My great grandmother’s family first moved to Skagway, Alaska during the Gold Rush and opened the Golden North Hotel over 120 years ago. My great, great grandmother Bessie opened “Dedman’s Photo Shop” in 1924, passing down to her daughter Barbara and then my mom in 1992.
I grew up in Skagway and called it home for over twenty years before moving to Oregon in 2015. I still try and visit my former home city and family living there every year.
I first started out making lip balm in 2001 to sell in my Mom’s retail store (Dedman’s) in Skagway.
As years went by, and people became more interested in my products, I branched out into selling wholesale. The first working name of the company was tentatively Brookhaven Naturals before officially becoming “Cold Nose Gifts” in 2003.
I’ve always been a big dog lover so I wanted to make more products that reflected this. So the doggy cookbook was created, then I started screen-printing my own dog bandannas. My family’s dogs have sported many of our designs over the years.
In 2019 I changed the company name to “Brookhaven Gifts” to better reflect the company’s vision and as a callback to our first company name. My products can be found in stores all over Alaska, down in Oregon and even out in Colorado. If you’re ever visiting Skagway, Alaska you can find my lip balm in my granny’s shop G’s Gallery on State St in between 2nd and 3rd St.
My family is a big part of my company, with my dad Tom teaching me how to run my own business, create my own products and maintain a proper website. He also grows heirloom vegetable seeds and shares gardening tips at www.growyourheirlooms.com. Check out his YouTube channel Grow Your Heirlooms. My mom Averill has been instrumental at pitching my product to new stores all over Alaska.
Today, the company sports over ten flavors of lip balm, many soap flavors and new items (coming soon!) such as bath bombs and candles. Check back often as our product lines keep expanding.
Thanks so much to all of our patrons, without you we wouldn’t be where we are today! If you have any questions or would like to carry our products in your shop, feel free to contact us through our Contact Form.
Thanks for stopping by!
~Megan
