Studio Art Quilt Associates is hosting its first ever conference outside of the USA here in Toronto! I am a new member of this organization and excited to be attending as a member. I am also participating as a vendor of my snow and hand dyed fabrics and scarves at its pop-up on Thursday March 19, 2020 from 10-6.
Don’t worry there will still be an amazing selection of Maria’s jewellery available, but not at this price. Maria’s star is rising and so are her prices. So, the prices in my shop will remain only until the end of the month! Along with a new lower shipping cost!
Pick one pair for yourself and another for a gift! Christmas is coming… 😁
Hiding under this pile of coloured snow is the accessory that puts the final touch on a handmade outfit by Anne Johnson of @anne.makes.things.
Fuchsia fibre reactive dye with a sprinkle of brown transforms the lightweight lambs wool shawl into a colourful piece of art to wear.
Anne chose this beautifully patterned snow dyed shibori shawl to compliment her handmade outfit. The tailored skirt and hand knit sweater were created by Anne.
I am honoured that Anne chose to accessorize her beautiful ensemble with one of my artisanal small batch scarves. Thank you for supporting handmade!
I’ve been following Jess Van Den from Create and Thrive for a couple of years and have listened to most of her podcasts. She began her career as a science teacher in Australia, started making jewellery for fun, then selling it online which then led her to eventually make Epheriell her full-time job in 2010. Jess set up an etsy shop to sell her handmade jewellery and had many people ask her questions about selling online. She began Create & Thrive to teach others how to turn their handmade hobby into a thriving business. To listen to her complete story tune into her first podcast: Episode 0 – Jess’ Story.
Indigo dyed handwoven cotton placemat by Doris Lovadina-Lee
Jess offers many ways to help individuals learn the business of selling handmade items online. Some of these are free like: 10 Essential keys to successfully sell handmade products online. Others such as, Set Up Shop are fee based. All of her information is very practical, down-to-earth, and realistic. One of her sayings: “It’s a marathon, not a sprint”. It takes time, patience and the willingness to persevere to attain your goals.
Indigo dyed cotton voile scarf by Doris Lovadina-lee
Part of being successful is knowing what your goals are. Jess is offering a 30 day free course that I am participating in called: #MakingItPodcourse. Each day for 30 days, Jess talks about mindset, money, marketing, and business management especially for those who are makers. None of the podcourses are long, ranging in length from 10-20 minutes. She refers back to her podcast list for those who would like more in-depth focus on the topic. Each podcourse has an action item for you to consider each day and a printable one-page course summary. Although this course started the July 1st, it’s not too late to start. I encourage you to do something, don’t wait until everything is perfect before you begin. There is no perfect time or set of circumstances. Just begin, remember it’s a slow steady marathon!
Indigo dyed pillow by Doris Lovadina-Lee
Surround yourself with a support group. They could be your family, a group of friends real or virtual who are on the same path as you. I am going to share a meal with a few real life friends this week so we can share, commiserate, celebrate and help each other in our businesses. What will you do to turn your dream into the successful business you desire?
I have been waiting very impatiently for warm weather so I could indigo dye. Finally, I was able to spend part of this long weekend indigo dyeing scarves, napkins and some baby onesies too. I will be bringing these hand dyed items along with my snow dyed scarves to Pickering, Ontario for their annual art festival: Artfest being held in Esplanade Park.
Generously sized cotton/rayon Arashi Shibori scarf dyed in indigo.
Itajime Shibori indigo dyed pareo.
Nui shibori cotton/rayon indigo dyed scarf.
Ombre dyed baby onesies dipped in indigo.
The Weather Network is calling for a sunny Saturday with a few clouds and a high of 25. Perfect outdoor weather to explore Artfest On The Esplanade. Hope to see you there!
I am very pleased to have my Canadian Snow dyed scarves available for purchase at the Textile Museum of Canada’s gift shop. The museum is located at 55 Centre Avenue, Toronto, Ontario.
I began using snow to hand dye this past year and love the results of this process. Snow is piled on top of the scarves that have been folded, twisted and tied using traditional shibori techniques. Up to three dye colours are used to create beautiful watercolour effects.
lndigo scarves are also created using shibori folding techniques. Although not created with snow, they are still Canadian made. All of the scarves are made out of natural fibres like cotton, silk, linen, rayon and wool giving them intense rich colours. They are one-of-a-kind wearable art pieces.
The museum has two exhibits currently on display: Artistry in Silk celebrates the work of Itchiku Kubota (1917–2003). The other exhibit is Jane Kidd: Curious a display of hand-woven tapestries. Both artists use rich saturated colours to represent their environment. The exquisite silk kimonos made by Itchiku Kubota represent the four seasons, the changing landscape, light and feature Mount Fuji. I love the use of colour in the tapestries by Canadian artist Jane Kidd! Her pieces are hand-woven with bold colours, but upon close inspection, you can see the varied and subtle colour shifts that give her work so much depth.
I hope you have an opportunity to visit the Textile Museum. While there, please visit the gift shop to view all the beautiful offerings by local artists. You could take home a piece of Canadian winter!
Summer is a time for enjoying the outdoors. This Labour Day weekend spend time at the new Trillium Park at Ontario Place. I will be displaying my hand dyed original scarves along with 30 other vendors at the Urban Market. This event coincides with the 150th Anniversary Festival at Ontario Place.
