Our craft show at Silver Bean Café in Peterborough was a blast! The weather was perfect and everyone seemed to be upbeat. Silver Bean's food was absolutely delicious! We hope to return there next year, or perhaps even later this year. Check out our photos of the show here.
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For about 4 years, Aimee Leptick has been making purses, bags, wallets and other accessories to carry things. She started The Little Bird Designs "because most purses and bags are over-priced and poorly made. I wanted something that could last but also be machine-washable! I first started with diaper bags/clutches and went from there!" She has a strong '70's theme mainly because that time period is her favourite, but otherwise her main theme is colour and design. Her favourite things to make are wallets and keychain pouches. "They are the easiest way to use the fun patterns without having to have an entire bag made in a bright colourful design!" The most difficult part of the process for Aimee is cutting things out and planning, as it takes a great deal of time and effort to make sure everything coordinates. "I wish it would do it itself." Working in her small craft studio in East City of Peterborough, Aimee gets inspired to try something new and exciting when she sees an amazing piece of fabric. "Last year we went to the Creativ Festival in Toronto and there was an AMAZING winged back chair that I really wanted. It was cover in a patchwork style of fabrics and it inspired me to not only want to try to make a chair like it but to not be afraid to mix patterns and colours together!" She's also inspired by Pinterest, but usually it's the fabric that invigorates her creativity. "I never have a purpose for my fabric when I buy it but once I have it, I know what its going to become!" While sewing in her studio, Aimee loves listening to music, and sings along with it when she's alone. "I am a pop star kinda girl so I usually have Songza playing on my iPad with an 80's or 90's playlist playing!" Her best sellers are her wallets, but at shows it's her keychain pouches. "The wallets carry so much in them and the fact that they are machine washable means they can be used for a really long time! Kids love my keychain pouches because of their fun fabrics and bright zippers!" When asked what her favourite piece is that she has created, she said "This is a tough one! I think my most favourite thing right now is my newest purse, The Kaitlin Clutch Purse. It's a classy little purse and is the first time I made vinyl straps for myself!" At the moment, the biggest things she's working on are pet accessories and toys. " I'm having a great time designing and planning dog bow ties, bandanas and so many other pet things! Its that one chance to be a little more wild!" Aimee loves to learn new things and thus almost always accepts custom orders. She loves it when customers go to her at shows and say "“I had to come and see your stuff in person,” or, “My friend sent me to see you because she has bought many things from you.” Moments like those make it all worth it for her. She also likes sharing news about other crafters in her blog. "The handmade world needs all the word of mouth it can get and my blog is my one way of sharing the love!" In fact, her words of advice to crafters are "Be kind, don't be pushy; don't worry about numbers and have fun! It takes time to build a reputation and one wrong more can change all of that. Kindness and creativity are all you need." When not creating, Aimee works at a spa or pursues social media. "I love to learn new ways to use Facebook, Twitter and everything else. I also love to squash the myths about Facebook page views and whatnot. Not everything you read on Facebook is true!" She also uses Facebook to sell her creations. her website, The Little Bird Designs, is another venue to buy her goods. A few local stores also carry her work: Baby themed items at Glow Maternity, purses, wallets and more at Nans Crossroads in Bobcaygeon, and, coming at the end of the month she will have some purses and pouches at Cedar Lane Home & Garden in Lakefield. What Aimee most likes about her work is the freedom to be as creative as she wants. "No limitations on what I HAVE to make and just having fun with it!" You can meet her tomorrow at 30 Craft Market in Millennium Park beside Silver Bean Café, 10 - 5:30. Nichole Gibson has been painting and staining wooden growth charts and signs for about 4 months. Working in her dining room, the things she has the most fun making are custom orders. Writing names with different sayings brings her great pleasure. She recently finished a large custom sign for a wedding. "I never thought I would be making something for such a special occasion. It's also neat to think that people will have a growth chart that I made in their homes for a long time." Currently on maternity leave, when she's not creating, she is with her husband and their three small children. She will be returning to work in the fall as a nurse at the hospital. You shop with her on her Facebook page and Etsy shop. Joachim Knauer also works with wood. He's been carving it for about 8 years, making songbirds, small animals, walking sticks, and wood burnings as well. He got started by joining the Buckhorn Woodcarvers club. It meets every Thursday, 1 - 4 pm in the Buckhorn Community Centre. The most fun items to carve for Joachim are chipmunks and stylized small owls. He's currently working on a loon with a little duckling, a miniature howling wolf, and the head of a fox. When not creating, he is gardening during summer and doing lots of cross country skiing during winter. You can meet both artisans at 30 Craft Market in Millennium Park beside Silver Bean on June 28, 10 - 5:30. Sandra makes jewellery, scarves, hair clips, and bookmarks using polymer clay and/or repurposed t-shirt material. Her interest in polymer clay developed after experimenting with it with her daughter. She happened upon a book at her local library on making food jewellery, then purchased a few supplies. After further research, she discovered the tremendous versatility of polymer clay and was hooked. "The t-shirt products came about rather unexpectedly about a year later when a friend introduced me to the process of making a simple scarf from repurposed t-shirt strips. I loved the casual simplicity of t-shirt scarf and the idea of repurposing material to create new items fits well with my general approach to living. I enjoy developing new scarf styles, some combining t-shirt material with yarn and/or polymer clay beads. New products, such as bracelets and flower hair clips, are the result of looking for ways to use the growing stash of t-shirt remnants." What she enjoys most is working on a new concept. It "always involves some level of discovery -- and often includes some frustration -- seeing a concept through to becoming a physical reality. My current obsession is a gypsy/bohemian style cuff bracelet constructed from t-shirt and yarn with polymer clay embellishments with perhaps necklaces and earrings to come on the same theme." Sandra's work is somewhat eclectic, and themes from nature are recurrent. She feels that her work reflects that she is a fairly pragmatic individual who is grounded by the most basic aspects of life. One of her favourite pieces is a necklace and earrings set she made for her aunt. "The beads in this necklace were part of a series created after the mokame gane work of polymer clay artist Julie Picarello. All the beads in both pieces were made from polymer clay. Herein lies on of the best features of working with polymer clay; if you need a particular jewellery component, you can likely make it yourself." Her inspiration comes from many different sources, nature, fashion, other art media, other artists and from custom orders. Custom orders often influence her work to move in new directions. Sandra is always working on several things at any given time. "I like to have a range of projects on the go. If I have only a little bit of time or don’t have much mental energy, I will pick up simple, repetitive projects to work on and leave the more complex work until I have more time and the right head space." And, as a huge CBC radio fan, while working Sandra is constantly tuned in. Occasionally she turns it off in favour of a documentary program, "something that doesn't require much visual attention." The most difficult aspect for Sandra is "sometimes to resist the temptation to move on to a completely new process before fully working through one that I am currently involved with." She is also working hard to find balance between time spent crafting and other responsibilities. "It is so easy to get caught up in creating and thereby neglecting everything else." When Sandra began working with polymer clay in 2010, she worked at her dining table which was unsatisfactory as she would have to clean up her work on a daily basis. "Now I am fortunate to have a dedicated workspace for polymer clay, a small spare bedroom in our home which was renovated as my creative space. Although the tools and supplies for my many creative pursuits are stored in this room, I have managed to migrate back to the dining room when I work on t-shirt products as I need a larger space to work in." Her goal is to devote several days out of the week to crafting, however, there are times when other priorities make that impossible like this time of the year when gardening and yard work are never ending. "Unfortunately, sometimes inspiration has to wait!" Outside of craft shows, Sandra sells her jewellery at A Gift of Art, a gallery in Newcastle, ON, and at a bakery in Alfred, ON. You can meet her on June 28 at Silver Bean Café in Millennium Park in Peterborough. For about 5 years, Amanda has been sewing travel colouring wallets, notebook covers, bags, zippered pouches, and knitting needle cases. She started sewing as a child. "My mom always had a hard time finding clothes for me because I was so small so she made a lot of my clothes as a child. When I was in high school I started helping my mom make my formal dresses then I ended up just doing them myself with her help. I have been sewing up different things since then." Amanda has a lot of fun making custom things such as purses, blankets, and dresses in her craft room, a previously small bedroom in her house. In that room, she does her favourite thing which is watch real life crime TV while sewing. Although sewing in general is fairly easy for her, the most difficult part of the process is when she is developing a new product. "When I first try something out I am usually not happy with how it turned and then have to change it. I find the process of sewing and resewing something difficult because I hate to waste material. I also sometimes have to really think about how to sew something properly to maximize fabric usage and to make sure it is durable." Her favourite pieces that she's created have been her children's colouring wallets. "This product is extremely handy to have in your purse or the car for your little ones. It comes with colouring tools, paper and of course some stickers. Everything is ready to go just stick it in your purse and go." Over time, she has developed her own patterns and has learned to make the most out of her fabric. She has also learned how to sew her items faster so that she can make the most out of her time. And, because she has an unpredictable job as a supply teacher, she often has random days off during which she does the most sewing. She also gets summers off and tries to stock up during that time for the busy Christmas season. Amanda gets her inspiration from the fabric itself. She roams around the fabric store with no real purpose and when something catches her eye, she is inspired to make something out of it. She is also encouraged to create more when she hears praise from customers. And, when she sees her products in use, it greatly motivates her to make more. Indeed, the thing she likes most about her work is that she can make things people can use. "Simple as that." Amanda also loves hearing from repeat customers. "A lady once told me that I was one of the only reasons she came to a particular craft show. That really made me feel great. I also get great reviews on my Etsy store that really keeps me going." Amanda tries her hardest to keep supply costs low. She often buys fabric on sale or on clearance. Doing this helps her appeal to a broader range of people. She feels strongly that everyone should be able to afford handmade items, so it is her "mission to make things for everyone to afford." Currently, she is working on building stock for 30 Craft Market's June 28 show at Silver Bean Café in Millennium Park (Peterborough, Ontario), and would like everyone to know that "crafting is the best way to relieve stress, show your creativity and a great way to live your life. Support hand made!" Outside of 30 Craft Market, you can buy her work at etsy.com/lemonseed and facebook.com/lemonseedcrafts From wool fibre batts and rovings, Anne Brandly makes needle felted dolls and animals. She starts with a simple armature of a critter or person, and stabs the fibre thousands of times with a barbed needle to sculpt shapes. For over 50 years, Anne has been creative: knitting doll clothes during her childhood, knitting for babies, spinning, weaving, painting and making music. A year ago she discovered needle felting on the internet and that art form has captured her heart. The most difficult part of the process for her is finishing parts of the soft sculpture: centering parts of the face and ensuring they're proportional. In animals the ears give her the most trouble to get them in the right position. Some of the people's faces she likes to leave featureless, leaving them to the observer's imagination. She tries to work regularly, as needle felting is her discipline. She works in the morning when she is freshest, and often during the evening too, but never at night, when she is "ready to veg out". She says that being retired gives her "the luxury of daytime needle felting play." Her favourites are 'Old Forest Crone' and 'Grandmother and Child'. Old Forest Crone "was lots of fun to make with her green face reminiscent of Dorothy's Wicked Witch, and her broomstick." Grandmother and Child "speaks of that special bond of love across generations." It's for sale in her Etsy shop "Annesfeltedfriends", while Old Forest Crone will be available for sale at 30 Craft Market on June 28. As a lover of animals (she has two birds and a cat), Anne also loves making animals. " I began making animals because I love our little furry friends, they are so cute. Now I am into making people, mythical and not." Her favourites are mice, of which she's made many. She also likes to "create people, angels, fairies, mother and child, and gnomes, reflecting peace and a simpler time." Anne loves the whole process: dreaming, planning, making the armature; felting it. "Wool is such a soft, sensuous medium to work in, and it is natural! The most fun is picking the colours to use. My closet holds a great deal of all kinds of fiber ... even alpaca and mohair locks which I use for hair sometimes." She wants to make a horse, but hasn't tried it yet. "Maybe Lady Godiva on a horse? Ha, ha!" Working at her dining room table, Anne enjoys "background music like Galaxie Nature, or other soft music with animal sounds complementing the usually classical music." And when not creating, she's dreaming up new critters and people. She keeps a note pad handy to jot down ideas and drawings. "I am retired, so I have a lot of time to devote to needle felting, but it's never enough!" "Last summer I found a pure white dove huddled in my parking lot, injured. I took him in, nursed him back to health, and named him 'Peace'. He is so beautiful, he is my inspiration, and was my first needle felted creature . Even my business card has the image of a dove on it." Anne also derives inspiration from from nature, her mind, and Pinterest. "I mull over these ideas for a while, then may sketch it, then begin." Anne's best sellers are animals in her Etsy shop. Happiest when she's creating something, she is now working on gnomes and fairies, and would be happy to provide an introductory workshop for anyone who'd like to create one. "You have to kiss many frogs to find the prince. In other words, if you feel that creative bug inside you, try many different media before you commit to The One. I had never heard of needle felting 'til a few years ago, but I had tried many other avenues of creativity before I found it. It is such fun; it deserves to be better known!" You can meet Anne and her needle felted friends at 30 Craft Market on June 28 at Silver Bean Café in Millennium Park (King St/Water St). Since 2009 when Bibi was exposed to chainmaille in a recreational jewellery-making class, she's taught herself the skill and hasn't looked back since. She tries to keep her pieces versatile for every day wear as well as special occasions, and finds keeping all the designs original to be the most difficult aspect of her work. At her jewellery desk at home, she works regularly as well as when she's inspired, sometimes finding herself unable to stop working. Her favourite piece of work that she created was a beaded tie for a friend. It was her first and only one. Another craft she engages in is making tile coasters. "Right now I'm excited about the tile coasters, because they are so colourful and display different styles and designs." The style of her ceramic coasters is mostly vintage and romantic, but also "sometimes a little quirky." Presently, she's working on coasters with new designs as well as custom order anklets. When not creating, she works full time in an office, hangs out with her dog, shoots photos, blogs (www.redrockdsgns.blogspot.ca) , and enjoys being an amateur foodie. You'll be able to meet her at 30 Craft Market's June 28th show at Silver Bean Café in Peterborough (130 King St at Water St in Millennium Park). Outside of 30 Craft Market, you can buy her work at iCraft Gifts and Etsy. For about 10 years, Hayward Macdonald has been turning wood into gorgeous bowls, tree ornaments, wine stoppers, goblets, and vases. Hayward enjoyed wood turning in high school and so chose it as his retirement hobby. In his Peterborough workshop, he works only when he's inspired to, which is often. Totally engrossed in what he's doing when turning a piece of wood, Hayward experiences "the satisfaction of seeing what beauty Mother Nature creates." Hayward says "the most difficult part of the process would be obtaining a nice smooth finish on the wood", but this doesn't curb his enthusiasm. He in particularly likes turning burls, which are the growth on the side of a tree (not to be confused with a knot which has grown over). He doesn't even need to look for inspiration. "I have so much wood on hand and virtually every piece that is in my inventory will hopefully become something beautiful." He pursues whatever a piece of wood on the lathe takes him to, depending on size, shape and character of the piece. Sometimes the plan changes halfway through. And, when he's not creating, he's thinking about what to create. "I am always wondering what is inside the bark on a piece of wood." Almost all of his turnings come from domestic wood. His unique Christmas tree ornaments come from recycled Christmas trees. They're the items he has the most fun making. And, 9 of them helped decorate the Prime Minister's tree some years ago. Wine stoppers are his best sellers. As a matter of fact, he just completed 5 burls and is making wine stoppers. "For me it has been wonderful knowing that if I want to I can continue with wood turning as long as my health will allow me to continue." Outside of 30 Craft Market on June 28 at Silver Bean Café in Peterborough, Ontario (130 King St), you can find Hayward's exquisite work in galleries. |
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November 2022
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