The Minions of Craftiness

What comes to mind when I say the word “minion”?

This guy?



Or, these guys?




Well, it’s time to change that. From now on, when you hear “minion”, think “crafty minion”.

Tomorrow will mark my debut as a Crafty Minion and, I gotta say, I’m getting kinda (really!) excited. From 11-5, I’ll be setting up a table in Aqua Books (alongside some of Winnipeg’s coolest crafters) at one of the city’s premiere handmade events. In addition to the shopping, music will be provided by Songwriter-in-Residence Jenny Berkel, and Eat! Bistro will be open (and serving up platefuls of fabulousness).

Visit the event Facebook page for more details and photos. Aqua Books is located at 274 Garry Street. Admission to the sale is free!


From the Aqua Books website:

Crafty Minions - The Handmade and Vintage Sale

23 vendors and music by Songwriter-in-Residence Jenny Berkel

One of Winnipeg's biggest indie craft sales features the city's hottest established and emerging crafty superstars including Head in the Oven Creations, Marathon 1981, Lady Tees, Just the Goods, Julrei, Midkid, Paper Girl Productions, Mrs. Glockenheimen, Velvet Vixen , Tumanov Regalia, Inspyred Creations, Dizzie Dame, Hello Goddess, Boomerang 360, Velvet Jeanie , Of Course You Can, Echo Creations, CJ Tennant, Husavik, Sea Bee, and more. Banish all thoughts of rows and rows of crocheted slippers or washcloths or ponybead key chains...think, instead, vintage-inspired handmade dresses, leather and ribbon wrist corsets, funky jewelry made of vintage silverware, tiny ceramic apartment buildings and octopus tentacles, retro aprons hand-embroidered with sassy 80s pop lyrics, handmade natural skincare luxuries, wall-art created from bass strings and recycled children's books, silk-screened courier bags and babywear, weird and wonderful stuffed animal-ish creations of all sorts, and much more. This is the new world of gorgeous guerilla DIY craft, right here at Aqua Books.
It's never too early to begin your holiday shopping, it's never the wrong time to pick up something completely unique and beautiful for yourself, and it's always the right time to support local artisans and crafters, and maybe even become inspired yourself.

Picture Perfect

I used to be really good at taking pictures of my craft sale set-ups. As soon as my table was perfect, I would proudly snap a few shots of it for posterity. Fast-forward a year or so and I am already slacking in that department. Now, I grab those few quiet moments before the doors open to refill my coffee and/or make a bathroom-run.

That’s why I am so glad that Corina of jake + cleo took the time to document our tables at the Bling show last weekend. Not only was this my experience sharing a booth, it was the launch of my new jewelry line (and the fabu spinning display that I made for it) and the debut of my new, racks. Take a look:



Thanks to Corina for letting me “borrow” the pic. To read about jake + cleo’s day o’ Bling, check out their blog.

All Blinged Out

Minus 1 sleep; the 2010 Bling show is all but a glittery memory (on farmed butterfly wings, no less)...



So, how did it go? Ever the optimist, I am going to say that it went GREAT. Sure, traffic could have been better, but what craft-sale vendor has never said that*? So, lack of customers aside, allow me to summarize what was good about the day:

1. I shared a booth with Emily, Corina, Ruth and Marlene. There was no hair-pulling and we all left as friends. Success!
2. I sold enough to pay for my spot and next week’s trip to Costco. Success!
3. Of the 9 jewelry racks that I brought, I sold 3! That’s what I consider…success!
4. Pins! Pins! Pins! It’s so nice to see people get excited about my pins again. As much as I love having my stuff in the shop, I really miss the fun of watching people discover the domino pins. Success!
5. The day was a good way to ease into the season, plus I got to see my new jewelry rack in action. If nothing else, I came out of the event with a solid plan for next Sunday’s set-up...and now I’m already packed for it! S-U-C-C-E-S-S!

What didn’t work? I don’t want to dwell on the negatives, but I would have to say that the show could have been advertised better, the lighting suuucked (thank god we had clamp-on table lights. Thanks, Ruth!), the $4 admission was a little (ahem) steep, and the mix of vendors/layout didn’t really suit our funky, “green” thing. We should’ve been next to dConstruct, instead of across from a cosmetics "home party" company. Just sayin’.

Would I do it again? Ehhh...maybe? Everyone that I talked to in the bathroom (which, incidentally, is where all the vendors dish at this things) was not happy, but then vendors in bathrooms rarely are. It’s hard to judge a first-time event, though, so I am going to leave it at “maybe”. Or, as they say at the Franco Manitobain Cultural Centre: “peut-etre”.

*Ok, I lie. I definitely did not say that after last year’s TAYGCS show.

Got Insurance?

The trials and tribulations of being an artsy crafter, part 86.

There are things that you think of when you are creating; design, colour, balance...even function. There are things that you DON'T think of when creating; insurance, liability, loss of profits...

I had a situation come up this week that kinda threw me for a loop. I received an email from the girl who I consigned my pillows and pins to earlier in the week. She is running a booth at the Fringe and, after being open for a day, realized that her insurance didn't cover the full replacement value of the stuff that she was selling...my stuff included. If anything were to happen to the merchandise, she would have to either tell us "too bad, so sad" or cough up the money to replace the goods herself. Understandibly, she made the decision to close the booth until she could get the whole matter ironed out. While she was working on getting better coverage in place, she contacted all of the artisans and gave us the choice to pull our stuff OR continue with the knowledge that we would not be covered for any loss or damage to our goods.

After weighing my options, seeking advice, and even playing a quick game of eenie-meenie, I decided to take my chances and keep my stuff in the sale. My reasoning is that the benefits *should* outweigh the risks. I someone comes along and sets fire to all of my pillows, the most I would be out is $100, plus the time I put in to making them. It's not like I would lose the house if that happened. If nothing adverse were to happen and 5 of the pillows actually sold, I'd be in the black. So, yeah.

Another reason that I decided to stay in the sale was exposure. I am still trying to make a name for myself and every little bit helps. There are literally thousands of people attending the Fringe over the next week. That's like a couple years' worth of craft sales! If I want to get the Ticketyboo name out there, then I have to grab every chance I can get. And If I don't have to sit there behind a table, even better. ;-) I KID!

The whole situation got me thinking, though...about insurance, yes, but also about the fact that I *hadn't* given it any thought prior to Wednesday. I guess i always just figured that if I had stuff at a show and it was lost or damaged, then it would be a case of "sucks to be me". But having it in the hands of someone else, well, that's a whole other story! I think this calls for a little more edumacation on my part...

Summer Yard Sale Craftacular!

I am organizing a Craftacular yard sale later this month...just like a “regular” craft sale, but outside in the sunshine rather than down in some stuffy church basement. I think it will be lots of fun...and a great way to support local crafters while shopping for completely unique stuff.

The sale will be on Saturday, June 20 from 11am to 2pm. (The day before Father's day!) If the weather is miserable (which it won't be!) we're looking at a rain-date of Sunday the 28th. (But the 20th will be warm and sunny and lovely, so that's a moot point!)

I'm right in the heart of the Corydon Village area with easy bus-access and plenty o' parking. We are hoping to have a dozen or so crafters, plus my son will be running an old-school lemonade/cupcake stand. Watch this space for the address and more updates!

I'm in!

I just found out that I have been selected to take part in a craft sale in April at the St Vital Montessori School's 40th Anniversary Tea. I feel like I've won a lottery...or more like a popularity contest, I guess.

I think these juried sales are funny. On one hand, I am SO for them because it weeds out the crap (aka non-handmade) stuff...but on the other hand, I don't know if I can take the pressure! ;-)

Anyway, I am so totally excited because it sounds like it is going to be a good sale. I still have stuff left from the show at the Costume Museum, but I'd better get cracking on making more! I have 25 Altoid tins coming from Ebay, the dominos from my dad, and the bottlecaps that they are saving for me at Sugar Mountain...plus I want to make some more notebooks and clipboards. And more pillows! We love the pillows!