The product assortment and merchandising is impressive with medicinal & culinary herbs intermixed with spices, artisan chocolates, cocktail bitters & pantry essentials. Seattle resident homeopath and owner, Karyn Schwartz, concocts made-to-order potions from bulk canisters of locally and ethically sourced materials. Each hand-mixed creation is packaged as if it was a fragile pastry.

Gourmet salt serves as an anchor piece with two large displays for at least 15 varieties of bulk and pre-packaged private label seasonings. The crystalline solid, white, pale pink or light gray are a perfect backdrop for the modern packaging.

We love how Schwartz clearly differentiates SugarPill with an authentic twist, unique product assortment, and thoughtful merchandising that feel more similar to Kiehls or Neals Yard Remedies than your local health store.

Alternative medicine never looked so luxury.

Finally, shoppers can buy their chosen footwear via a tablet based checkout as well as from the cash desk and have them delivered to their home.

{photo: viv/seattle bon vivant}

Canning and pickling are a growing cultural trend with significant growth over the past few years. In addition to traditional at-home DIY activities, we're seeing an explosion of artisan jams and pickle purveyors during our visits to the Fancy Food Show. One only need to search online or meander down the condiment isle of your specialty grocery market to find as assortment of Rick's Picks (love the Smokra), Boat Street Pickles (can't beat the Red Onions) or Happy Girl Kitchen (try the Romano beans). Canning, we believe, is feeding on a perpetual wave in trends that is rooted a reinterpretation of the idealized life and reclaiming of the past.

Our fascination and exploration is rooted in economic and social intelligence:

• Back in January of this year, we wrote about a local Michael Pollan interview- citing that the Ball Jars canning company has experienced a +94% lift in sales. We attribute this shift in gardening and canning to an attempt in control household costs and desire to save (perhaps because many believe traditional banking has "failed").
• Last month, The New York Times and Time reported that "Unit sales for canning and freezing supplies like jars, bags and containers were up 11.5% during the eight weeks ending on Feb. 21, making them the second best-performing category on Nielsen's list."
• The community home canning project in San Francisco, Yes We Can, which cans fruits and vegetables from local farmers during their peak season, and then invites you to buy a share so you can enjoy delicious produce year round. (see SF Weekly article)