New Year for Newbies: Make an Etsy Resolution!

Etsy Resolution What will you make of 2016?

Etsy invites Canadians to kick-off the New Year with Etsy Resolution, an online mentorship program designed to inspire entrepreneurship and creative business. The free, four-week program kicks off January 25, uniting ambitious self-starters in time to harness the momentum of 2016. Comprehensive courses equip participants with the counsel and knowledge needed to open their own Etsy shop. Advice, lessons, tips and support are provided direct from seasoned experts who know best: small-business owners and Canadian makers such as lingerie designer Mary Young, stationery designer Erin Leroux, skirt and bag designer Mo Handahu and vintage store owner Amy Honey, each successful in using Etsy to make their professional dreams come true. Led by these Etsy Seller Mentors, lessons released weekly – from brand development to product photography, pricing, marketing and more – offer accessible guidance to start and grow a thriving online business.  If you're interested in participating in Etsy Resolution, or to find more information on scheduled lessons, visit www.etsy.com/resolution.

Craftadian - Spring Vendor Call

Craftadian (formerly Made by Hand Show) has announced their Spring Craft Shows/Pop-Up Markets in Hamilton and Mississauga. 
Applications are now open.

APPLY HERE

Saturday April 23, 2016, HAMILTON (McMaster Innovation Park)

deadline to apply February 27, 2016

6' Table/Chair is $125 plus HST

 Saturday May 14, 2016, MISSISSAUGA (The Hershey Centre)

deadline to apply March 19, 2016

10x5 Booth $145 plus HST / 10x10 Booth $195 plus HST



Juried Show.  All products must be handmade by the applicant.  All products must be Made in Canada.  Past Shows have had 1800 - 2700 visitors.  Free Parking / Admission for the public $5.00 (children free).

Craftadian (formely Made by Hand Show) has been operating craft shows since 2011.  Craftadian showcases, supports and promotes Canadian artists, artisans and designers.

For additional vendor information, please contact:
Jacqueline Hunter

info@craftadian.ca

www.craftadian.ca

Vendor Call: Makeology Spring Market

Makeology is hosting their first show, April 16 at the Cotton Factory in Hamilton.

APPLY HERE.

Want to be part of the fun? Here's what they're looking for.

The goal of the Makeology Fair is to bring the most talented crafters around together under one roof.  The jury will carefully select the participants in order to have the best possible curated show. Here’s some of the criteria:

• The work is unique, creative and innovative – but above all handmade.
• The work is made by you, the person who will be at the Fair.
• The work is priced adequately, we frown upon those who do not price handmade goods appropriately.
• The work is excellently crafted. The quality of the goods to be sold at the Fair must be of the best quality. We encourage you to take well lit photos (if you don’t already) of the work you submit. This will help the jury judge your work, we cannot stress the importance of photos!
• We’re looking for variety in the type of work accepted. The jurors will select a diverse group of vendors in order to offer the best shopping experience. Some categories are more saturated than others and we encourage everyone to apply!

Wanderlust: TEST Holiday Gift Guide for the Travellers and Adventurers

CUTdesignsrt maps of 3 cities

Still seeking that perfect gift for your favourite nomad? You can still buy handmade and vintage local treasures from your Toronto Etsy sellers!

Are they saving up for their next big adventure? Let them meditate on their destinations with a personalized gift of
CUTdesignsrt cut paper art maps of their favourite 3 cities!

Who says the practical traveller can't be stylish? Rest assured your wanderer will have all his or her papers and foreign cash safe and look great with FitzyDesign's Leather Fanny Pack!

FitzyDesign's Leather Fanny Pack!

Or help them keep their valuables close with sewlutionsbyamo's unisex leather wrist wallet!

one of sewlutionsbyamo's many clever unisex leather wrist wallet

Most important is his or her passport. Check out knottednest passport covers!

knottednest passport cover

All jet-setters know that the trick to avoiding jet-lag is a making sure you do get that necessary sleep. Your favourite nomad needs a ArentYouFancy Sleep Mask!

ArentYouFancy Sleep Mask

GraceDesign Kilim Bag

Her go-to boho travel bag can bring back memories of her travels, or inspiration for future ones, with the beautiful textiles incorporated in her GraceDesign Kilim Bag.

What's the quintessential boho travel garment? How about a vintage 70's poncho from FilthyRebena? vintage 70's poncho from FilthyRebena?

FilthyRebena's Sunset 70s Vintage Poncho

You know what packs easy, goes with anything, and makes a great wardrobe staple for your traveller on the go? BirdApparel's Riding Leggings in heather grey and black.

BirdApparel's Riding Leggings in heather grey and black

Send them packing their BonnieClydeVintage Vintage 70s Purple American Tourister Messenger Bag off on their latest adventure!

BonnieClydeVintage Vintage 70s Purple American Tourister Messenger Bag

You can check out the Etsy holiday hub for picks for personalized gifts or our own Toronto Etsy Street Team gift guides for all those unique -and sometimes hard to shop for! Stay tuned for more guides!

December 2015 #TESTaroundtown

Apologies for the delayed December post! It's a busy time for all of our team members!

Find our talented Toronto Etsy Street Team members selling their handmade and vintage wares in person. Shop for the holidays locally from your favourite Etsy shops at these December 2015 events:

Event	Date & time	Location	TEST Shop(s)
The One of a Kind Christmas Show & Sale oneofakindshow.com	Nov. 26 - Dec. 6 Mon-Sat 10am-pm Sun 11am-6pm	Enercare Centre 100 Princes Blvd. Toronto, ON	Art That Moves CandiWare carolyndraws CGMonsters Cubit's gotamago Green Bean Things Handmades by Rovena Made in Brockton Village Pip Robins Queenie's Cards Sprouts Press Designs
CSI Holiday Pop Up Market	Thu. Dec. 3 12pm-9pm	Centre for Social Innovation 720 Bathurst St. Toronto, ON	Rong Designs
Toronto Fan Days Holiday Show comicontoronto.com	Sat. Dec. 5 11am-5pm	Metro Toronto Convention Centre South Bldg - Hall F 222 Bremner Blvd. Toronto, ON	Veelightful
Crafternoon Tea facebook page	Sat. Dec. 5 11am-4pm	Queen Street Presbyterian 947 Queen St. E. Toronto, ON	Heart's Haven Lisa Young Design Nathalie-Roze Papermuse Designs
Mid Day Mrkt	Sun. Dec. 6 12pm-6pm	2nd Floor Event Space 461 King Street West Toronto, ON	Rong Designs
City of Craft	Dec. 11 - 13 Fri: 6pm–10pm Sat: 11am–6pm Sun: 11am–5pm	The Theatre Centre 1115 Queen St. W Toronto, ON	Rong Designs
Annex Flea: Holiday Edition	Dec. 12 - 13 11am–6pm	Centre for Social Innovation 720 Bathurst St. Toronto, ON	FoldIT Creations Papermuse Designs Rong Designs Sudsatorium
Christmas Gladstone Flea	Sat. Dec. 12 10am-4pm	Gladstone Hotel 1214 Queen St W, Ste 2, B Toronto, ON	Rong Designs
TEST Christmas Marketplace	Sat. Dec. 12 11am-5pm	Church of Saint Stephen-in-the-Fields 103 Bellevue Ave. Toronto, ON	BonnieClydeVintage CuriousBirdPottery Dot Handmade FashionelleStudio filthyrebena FoldIT Creations Heart's Haven HoneyThistle RitualistSkincare stitchandspoke thunderpeep Torched Studio
Winter Folk Fair facebook page	Sun. Dec. 13 11am-5pm	St.Vladimir Institute 620 Spadina Ave. Toronto, ON	Torched Studio
Trinity Bellwoods Flea	Sat. Dec. 19 9am-5pm	Bathurst & Dundas Toronto, ON	Citchen Candle Co FoldIT Creations jool Rong Designs Sudsatorium TerraSoapCo
Trinity Bellwoods Flea	Sun. Dec. 20 9am-5pm	Studio Bar 824 Dundas St. Toronto, ON	FoldIT Creations I.M.Wyred Rong Designs Sudsatorium

Got a January 2016 event or TESTy to add to our listings? Drop Lynn a line through her shop Lynn's Lids.

TEST Holiday Gift Guide for The Foodie in your Life

Get Maple Fudge from TheSweetMaple

Still lots of time for those of you who want to get your local Etsy goodies. You can check out the Etsy holiday hub for picks for personalized gifts or our own Toronto Etsy Street Team gift guides for all those unique -and sometimes hard to shop for! - folks in your life. We're starting with The Foodie, cause thoughts of holidays make us think of yummy treats.



Our mouths are watering just thinking of it... TEST's own TheSweetMaple makes traditional Québecois maple fudge, freshly made to order with only contains 3 ingredients. 

Modern cozy for coffee bodum French press by FlockOfTeaCosy

DomistyleAprons' Men's Will Cook for Beer Apron

You know your foodie needs the perfect coffee, made with a French press, so why not get them a  simply elegant modern cozy for their bodum by FlockOfTeaCosy? 






Why not encourage entertaining with a cheeky apron from DomistyleAprons, like their men's "Will Cook for Beer" apron? Add some carefully selected beverages for a thoughtful gift/broad hint!

Heirloom vegetable seeds from Cubits

Do you have a purist foodie in your life, who might like to grow his or her own food? How about the rainbow of heirloom vegetables seeds from Cubits?

gotamago's 2016 Dim Sum Calendar

Keep your foodie happy year-round with thoughts of delicious dim sum! "Complete with pronunciation guides and informative dissections of some of the most beloved Dim Sum dishes," gotamago's beautifully illustrated 2016 wall calendar is a match for the most exacting dim sum-loving foodie!

NellyWithWings has all sorts of pretty tortilla warmers!

You know your foodie needs to keep their tortillas warm, right? Get NellyWithWings' authentic yellow Aztec tortillero, a tortilla warmer, for the foodie whose kitchen is already stocked with all the appropriate tools for all of the (other) foods!

Download a BlissfulSew pattern to make a casserole or pie carrier

Is your favourite foodie also crafty? Someone you might encourage to bring you a pie? Or perhaps you would like to make a handmade gift which will result in gifts of pie? Check out BlissfulSew's pattern to make a casserole or pie carrier!

Chocolat Mint Cupcake soap from BakedSoapCo

Want to find a stocking stuffer to let your foodie pamper her or himself? How about some good-enough-to-eat soaps from BakedSoadCo? 

Our Christmas Market is almost here!

We're only 1 week away from our Second Annual Christmas Market, and the TEST elves are hard at work making sure everything is ready for you!

This years event is a festive and intimate event taking place at the Church of St. Stephen in-the-fields church located on the corner of Bellevue Ave. and College St. Yep, that's the same spot we had our last Christmas show. It's a great opportunity to come out, meet some local makers and vintage purveyors and to support Toronto Indie businesses.

We'll be opening our doors at 11am and of coarse we'll have our notorious Swag Bags for the first 50 eager shoppers. Filled with goodies donated by our vendors, sponsors and members.

We're really excited about this years lineup of amazing vendors. We've got 30 of our members ready to meet you and show off their goods. Everything from soap, jewellery, knit and textiles, stationery, vintage clothing and jewellery and so much more. In fact, we're so excited about our vendors that we made this fancy lookbook to help showcase them. You can scroll through and do some pre-shopping, make that list of wants and gifts and it'll be up on the blog forever so if you miss out on anything or forgot one of the vendors you liked you can come back to the book and each image links directly to the vendors Etsy shops. You're welcome!

You can also follow along as the vendors get ready for the market by following the Hashtag #TESTxmas15.

And as if that hasn't gotten you super excited, we've got the one and ONLY Santa Claus coming in to hang out with us. You can come and have your photo taken with him, make any last attempts to get yourself on the Good list, or just to say Hi.

See you on the 12th!