I'll start with the market. On Saturday June 20th I packed up all my wares and headed up near St. Clair and Spadina as a vendor in the WychCraft Market, my first show/market ever! Unfortunately the weather was awful and the market was a dud. I think all of 6 vendors were there (I'm sure only the ones with canopies showed, I'm sincerely hoping others were scheduled for the day). Hardly any potential customers were coming through but I did have a few people stop and about half of them made a purchase. My first sale was my favourite plate from the "shattered" series. I felt sorry for the other vendors who didn't make many sales and were getting their products wrecked in the heavy rain and wind. A definite benefit of having all glass-made items! I'm told that it's usually fairly busy with foot traffic in the area so I hope it was only the weather keeping people away - I'll be back there next Saturday to give it another go.
I've been expanding my jewelry repertoire and now make bracelets, rings and cufflinks in addition to pendants, earrings and sets. I decided to start making cufflinks as I was planning my vacation, which would include a road trip to Bethlehem Pennsylvania to visit some friends. I wanted to bring something for my friend's husband and decided it should be handmade glass cufflinks. My friend has already been inundated with glass items but her spouse hadn't! Ahha! The perfect target. So after ordering the cufflink blanks and waiting forever for their arrival I got to work. I ended up making a variety of different kinds - dichroic, layered, streakies. I thought it was quite clever of me to make a matching set of jewelry for the couple - pendant, earrings and ring for her and cufflinks for him. You know, just in case they wanted to match when going out. The gifts were well received which made me pretty happy :)
Here are a few other cufflinks that are going up on etsy.
My sister, who paints and recently started making cool urban necklaces, forwarded me information about a new market starting up in the Distillery District in Toronto. The Portobello East Fashion and Art Market Toronto is an upscale venue offering unique pieces from local designers and artisans. A little different than the usual craft/farmer's type of market and much more my style from what I can tell.
We decided to apply to be vendors at the market and were accepted. Such a perfect situation - not only do I get to hang out in the Distillery District for the day (love that area) and sell my jewlery and housewares but I also get to share a stall with my sister and hang with her!
Info about the market from their website: www.portobelloeast.com/
"Opening July 26th and held the last Sunday of every month thereafter, Portobello East will be held at the Fermenting Cellar in the trendy Distillery District. Portobello East showcases only the hottest Canadian designers and artisans. With over 80 designers on show each month, any fashionista or art aficionado can find something to suit their unique style."
If you're local you have to come by. I've gone through the website and checked out all the vendors listed - there is going to be some amazing stuff there!! We're scheduled for September 27 & October 25 so far but we'll also be signing up for November 29 and December 12 & 13, which is their special holiday market. My sister is also on etsy, check out her artwork www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7042460 and jewelry www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7455740.
I've been busy with my housewares line too but will wait for the next post to get into that. I tried my first "combing" today - exciting but scary. It'll be hours until the kiln has cooled but if the project worked I'll take some pics and post.
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