Royal Bison Craft and Art Fair

Hi there! A relaxing long weekend seems like a good time to make plans for a spring road trip.

The Royal Bison Craft and Art Fair in Edmonton has announced the dates for their spring show. It is open to Edmonton vendors only, but we have heard unfailingly glowing recommendations about the show. So exciting! We plan on driving out to see what all the fuss is about! We'll make sure to take lots of photos and hopefully come back with lots of treasures.

The dates for this upcoming event are May 3rd, 4th, and 5th and for more information: http://www.royalbison.ca/

More Handmade Spring Shows Announced!

If you are thinking of taking your lovely handmade goods on the road this year here are a few dates to take note of:

Make It is being held in Edmonton on April 12 - 14th at the Enjoy Centre and in Vancouver on April 19th to 21st at the Croatian Cultural Centre.

For more information regarding how to apply for this show or if you'ld just like to attended: http://makeitproductions.com/

Also Got Craft has announced their spring event which will be held in Vancouver on April 27th and April 28th at the Maritime Labour Centre. For more information on how to become a vendor or for more event information: http://gotcraft.com/vancouver

Adventures in Drying Racks

Over the last year or two we have managed to pick up or build most of the equipment we need for the studio. With one exception; a drying rack. Surprisingly these are harder to come by than you might think.

They are ridiculously expensive if you buy them new, so that was definitely not an option.

The home made solutions we have been using are really starting to slow us down and cause a lot of problems and headaches. Try finding room for 300 sheets of 11"x17" paper laying flat in a small space.

So over the last year we've been scouring the province for one. A couple weeks ago, finally success! One came up for sale on Kijiji. The only hitch was that it was in Edmonton and we are in Saskatoon.

The plan was to make an epic day trip to Edmonton and back.

Trailer rented and car borrowed I was off early Friday morning.

The rack turned out to be far larger than we need. Approximately, 4' x 5' x 6' high with 50 racks and it weighs over 300lbs!

Luckily the guy selling the drying rack owns a sign shop in Edmonton and had a forklift to load the rack onto the trailer. We strapped it down the best we could and I prayed it wasn't going to fly off the trailer between here and Saskatoon!

The drive went far better than expected, and I only had one minor incident.

The funny part is that right now we don't even have a space large enough for the rack! So for the moment it is being stored outside in the backyard! Wrapped up like an ugly Christmas present. I can't wait to unwrap it and start putting it to some good use.

Make It!

Last weekend we drove to Edmonton to check out one of the larger Indie Craft shows in Western Canada. Make It!
We had heard a lot of good things about the show, so we were very excited to see what the show was all about and too see what we would find there.

http://makeitproductions.com/

More than 5,000 people attend the show over the 3 days. There was already a line up when we arrived Saturday morning and just in case you were hungry before coming into the show they had some yummy food vendors parked at the entrance of the building!
Unfortunately, when we entered into the venue we were too overwhelmed with all the amazing work and people to take any photos inside the show. Suffice it to say there was a lot of wonderful work and lots of people.

Here are photos of some of our sweet finds that we gladly took home with us!

Keri Chrystian (Illustrator)
http://kerichrystian.com/

This illustrator had some really cool buttons and magnets to add to our collection.
Her work is super cute!

After making a few rounds around the venue we came across...

A Cagey Bee (Kris G. Brownlee)
http://www.acageybee.com/

We love the name of her business and love her work. Her illustrations are so dreamy and adorable. The cat in the painting is named Theo. Love the traditional portrait nature of this illustration! Cats ended up dominating the purchases we made. This really wasn't intentional, but was a nice surprise.

Next a stop at Roxypop.

Roxypop
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Roxypop
http://gotcraft.com/

If you aren't familiar with this dynamic duo from Vancouver do yourself a favour and check out their website. Not only do they make the cutest stuff you could imagine they are the masterminds behind one of the best craft shows around. Period! Got Craft in Vancouver!
While we were at the show we stopped by their booth and purchased a few goodies and were greeted with the warmest welcome around.

The cat cameo is wonderful, but my personal favorite was the fortune cookie catnip cat toy. They had catnip toys that looked like perogies too! They are awesome. And we couldn't pass up on the Got Craft tote.


Some of our other favorites from the show.

Flight Path Designs
http://www.flightpathdesigns.com/

Black Drop Designs
http://www.blackdrop.ca/

Sabrina Butterfly Designs
http://www.sabrinabutterflydesigns.ca/

Cloud & Lolly
http://www.cloudandlolly.com/

Amy Victoria Wakefield
http://avwakefield.com/