A coffee mug, a postcard, an Eiffel Tower keychain: Souvenirs remind us of vacations well spent and transport us to our past adventures. Now you can make souvenirs and lasting memories at the same time while picking up a few tricks of the trade along the way.

Cowyboy hats in Aspen

This ain’t Texas, so make a custom cowboy hat at Kemo Sabe, famously featured in the “tequila–gate” episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. From Beyoncé to Shania, this western outfitter and bar is where sales wranglers help tourists, stars and housewives alike choose among brim widths, shapes, felts, colours, accessories and feathers to create their idea of the perfect hat – complete with a branded monogram.

Chopsticks in Toyko

Third–generation chopstick maker and proprietor Yutaka Mogami, one of few remaining Edo Sashimono craftsmen, takes you through the Zen–like paces of woodworking your own chopsticks at his circa–1912 Mogami Kogei workshop in Tokyo. During the 90–minute class, you choose your precious wood and then plane, sand and oil your new signature chopsticks before toting them home in an artisanal Aizu paulownia–wood chopsticks box. Imagine how intolerable you’ll be at your next sushi dinner.

Nahual Sculptures in Oaxaca

At their atelier in San Martín Tilcajete in Mexico’s Oaxaca region, husband–and–wife team Jacobo Angeles and Maria del Carmen Mendoza create colourful wood–carved figurines called tonas and nahuales. Rooted in ancient Mexican spiritual beliefs, these magical creatures are thought to represent a person’s spirit animal and protector. Visitors can take a guided tour and buy a kit to decorate their own little nahualito using unique painting and blowtorching techniques, taught during a 45–minute workshop.

Chocolate in Brussels

The only thing better than a food souvenir? A Belgian–chocolate food souvenir that you made yourself, with Brussels’ 2021 Chocolatier of the Year, no less. Each Saturday, the convivial Laurent Gerbaud runs a decidedly delicious workshop where weekender chocolatiers create dried or candied fruit–studded chocolate mendiants (squares) and then enjoy a tasting featuring a dozen different cocoa varieties – including some of Gerbaud’s greatest hits. In Brussels, life really is like a box of chocolates.

Gemstone Jewellery in Nova Scotia

Sunscreen, hiking boots and a taste for adventure are all that’s needed to participate in a four–hour fossil hunt on the Bay of Fundy’s ocean floor. During a shoreline hike, a local guide tells tales as you search for semiprecious agate stones. After locating and digging up the buried treasure (formed within volcanic and metamorphic rocks), craftsman Brian Hebert cuts and polishes the gemstones back at his workshop, then sets them in silver to make a one–of–a–kind keepsake.

Perfume in Provence

Provence conjures up images of lavender fields, rolling vineyards, olive groves and the sparkling Mediterranean. At Galimard’s perfume–creation workshop in Grasse, you can take scent inspiration from the glorious surrounds, bottle it up and bring it home. During their one–hour–and–45–minute class, you sit in front of a display of 126 scent notes while learning about the architecture of a good perfume. From there, sniff and sigh your way to your signature blend before leaving with a snappy 100–millilitre bottle of your fragrance, a diploma as a student of perfume and the safekeeping of your formula in their confidential records (so you can reorder). Plus, you’ll probably smell great.