CraftLabs workshops at City of Craft!

Citizens! City of Craft is only two days away! I hope you've been following along on our Facebook page and enjoying the great portraits of our talented vendors, as well as the sneak peaks at the 100 swag bags that will be given away when City of Craft opens at 11:00 am.

But that's not all! Along with fantastic vendors selling unique handmade goods, cool art installations, and wonderful swag, City of Craft is once again holding some great FREE workshops at its CraftLabs! Amazing!

The workshops are taking place both days. Check out this great schedule!

 

Zine Workshop Saturday 12:30 pm

Did you always want to make a zine but didn’t know where to start? Well fear not because we are here to help! Artist and zine-maker extraordinaire Marta Chudolinska will give a short talk about the history of zines and will show you 3 easy book binding methods so that you can start your own independent publishing.

Marta Chudolinska (pronounced who-doh-lean-ska) is a printmaker, draw-er and zinester fascinated by the mystical narrative potential of images.

Paper Marbling Sunday 3:00 pm

The OCAD U Student Press will be on hand to show you how to delicately swirl water and special inks to create beautiful and mesmerizing marble patterns on paper. Paper marbling is perfect for great for stationary, book covers or cards.

The OCAD U Student Press prints and publishes the Shift series and Rivet, a biannual publication. The press also facilitates hands-on workshops for students and organize Function, a series of art and design talks. 

Geometric Paper Ornaments Saturday 2:00 pm | Sunday 2:30 pm

Using basic shapes and geometry you can create easy and striking ornaments for your tree or your pad.  Workshop participants will decorate paper templates and then cut and fold them into beautiful 3D paper decorations.

Marta Ryczko is a graphic designer, illustrator and zine-maker. She is currently designing one poster a day, for 1000 days.

Beginners Bookbinding Sunday 1:30 pm

Let the amazing Shannon Gerard teach you how to sew a book using the pamphlet stitch method, and then kick it up a notch and make a book using buttonhole binding. Perfect for those who are itching to make a homemade gift!

Shannon Gerard is a dork, dreamer and discerning bibliophile. She is a lady of many talents and is involved with many different projects, including the Carl Wagan Book Mobile, Mountain School Bookhouse and The Book Bakery.

Don't these sound great? So be sure to come out to City of Craft this weekend to buy craft and make crafts!

Special thanks and warm fuzzies to Marta Ryczko, this year's CraftLab Coordinator! (She did the pretty art images in above too.)

Carl Wagan Bookmobile at Bloorcourt (Saturday).

 

Hello campers!

We are very happy to announce the schedule for our special Bloorcourt guests, The Carl Wagan Bookmobile, for this Saturday's street fair. They will be hosting demos, hands-on activities and interactive opportunities all day long! earn badges, eat s'mores, bind books! What's more? All activities are by donations/pay-what-you-can!

The Wagan will be set up all day, this Saturday at Bloor and Delaware in Toronto.

Daily Schedule 

11:30-1:30 - Bookmaking with special scouts Lisa and Eunice 

2:00-3:30 - Field Trip: Screenprinting Wars 

4:00-5:00 - How many badges can you earn? 

Activities include:
 Woodworking, Knots (crochet), Poetry, Friendship (pins), Physical Education (thumb wars), First Aid (mouth to mouth!), Self Esteem (giant novelty cheques), Orienteering.
 5:30-7:00 -Campfire with special guests on the ukulele, stories, and s'mores.
 7:00 onwards: Magic hour (what dreams may come?)

Craft and the New Economy Symposium.

Greetings, Citizens.

I am just dropping a line to let you all know about a very exciting and fast-approaching conference that City of Craft is involved in. I can let their press copy do most of the explaining (see below); I mostly wanted to share this information because this event is doing a lot to bridge those ever-present gaps between divergent craft communities and practices in our area (and beyond). With speakers flying in from all over, this is the sort of convergence that the indie/DIY scene can rarely muster the resources to produce. That's why we are so fortunate that the Ontario Crafts Council took the project on. And here it is, in our city and open to all!

As a side note, yours truly (Becky Johnson) will be present and will be moderating a session on DIY and Craftivism and City of Craft co-founder Jen Anisef, will be presenting her findings from a brand new study of craft in non-urban Onatrio (commissioned by the OCC). I am really excited for that latter happning.

The run-down:

Craft and the New Economy Symposium
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Registration opens 8:45 am l Symposium from 9:45 am - 6:00 pm l Reception 6 - 8 pm
OCAD University, 100 McCaul Street, Auditorium

Craft and the New Economy is a one day symposium that will create a conversation around the different contexts of making a living, and the intersections between craft, technology, DIY, design, and architecture.

We’ve got a lineup of incredible local, national and international speakers, including Sandra Alfoldy, Jen Anisef, Maria Buszek, Melanie Egan, Neil Forrest, Kriston Gene, Rachel Gotlieb, Becky Johnson, Garth Jonhson, Patty Johnson, Shelia Kennedy, Marie O'Mahony, Justin Novak, Matthew Ratto and Ruth Scheuing.

Topics include Sustainable Business Practice and Commercial Contexts, DIY and Craftivism and well as Engaging with Technology and Design.

The day finishes with a closing reception for registrants to be held onsite at OCADU in the Great Hall from 6 - 8 pm.

This is not only your chance to think through some of today's challenges and opportunities, but to meet up with other people who care about the same things you do. Who knows where ideas and connections will lead to? Come to Craft and the New Economy to find out.

Let's Talk Business! (or Becky Gives a Chat in Brooklyn that Streams Online).

Photo by Stacey Bode

Attention, Citizens!

City of craft Ring Leader, Becky Johnson, will be speaking this Thursday at the Etsy Labs in Brooklyn, New York, on topics of offline indie craft business. That means craft fairs, retail, wholesale, travel and more! City of Craft will probably come up in the conversation and most of the talk will be driven by audience interest. Do you have some pressing questions about offline sales or the craft fair experience? Let 'em rip!

If it sounds a little far from home, do not fret. The whole thing will be streamed live online, too, so you can tune in from the comfort of your own home. You can even make crafts WHILE YOU WATCH. What could be better?

Read up on all the details on the Etsy blog here.

And we'll see you online or in Brooklyn at 7:00pm EST.

Love & Rummage Workshop: Bunting!

Etsy mini bunting. Designed by Anda Corrie. Photos by the Leopard.

Citizens, as if you did not already have enough reasons to come down to the workroom on Sunday, we have added something new - a free make-and-take workshop! That's right, the good folks at Etsy have supplied us with this very adorable and easy to make mini bunting (designed with lovely patterns and illustratiobs by superstar, Anda Corrie).

The make-and-tale runs from 3:00pm to 4:00pm and will be facilitated by Michelle Renaud. She even wrote her own blog post and preview of the project here. This particular bunting is a no-sew quicky of a project that you can take home to pretty up whatever Valentine's festivities you may have going on - or just brighten up your winter!

City of Craft & the workroom present
The Love & Rummage Trunk Show 3
Sunday February 6, 2011
Noon-5pm
the workroom
1340 Queen Street West

Admission: FREE

Craft Lab: DIY Music Box with Tuned Teeth

Hello! Angelune here, coordinator of the craft lab. What's the craft lab? Oh, well it's a series of awesome experiments led by friendly craft experts during Saturday and Sunday at City of Craft. They are free, they are fun, and you'll be able to take home a cute little something-something that you made yourself!

You'll find the lab in action in the mezzanine of the Theatre Centre, on the east side. I'll be telling you more about each of the planned workshops throughout the week.

First up is a music box workshop with Ola of Tuned Teeth from 2-3 pm on Saturday in the Craft Lab. Ola will provide you with a music box DIY kit, show you how to put it together and send you home with creative directions. There is a max of 6 participants for this workshop, so get there early!

See you there!

Craft Lab: Workshops

Sit down with these friendly Craft Lab technicians to make little treasures you can take home. Spaces are limited, so arrive early!

Experiment: Fabric Magnets (25 people max)
Time: Saturday, 12:30 - 1:30 pm
Technician: Karyn from the Workroom
Location: Upper Mezzanine of Theatre Centre
Make a sweet set of four fabric-covered magnets with the workroom, using leftover scraps of fabric. A simple, thrifty, yet useful gift that is easy to make for all ages and skills. Each magnet set will be housed in a custom laser-cut card with a holiday message, ready for giving. Materials included.



Experiment: Make your own paper puppet with the Pin Pals (15 people max)
Time: Sunday, 4 - 5 pm
Technician: Sara of PinPals
Location: Upper Mezzanine of Theatre Centre
In this workshop, Sara, one half of the Pin Pals, will show you how to cut out and assemble a print out of a Pin Pal paper puppet. Each print out comes with a piece of iron on vintage fabric that you can stick on his or her clothes. Once finished the puppet holds a paper pine tree and folds up into an envelope, ready to be given to a friend or loved one. Materials included.

Craft Lab: all-day workshops

The Craft Lab is back at City of Craft! Experiment with Craft Lab technicians in wonderfully mysterious workshops.

Experiment: Paint-by-numbers photobooth
Technician: Spins & Needles
Location: Upper Mezzanine of Theatre Centre

Drop by the Spins & Needles Photobooth throughout the day to have your photo taken, which will then be converted to a paint-by-number portrait. Take a walk around the sale, and when you return, sit down with some paint or markers, or take the portrait with you to fill in using your own selected colours.



Experiment: learn to knit, and knit a pincushion
Technician: The Knit Cafe
Location: the Knit Cafe, 1050 Queen Street West

Saunter across the street from City of Craft to the Knit Cafe for rogue knitting instructions for one and to all. Learn the basics- cast on, knit, and cast off. Take these new (or old) skills and knit the tiniest of things! a pincushion to take home. Snacks and warm drinks will be served all day to keep crafters and shoppers going.