Vendor Profile #12: ALTR Soaps

ALTR creates hand-made bar soap with local, wildcrafted botanicals.  We seek to change popular soap culture by offering products that showcase only local plants, and, in this way, elevate the seemingly mundane task of washing oneself into a ritual reconnection to the land that sustains us all. 

All of the main botanical elements are wildcrafted by us from local wild areas and are then brewed into a nourishing infusion that acts as a base for each bar. 

Our soap is 100% natural, made with organic ingredients, palm oil free and vegan. We make each product with great care and hope that our soap will inspire people to take care of themselves and reincorporate the natural world back into their daily rituals. 

www.altrsoaps.com

Vendor Profile #8: Island Joy

Island Joy is an artisanal green skincare line that captures the essence of the Caribbean. A collection of luxurious sugar scrubs handcrafted in small batches using natures's finest ingredients and backed by science. 

Founded by a mother-daughter duo, that believes skin care is a ritual through which to indulge, Island Joy creates a sensory experience reminiscent of family memories and life by the beach. Born from the philosophy that exfoliation is key to achieving and maintaining healthy skin ,Island Joy is specially formulated to gently exfoliate and nourish the skin, leaving it glowing and incredibly soft and smooth.

Based on the principle of being kind to your skin, Island Joy uses carefully sourced ingredients and does not contain any fillers, petrochemicals,, toxic chemicals,, phthalates, or dyes.  Mindfully made in Canada, products are formulated with respect to the environment and through methods that are cruelty free. 

Island Joy.ca

https://www.facebook.com/islandjoyca/

https://www.instagram.com/islandjoyca/

Vendor Profile #3: Gordon Leverton - Artist

What does your creative process look like?

Because my subject matter largely consists of buildings and straight edges, I draw a grid onto the canvas with pencil and use a ruler to sketch out the drawing. I then block in the colour until i've covered most of the canvas - that way I can tell if the composition is working and whether I need to change certain colours. Then, i continue the long process of layering the paint until the painting is complete.

What inspires you to create the work that you do?

In my neighbourhood there are many alleys and laneways, which afford a unique view of people's houses. I love the angles of sunrooms, fences, back additions etc and how they co-exist with their surroundings. 

What are some of your favourite podcasts to listen to when you create?

Anything from sports radio (when i want my brain to turn off) to This American Life or Democracy Now. My current fave is I Don't Even Own a Television, which is a podcast about bad books. There's also a great WKRP podcast called 

Hold My Order Terrible Dresser, which is about so much more than the 70's TV show WKRP in Cincinatti and has an ex-Hamiltoian as co-host.

What are your favourite books?

I can't shut up about books and music. Besides the classics, I have to say that Angela Flournoy's The Turner House, HHhH by Laurent Binet and anything by Roberto Bolano are my current favourites. 

And music! Currently loving much of the African soul and disco re-issues coming out lately. Also a big spot in my heart for roots reggae. I DJ at the Lounge at Casbah on the last Wednesdays of the month and you'll find me behind the counter at Epic Books on Locke St!

Gordon Leverton's Website

https://www.facebook.com/GordonLeverton/

Instagram: @hamiltonartist

Twitter: @hamiltonartist

Vendor Profile #5 - Mimosa

https://www.instagram.com/mimosakoubou/

https://www.facebook.com/mimosakoubou/

Tell us about your work and what we can expect to see at this years Handmade Hamilton?

Mimosa is a handcrafted line of brass and gemstone jewelry inspired by the romantic era of the 16th to 18th centuries in Europe. Using the Japanese TANKIN hammered technique to create each individual piece as truly one of a kind. 

What does your process look like?

 I begin by getting inspired by old portraits.  I never draw out the designs for the rings.  Each ring is created by hammering brass to make the ring parts, they are then put together with silver.  The final thing I do is set a raw gemstone in the rings.  

What are your inspirations?

I am inspired by the 16th to 18th centuries portraits and flowers.

Tell us some of your favourite things about Hamilton?

I love the water falls and the art community.

6.  What are your favourite books? Movies? Music?

My favorite movies are Marie Antoinette, The Other Boleyn Girl , Moulin Rouge and The Affair of the Necklace. 

My favourite music is Arashi( Japanese boy band)