Celebrate the Silver State with Made in Nevada holiday gifts

Nevada Day is a reminder to buy from locals and enjoy products made in the Silver State. The last weekend of October is also the time of year when many families begin the holiday shopping season.

This year you can support neighbors and complete your shopping list with quirky, distinctly Nevada gifts. The 2006 list of Made in Nevada items range from native greasewood lamps to the personal chef services of a Genoa cook.

Make your holiday shopping fun and unique, said Donna Artz, the Made in Nevada program director.

"These products are made in Nevada and are Nevada proud," she said "This strengthens the economy and is a contribution to small business."

Call her office at 687-4325, or visit the Nevada Commission on Economic office at 108 E. Proctor St. to pick up a Made in Nevada gift catalogue.



Nevada art






What: Western art by local artists

Where: Artistically Yours Gallery, 111 S. Taylor St. in Fallon

Prices: For prints, $15 and up; Originals $200 and up

For information: Call (775) 423-0518 or visit www.artistically-yours.com



Gallery owner and painter Maxine Caprioli-Hight features a variety of Western wild life and landscapes at her Fallon gallery.

"We have a multitude of different artists and 95 percent of all we carry is made in Fallon or Nevada," she said. "We have sculptures, photographs, gourds, pottery, paintings and jewelry."







What: High-fired stoneware and porcelain from Gold Hill

Where: Argenta Earth & Fire Co., 1631 Main St.

Prices: $4-$700

For information: Call 847-7466, or visit www.nevpotter.com



Artist Mimi Patrick throws utilitarian items such as bowls and plates. She also sculpts garden ornaments. Energy costs make the high-fired items harder to find, she said. Patrick has a diverse selection in her Gold Hill studio.

What: Functional art made by a Lovelock man

Where: Glake Etc., to order call (775) 273-2524 or e-mail glakeetc@sbcglobal.net

Prices: $20 for cookie cutters, $50-$250 for lamps, $15-$150 for candle holders

Mike Gottschalk welds the heavy-duty cookie cutters himself, one is available in the shape of Nevada. These cookie cutters can be put to use, or would make interesting wall hangings.

"The cookie cutters are a pretty good size," he said. "My wife wanted to make sugar cookies for various occasions and she could never find the cutters that were the size she wanted. She drew them up and I cut them."





What: Personalized mirror and key holder from VC

Where: Botcha-Caloop's, to order call 847-9693 or visit www.BotchaCaloops.com

Prices: The "Home Means Nevada" mirror is $45, which includes the personalized etching; "I love Nevada" glass ornaments are $10



Co-owner Linda Larson said the mirrors are a popular item for Christmas. "We place the picture of your home in the glass etching outline of Nevada," she said.



Consumable goods

What: A case of Genoa vino, personalized

Where: Tahoe Ridge Winery & Marketplace, 2285 Main St. in Genoa

Prices: About $170 per case

For information: Call 783-1566 or order, or visit www.tahoeridge.com

Rick Halbardier, winery owner, said bottles of Made in Nevada wine make perfect corporate or customer gifts. "We can print a special message for the holidays on the labels," he said. The cases are available in Chardonnay blend, Cabernet blend or blush wine by mid-November.







What: Items from across the state in a gift basket or box

Where: Napa Sonoma Grocery Co., 294 E. Moana Lane in Reno

Prices: $50 for the box; $75 for the basket

For information: Call 826-0595 to order, or visit www.napa-sonoma.com



Owner Martin Kloska said customers like sending something from Nevada at Christmas time to people across the country.

"These are good products made by local people, so we're helping our own," he said.







What: A romantic home-cooked meal, and two professional masseuses

Where: Personal chef Penny Speir comes to your home to cook a menu of your choice, or one of her specials. You get a massage while you wait.

Prices: About $400; the average dinners at home are $150 and up, depending on the menu and the number of guests.

For information: Call 782-7710 or 230-1980, or e-mail pspeir@charter.net or visit www.chefalicious.com



"I save them time and I take away the stress," the Genoa cook said. A sample of entrees offered: chicken breasts or salmon filets stuffed with pesto, pine nuts and sun-dried tomatoes; lamb or chicken curry; teriyaki pork tenderloin with apricots and mangos; beef bourguignonne; hearty seafood soup or meatloaf.



• Contact reporter Becky Bosshart at bbosshart@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.