What are you doing tomorrow?

Please join 25 local handmade vendors for the first ever The TESTy Spring Craft Show The Gladstone Hotel Ballroom, Saturday April 30th, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM!

Great time and place to pick up some handmade goodness for Mother's Day!

Discovering Etsy Treasury Lists.

About a week ago or so I discovered Etsy Treasury Lists. A selfless concept allowing you to create lists of things you like from various artists and make them public for everyone to view. Of course there are a few common sense guidelines such as do not use your own items and do not use same item twice. I am not sure what was the exact trigger to get me to create my first one but it may have been seeing a lovely owl bag created by a friend of mine. So my first Treasury List is called Owl Friendly . I loved looking around for items. It is a similar feeling to creating wish lists. My approach was pretty simple for this one just use the "owl" keyword to search. Actually before anything I already remembered I had three favorite shops which had owl oriented items that I liked so I added them first.

About the same time I have received an invitation to use a new bookmarking tool called Pinterest . If you like creating Treasury Lists on Etsy then I recommend the mix of the two for various reasons, which I will explain further. Some reasons to use Pinterest:

• “Pin it” allows you to bookmark pictures and create visual boards of things you see online and you like.


• I wanted to have a big selection of items and then choose the 16 to put on the Treasury List.


• I didn’t like to have many windows open to see which ones to add.


• I couldn’t figure out if I could save a draft of the list on Etsy or if it gets published right away.

These are the steps I follow to create my lists:

• When you set up Pinterest it will ask you to allow a “Pin It” button to be added in your browser.


• I create my lists on Pinterest first and add as many items as I like.


• Every time I see a picture of an item I like then I “Pin It” and add it to the board I have created with my specific Treasury List in mind.


• This approach allowed me to work on my boards when inspiration came for me to look for various items or when I had time.


• When I have at least 16 items then I go ahead and create the corresponding list on Etsy.


• I have a window/tab open for the Etsy Treasury List and one open for the board on Pinterest.


• In order to retrieve the link from the board: I hover over the item I want to add, on the Edit button I right click, choose to open it in a different window/tab. Once open I copy the link, close the window, and past it in the “Listing URL” in the Etsy list.

I found this a lot of fun and one possible bonus is that you are creating another venue for the respective items to be displayed. True there are not your items but oh well no harm in supporting other artists too. Unless you chose to make your Pinterest boards private (I have not checked how you do that) the boards can be visible to other people. Example of the board is here: Around the World in 16 Earrings .

I love making Treasury Lists which are meaningful to me. Since I am Romanian, Canadian living in Manchester, UK you will probably see often various artists from these places or from countries where my friends are from.

Now one warning about Treasury Lists. If you do as I did and just started don’t come back to it every other minute to see how many views and how many people liked it. I must admit I ended up like the character at end of the “Social Network”. I will not ruin it by giving more details but you get the picture ☺

Upcoming Event: B.A.Y.T. Craft & Gift Sale

B.A.Y.T. Craft & Gift Sale

Sunday May 1, 2011 from 10:00am - 5:00pm

"BAYT" – Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto

613 Clark Avenue West
Thornhill, Ontario Get Directions

B.A.Y.T. Craft & Gift Sale is a yearly event which features over fifty vendors selling unique gift and practical items!
Open to the Public

TEST member madebyjacqueline will be there selling her handmade paper goods.

Vender Call: Guild Alive With Culture

The Guild Alive With Culture Arts Festival / “Taste of the Guild”
Saturday August 6th &Sunday August 7th 2011
10:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Application Form for Artist Vendor
Exhibiting fee: $100.00 Entry deadline: June 24, 2011

Eligibility: Open to all fine artists/artisans who reside or work in Ontario. All work must be original and hand
made in Canada by the exhibiting artist.

Eligible work: 2 dimensional works including paintings, mixed media, hand pulled prints, photographs (individually
signed), digital art, (individually signed) individually signed/numbered reproductions (edition size under 500), fine art
card reproductions, 3 dimensional works including sculpture, fine craft in all media, glass, metal, wood, originally
designed jewelry, fibre art, hand-made quilts, originally designed clothing.

George Brown College Jewellery Arts Grad Show

Check out THE GEORGE BROWN COLLEGE JEWELLERY ARTS GRADUATE SHOW at THE CENTRE SHOP
Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay West, Toronto, Ontario M5J 2G8
416-973-4993 www.harbourfrontcentre.com
OPENING RECEPTION & AWARDS CEREMONY
Thursday, April 21, 6:00–8:00pm
EXHIBITION DATES April 21–May 8, 2011

The exhibit includes T.E.S.T. member JeweLust

Upcoming Events: Creative Heart Collective

Date: Saturday, April 16th, 2011 & Sunday, April 17th, 2011

Time: 11:00am – 5:00pm

Place: The Gladstone Hotel – The Ballroom, 1st Floor

1214 Queen Street West, Toronto ON

Admission: PWYC* (suggested donation $2)

 

Make sure to visit the Creative Heart Collective on both Saturday & Sunday as there are different vendors on each day.  This two day event will feature the talent of more than 40 local vendors and artisans.  Support local!  

Full List of Vendors - click here

T.E.S.T. members josoriginals, loveandbeartrap, madebyjacqueline, missquitecontrary, and papersweetsca will be selling their handmade creations.

The TESTy Spring Craft Show Vender List

ShopCats have posted the vender list for our first team show: The TESTy Spring Craft Show The Gladstone Hotel Ballroom, Saturday April 30th, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM. Check our our array of handmade venders:

RobertRatPrints	Landfill Designs	Lostcode
drelin	HeyRube	christinemarieford
loveandbeartrap	pyxuspassionproject	butterflytreeshop
jool	minouette	seaflowerstudios
thunderpeep	TiffanyMorganDesigns	KristiinaDesigns
heatherlyone	bumblebooHandmades	dontpressb
cathygee	DylanaDesigns	lurearts
torchedstudio	WingedToaster	Brianna Rutter
Kelly Smith

Vender Call: Danforth East Arts Fair

The Danforth East Arts Fair will be held at East Lynn Park on September 17 and 18, 2011. This high-quality show grew from consistent demand for crafts at the Danforth East Community Association’s weekly farmers’ market.

We welcome applications from exhibitors working in a wide range of traditional and contemporary art forms to participate in our juried show.

We provide a welcome package for exhibitors, nearby parking, two uniformed security guards overnight, advertising, publicity, portable washrooms, acoustic entertainment, an information booth and volunteers to help with hauling.

To apply, download the application package and submit the required fee.

The early application deadline is April 30, 2011. The second deadline is June 15, 2011. Given the success of last year’s show, we strongly encourage artisans to apply by April 30 to ensure the greatest chance of acceptance. Some categories fill up quickly.

Applications are reviewed and selected by a jury. We expect approximately 50 artisans will be selected to participate in the 2011 show.

Community members and local media gave the event rave reviews. Our 2009 survey results indicated 95% of the artisans who took part would participate again.

Upcoming Events: FAT Alternative Arts & Fashion Week

Toronto Alternative Arts and Fashion Week is a platform for inventive, pioneering and contemporary expression. This annual multi-arts event features 200 national and international fashion designers, visual artists, bands and performers each year. The festival delivers a packed schedule of runway shows, live performances, music, photography exhibits, video screenings and installation exhibits, to celebrate leaders in a wide range of art forms. Held every April, the event welcomes 5,000 people including stylists, buyers, curators, critics, members of the media, the arts, music and fashion related industry as well as the stylish general public.

Come out and enjoy some amazing fashion, art and design at FAT - Alternative Fashion Week, on April 27th!
99 Sudbury Street
6PM-12AM DAILY

Venders include T.E.S.T.'s jool.

Check out details and ticket info here.

Upcoming Event: Spring Arts Open House Alumni and Craft Sale

Spring Arts Open House Alumni and Craft Sale

Saturday April 30, 2011 from 10:00am - 5:00pm

Sheridan College - Trafalgar Campus

1430 Trafalgar Rd
Oakville, Ontario Get Directions


Sheridan College -cafeteria
Open to the Public - Free Parking & Free Admission

More Information at this link.

Find TEST member madebyjacqueline in the cafeteria

Artist call: Visual Fringe

Visual Fringe at the Fringe Club
*New This Year*

WHERE: The Fringe Club – 581 Bloor St. West, running south from Bloor Street along Honest Ed Alley.

WHAT: This year, the Toronto Fringe has expanded its programming, and we want YOU to be a part of it!

The Visual Fringe is an un-curated collection of mini-galleries, a first-come/ first-served opportunity for artists, sculptors, painters, installation artists, graffiti artists, graphic artists—any visual artists—to show their work to the thousands of people who go through the Fringe Club. Participants in the Visual Fringe will be given a 10’x10’tent in which to show their work, a prime location just off Bloor at Bathurst, workshops on producing and publicizing their exhibitions, and use of the Fringe box office to sell their work. As with all Toronto Fringe Festival shows, the artists keep 100% of their sales.

This visual arts festival is ideal for dynamic, experimental, or provocative artists. The Fringe Festival will not interfere in the creative process or product of any artist, so feel free to take risks. Just remember that you can’t violate any hate laws. Visual artists are encouraged to apply as a collective, to create artwork on the spot, and to do whatever they want to make the experience exciting for the crowds of people passing by.

Artists or collectives must pay a $50 (+HST) participation fee, but receive 100% of the sales of their work. Artists are required to provide their own materials. The Fringe Festival is not responsible for lost or stolen art work or materials, but will provide overnight storage.

WHEN: The Visual Fringe is open from 6:30pm to 9:30pm every night from July 6th to July 17th.

WHO: Visual Artists

HOW: Applications for the Visual Fringe are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

(Thanks to the TCA!)

Toronto Etsy Street Team Spring Craft Show!

20 TESTy handmade vendors are coming together to have a craft show at the Gladstone on April 30th!

We will be posting more information right here as the show approaches, and you can also read more at our host ShopCats blog.

p.s. If you are planning to take part in this, or another indoor craft show, don't forget to read Zippster's thorough Tips for Indoor Craft Shows !