SPONSOR NEWS: January 2012

jen — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 16:17:49 +0000

day 55 by Lucky Jackson via the Craft Toronto flickr group

Happy New Year Everyone! After you emerge from your holiday food coma (and all-day pyjama fest), it’s a great time to think about picking up a new skill or taking your craft biz to the next level. Check out these listings from Wise Daughters for some great options.

Please contact sponsors directly to sign up for classes or with any questions related to their listings.

WISE DAUGHTERS CRAFT MARKET
www.wisedaughters.com

CRAFTY BIZ: Revisions to Craft Projects Grants by the Ontario Arts Council (grant deadline: October 17, 2011)

jen — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 15:51:46 +0000

Celebrating a crafty victory with Awards For Nothing by the sweetie pie press

I am tardy in sharing this with you, but there is still time to get together your application for the Ontario Arts Council’s revamped Craft Projects grants, due October 17, 2011.

As some of you may know, I had the privilege of conducting a review of the craft sector for the OAC so that they could gain a clearer understanding of present-day craft practices and re-evaluate their Craft Projects [...]

CRAFTY BIZ: From Maker to Making a Living – CraftSmarts Lecture Series by Jacqueline Sava of Soak (October 3 – 25, 2011)

jen — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 13:33:36 +0000

Cat toys by at.aw, posted by glasco54 the Craft Toronto flickr group

When I think of business savvy crafters inToronto, Jacqueline Sava of Soak is one of the first people that come to mind – and not only because of her appearance on Dragon’s Den! Girl not only identified a very real need for crafters – to clean their woolens without felting them – but worked out a formula for a product that met this need and more, packaged it beautifully, and [...]

CRAFTY BIZ: Crafting a Well-Rounded Business Workshop by Becky Johnson (June 23, 2011)

jen — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 00:44:35 +0000

As regular readers are no doubt aware, Becky has many crafty feathers in her cap, including her celebrated sweetie pie press blog and the annual City of Craft festival. I believe that one of the reasons why her endeavours get so much love is her unwavering transparency and genuine support of her fellow makers in the age of premeditated social media strategy and soft-focus blogging. I am excited to announce that Becky will be sharing her unique perspective on indie business at the Etsy [...]

CRAFTY BIZ: Complete a Survey for a New Craft Shop in Hamilton & Win a Gift Certificate (deadline: June 26, 2011)

jen — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 03:49:29 +0000

:::NOTE: link to survey originally posted is not working & cannot be corrected (long, uninteresting story!). Please head over to the original blog post and follow the link there. Thanks!:::

While I am loving living in Hamilton, one thing I find is missing from the craftscape here is a permanent space to get together and make stuff, procure supplies, get inspired by fabric & yarn, and meet other crafty folk looking to do the same. I was spoiled in Toronto with spaces that fulfilled [...]

SUPPLY YOUR HABIT: sweetie pie press’ postal board tool

jen — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 11:27:14 +0000

I have been meaning to share this little gem with you guys for awhile, as I was blown away by Becky’s ingenuity when I first saw these guys debuted on her blog (when TCA was still a’slumber). Though I have never personally had the pleasure of having to ship my handmade goods on a regular basis, I can only imagine what a pain it would be to have to go to the post office to measure your mail each time you need to check whether it will fit in the “small packet” [...]

CRAFTY BIZ: Nanopod on Etsy’s Handmade Portraits

jen — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 09:46:01 +0000

Amazing! Local metal/glass artist, owner of nanopod: hybrid studio, and longtime TCA sponsor Tosca has been featured in a hauntingly beautiful Handmade Portrait by Etsy. Check out the video which features her incredible work, process, and shots of the deep Toronto winter right here.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Scholarships at Open Studio (Deadline: May 2, 2011)

becky — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 13:32:19 +0000

Ecce Cheeto by Tobias Williams at Open Studio 2010

Attention print-based artists: submission are now being accepted for Open Studio‘s annual Don Phillips Scholarship, The Donald O’Born Family Scholarship and Nick Novak Fellowship. These awards are available to, respectively, a student in his or her final year of undergraduate study, a recent BFA or MFA graduate and a professional artist member of the studio.

Recipients are selected by a jury comprised of artists, curators, educators, and/or arts administrators. Benefits include: rent [...]

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Pawnathon Canada (first weekend April 2011)

jen — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 13:12:49 +0000

Strolling along Queen West this weekend I noticed a storefront covered in kraft paper and “Pawnathon” signage. Google did me a solid and led me to the Pawnathon Canada website where I learned that this is a History Channel production being filmed at a 4 day event coming to Toronto in April. Fans of Antique Roadshow may be interested to attend or watch it on TV this summer - the concept is similar but with a commercial element: you can bring in your junk and have it appraised [...]

Reminder GET SCHOOLED: The Art of Selling, at Wise Daughters

toronto craft alert — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 01:05:24 +0000

The Art of Selling – a workshop for crafters
with Mary Breen, owner of Wise Daughters Craft Market

Are you talented with your hands but afraid to “pitch” your product?

Are you at a loss as to how to price your wares?

Do you really know your market?

This workshop is for people who want to break into the retail market, or expand sales.

Prepare yourself for the fall craft show season with new strategies for success.

After 18 months of operating Wise Daughters Craft Market (and constantly [...]

VENDOR CALL: New 2nd location “Haute” Par Periwinkle (opening July 28)

rosalyn — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 04:22:17 +0000

Calling all Canadian Designers! This is a vendor call for Periwinkle’s second location (opening JULY 28 2010). We are proud to introduce to you Periwinkle’s new second location (Haute par Periwinkle) located in the prestige Forest Hill area (Eglington and Avenue). Forest Hill is an affluent neighbourhood in central Toronto and it is one of Toronto’s three wealthiest neighbourhoods. Haute par Periwinkle is offering shelf, clothing units and table space [...]

CRAFTY BIZ: Organic Metal Gallery Grand Re-opening (May 29)

rosalyn — Tue, 25 May 2010 15:08:52 +0000

Organic Metal Grand Re-Opening!
Saturday May 29, 4-8:30pm
578 College Street

We have been busy!

Come by on Saturday May 29th 4:00-8:30pm to celebrate our new space with some food and wine!

Come check out our new artists, new work and Beautiful new space! Showcasing the work of Robin Gray and featuring works by Maae Jewelry, Hey Lady Designs and Carmen Tam.

We have a new schedule of Jewellery workshops, [...]

CRAFTY BIZ: Business For Artists & Creative People Workshop Series (May-July)

rosalyn — Thu, 06 May 2010 13:26:02 +0000

WORKSHOPS:

May 6 – Thu 6:30pm-9
Goal Setting for Artists and Creative People: Initiate. Success Sequence.
By Carmen Leilani De Jesus

May 27 – Thu 6:30-9pm
Artist as Entrepreneur: Because it’s not about selling out, it’s about making a living.
By Christopher Davies

June 3 Thu 6:30pm-9
Managing Your Finances: Learn how to handle that ca-a-a$h!
By Rhowena Adolfo

June 10 Thur 6:30pm-9
Creative Marketing & Building Your Brand: Who’s your target?
By Theresa Laurico

June 17 Thur 6:30-9:30pm
Creating Your Visual Branding: Graphic Design & Photo-editing Basics
By Christine Mangosing (CMANGODesign)

June [...]

CRAFTY BIZ: News from Fresh Collective

rosalyn — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 03:43:43 +0000

Looking to sell your wares?

Fresh Baked Goods and Fresh Collective, Toronto’s best collectively run designer boutiques have openings for new members! We offer retail space to designers of clothing, jewellery, accessories, gifts and kids stuff.

The arrangement is simple- pay an affordable monthly rent and work one day a week in the shop- but the benefits are huge! You get not only an awesome, established, well-respected store to sell your stuff, you get so much more.

This is a great chance to really grow your business! We offer [...]

CRAFTY BIZ: Craftig & Links for you!

jen — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:04:50 +0000

One of the things that came up in our last reader survey was the fact that many of you are looking for more small business resources. When I came across this craft-centric social bookmarking site via Sister Diane, my sight zeroed in on the Crafty Biz tag and I thought I would share in case there are any good links there to help you in starting or running your biz.

Those of you crafting for pleasure will also find plenty of links of interest on [...]

CRAFTY BIZ: Creative Women in Business the search goes on (February 28)

rosalyn — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 15:28:52 +0000

Dear crafties,
I’ve opened up a meetup group for women entrepreneurs in Toronto who make all or some of what we sell.

We are jewellers, painters, knitters, soapmakers, toymakers, potters, and more, interested in meeting other creative women in business.

It’s so easy to become isolated working in our studios and on our websites. The purpose of this group is to get out, meet up, compare notes, stay motivated, develop our businesses and be inspired.

The inaugural meetup is scheduled for Sunday Feb 28th. Interested? You can join as well as RSVP for [...]

FROM THE DESK OF TCA: Vote NOW for the Poppies (last category closes January 30)

jen — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:20:15 +0000

If you haven’t already begun to, head over to Poppytalk to cast your votes for The Poppies, Poppytalk’s virtual awards event celebrating the Handmade Community. Toronto is seriously representin’ in most categories (I would list them here, but I don’t want to miss anyone and risk denying them your vote!) – so head on over and vote local! Note: some categories have closed or close today so don’t dawdle if you want your say.

I am totally honoured to have been asked to sit on the jury in the company of some [...]

CRAFTY BIZ: Two Toques Design at IDS10 (January 21-24)

jen — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 10:49:21 +0000

My husband Mike Kennedy will be showing at the Interior Design Show this year, and I wanted to invite you all out to check out his truly fine (If I do say so myself) work in Studio North, Limited Edition Booth SN-34. I have been living under a solid blanket of wood dust, huddling under our duvet to keep warm while the apartment airs out after another round of oiling & varnishing, and plugging my ears while the thickness planer roars as he’s been preparing over the past couple of months, [...]

CRAFTY BIZ: Nominate local crafters for The Poppies (deadline: January 12, voting January 14-20)

jen — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 13:50:33 +0000

Attention readers: this is a great opportunity to a) get your work some more exposure & b) to big-up your crafty neighbours by nominating some Toronto-area/Canadian talent for a Poppy in one of the categories below. Read on for a some highlights from Poppytalk*& visit the post (link below) for the whole deal.

Today we are most excited as we launch a really fun (and what we hope will become a “yearly event”) called “The Poppies“. [...]

CRAFTY BIZ: Business & Passion on Fine Woodworking

jen — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:41:40 +0000

The author, Adam King

Today my husband, who is a custom furniture maker, sent me this piece from a section on FineWoodworking.com called “Reflections from the workshops”. In it a woodworker muses about where he went wrong trying to start a woodworking biz from a conventional business standpoint. Despite its title, “This secret cost me $20,000, but I’ll let you have it for free.” I didn’t find that it provided a concrete answer to a dilemma that many of us face – how to make our life’s passion financially [...]

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Apply for microfunding from tinygrants (deadline: Nov. 22)

toronto craft alert — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:20:11 +0000

An experiment in microfunding for the arts, tinygrants facilitates short term, creative interventions through the distribution of small grants to artists at any stage in their career. tinygrants promotes collaboration, participation, curiosity and awareness amongst a broad range of artists and audiences.

Applications are now available and can be downloaded from www.tinygrants.ca in the “How to Apply” section. Please read the FAQ to learn more about this microgranting model.

Applications are due no later than 11:59 PM on Sunday, November 22, 2009.

CRAFTY BIZ: Promote yourself @ Canadian Crafts Online

jen — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:15:19 +0000

Attention all artists and artisans

PROMOTE yourselves!!
join this site for FREE & get more exposure on the internet
www.canadiancraftsonline.com

Canadian Crafts Online is a site dedicated to showcasing Canadian craft artists.
It was started by Irina and Raz Rapaport, craftists themselves, as a labour of love and out of passion for the handmade.

The site is intended to be a directory of craft artists and provide online exposure.

All we need from you is 1 image + statement + the category you wish [...]

CRAFTY BIZ: Free handmade card by Jacqueline

rosalyn — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 14:57:58 +0000

FREE OFFER FROM MADE BY JACQUELINE !

Made by Jacqueline has limited coupons vaild for one FREE HANDMADE CARD. Some conditions may apply.

Jacqueline has been designing and selling handmade greeting cards and paper crafts since 2007.

For full details on this special offer please email Jacqueline at madebyjacqueline@yahoo.ca

Photos of her work can be viewed online at www.madebyjacqueline.blogspot.com

CRAFTY BIZ: The Business of Being Creative seminar @ C1 Art Space (series in Nov.)

toronto craft alert — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 23:52:44 +0000

A four-part seminar series of “business best practices” for artists and makers
with Arnold Wytenburg, art business consultant.

This series of four seminars explores the business and career implications of being a professional artist or artisan. These seminars aim to demystify the essential practices that make up the business of art and craft, and are designed to meet the needs of both new and experienced artists and makers alike.

Each three-hour session concentrates on a different aspect of being “creatively self-employed” and will introduce the group [...]

CRAFTY BIZ: soak on Dragon’s Den tonight! (October 14)

jen — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:49:53 +0000

Just a quick note to say that Jacqueline and her soak team are on Dragon’s Den tonight at 8 (CBC). soak is sold in loads of independent knitting and fabric shops throughout town and supports crafty initiatives (such as TCA & City of Craft), so be sure to check it out and root for these local crafty gals!

CRAFTY BIZ: Artists and Artisan Seminars and Workshops @ C1 Art Space (October & November)

toronto craft alert — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:42:41 +0000

WEB STRATEGIES FOR ARTISTS & CRAFTS MAKERS
A workshop on “the future of art and craft”
This workshop explores the fundamentals of marketing, promoting, and selling art and craft in an era when everything is “going digital.” Aimed at both new and experienced artists and makers alike, this in-depth workshop explores key business and technology trends that are reshaping today’s marketplace.
Tuesday, October 6 from 6:30 to 9:30pm
$85 + gst

WRITING THE ARTIST STATEMENT AND BIOGRAPHY
A two-part workshop on “ putting your art into words” [...]

GET SCHOOLED: Bargain Basement Classes at Torched Studio (opening: September 20)

rosalyn — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 02:27:14 +0000

Grand Opening – Torched Jewellery and Craft Studio

557 Queen West (inside Tea Walk, just west of Queen + Augusta)
Sunday September 20th
Noon to 5pm

*Classes Available in Beading, Enameling, Silver Art Clay, Model Making for Casting, Polymer Clay and Lino Cut Printmaking.

Bargain Basement Classes

In these tough economic times many people feel that learning a new craft is a luxury. It can also be difficult to invest a lot of time or money in taking a course only to find it’s not something [...]

CRAFTY BIZ: Ontario Arts Council grants for Individuals & Collectives/Orgs (deadline: Oct 15)

jen — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 03:21:25 +0000

The Ontario Arts Council has a couple of grants that you really should know about (and apply for) as a practicing craft artist or collective/org. TCA has received funding from the Collectives/Orgs grant for the past couple of years and has grown tremendously as a result. If you’ve never applied for a grant before and think you aren’t fancy enough, please keep in mind that we were just a personal blog when we started out and had never applied for a grant previously. As long as you meet the criteria you have a [...]

VENDOR CALL: Handmade Goods for Fellas

jen — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 17:42:04 +0000

Wanted: Handmade Goods for Fellas

Wise Daughters Craft Market in the Junction is seeking interesting, affordably priced handmade gift items geared to MEN. Home décor, accessories… the guys get short shrift, and their women want to buy them neat stuff. Please contact Mary with info about your merchandise at 416-761-1555 or wisedaughters@sympatico.ca.

Mary

Wise Daughters Craft Market
Local handicrafts and do-it-yourself workshops
3079B Dundas St. West, Toronto, M6P 1Z9
416-761-1555
www.wisedaughters.com

Toronto Craft Alert » Crafty Biz

CRAFTY BIZ: Artscape Launchpad Survey

SPONSOR NEWS: January 2012

CRAFTY BIZ: Revisions to Craft Projects Grants by the Ontario Arts Council (grant deadline: October 17, 2011)

CRAFTY BIZ: From Maker to Making a Living – CraftSmarts Lecture Series by Jacqueline Sava of Soak (October 3 – 25, 2011)

CRAFTY BIZ: Crafting a Well-Rounded Business Workshop by Becky Johnson (June 23, 2011)

CRAFTY BIZ: Complete a Survey for a New Craft Shop in Hamilton & Win a Gift Certificate (deadline: June 26, 2011)

SUPPLY YOUR HABIT: sweetie pie press’ postal board tool

CRAFTY BIZ: Nanopod on Etsy’s Handmade Portraits

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Scholarships at Open Studio (Deadline: May 2, 2011)

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Pawnathon Canada (first weekend April 2011)

Reminder GET SCHOOLED: The Art of Selling, at Wise Daughters

VENDOR CALL: New 2nd location “Haute” Par Periwinkle (opening July 28)

CRAFTY BIZ: Organic Metal Gallery Grand Re-opening (May 29)

CRAFTY BIZ: Business For Artists & Creative People Workshop Series (May-July)

CRAFTY BIZ: News from Fresh Collective

CRAFTY BIZ: Craftig & Links for you!

CRAFTY BIZ: Creative Women in Business the search goes on (February 28)

FROM THE DESK OF TCA: Vote NOW for the Poppies (last category closes January 30)

CRAFTY BIZ: Two Toques Design at IDS10 (January 21-24)

CRAFTY BIZ: Nominate local crafters for The Poppies (deadline: January 12, voting January 14-20)

CRAFTY BIZ: Business & Passion on Fine Woodworking

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Apply for microfunding from tinygrants (deadline: Nov. 22)

CRAFTY BIZ: Promote yourself @ Canadian Crafts Online

CRAFTY BIZ: Free handmade card by Jacqueline

CRAFTY BIZ: The Business of Being Creative seminar @ C1 Art Space (series in Nov.)

CRAFTY BIZ: soak on Dragon’s Den tonight! (October 14)

CRAFTY BIZ: Artists and Artisan Seminars and Workshops @ C1 Art Space (October & November)

GET SCHOOLED: Bargain Basement Classes at Torched Studio (opening: September 20)

CRAFTY BIZ: Ontario Arts Council grants for Individuals & Collectives/Orgs (deadline: Oct 15)

VENDOR CALL: Handmade Goods for Fellas