Treasures in Gastown

Genuine leather coin purse with wrist strap and keyring

Sometimes I think it's awesome how taking a stroll in certain places you end up discovering little things that make your day.

Last week after work my fiance took me to this small little stand that had little coin purses for sale. This stand was managed by a little Asian woman named Wendy. Wendy was petite and cute and what made her even more cute was the way she talked. She had a little lady's voice and she was very sweet sounding. It turns out that Wendy managed that stand of coin purses all by herself. Every now and then on a sunny day she'd wheel her little table down Gastown and set it up somewhere around Abbott and Water Street. Apparently she used to come down by bike but not ever since it got stolen.

I looked through her collection of coin purses - they were all unique, mainly animals. There were shapes of frogs heads and elephants, cats, pandas, cows, pigs, fish and even butterflies. I bought a butterfly one from her after standing there for a few minutes trying to make up my mind. They're made of genuine leather and they are more cute than I can describe them. The photo doesn't really show off the natural look of the coin purse but it's actually handmade and hand dyed.

They're $12 each and two for $22. Come look for her on a sunny day. She's usually there from 12:30pm to 5pm ish. Has anyone else ever seen this stand in Gastown? It's one of Gastown's hidden treasures I must say.