Toronto Craft Alert » Workshop

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 [...]

GET SCHOOLED: Leather Accessories at The Make Den (January-February 2012)

jen — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:16:23 +0000

Finding handmade stuff for men is an ongoing challenge, even in this crafty mecca we call Toronto. So kudos to The Make Den for putting together this series of workshops to create objects that will warm your dude (or leather loving lady)’s heart on Valentine’s Day.

Make (Den) it for your Mate with Cat Essieambre

Rock your own adorable and totally matching DIY accessory kit – or give the BEST handmade Valentines Day gift ever!

This winter, The Make Den is your one stop [...]

GET SCHOOLED: Bohemian Wrapsody @ City of Craft 2011 (December 10, 2011)

jen — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:11:17 +0000

I mentioned this workshop briefly earlier this week, but thought I’d let you all know in more detail what myself & my pal Day will be going over in our DIY gift wrapping workshop at City of Craft tomorrow (!).

Bohemian Wrapsody
With Jen and Day
Saturday December 10th, 2011 – 4:00pm-6:00pm
At City of Craft 2011
The Theatre Centre , 1087 Queen Street West

Found some amazing, made-by-hand gifts for your special someones at City of Craft? Don’t dull your giftly treasures [...]

CRAFT SHOW: City of Craft 2011 (December 10 & 11, 2011)

jen — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 14:14:31 +0000

In my biased (though I like to think educated) opinion, City of Craft gets better and better each year. To wit, the 2011 show, coming up this weekend (!) features:

An awesome new space (thanks Thrush Holmes Empire!) to house an expanded rosters of 55 hand-picked vendors of art, housewares, apparel, jewellery accessories, wood work, ceramics, textiles, handmade supplies, paper goods, children’s wares and more hailing from from Montreal, Philadelphia, Rochester, Pittsburgh and (mostly) The GTA & Southern Ontario. Visit [...]

GET SCHOOLED: Letterpress Workshops @ KOZO Studio (December 2011- February 2012)

jen — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:12:34 +0000

Over the years I have gotten many inquiries about letterpress workshops, so when I saw these ones listed in the TCA forum I thought I’d share them with you. Letterpress workshops can be pricey, so I appreciate the fact that KOZO offers an affordable intro option for those who want to dip in their toes to see how they take to the press before going on to a more advanced class for the fully committed.

For questions or to register, please reach KOZO studio at [...]

SPONSOR NEWS: November 2011

jen — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:54:29 +0000

Holy moly, I can’t believe it’s November already….which for many of us means time to start crafting for the holidays (or putting together our handmade gift lists). The sponsor listings below present some possibilities for both approaches.

Needlefelted fox, Lesley-Anne Green Collectables (available at the 2011 One of a Kind Christmas Show & Sale)

2011 One of a Kind Christmas Show & Sale
www.oneofakindshow.com/toronto
Direct Energy Centre
100 Princes’ Boulevard
416-960-3680

We’ve turned up the STAR POWER at the 2011 [...]

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 [...]

GET SCHOOLED: Vegetable Dyeing 101 @ The Make Den (October 28, 2011)

jen — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 13:51:24 +0000

I am excited to see so many opportunities to learn the craft of natural dyeing around town these days – it is a process that feels good to do and the unpredictability of the results only adds to the beauty. The Make Den is offering an affordable class as part of their “Which Class” series (a play on “witch”y crafts) on the 28th – but you’ll need to sign up asap as they need you to drop off your fabric a week in advance for pre-mordanting.

Double, [...]

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 [...]

GET SCHOOLED: Chair Reupholstery Workshops (first class: August 6 & 7, 2011)

jen — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 15:13:11 +0000

For years we lived with a matching sofa and arm chair set, super stylish mid-century canadiana bones covered in your great uncle Harold’s stained tweed blazer fabric, chewed through from years of cat nail sharpening/stuffing hunting. The set itself was quite reasonably priced from Bungalow in Kensington market, but anytime I looked in to getting it recovered I had my hand slapped away by quotes well beyond our means. As a very generous housewarming present my parents paid to have it recovered in a very handsome charcoal upholstery [...]

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 [...]

EXHIBITION: Cold Comfort: New and Improved Souvenirs of Canada at the Textile Museum of Canada (June 18-September 18, 2011; Workshops June 25-26, 2011)

tara — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 23:55:44 +0000

Just in time for Canada Day! This fabulous-looking exhibition– a collaboration between Waterloo-based art collective Dodolab and the Textile Museum of Canada– will feature both a slew of vintage Canadian souvenir pillows and artifacts and an interactive pillow making workshop. If mounties and beavers aren’t your idea of Canadian symbols, attend the workshops over the weekend of the 25th and 26th and create your own Canadian iconography. I fully intend on attending and making a pillow or two based on my favourite [...]

GET SCHOOLED: Silkscreening Workshop at Wise Daughters Craft Market (June 1, 2011; 6:30-9:30pm)

tara — Thu, 26 May 2011 23:08:47 +0000

This just in from Mary B., head honcho of The Junction’s craft hub, Wise Daughters: they are hosting a screen printing workshop next Wednesday, lead by artist Christine Pensa. Apparently there are only a few spots left, so if you’re a west end guy or gal and are print curious, book your spot ASAP!

SILKSCREEN WORKSHOP

Wednesday, June 1st, 2011
6:30-9:30pm

Screen printing is one of the most versatile, low-tech and easy printing methods available…once you know how. Join artist Christine Pensa to learn to [...]

GET SCHOOLED: Hand Carved Stamps with Geninne at bookhou (July 23, 2011)

jen — Wed, 25 May 2011 03:27:10 +0000

Just catching up on my reader and I came across this stamp making workshop listed on bookhou at home, which looks great. There are only 2 spots left so act fast & sign up on the workshop webpage if you are interested!

Workshop description:
we are truly excited to have Geninne D. Zlatkis from Geninne’s Art Blog to share some of her ideas and methods in learning how to make your own hand carved stamps. During the one day workshop you will [...]

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 [...]

GET SCHOOLED: Bunny Head Needle Felting Workshop @ bookhou (April 16, 2011)

jen — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 12:56:23 +0000

This picture kind of kills me with cuteness…I had to post about this bunnyhead felting workshop at bookhou. My kinda easter fun!

needle felting workshop with midori sukurai
the class will be focusing on making a bunny head
it would make a great object or you can sew on a pin back and it can be a brooch.

all materials for the workshop are included
the class is limited to 8 participants.

DATE: Saturday April 16, 2011
TIME: 11:00-1:30pm

GET SCHOOLED: Upcoming Craft Workshops at Harbourfront Centre (April-June 2011)

tara — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 18:04:11 +0000

With everything that goes on in this city for culture vultures and art/craft fiends, it’s easy to take things for granted. Take craft workshops at Harbourfront Centre, for example– there are an amazing variety of them taught by incredible local craftspeople, yet I often find myself forgetting about them and then having these eureka moments of rediscovery. The city is full of fantastic workshops like these that happen seasonally…lets take advantage of them to ensure that they always [...]

GET SCHOOLED: Chair Caning & Seat Weaving Classes (starting March 21, 2011)

jen — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 14:55:22 +0000

One of my life craft goals is to collaborate with my woodworker husband on chairmaking projects. I’ll handle the weaving bit, and he’ll do the frames. While past visions have tended towards 70s crewel graphic pattern insanity or japanese rag weaving, there is something so elegant and not to mention durable about more traditional woven fibres like Danish Cord and Fibre Rush. Donna Kim offers a variety of workshops in the art of chair and footstool weaving and caning in her Wallace Ave. studio, such as Bring Your Own Chair (BYOC), or learn [...]

SPONSOR NEWS: March 2011

jen — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 12:27:09 +0000

image courtesy of nanopod: hybrid studio

As the keenly observant may have noticed, some of the sponsors listed on the right sidebar have been with us for a very long time – keeping our fees paid for and our website free for all. We really couldn’t have made it this far without them, and we have invited these crafty heroes to share their monthly happenings with you guys. Here are a few highlights for March – the full listings can be found on our Sponsor News page which we will [...]

GET SCHOOLED: Pysanky @ the workroom (March 20 & April 11, 2011)

jen — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 14:10:59 +0000

Photo credit: Rosalyn Faustino

I can’t believe it’s almost pysanky time of year again! As some of you may recall, I did an interview with Andrei, pysanky instructor, last year about the Ukranian craft of egg dying. I just happened to be in the workroom while the class was taking place and was pretty bummed to have missed out on it. Roz - who participated in the workshop - was kind enough to show me the ropes in our own little workshop and I made the egg pictured above. [...]

GET SCHOOLED: Knitting with Unexpected Materials @ The Textile Museum (February 12, 2011)

jen — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 15:00:54 +0000

***THIS WORKSHOP HAS BEEN CANCELED***

Another cool workshop – this one a collabo between the Textile Museum of Canada & The Knit Cafe:

Image from: Kai Chan: A Spider’s Logic

Join the staff of The Knit Café, a combination yarn store and café in Toronto, for a day of experimental knitting. The materials will stray far away from the conventional; the tools too will not be standard. Participants will find inspiration in the exhibitions Beauty Born of Use: Natural Rainwear from China and Japan and Kai Chan: A Spider’s [...]

GET SCHOOLED: Dream Catcher Workshop @ Make Den (February 13, 2011)

jen — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 14:07:15 +0000

I have always wanted to learn how to make dream catchers, and have actually contemplated contacting a First Nation organization to look in to hooking up a workshop. These guys have made my dreams come true and done it for me! Check out the details below.

Looking for a unique Valentines gift for that special someone? – Ever wondered how to make a dream catcher?

“Luscious dreams pass through the center hole to the sleeping person. The bad dreams are trapped in the web, where they perish in the light of dawn.”

Who [...]

GET SCHOOLED: Seminars at Lee Valley (Winter/Spring 2011)

jen — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 16:30:19 +0000

Ok, nerdy/pathetic confession (you can expect a lot of these in the new TCA!): I occasionally drop by the downtown Lee Valley store to pick up woodworking hardware for my sweetie, and I like to pretend that I’m in there for my own dude-like purposes. Of course there are plenty of lady-woodworkers, plus non woodworking reasons to be at Lee Valley, but for some reason I feel extra hardcore while I’m there and find some extra strut in my step when I exit on to [...]

GET SCHOOLED: KOZO Studio/Gallery Letterpress workshops (Winter/Spring 2011)

jen — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 08:04:51 +0000

For those of you eager to get in on the letterpress frenzy sweeping the crafty nation, Akemi at KOZO Studio/Gallery has a few workshops lined up. She also has a Vandercook SP15 availble for renting time on if you already possess pressing skillz. Please contact her at directly to sign up: e-mail: kozostudio@gmail.com tel: 416-214-1882

Introduction to Letterpress (max. 3 participants), Fee: $90.- +HST
A basic introduction to letterpress, cuts, engravings, wood and metal type, ink and paper. Participants will use vintage metal and wood type and vintage cuts (Images) from my collection [...]

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 [...]

GET SCHOOLED: Plastique Fantastique at nanopod: Hybrid Studio

Toronto Craft Alert — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 00:55:01 +0000

8 week Plastique Fantastique at nanopod: Hybrid Studio!
Learn how to sculpt, make molds, carve, add pigments, found materials, sand and polish polyurethane resins.
6:30-9:30pm, 8 weeks, 1 evening per week
Starts Monday August 16th, $250pp includes all materials! ($100 deposit to hold space) 8 people max.

Participants will learn how to properly create open-face and two-part molds for casting Polyurethane resins.
How-to properly mix and pour resins, add pigments, embed various materials, different finishing/polishing
techniques and health and safety issues will be covered

Resource lists of local suppliers will be [...]

GET SCHOOLED: The Art of Selling at Wise Daughters (August 18)

rosalyn — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 14:03:12 +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 [...]

GET SCHOOLED: The Unconventional Sketchbook with Sharon Epstein (July 5-8)

rosalyn — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 02:40:11 +0000

THE UNCONVENTIONAL SKETCHBOOK: Mixed Media Class with local textile artist, Sharon Epstein

Date: July 5 to July 8, 2010 (Monday-Thursday), from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm daily.
Location: The Contemporary Textile Studio Co-op, 401 Richmond St. West, Studio 109, Toronto
Tuition: $235 + Materials: $65

This course will enable you to make the most out of using a sketchbook practice, develop images, observe and experiment with materials and ideas. Students [...]

GET SCHOOLED: PMC Workshop at London Clay Arts Centre (June 26)

rosalyn — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 02:53:54 +0000

Date: Saturday, June 26, 2010
Time: 10am – 3pm Location: London Clay Art Centre
664 Dundas Street, London, ON
Cost: $135 plus $35 kit fee (18gr bag of PMC+)
**taxes not included
**OCC Members receive a 10% discount off the price of this workshop

Join Shannon Kennedy and Juan Bohorquez of Cynosure Jewelry and discover PMC, a revolutionary clay-like medium that allows you to mould or sculpt pieces as you would soft clay [...]

GET SCHOOLED: Got Zoori?! (June 27)

rosalyn — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 14:34:39 +0000

Date: Sunday, June 27, 2010 Time: 2-5pm
Materials: Please bring 3 L-size T-shirts and scissors
Cost: $30 (Includes Zoori making instruction) 10 seats available!
Please sign up at theknitcafe@hotmail.com or 416-533-5648

ZOORI is our original interpretation of the traditional Japanese “zouri”, simply means “cloth sandals”. These are worn by traditional Japanese more than 200 years ago. However, recently they have gained back the popularity in Japan, but this time round, the sandals are all made with variety of fabrics such as [...]