2010 GGC centennial merchandise is here!

After eagerly awaiting its arrival, the Girl Guides of Canada officially released its pint sized group of 100th anniversary merchandise a few weeks ago. The capsule collection includes two different patches, a metal pin, a metal cell phone/key chain charm, and a comfy 100% cotton t-shirt (which is available in assorted youth and adult sizes).

For those of us – both Canadian and international collectors alike – these pieces, which feature a colour pallet of blue and white, are long awaited treasures that help to commemorate the milestone anniversary that the GGC is celebrating this year.

All of the 2010 anniversary items can be purchased online from the Girl Guides of Canada’s ecommerce site or through this latest edition of the GGC catalogue. I’ve not heard any numbers in terms of how many centennial items have been produced, but given the interest that such pieces tend to generate, I’d highly recommend grabbing your anniversary merchandise as soon as you can.

{This lovely, cheerful patch is one of two different celebratory 100th anniversary designs that are available from the GGC this year; it’s available for $1.95 (CND) from the GGC's website or catalogue.}


If you’re going to buy some of these wonderful items, I'd definitely suggest picking up a few extra, as they will no doubt prove to be popular trading items both this year and in the future (especially with fans of GG/GS anniversary patches and pins).

Should you want a patch or pin of your own, yet live outside of Canada or do not want to order online or from the current GGC (paper) catalogue for whatever reason, please feel free to email me. I plan on placing an order for centennial items in the near future and would be happy to pick up an anniversary piece or two for you (you can either repay me for the cost of the item(s) via PayPal or we can work out a patch swap).

I’m delighted that the GGC has put out items to celebrate this momentous event! It’s not every day that an organization – let alone one as profoundly important as the GGC – reaches the venerable age of 100. I can’t wait to see what the future holds in stores for the Girl Guides of Canada – and WAGGGS members worldwide – in the coming century of Guiding life.

2008-2009 Girl Guides of Canada catalogue released

A few weeks ago while checking in on the GGC website (as I like to do often), I noticed that the new Girl Guides of Canada catalogue had been released. As an avid collector of patches and other pieces of Guiding memorabilia (and as a big fan of the annual GGC catalogue), I was excited by this fact, however I felt a little let down upon venturing through its PDF pages (at this stage I’ve only seen the 2009 catalogue in its online form, but just as was the case last year, I’m sure that the paper version will be the same as the internet one).

The reason for my lack of enthusiasm? In my opinion, the catalogue is extremely similar to last year’s. Of course a lot of elements (such as uniform pieces) are generally expected to remain the same from year to year, but I would have liked to see a handful of new fun patches and (more) non-uniform items make their debut in this catalogue.

I have a (paper) copy of nearly every GGC catalogue since around 1990, they’re beautiful and enjoyable pieces to look through and spend time admiring items from days gone by. However in more recent years I’ve noticed that the number of “fun” items (things like dolls, toys, stationery items, stickers, key chains, and other sundry articles) have greatly diminished.

As a collector, I really wish this wasn’t the case, but as a realist, I understand that the budget to produce and market such items may simply no longer be available (or that money may have been put to use elsewhere in the organization). Still, with each newly released GGC catalogue I can’t help but keep my fingers crossed that a larger assortment of fun items bedecked with a trefoil will appear. And while we’re still wrapping up 2008, I’m already looking forward with eager anticipation to the 2010 catalogue, in the hope that it will once again contain a broader assortment of lovely GGC items (after all, the more interesting and new items they put out, the more I’m likely to purchase and thus help provide the GGC with revenue for).

What are your thoughts? Do you like a smaller, more concise and program centred catalogue or would you like to see a return to more pages and a wider assortment of items?