GET SCHOOLED: Valentine’s Craft Workshops at the Design Exchange (February 1st, 2012; 6:30-8:30pm and February 11th, 2012; 12-3pm)

tara — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:46:47 +0000

Lots of fantastic things have been happening at the Design Exchange as of late. Last week, I attended a screening there, where I learned about these great little Valentine’s-oriented workshops happening within the next few weeks, held in partnership with awesome locals Preloved and The Japanese Paper Place. Click the links below to save your spot…

Valentine’s Day at the DX  !

Share the Love with Preloved
February 1, 2012
6.30 pm – 8.30 pm
Design Exchange, 234 Bay Street, Toronto
$85 / person
$75 [...]

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Everything Under the Moon @ Enwave Theatre (February 18-23, 2012)

jen — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:22:19 +0000

This sounds like pretty much the best thing ever. Projection, costumes, puppets. Xylophone, wurlitzer, ukulele, cello, trumpet. Sounds like a recipe for pure magic… act FAST if you want tickets!

A year and a half in the making, Everything Under the Moon is the most ambitious creation to date by celebrated Toronto visual and performance artist Shary Boyle and innovative Winnipeg songwriter and performer Christine Fellows. The pair have enchanted audiences with their daring, moving [...]

EXHIBITION: Will Munro @ AGYU (January 11- March 11, 2012)

jen — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:09:05 +0000

Image credit: Will Munro Infinity, 2010, stitched fabric, 34 x 58 inches. Courtesy of the Estate of Will Munro.

It is exciting to see a university institution embrace queer art (& craft!) with reckless abandon and to to provide a truly creative and relevant space for queer and trans youth to come together and make stuff. This programming celebratiing the work and spirit of the late, great, Will Munro looks rad and involves a bevvy of talented makers and creators. Definitely put this [...]

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Za Za Zine Fair (London, Ontario – December 15, 2011)

becky — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Poster by Peter Thompson

I just caught wind of this wonderful looking zine fair happening tonight in London. On top of a killer line-up of artists I have long been a fan of (Diana Tamblyn, Lido Pimienta, Peter Thompson, Marc Bell), the evening also boasts, projections, workshops and bands to follow. I am sure all the zinesters I don’t know are just as great, too. You can peruse thewhole line-up with links

CRAFTY HAPPENING: 2nd Annual XPACE Zine Fair (Saturday, December 17, 2011, 12-6pm)

tara — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:58:49 +0000

Zine haul from the last XPACE zine fair. Photo by Fiona Smyth, courtesy of her blog, The Wilding.

Zines make great stocking stuffers! Spread the zine gospel this holiday season by buying a heap of them at XPACE’s zine fair this coming weekend, and gift them to your friends and family. The fair will have handmade items, prints and other great stuff, too.

2ND ANNUAL XPACE ZINE FAIR
Saturday December 17, 2011, 12pm-6pm
XPACE Cultural Centre
58 Ossington [...]

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Miracle Thieves Winter Launch (December 3, 2011; 7pm)

tara — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 16:02:04 +0000

Miracle Thieves is a itty-bitty little shop with a big heart. Since opening last summer on Crawford Street, they have done a lot of really wonderful things on top of being a shop of handmade wares– a quick peruse of their website shows that they have creative workshops for kids and hold hoppin’ community events, exhibitions and benefits. Tomorrow they are having their winter launch, which– on top of being a fun gathering with music and cupcakes– will definitely be a great place to [...]

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: ‘fashionSCAPES 2012 at FAT, Toronto (Deadline: December 22, 2011)

tara — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 15:22:39 +0000

FAT has become an institution in the world of Toronto fashion over the past few years. They seem particularly great at mashing up fashion design with other artistic practices in their annual festival’s awsomely diverse programming. Take a look at this call for submissions for their exhibition component this year, which will centre around notions of the body within the landscape…

Call For Submissions
Multi-Arts Festival – |FAT| Arts & Fashion Week ‘fashionSCAPES’ 2012
Produced by Fashion Art Toronto |FAT|

In its seventh year, |FAT| Arts & [...]

CRAFTY HAPPENING: 1st Annual DuWest Art Gallery Crawl (November 26th, 2011; 12pm, 1pm and 2pm)

tara — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 15:52:30 +0000

Claude Grenier, Traffic, 2011. Image courtesy of Meredith Keith Gallery

The Dundas BIA is behind a new gallery crawl series that will focus attention on the galleries of the Dundas West/Brockton Village neighbourhood, which has morphed into a community full of very cool art and design destinations over the past year or two. Crawl stops on the 26th will include Dundas West gallery mainstay Jessica Bradley Art + Projects (which features consistently excellent exhibitions) and Meredith Keith Gallery, which [...]

CRAFTIVISM: Auction to support Buddies in Bad Times (November 10, 2011)

jen — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 14:05:03 +0000

Buddies is one of Toronto’s most beloved queer institutions, and it is not at all surprising that they have managed to pull together a stellar line up of curators and emerging/established artists for this fundraising auction happening this Thursday to support the theatre. Read on for details….

ARTATTACK!
AN AUCTION IN SUPPORT OF BUDDIES IN BAD TIMES THEATRE
Hosted by Gavin Crawford

Visual Art Curators Jon Davies, Michael Chambers, Keith Cole, Srimyoee Mitra, Sophie Hackett, Heather Keung & David Liss
Design Curator [...]

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Shannon Gerard: UNSPENT LOVE, or, Things I Wish I Told You Book Launch at YYZ (November 11, 2011; 7-10pm)

tara — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 17:03:44 +0000

This just in from the amazing Shannon Gerard: YYZ Artist’s Outlet will be hosting a book launch for her graphic novel Unspent Love this Friday night. See below for all the details– not to be missed!

UNSPENT LOVE, or, Things I Wish I Told You
Shannon Gerard

Whoa! Conundrum Press is bustin out a paperback version of UNSPENT LOVE!

YYZ is holding a launch to celebrate it on NOV 11 (11 11 11— make a wish!)

FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER, 2011
7-10 PM
@ YYZ ARTIST’S [...]

GET SCHOOLED: Power Kids: Make a Book Workshop at The Power Plant (Sunday, October 23, 2011; 3 pm)

tara — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 11:59:22 +0000

I admit to being a little out-to-lunch when it comes to keeping informed about The Power Plant‘s programming. I can’t for the life of me remember where I found out about it, but I came across this neat little bookmaking workshop for kids that will be happening there this weekend. Cheers to The Power Plant for spreading the artists’ book gospel to people of all ages!

POWER KIDS: Make a Book

Taking cues from Derek Sullivan’s interest in books [...]

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Toronto Made Pop-Up Shop by Clothing Brand Experiment (October 19-December 30, 2011; opening October 22)

jen — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 12:41:00 +0000

Clothing Brand Experiment (best known for their most awesome colour-blocked hoodies), is opening the doors to its holiday Pop-Up Shop tomorrow, and will keep em open all the way until the end of December. In the spirit of all CBE projects, in addition to their clothing line, the Shop will feature the work of 15 Toronto-based makers (Monster Factory, SLO, Julie Sinden & Ella’s Botanicals to name a few) as well as rotating installation window by local artists including Lauren Hall, Caroline Larsen, Braden [...]

CRAFTY LIT: Hoopla: The Art of Unexpected Embroidery GIVEAWAY WINNER ANNOUNCED!

kalpna — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 13:23:42 +0000

Thanks to all that participated in this book giveaway for Hoopla. We’ve drawn the winning number:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:
3
Timestamp: 2011-10-01 13:23:57 UTC

CONGRATS TO SHANELL!!!

Following the success of Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet and Knit Graffiti, Vancouver’s Leanne Prain is about to release her second craft opus, Hoopla: The Art of Unexpected Embroidery, published by Arsenal Pulp Press. I recently got a chance to flip through Hoopla, and it is truly fascinating; the book not only features gorgeous full-colour photographs of [...]

GET SCHOOLED: Free Craft Fun at Culture Days (September 30 – October 2, 2011)

jen — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 00:31:49 +0000

The Love Lettering Project by Lindsay Zier-Vogel @ Annette Library

This is one busy weekend for arts and culture in Toronto with both Nuit Blanche AND Culture Days going down. For those looking to roll up their sleeves and make stuff (sometimes the best way to fight that feeling of overwhelm that this time of year can bring), [...]

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Autumn Uber-SWAP by nathalie-roze & co. (October 1, 2011)

jen — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 12:28:27 +0000

I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling that itch for new fall duds with the days creeping their way towards sweater weather. If your budget is tight or you are more thrill of the find than off the rack in sensibility, this mega swap event run by nathalie-roze & co. might be just the thing.

Autumn Uber-SWAP
A Big, Fab (used/vintage) Clothing Exchange
Trade your cool cast-offs with 100+ stylish scavengers in Leslieville!

WHEN: Saturday, October 1 · 11:00am – 2:00pm
WHERE: [...]

GET TOGETHER: Create A Collaborative Fabric Sculpture With Amanda Browder For Nuit Blanche! (Sewing Days: September 27th & 28th, 12-5pm)

tara — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 14:28:08 +0000

Wanna find a way to take part in this year’s Nuit Blanche? Check out this call for fabric and makers to help with Brooklyn-based artist Amanda Browder’s fabric-ky take on the art car. Group sewing days will conveniently take place at The Workroom on the Wednesday and Thursday afternoons before the big (white) night. Find all the details you need below!

Amanda Browder’s Rapunzel courtesy of amandabrowder.com

Be Part of the…Chronomatic Hi-Five!
How to participate in Nuit Blanche? Participate!

Artist Amanda Browder is [...]

EXHIBITION: Question, Answer and the Chaos in Between: Metamorphic Numerals by Mark Jaroszewicz (September 15-October 16, 2011; Reception: Thursday, September 15th, 6-9pm)

tara — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 06:11:38 +0000

Metamorphic Numerals image by Allen Zapolnik

Connections between art, craft and math have been all the rage lately– in particular, I am thinking of the Textile Museum of Canada‘s critically acclaimed Magic Squares exhibition, as well as a few other exhibitions I’ve come across in magazines and online. Here is an interesting one happening at the Ontario Crafts Council Gallery this month featuring the work of Mark Jaroszewicz. While Magic Squares focuses on connections between math and [...]

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Knit Night on the Brain @ SUPERCRAWL in Hamilton (September 10, 2011)

jen — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 19:42:50 +0000

The Beehive Craft Collective here in Hamilton have been working hard to execute an ambitious and adorable installation plan for SUPERCRAWL, Hamilton’s indie music and art fest going down this Saturday. We are mid-way through the install of this piece and I am so excited to see how the whole thing comes together.

With the help of mums, aunts, friends, and members of the Hamilton area craft community, the Beehive [...]

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Shiny Stuff Swap Meet @ Kensington Market’s Pedestrian Sunday (August 28, 2011)

jen — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 14:29:14 +0000

There is something that really appeals to me about the idea of a “stuff-swap” event where you never know what you’ll walk away with. It kind of reminds me of a childhood birthday party game from where we’d pick a number to determine the order in which we got to choose a wrapped package from a pile or steal someone elses (still wrapped) package. Once everyone had picked we opened our prizes, but the anticipation of the unknown was always more satisfying then the prize itself.

Not [...]

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Zine Dream 4 at the Tranzac (Sunday, August 21, 2011; 12-5pm)

tara — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 19:03:16 +0000

This will be the first year since it’s inception that I won’t be tabling at Zine Dream– an awesome annual zine fair in the arty and truly underground spirit of Cut ‘N’ Paste– the much-missed and utterly classic zine fair that used to happen at Sneaky Dee’s once upon a time ago. A fun mish mash of art, printed matter, music and performance, Zine Dream never fails to be a great late-summer gathering for print geeks like me. [...]

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Electric Eclectics Festival in Meaford (July 29 – 31, 2011)

jen — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 13:50:45 +0000

Public Displays of Affection by Hilary Martin, Installation at Electric Eclectics

I have been hearing good things about this festival for awhile now, and it is deffo on my must-do list of fun summertime outings (which seems to be growing daily now that we have wheels and easier access to the highway!).

Electric Eclectics is an avant-garde music festival that takes place on a farm just outside of Meaford. Beyond electronic/experimental/cross-over [...]

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Miracle Thieves Grand Opening (July 28, 2011; All Day!)

tara — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 03:12:43 +0000

Just got a heads up on this great-looking space opening at the end of the month a mere block away from me (what luck!), right across from Trinity Bellwoods Park. Miracle Thieves will be a craft and design retail space as well as a workshop and community art space. See below for all the deets about their upcoming day-long opening celebration.

Miracle Thieves is a new and exciting multi-purpose creative space. Aside from a curated retail component which exclusively houses [...]

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition 50th Anniversary Show (July 8-10, 2011)

jen — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 11:49:23 +0000

A heads up that your favourite (or at least my favourite!) outdoor art show is coming up next weekend! Due to ongoing construction on Nathan Phillips Square, TOAE will be a bit smaller this year, but while it is so hard to turn away many worthy artists, this makes for an extremely tight (as in outta site) show that is most pleasurable to navigate in the summer sun!

This is the 50th anniversary of the show, so not only will there be original art, craft & craft-art by several [...]

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Jenna Rose Anniversary Party @ James Street North Art Crawl, Hamilton (June 10, 2011)

jen — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 13:43:59 +0000

I will be deep in the wilds of Southern Ontario for this Friday’s James Street North Art Crawl, so please go on my behalf and enjoy the art, craft & good vibes!

One party I’m sad to miss is the 5 year anniversary of local maker Jenna Rose (hosted by White Elephant), who’s lovely printed textiles have been filling our homes since 2006! I’ll need to pick up my Hamilton Tote another time. Hammer Pride!

Jenna Rose Anniversary Party
Friday June 10, 7-11pm
White [...]

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Celebrating 50 Years of Art with Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition (June 9, 2011)

jen — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 18:04:54 +0000

Many people are quite surprised when they hear that the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition (TOAE) – you know, that huge art show at Nathan Phillips Square in July – has been going strong for 50 years. This is a major milestone for a not for profit arts event that has its roots in a hotel parking lot!

To celebrate the big 5-0, the Board of Directors (of which I am a member) is hosting a cocktail reception on Thursday, June 9th, at First Canadian [...]

CRAFTY HAPPENING: CrEATe and FEAST Art and Design Micro-Funding Projects (June 8 and June 15, 2011)

tara — Sat, 28 May 2011 01:03:50 +0000

Image Courtesy of the FEAST Toronto Blog

Most people who know me know that my two favourite things in the whole wide world are art and food. Needless to say these two events/fundraisers caught my eye when perusing the latest Instant Coffee broadcast in my inbox. Micro-funding seems to have become a hot topic in the world of art and design over the past year and a bit, no doubt as a [...]

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Take Off Your Clothes Clothing Swap at Trinity Bellwoods Community Centre (May 27 & 28, 2011)

tara — Tue, 17 May 2011 15:33:35 +0000

Talk about a dream come true…an enormous, weekend-long clothing swap happening right at the top of my street! This is one event that my shopping-o-phobic beau is just as excited (if not even more excited) about as I am. It is certain that Take Off Your Clothes will be full of fantastic finds…don’t miss out.

The S.W.A.P. Team, an North American non-profit social enterprise based in Montreal, Quebec, is expecting over 400 people at its 2nd Toronto edition [...]

GET SCHOOLED: Washi Workshops at the Toronto Washi Summit (June 2-18, 2011)

jen — Mon, 16 May 2011 13:39:39 +0000

Even though I don’t end up making it out to as many workshops and shows as I’d like to, I am truly grateful that the Washi Summit exists in Toronto. Since 2008, The Japanese Paper Place has been hyping the wonders of fine Japanese paper (washi) to Toronto via workshops, exhibitions, and special events in partnership with a variety of galleries and institutions across the city. As a hand-craft form threatened [...]

CRAFTIVISM: Mayday: 1001 Chairs For Ai Weiwei at the Chinese Consulate (Sunday, May 15, 1-2pm)

tara — Thu, 12 May 2011 19:29:48 +0000

Ai Weiwei poster courtesy of dangerousminds.net

Many of us in the art and craft community have heard about the situation in China involving the arrest of renowned contemporary artist and activist Ai Weiwei. Ai Weiwei’s provocative work is often political and deeply human. For example, his recent work Sunflower Seeds consisted of one hundred million porcelain sunflower “seeds” made by artisans in Jingdezhen, which is known as the “porcelain capital” of China. This work was meant to be a [...]

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Spring Uber-SWAP Japan Fundraiser (April 30, 2011)

jen — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 18:46:05 +0000

I won’t be in town this Saturday – a day that is turning out to be ramalammed with crafty action (including the Toronto Etsy Street Team’s first ever craft show at the Gladstone!), but I just sent over a bag full of cute duds to Nathalie-Roze & co.‘s Uber-SWAP in support of Japan relief. Sounds like it’s gonna be pretty huge, so if you’re free, do head over and acquire some practically free new spring gear, and even get it altered to fit on [...]

Toronto Craft Alert » Crafty Happening

GET SCHOOLED: Valentine’s Craft Workshops at the Design Exchange (February 1st, 2012; 6:30-8:30pm and February 11th, 2012; 12-3pm)

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Everything Under the Moon @ Enwave Theatre (February 18-23, 2012)

EXHIBITION: Will Munro @ AGYU (January 11- March 11, 2012)

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Za Za Zine Fair (London, Ontario – December 15, 2011)

CRAFTY HAPPENING: 2nd Annual XPACE Zine Fair (Saturday, December 17, 2011, 12-6pm)

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Miracle Thieves Winter Launch (December 3, 2011; 7pm)

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: ‘fashionSCAPES 2012 at FAT, Toronto (Deadline: December 22, 2011)

CRAFTY HAPPENING: 1st Annual DuWest Art Gallery Crawl (November 26th, 2011; 12pm, 1pm and 2pm)

CRAFTIVISM: Auction to support Buddies in Bad Times (November 10, 2011)

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Shannon Gerard: UNSPENT LOVE, or, Things I Wish I Told You Book Launch at YYZ (November 11, 2011; 7-10pm)

GET SCHOOLED: Power Kids: Make a Book Workshop at The Power Plant (Sunday, October 23, 2011; 3 pm)

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Toronto Made Pop-Up Shop by Clothing Brand Experiment (October 19-December 30, 2011; opening October 22)

CRAFTY LIT: Hoopla: The Art of Unexpected Embroidery GIVEAWAY WINNER ANNOUNCED!

Random Integer Generator

GET SCHOOLED: Free Craft Fun at Culture Days (September 30 – October 2, 2011)

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Autumn Uber-SWAP by nathalie-roze & co. (October 1, 2011)

GET TOGETHER: Create A Collaborative Fabric Sculpture With Amanda Browder For Nuit Blanche! (Sewing Days: September 27th & 28th, 12-5pm)

EXHIBITION: Question, Answer and the Chaos in Between: Metamorphic Numerals by Mark Jaroszewicz (September 15-October 16, 2011; Reception: Thursday, September 15th, 6-9pm)

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Knit Night on the Brain @ SUPERCRAWL in Hamilton (September 10, 2011)

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Shiny Stuff Swap Meet @ Kensington Market’s Pedestrian Sunday (August 28, 2011)

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Zine Dream 4 at the Tranzac (Sunday, August 21, 2011; 12-5pm)

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Electric Eclectics Festival in Meaford (July 29 – 31, 2011)

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Miracle Thieves Grand Opening (July 28, 2011; All Day!)

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition 50th Anniversary Show (July 8-10, 2011)

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Jenna Rose Anniversary Party @ James Street North Art Crawl, Hamilton (June 10, 2011)

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Celebrating 50 Years of Art with Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition (June 9, 2011)

CRAFTY HAPPENING: CrEATe and FEAST Art and Design Micro-Funding Projects (June 8 and June 15, 2011)

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Take Off Your Clothes Clothing Swap at Trinity Bellwoods Community Centre (May 27 & 28, 2011)

GET SCHOOLED: Washi Workshops at the Toronto Washi Summit (June 2-18, 2011)

CRAFTIVISM: Mayday: 1001 Chairs For Ai Weiwei at the Chinese Consulate (Sunday, May 15, 1-2pm)

CRAFTY HAPPENING: Spring Uber-SWAP Japan Fundraiser (April 30, 2011)