Acadian Flag merchandise

Acadian Flag items available in our shop

Got French Acadian roots? Lots of people do. A few years after taking over mainland Nova Scotia from the French and founding Halifax in 1749,  the British drove the Acadian settlers from the soil they had tilled for generations.

Some years later, many Acadians came back to Nova Scotia and lived quietly in remote communities, not calling much attention to themselves, making waves only at sea in their fishing boats. Over time, many of their descendants assimilated into the larger English-speaking culture.

In the last number of years, however, Acadian culture and language have been waking up. A province-wide French Acadian school board runs 21 Francophone schools throughout the province, and a network of organizations and community centres ensure that Acadian arts and culture enrich the fabric of Nova Scotia.

I’ve added a new design to the shop, with the Acadian flag and a detailed, accurate silhouette of Nouvelle-Écosse. Lots of cool merchandise is available.*

*Items are printed on demand in the USA by CafePress. In my experience, items printed on paper, fridge magnets and posters have come through the mail without duty. However, any clothing not made in the USA (i.e. most of it), mugs and certain other items require duty (18%, I think) as well as GST/HST to be paid at the post office. Your experience may vary.

Clothing made in the USA is clearly marked as such in the shop.

2012 Nova Scotia Calendar now available

Click to see the 2012 Nova Scotia Calendar, $19.99 (USD). The "View Calendar Pages" link will show you all the pictures.

Our 2012 calendar has a beautiful South Shore photo for every month of the year.

Printed on demand by CaféPress in the US for $19.99 (USD).

In my experience I haven’t ever had to pay duty on any printed material or books ordered from the US.

Clothing is another story; if a t-shirt was not made in the US, it is subject to 18% duty as well as Canadian sales tax – even if the design was printed on it in the US.

Disclaimer: I make no guarantee that Canada Customs or the Post Office won’t charge you duty or tax. I am merely sharing my own experience. Your results may vary.

Nova Scotia Calendar for 2011

Nova Scotia Calendar 2011
The official Nova Scotia Photo Album calendar for 2011

Looking for a New Year’s gift?  (That excuse will buy you an extra week.)

I’ve put together a calendar of photos from the South Shore of Nova Scotia. You’ll find it in my CaféPress Shop. Price is $19.99 USD.

Yes, it’s printed in the US on demand by CaféPress and ships from the US.

Your results may vary, but I haven’t had to pay duty on printed material (on paper) coming across the border from the US to Canada by mail, whether from Amazon or CaféPress.  Clothing is another thing though, and mugs; I’ve had to pay duty as well as GST on those.

I’d love to hear of any CaféPress equivalents based in Canada.

Nova Scotia t-shirt still a favourite

Nova Scotia T-Shirt
After many washings, it still looks good.

This is the “Kid’s light Nova Scotia T-shirt” from the CafePress shop behind the “Gift Shop” link above, in ash grey.   Here it is after lots of washings, still looking good and still a favourite.

If you’re in the US, ordering clothing from CafePress is fine, but if you’re ordering from Canada, you have to be prepared to pay duty, as well as GST, on clothing.  (So much for that free trade agreement!)

Printed materials, however, including Nova Scotia fridge magnets, have come through just fine for me by Canada Post.  Your results may vary.

Disclaimer: I earn a small commission if you order any of my products from CafePress.

Nova Scotia Fridge Magnets from CafePress: A Hostess Gift

Nova Scotia fridge magnets
Rectangle magnets from Café Press

If you’ve ever clicked on “Gift Shop” at the top, you’ll know that I’ve set up a CafePress shop with Nova Scotia gifts. I’ve ordered products from the shop myself, and have generally been pleased with the quality.

My favourite item is the rectangle fridge magnets. I just had a bunch made up with a Lunenburg scene in the background and the satellite image of Nova Scotia in the foreground. I’ll be using them as hostess gifts when travelling outside the province. They just arrived in the mail, and they’re really nice. The photo shows one of them along with others I’d ordered previously.

CafePress ships by mail from the US. Depending on what and how much you order, and perhaps on luck, you may have to pay duty and taxes on items shipped to Canada. In my limited experience so far, small packages of printed materials come right through. I ordered some T-shirts and had to pay what seemed like a lot of duty. Same with mugs. But the package of 10 fridge magnets arrived in my mailbox directly. And with the Canadian dollar near par, it’s a good time to order.