Vendor call: Gladstone Hotel Marketplace: Textile Edition

GH Marketplace: Textile Edition - Call to Vendors and  Application

Call for Vendors:

The Gladstone Hotel invites artists to apply to participate as vendors in GH Marketplace: Textile Edition a curated market to be held on Sunday December 16, 2018 with market hours of 10am-4pm. Participating vendors will present unique artist-made objects, wearables, fashion accessories, and home decor items for sale. This market will showcase a range of handcrafted textile items in various techniques and price points aimed at holiday gift giving.

GH Marketplace: Textile Edition Curator: Helena Frei, Textile Artist and Co-curator Hard Twist

About GH Marketplace

The GH Marketplace presents curated monthly shopping experiences highlighting local artists and entrepreneurs, artisanal producers, creative collectives and social enterprises. At the Gladstone, we believe buying local, seasonal and championing  and facilitating opportunities for artists, entrepreneurs and micro producers is necessary to support our local environment and our local economy. Our monthly marketplace is part of our cultural programming strategy and one of the ways that we strive to grow our community of creatives and innovators and seek new ways to connect them to each other and to our guests. Each GH Marketplace is themed and collaboratively created working with independent curators or in partnership with cultural and community groups.

Why Participate:

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FOCUS – The GH Marketplace is focused on showcasing independent and emerging artists and entrepreneurs with a range of sensibilities and approaches.

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INTIMATE – The unique setting of the hotel, and the size, focus and mandate of our marketplace provides every participant with the opportunity to be prominently featured.

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ACCESSIBLE – Participation costs for vendors are minimal compared to trade shows and more commercial events. Markets are free to the public.

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EXPOSURE – We work hard to support vendors to draw audience and professional contacts via our networks and provide access to our social media followers.

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SUPPORT – The Gladstone staff team supports market planning, marketing and promotions to make participating easy and rewarding. And we engage individual curators, innovators, advocators and partners who provide expertise, connect their networks and infuse their creative energy make each market hum.

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CONNECTION - When you participate in GH Marketplace events you become part of the Gladstone Hotel family. You will see your neighbours, your colleagues, and people you would like to meet - new clients, future collaborators. We want to you to feel at home and be yourself. The Gladstone is a place for fun, taking chances, connecting to new opportunities and growing your idea to the next level!

Market Date and Details:

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The Market will take place on Sunday, December 16  in the North Ballroom on the main floor of the Gladstone.

Itinerary:

Vendor Load in and Set up - 9am – 10am

Market hours – 10am-4pm

Vendor Strike and Load Out – 4pm-5pm

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Admission is Free to the Public

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The Vendor Fee is $100

Vendor Fee Includes:

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6' standard banquet table and chair. (Vendors must bring their own tablecloth/display props)

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promotional support, social media and targeted audience outreach in coordination with curator or partnering organization

Note to Vendors: Vendors are responsible for all payment transactions. Gladstone Hotel cannot provide change.

How to Apply:

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If you are interested in applying to be a vendor at this event please complete the vendor application form. If you do not have a website or social media for reference please provide 3-5 images of your product for consideration

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Please note, there is no application fee to apply. If you are invited to participate, the cost to be a vendor is $100 and includes a standard 6x3 banquet table and chair.

If you are invited to participate, please send 1-2 jpeg images of your product or logo to GHMarketplace@gladstonehotel.com for use in marketing and social media promotion!

Where: The Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen St W, Toronto, Ontario M6J 1J6, Canada
When:  Sunday December 16, 2018, 10am-4pm.
APPLY HERE

Beginner Needle Felting Workshop

Join TEST member Lynn Wyminga from Lynn’s Lids for an evening of wool sculpture! Learn how to craft your own adorable pumpkin from wool roving and a needle. Needle felting is fun and fast to learn! This workshop will introduce you to the tools of the trade, materials, and techniques to make a pumpkin, as well as tips for making animals and other future creations. No experience necessary, and everyone will leave with a finished project!

When: Thursday October 1, 7pm - 9pm
Where: The Purple Purl, 1162 Queen St. East, Toronto
Cost: $55, materials included

For more information: http://thepurplepurl.com/specialty/index.shtml

To register, please call the Purple Purl: 416-463-1162

Pinning for Etsy Sellers: Tips for gaining Pinterest Followers

T.E.S.T.'s own Michelle of  Kiriki Press has found that Pinterest a useful tool for running and promoting her modern, handcrafted embroidery kit business. She's managed to gain thousands of followers over the last half year, without spending much time daily, and has found Pinterest helps drive traffic to her Etsy shop.

Hi everyone! So I just reached 10,000 Pinterest followers (from 200 last summer). I know 10,000 isn't a ton compared to many other pinners, but I thought I'd share what I did to get to 10,000 because I've noticed that a lot of my Etsy traffic and sales are coming from Pinterest these days:

Barn Owl DIY Embroidery Kit by Kirikipress on Etsy

•  Only pin large, good quality images - (images with a vertical orientation look the best)
•  Link any images of your work directly to your online shop. I have a separate board for my own work.
• I've been extremely selective with which pinners and boards I follow. Don't follow people just because they follow you. This will clutter your feed with pins you don't care about repinning.
• I have one board that I have put the effort into building up, Pattern Inspiration, which has over 2000 pins and makes up about 90% of my followers. Through this board I have had hundreds of repins on my personal work board, which only has a few dozen pins that were pinned months ago and no one would have seen otherwise.
  
• Choose cover photos for all of your boards that spark an interest for what's inside as well as work well together compositionally as a whole.
• Have other boards related to your specific craft. Other popular boards of mine focus on illustration, DIY crafts and needlework.
• I only spend 15-20 minutes all together throughout the day looking at my feed and repinning (I post 10-20 pins a day on average)
• Sometimes an image just isn't greatest quality or doesn't really fit in anywhere, but you still want to keep it as reference... I pin these to a "hidden" board that only I can see.



Tabby Cat DIY Embroidery Kit by Kirikipress on Etsy

• Pinterest is an amazing survey of what the market wants. I chose to focus on building up my pattern board so that I could instantly tell which designs/colours/motifs are currently the most popular based on which pins get repinned the most (final conclusion: yup, it's cats).
• Above all, your Pinterest should be your personal inspiration board. Only pin things that you find interesting or beautiful. I've had tons of new ideas for projects since I started using it.

T.E.S.T. Interview: Art That Moves

We hope to introduce you to all the great Etsy sellers to be found right here in Toronto. Here at the T.E.S.T. blog, we plan to interview them all. This is the 35^th in our series with Christine of ArtThatMoves.

Celebrating art, creating and joy everyday

Exploring the energy that happens when images and words or poems connect - Art That Moves - is one of my favourite ways to create. I start with a word or a poem and allow an image to unfold in my mind. I have always used this technique painting on canvas and working with linoblock prints. Opening my Etsy shop allowed me to expand into the fabulous world of printing on fabric.

I love designing a screenprint image which I then handprint onto a plain piece of fabric. That action transforms the fabric into a piece of art. Working in my studio I might print two yards or twenty in an afternoon. Printing allows me to shut off my mind and flow. The rhythm of pouring the ink - running the squeegee over the fabric again and again is meditative and satisfying.

Because of the joy I felt creating new textiles I started to teach kids and then adults screenprinting technique and I love to watch them feel the same thrill I do as they transform fabric into something new.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and why you started your shop.

I joined Etsy a few years ago, but I don't really feel I focused on my shop properly until the last couple of months. It's only been recently that I have focused on improving my photographs, my range of products and my presence on the site.

For the last few years I had been focusing more on painting. I was working on promoting my career as a fine artist. Between that and working in schools mural making with children and running adult printing workshops I didn't spend as much time as I wanted on my Etsy site and the work there.

There was a big shift in my life this year and I decided to leave the studio space I was renting in order to shift my focus from painting to printmaking. I realized that though I enjoy painting very much - it's really printmaking that brings me the most joy and allows me to express myself in the way that I want. Printmaking is more affordable for people and it's primitive appeal reaches more people I think.

What has been your biggest challenge so far on Etsy?

Becoming visible to my audience and committing to the time needed to create a cohesive shop with good photographs, descriptions and tags.

What about your greatest success?

I haven't had a greatest success really, but I love connecting with the community on Etsy. I have received convos from people telling me how much my work inspired them or touched them in some way. It's so easy to reach out on Etsy and I'm just learning to tap into the communities there.  

What inspires you to create a new item?

First "I" get out of the way then I allow whatever I'm feeling to bubble up. I try to let the joy of what I'm feeling come out without censoring myself. It can be anything from soup to nuts, but if I'm feeling it I try not to think about whether or not it is going to be for the shop or whether it's a gift or whether it's just for me. For instance, the Santas I made this year. The first thing that came from my mind was - WHAT the? - then I stopped the chatter and just had the most fun ever creating them. I love looking at them. They make me happy.  Posting them in my Etsy shop got me invited to display at two local stores.

Do you have any exciting projects coming up?

I do but I can't talk about it yet. I'm planning to launch something new and exciting in January.

And finally, just for fun, what is your favourite flavour of ice cream?

Peanut butter and chocolate of course.

Check out the other items available from Christine in her Etsy Shop! You can find more of her work on her websites, www.christinepensa.com and www.artthatmoves.ca, as well as Twitter and Facebook

Interviewed by Emma of IndeedEmmaDesign in November 2012 in Toronto.

Call for submissions: Common Thread International

Common Thread International Exhibitions, which will be held in Oakville: Nov. 2 - 18, 2012 and in Toronto: Nov. 9- 25, 2012 is calling for artists' submissions for their:
1) Artwork and Interior Gallery Installations
2) Outside Environmental Installations
3) “Fibre Inspired” Exhibition
4) Proposals for Independent Projects

This sounds like a great opportunity for fibre artists, and those inspired by textiles!
DEADLINE: 4:00 pm, Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Find more information HERE.

(via Toronto Craft Alert)

T.E.S.T. Interview: minouette

We hope to introduce you to all the great etsy sellers to be found right here in Toronto. Here at the T.E.S.T. blog, we plan to interview them all. This is the second in our series, an interview with minouette.

Tell us a little about your and your shop.

I've always had varied interests. When I was younger some of my favorite subjects were art on the one hand, and physics on the other. I decided that it was easier to pursue art on my own, than it would be to attempt to be a modern-day amateur scientist. So I work as a marine geophysicist by day and printmaker by night. ;) What that means is that my profession involves building machines and going to sea to image what is below the ocean floor, which keeps the spatial-numerical left-half of my brain occupied. But I couldn't survive unless I kept the pictorial right-brain happy, so I need to create art.

I make a lot of different things. My shop "things from secret minouette places" is filled with block prints on paper and on textiles. Part of magic and beauty of printmaking is the possibility of making multiples. This allows me to create original art at a very reasonable price. I've been focusing mainly on linoleum block prints. I do this by drawing an image in reverse on linoleum and carving away the negative space. I use a tool called a brayer (like a paint-roller) to apply ink to the lino block. Then I take my paper or fabric, lay it on the inked block, and burnish the image onto it with another tool called a baren. The baren was developed for Japanese woodblock prints. Mine consists of a flat, but textured disk, wrapped in a bamboo leaf. To make another image, I simply apply more ink to the block and repeat. I also make things from the printed textiles, like pillows, stuffed animals and ornaments.

In your Etsy profile it says you have been printmaking since you were a child, starting at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Over the years, what do you think were some of the most important learning experiences you had in developing your craft?

Those classes at the AGO were a big influence on me. It's much easier to learn some things when you are a child. I think starting young was a great help to me. I've got more experience than I would otherwise. Also, I find that things like registration (lining up multiple blocks or screens in different colours to produce a multi-colour print) or never carving towards myself are now instinctive.

We have some great resources here in Toronto!

On Vancouver Island, I did a workshop in paper-making by hand. Making paper by hand is meticulous and painstaking. It's not something I have done often, but learning about paper and how it's made was a really valuable experience. Paper can make all the difference to a print. The fibres in hand-made paper point in all directions. The fibres in machine-made paper are aligned in a single direction and hence, it is stronger in one direction than in the other, and if it gets wet it deforms asymmetrically. I love Japanese kozo paper, especially the handmade variety.

I also attended a "Moku-hanga Woodblock Printing Bootcamp". Anyone who has carved wood might understand why it's called bootcamp - this is hard physical labour! I learned a lot which I apply to my lino block prints.

I feel like Childhood and Wonder are major elements in your work. Why do you think that is?


That's a really interesting question. While I decided, as I mentioned, that I couldn't be a modern-day amateur scientist, I'm really interested in Cabinets of Curiosity (or wonder - the wunderkammer) kept by avid amateurs from the Renaissance up until 19th century. People had huge collections of natural wonders: rocks, gems, fossils, butterflies, shells, bones, all sorts of plants and animals, real and imaginary. Science and magic were still intertwined. These collections both fostered myth (such as narwhal horns passed off as unicorn) and the development of descriptive science (including geology, paleontology, botany and zoology). I think of my shop as a Cabinet of Curiosity. It's filled with specimens from natural history (with the odd harpy or unicorn thrown in for good measure).

I also feature characters from the history of science, which is all about wonder.

Of course, I also love myth and fairytales. If the cabinet of curiosity represents a sort of proto-science, the myth is like the proto-story, the basis for the stories we tell again and again in different ways. Also, I think the same part of me which enjoys mathematical symbols and puzzles, enjoys symbols in folklore. I enjoy considering how things like zodiac cycles were attempts to explain astronomical observations.

I guess my work throws all of these things together.

What 3 skills or traits do you think makes you such an exceptional printmaker (well, I think you are exceptional!) ?

Why, thank you!
Um, well, I'm focused and stubborn, I have good dexterity, and I'm an experimentalist, all of which are very useful traits for the scientist too. Being focused and stubborn, means I am willing to put in the time and attention to detail. For me this is the right way to prepare an experiment or a lino block. Carving is a skill. It takes practice, but having flexible fingers is lucky. Being an experimentalist means that I have good problem-solving skills and a willingness to try different things to make the image in my head a reality. I pull a lot of proofs as I carve and am willing to change direction and vary my plans. I experiment as I go.

You’ve been creating and selling for a long time compared to some of us. What advice do you have for new crafters/artists or people who are new to Etsy?

I've been creating a long time, but only selling for a couple of years. In terms of creating my advice would be to try! Create what you want - experiment until you find what you enjoy and what works for you. Don't sell yourself short or make barriers for yourself. I'm a big believer in the handmade movement and buying local. Etsy is a great venue to allow buyers and sellers to find one another and avoid the mass produced. I think the main thing to recognize for a new Etsy seller is that it takes time to build up a clientele. Finding a group or street team of like-minded individuals, a community within Etsy, is really useful. Don't neglect to read FAQs and check out some of the great off-site tools like craftcult, craftopolis, and Google Analytics.

What’s next for Minouette?

Hmm... well I have to keep some secrets! I do have some collections of things I am working on. There will be more "Imaginary Friends of Science". Maxwell wasn't the only one with a Demon. I'm thinking I need more fungi, not just the Fly Agaric. I'm considering a western zodiac to go with the Chinese zodiac. Broadly speaking, there will be more multi-media and perhaps more media in general.

Check out more of minouette's work in her shop. You can follow her blog on either LJ or Blogger. Her flickr photostream is here. You can also follow minouette on twitter. She also writes magpie & whiskeyjack where she gathers favorite things.

Interviewed by anotherangle, November 13 to 16, 2009.