Events for the Calender: A Night of Social Craft

I'm sure that, like me, you've pulled out the new calender to start jotting down dates to remember, places to be and people to see.  I'm still in the planning stages of my year, but my new Moleskin pocket daytimer is making me feel oh-so organized with lists and goals and ideas for the year!

That aside, I just noticed a great little event happening over at the Museum of Vancouver on January 21th!  A night of social craft (DIY@MOV) is aimed at getting the DIY and crafters to the Museum to celebrate the Cultural Olympiad along with the exhibition: The Art of Crafting.  The evening sounds like a lot of fun with a DJ and bar, along with materials and workshops while connecting with other Makers.  Opus is sponsoring the event, so there will be lots of arts and crafts materials on hand. Furthermore, the write-up boasts that some of the work might even remain as part of the exhibition- might even count on the CV if that's the case.  $15 at the door- 7pm start!

Photo above is the lovely work of Arron Lowe, Toronto-based glass artist, and his bottle forms titled 'Horizon'.  Looking forward to seeing them for real!

Handmade Nation Film Premiere!

Well I didn't want to be cheesy and ask for a photo op with Faythe Levine so here's a picture of my table for the craft showcase part of Handmade Nation coming to town! It was a really great evening, with the theatre nearly full, the people from all over the greater Vancouver area and even into Seattle! The people behind Got Craft put the event on, which included the craft showcase, a photo-booth, some sweet swag bags (by the look of it) and the much anticipated FILM!
I really thought the film was great on many different levels. I appreciated following a crafter throughout the film as she heads out and sets up her wares at a Craft fair. I thought the story line on her, in-between interviews of other crafters, artisans, store owners, and then the more academic crowd talking about the movement surrounding craft and diy, tied the whole film together. I appreciated how authentic the people were, it was them in their studios and homes, being real about how they got started and what they do and why. It was empowering to see all those women and oftentimes their families, using their hands to reinvent craft. Certainly there were some real characters and excentricities that were fascinating to watch!
Thank you to those of you who came by and checked out my work- the lovely comments were great! Again, it was great to chat with Faythe Levine over my work! She even bought a vase for a wedding gift, so that was kind of cool! Also one of my big highlights was meeting Jan from Poppytalk! I think I am convinced more than ever that the 'industry' of craft is much broader than just the maker. There are so many levels to that maker being able to sustain their craft professionally, and people who promote, educate, and enlighten the general public on craft play such a significant role in enabling the maker to keep at it!

Lemon Bars & Honeysuckle

Signs of summer in action: honeysuckle and lemon bars! Since I needed to bring something to a little pre-film premiere party with Faythe Levine, lemon bars seemed like the perfect Summer treat to make yesterday! I used the ol' Best of the Bridge recipe book (although this one is similar and online), and since I was doubling the recipe, I changed the crust to include 1 cup ground oatmeal and 1 cup flour. I found the crust a wee bit on the buttery side and was wondering if I could lessen the amount of butter and add a couple of teaspoons of water or something- maybe egg whites to hold the crust together, since there are no other binding agents besides butter for the crust on this recipe. I might also consider a little less sugar, although, lemon bars are supposed to be sweet, chewy and a little 'melt in your mouth' all at the same time. I was glad there were lots of treats at the party and I was able to bring a few home for the family!
Speaking of the party- it was a great little gathering with a really nice mix of local people within the design and craft community that I hadn't met before. It was nice to see some of the faces behind emails and other online contacts and hopefully there will be more of these little gatherings to come!

Another little Reminder...

The Handmade Nation Film premiere is happening tomorrow, Thursday, July 9th at the Rio Theatre, 1660 E. Broadway at Commercial with a Craft Showcase at 7 and the film premiere starting at 8pm. Details and purchasing tickets can happen right here! My original post with more details, here! Hope to see you there!

Coming to Vancouver!!!

I jumped at the opportunity to be apart of the opening for the documentary 'Handmade Nation' by Faythe Levine coming up on July 9th at the Rio Theatre, 1660 E. Broadway near Commercial Dr.! The Craft showcase starts at 7pm and the screening at 8pm GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!!! The first 100 that sign up get a free swag bag and with Faythe Levine giving a little talk after the screening along with all the fine local talent (see below) that will be present, it is THE event of the summer!
Joining me will be some of (hopefully I'll be able to find links on more of these soon...)
Colleen Baran
Flaming Angels
Laura Bucci Handmade
Messy Kid Products
My Little Eye
Olive
Plantscapes
pomo mama design
telly designs
Coco Cake Cupcakes
Bliss in a teacup

More on the film Handmade Nation here!