Call for Participants: Zine Dream 6.

Citizens, it is time once again to start dreaming your self-published dreams again. We just got word that their call for applications is now live. Zine Dream is a fantastic event reminiscent of a lot of the fair and shows that spawned City of Craft. You get a smallish table, fees are utterly affordable and the whole day has a wonderfully social vibe.

Got a we book you have been dying to make? Small crafts in your head that want to get out? Now is the time!

Zine Dream 6 is happening August 4 and applications are open until June 28th. Get on it!

More details can be found on their website and the application form is here.

Not "Goodbye" but "See you around!": A Tribute to Nathalie-Roze & Co. (Also, DEALS!)

Have you heard the news? Indie retailer and eco-designer Nathalie-Roze has announced that she is closing up her beloved Leslieville bricks-and-mortar shop and moving online later this month. This means that until May 13th - the last day that the store is open - almost everything in the shop is 20-50% off. Included in the sale are fabric, notions, and craft supplies, most of which are under $10! You have 10 days to get in there, give Nathalie-Roze and her extraordinary staff a great big hug, and stock up for Spring.

1015 Queen St. East (at Pape)

Now that all the details are outta the way, allow me to get personal for a minute. Nathalie-Roze & Co. is more than a local clothing and accessories boutique. Over the years, this woman has done so much to inspire and enable crafters, designers, and small businesses to grow and flourish all over the city. By organizing  events like the hugely popular UBERswap and Crafternoon Tea, she has put shoppers and designers in the same room and turned the act of buying a new (or new to you, anyway) dress a meaningful and memorable experience. For instance, one of my fondest memories of being in her shop was a couple summers ago during their Anniversary Sale: sipping pink lemonade and browsing the racks, I fell in love with a dress by Melow and a belt that matched perfectly by Embody. I tried the dress on and Nathalie-Roze said it looked great. And when Nathalie-Roze tells you something looks great, you trust her, because she is incredibly honest about that type of thing (I can't tell you the number of times she has taken one look at me upon exiting a change room and said, "It's too big, Kalpna, take it off.").  However, the belt I wanted so badly did not fit and as I stood there holding it against the dress, lamenting the incredible, independent and locally-made outfit that was just not meant to be, Tara White - designer and owner of Embody, the maker of this very belt - also sipping pink lemonade, tapped me on the shoulder and asked me how she could help. Where else does this kind of interaction happen??? This is the kind of experience and community vibe Nathalie-Roze & Co. offered. Everyday. For the past seven years. We altered the belt, and this is still my favourite outfit.

Sad as I am to see the shop go (it was the reason this west-ender crossed the Don, and the reason so many people discovered Leslieville), I'm excited for everything else Nathalie-Roze has planned. Without the demands of running a bricks-and-mortar shop, who knows what other greatness this woman will get up to?! With more entrepreneurial and small-business know-how in her baby finger than most institutions of higher learning, Nathalie-Roze is truly a creative and inspirational  force in Toronto, and I know the City of Craft community will follow her online, in print, and wherever else she goes. Thank you, Nathalie-Roze, and see you around. xo

From Maker to Making a Living (May 7-21, 2013).

This just in from our friend Jacqueline at SOAK Wash (pictured on the right above) - she is hosting another in her series of crafty business workshops, From Maker to Making a Living, throughout the month of May. Jacqueline is a wonderfully thoughtful businesswoman and very adept at many facets of marketing and business structuring. Having her brains on hand for picking would serve any independent start-up or hopeful.

From Maker to Making a Living is a workshop series designed to guide craftspeople through the process of understanding, designing and building their individual businesses. Led by maker and award winning business leader Jacqueline Sava, attendees will be guided through an eight-part series of lectures, exercises and activities focused on the development of their own craft-based business practices. 

The knowledge and skills obtained in these workshops will allow makers to successfully balance their personal craft philosophies with the realities of marketing, selling and profiting from their businesses. At the end of the workshop series, each craftsperson will have a custom plan to ensure a successful transition from where they are to where they want to be, and balance their personal craft philosophy with the realities of marketing, selling and profiting from business.

From Maker to Making a Living

Next Toronto Workshop: Tues/ Thurs May 7, 9, 14, 16, 21

Registration on the Soak site:

http://www.soakwash.com/workshops/maker-to-making-a-living-workshop.html

Feminist Zine Making Symposium (April 25-27, 2013).

As you may or may not know, many of City of Craft's earliest vendors, founders and inspirations have deep roots in both the zine scene and myriad feminist movements. Although this may not always be overtly obvious as the show evolves, we would not be much without our solid grounding in these spheres. That is why the She Said Boom Feminist Zine Making Symposium is such and exciting happening, especially as the craft scene seems to feel increasingly adrift in a sea of commercial competition. And it doesn't hurt that so many of our past and present collaborators are involved!

It is coming up this weekend, too! Full listings can be found here. To read a more thoughtful, poetic and personal run-down of the event, check out record holder for most-jobs-at-City-of-Craft-ever, Tara Bursey's, blog post on the subject.

Spring Photo Booth Images Online Now.

Hey, Citizens!

The images from the spring photo booth are now online! Go check 'em out at Have & Hold Design. Big thanks to stylist and prop-designer, Samantha Dubeau and photograpger, Becca Gilgan, for making the booth such a splendid part of our spring event!

Thank You!

Photo by Serena McCarroll

Thank you so much, Toronto, for braving some truly awful last-splash-of-winter weather and making our second annual City of Craft Spring such a fantastic day! What a day! What a crowd! What a rush!

Big ups also go to our entire staff - our designer, Kirsten McCrea; our publications manager, Arounna Khounnoraj; our maven of decor (and other things), Kalpna Patel; our volunteer coordinator, Michelle Renaud; our master of music, Mark Andrada; our prodigal co-founder, Leah Buckareff; and all the volunteers who helped run, decorate and tidy up the event.

I'd also like to thank Trinity St. Paul's United Church for being such a lovely venue with a staff full of truly community-oriented, friendly and helpful staff.

Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

See you all in the winter,

Becky

Ring Leader

City of Craft

Spring Photo Booth Preview.

As the minutes, hours and days count down to our big spring show we are happy to bring you a little stream of previews to get y'all super excited. Above is a preview of the spring back drop for our ever-popular photo booth by Have & Hold Design. Ever a stickler for details, Sam has also promised us all-new thematically-inspired spring props for lucky visitors to pose with. Even we don't know what she's cooking up! But we do know that she is a photo booth pro. What's more? It's free for all attendees!

And if all that is not enough, the photographer for this show's booth is the talented and wonderful Becca Gilgan, a very good friend of City of Craft. What could be better?