Tipi is female-founded, Indigenous-owned company who works with local artists. Not only did they gift the speakers with these special blankets, they also provided a gift card to each of our attendees!

Delia Estelle Designs  

This was another gift I will absolutely cherish forever. Stephanie, the founder behind Delia Estelle Designs, gifted each of the speakers handcrafted Indigenous jewelry. Absolutely beautiful and I am so grateful!

Mad About Style 

Rounding out the Speaker gifts, the lovely ladies at Canadian retailer, Mad About Style, provided each of our Speakers with a generous gift card to help freshen up our Spring and Summer wardrobe! 

Well, there you have it! I feel so grateful and honoured for the generous, beautiful and heart-felt gifts that each of these businesses provided to our attendees. I encourage you to continue to support these beautiful, Canadian and women-owned brands—i know for me they will always have a very special place in my heart!

Xo

Jilly