Vendor Profile #15 - Wild Blue Yonder

I began crafting jewelry from wood back in 2014 - simply because I wanted a wood pendant and couldn't find anything I liked. So I began experimenting with found wood, lichens, and epoxy resin. As I wore my handmade pieces, friends and family began asking for similar ones, so I happily obliged. Pushing my craft and expanding my networks has allowed my to begin my own company, Wild Blue Yonder, in the spring of 2016. Based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, my jewelry is available in several stores, and is displayed regularly at events throughout the region.

WBY jewelry is created using reclaimed materials, unused lumber scraps, or fragments of wood, bark, and lichen found on hikes and travels through the forest. Little details, often unnoticed in nature, are readily on display in my pieces. My jewelry is designed to inspire its wearer with a love for nature, and all the intricacies that lie therein. 

- Amber, founder of Wild Blue Yonder.

Wild Blue Yonder

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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 #9: Laura K Watson

Tell us about your creative work and what we can expect to see at Handmade Hamilton. 

    I am a drawer, writer, embroiderer, and printmaker. At Handmade Hamilton, I’ll be selling cards, postcards, zines, paper dolls, and prints, made with digital printing as well as more traditional forms of printmaking like silkscreen. In my writing, drawings, and prints, I tend to focus on the minutia of my daily life, but I like to mix it with elements of folklore or magic.

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

    If I’m struggling to get through a print run when I’m screen-printing, I like to put on Kate Bush’s album, The Dreaming. It has so much wild energy and I love picturing Kate Bush making that when she was so young with this incredible level of confidence.

What are your favourite books?

    I couldn’t choose just one or two so I made a list of ten.

1. We Have Always Lived in the Castle - Shirley Jackson

2. Here - Wislawa Szymborska

3. Everything by Jane Austen

4. Everything by Kazuo Ishiguro

5. Tess of the D’Ubervilles - Thomas Hardy

6. The Gorgeous Nothings - Emily Dickinson (a beautiful collection of her handwritten poems on envelopes and scrap papers)

7. The Witch’s Handbook - Malcolm Bird (a children’s book from 1984 with no narrative or real information but amazing, amazing illustrations)

8. All the Harry Potter books

9. Everything illustrated by Arthur Rackham

10. The Colossus - Sylvia Plath

If you have any advice for any emerging artisans what would it be?

    I think that if you want to be able to make things as your full-time or part-time job, you need to treat it like a job. Keep a regular work schedule. Have a designated work space. Set deadlines for yourself. But I also think this has to be balanced with a certain level of flexibility that allows you to be creative. You don’t want to become a production line. You want to make things that are exciting to you. Sometimes this means getting an idea at midnight, working on it all night, and throwing off your whole schedule.

http://www.laurakwatson.com/

https://www.instagram.com/laura.k.watson/

Vendor Profile #7 : Eleanor Rosa Felt

Tell us about your creative work and what we can expect to see at Handmade Hamilton. 

We use a high quality wool blend felt and 100% felted products to create unique botanical felt flowers, felt succulents, and home decor.   We also have a line of fun and whimsical felted pet "rocks" called "Stone Softies" where we let our creativity and imagination run wild.

What does your creative process look like?

Suzanne loves to garden and is a self-professed plant nerd.  From this perspective, we try create botanically-correct plants in the medium of felt.  We have two daughters who provide a huge source of wild and crazy ideas for our Stone Softie friends.  The whole creative process is a family affair, and we all share a lot of laughs as our creations come "alive"

What inspires you to create the work that you do?

We are environmental scientists and this is an excellent outlet to allow our creative sides to flourish.  We love to see the joy that our products bring to the faces of so many people. 

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

Suzanne is currently listening to a podcast called Serial by This American Life and Mike has A Charlie Brown Christmas by the Vince Guaraldi Trio on a constant loop.  We also love Ray LaMontagne, The War on Drugs, Tom Petty and George Michael.

https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/EleanorRosaFelt

https://www.facebook.com/EleanorRosaFelt/

https://www.instagram.com/eleanorrosafelt/

Vendor Profile #5: Curious Oddities

Born in a century-old log cabin in the wilds of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, surrounded by a community rich with artifacts of the early pioneers and settlers, I grew up with the heart of a dreamer and the spirit of an explorer. My intensely inquisitive nature led me to explore many different crafts and trades, absorbing new techniques and inspiration every step of the way.

Since 2008, I have spent my time travelling, collecting treasures and making delightful, fantastic jewelry.

 My work is heavily influenced by the designs of the Victorian, Arts & Crafts and Art Nouveau Eras, in which romance, whimsy and elegance were paired with fine workmanship, quality materials and exquisite detailing. I also draw inspiration from many literary sources including works by Jules Verne, Neil Gaiman, Edward Gorey and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I have always been deeply aware of the balance and beauty of the world around me. Through my work, I love to marry the natural with the mechanical, drawing unexpected beauty from the mundane.

With a rampant imagination, I seek to find a story in everything and seek to unveil the magic in all I touch. The Curious Oddities collection is an ever changing and eclectic mix of salvaged treasures, vintage finds, gemstones, Czech glass, enamel and new, premium quality, traditionally pressed, antiqued, inked or plated brass.

All of my Curious Oddities are lovingly crafted and curated by me in heart of Hamilton, Ontario Canada where I currently reside with my three rather eccentric calico cats.

Most of the pieces that I create are small run (usually less than 10) or one of a kind; there are a few designs of the pressed brass that are renewable and are a more permanent part of my collection.

http://curiousodditiesshop.com

https://www.facebook.com/CuriousOddities/

https://www.instagram.com/curiousodditiesshop/

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)

Vendor Profile #1 : Bailiwick Studios

Bailiwick Studios

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

I am a printmaker working with lino block and primarily in black and white. I’ve branched out this year to include small, unique home décor pieces. You can expect block printed holiday ornaments and cards, upcycled animal planters and a variety of original art prints.

What does your process look like?

My process is SO scattered these days because I am very busy chasing my 11 month old around! It’s difficult as a creative to only have these small windows of time to work on your art, but it is very important for me to be present when its family time so developing that balance has been very important. Printmaking, although takes time, can be a nice mindless activity sometimes! 

Tell us some of your favourite things about Hamilton? 

Hands downs, the sense of community. Not only amongst artists and makers, but between local business’s.  

Many makers listen to podcasts.  Do you? and what are some of your favourites?

I just recently started and love it! I listen to How I Built This, Revisionist Historyhttp://revisionisthistory.com (among others) but I am currently obsessed with Being Boss!  

INSTAGRAM - @bailiwick.studios 

FACEBOOK - facebook.com/thebailiwickstudios/

Vendor Profile #8: Lyer Lyer Soapcraft

Tell us about your work and what we can expect to see at Handmade Hamilton. 

I’m a soapmaker, mostly. I have a range of vegan soap, felted soap (technically vegetarian), and laundry butter. I’ll have some other fun, non-soap stuff… I love to create products that I want to use – cleaners and skincare products that include sustainable, clean ingredients.

What does your creative process look like?

Most of what I do – creatively or no – can best be described as a series of “happy accidents” (thanks, Bob Ross!) I generally have an aesthetic goal in mind when I start working; but, one of the things I’m always sharing with my soapmaking students is that soap does what it wants, sometimes. Soapmaking is about envisioning a process and a result… and then accepting the outcome, and loving it because, if nothing else, it’s soap J

I do a lot of soapmaking demonstrations, and I love walking into those with a loose plan, and letting the group sort of drive the process. We’re bound by the rules of chemistry… but there is also an opportunity for a huge “what happens if we….” element in the process. That’s the best part.  

What inspires you?

My daughter. This project was actually her idea – a social purpose business, whose purpose is to funnel resources to community/charitable projects. She never ceases to inspire me with her unwavering belief that all it takes to change the world is the decision to change the world.  

  

What do you think is the next big trend in craft?

I *hope* it’s a continuation in the development of maker spaces where skill transfer happens. I love sharing those creative skills with people. It increases accessibility of craft and fine art forms in a way that doesn’t ever devalue them. There is so much goodness and value in coming back to a place where we use our hands, hearts and brains to see the world differently, and to engage with other people in direct, concrete, micro ways.

Fave local makers?

Oh my gosh… all of them, for different reasons… Some of my faves…I love Laura Konyndyk’s watercolours, because they never fail to make me smile; I love Dear Edna aprons, Charlotte & Stewart dolls; Jim Poling’s gorgeous woodcraft; Batavia by Sil’s bags are great... I’m continually blown away by the wealth of creative talent in Hamilton. It sounds trite, but there really is something to make everyone happy being made in this community.

Lyer Lyer Soapcraft

Vendor Profile #1: The Artful Dodger

Everyday until the show we will be featuring our diverse mix of artists who will be selling their art and craft at Handmade Hamilton on December 12.  Each profile will ask a few questions and will include links to their online and social media sites.  So click away and enjoy previewing our local talent - Lisa Pijuan-Nomura - Curator of Handmade Hamilton. 

The Artful Dodger

Tell us about your work and what we can expect to see at Handmade Hamilton. 

The Artful Dodger - I am a local maker, who produces handmade creations that draw direct inspiration from the natural world.  My work incorporates a variety of materials that are either recycled or sustainably harvested.  At Handmade Hamilton, you will find a beautiful array of fine silver, glass and Birch bark jewellery, and other one of a kind crafts. 

What does your creative process look like?

I have a diverse background, which influences my creative process.  I studied glass and ceramics in the School of Craft and Design at Sheridan College, but I also have experimented with photography, textiles, beadwork and needlecraft.  My recent work with precious metal clay (PMC) has allowed me to incorporate a wide range of techniques and skills from my past experiences into the creative process.

What inspires you?

I am inspired by my surroundings.  Whether walking through the Oak Savannah near my home in Hamilton, or along the red sands of an endless beach on a recent trip to PEI, I am drawn to the forms and textures of the natural materials that I gather and take inspiration from.

 The Artful Dodger on Etsy

Vendor Profiles: Totums

Totums are small knitted creatures brought to life by artist and illustrator Jonathan Royce-Gerry.  One of a kind crafty brilliance at it's best and we are happy to welcome them to Handmade Hamilton!

https://www.facebook.com/totumsplus

Vendor Profile: Jelly Brothers

We are Matt and Dan Jelly.  We live in Hamilton, Ontario and we make things.  Matt is a graphic designer, screen printer, pillow sewer and all-around craftsperson.  Dan is a photographer, graphic designer, and web developer.  

Who thought up this neighbourhood map idea?

A few years ago, when Matt was Chair of the Central Neighbourhood Association in Hamilton, he was working on some promotional materials and designed a map of the Central neighbourhood.  He then started designing maps for other neighbourhoods across the lower city according to Hamilton's official neighbourhood boundaries.  As of now we have designed over 150 maps, including neighbourhoods across the old City of Hamilton as well as the former towns of Ancaster, Dundas, Glanbrook, Flamborough and Stoney Creek.  Chances are, if you live in Hamilton, we have a print of your neighbourhood for sale.

Are the maps printed locally?

Yes, everything we print digitally is done locally at CopyDog on King William St. in Hamilton (a four minute walk from our workspace).  Specialty, larger format maps are also printed in downtown Hamilton.  We don't often screen print maps, but when we do, Matt does those himself by hand.

Who does your screen printing?

Matt does all of his own poster prints, t-shirts, and pillow designs by hand.  None of this fancy, efficient new-fangled equipment for us (well.. not yet anyway)

What about the tshirts you sometimes sell, are they made in Canada?

Yes! We're proud to say that all of the t-shirts we print on and sell are made by Jerico, a Candian (Toronto) manufacturer of t-shirts and apparel.  This does bump up our costs a bit compared to purchasing discount overseas products, but we like knowing that the shirts we sell are made locally and ethically.

www.jellybrothers.com

Vendor Profile: The Simplest Stitch

The Simplest Stitch had a humble beginning in 2010. I took out every crocheting book from the library and obsessively taught myself to crochet in order to make a hat for my daughter. I discovered how much I love the creative process. Looking at various fibres and textiles and feeling inspiration take over. Add in some time, and something wonderful is made - with my very own hands. 

I do believe that simple things can be some of the most beautiful things, so it is with the simplest of stitches that I create inspired pieces. I hand make scarves, slippers, baby booties, hats, boot cuffs, headbands, accessories and more (crocheted or sewn).  Each year I accept a limited number of custom orders, and I sell my own creative pieces. 

www.thesimpleststitch.etsy.com 

www.facebook.com/thesimpleststitch 

Vendor Profile: Dear Edna

 

Erin McIntosh is the one-woman show behind Dear Edna, a handmade accessories line that she designs, sews, and prints from her home in Hamilton, Ontario.  Erin is heavily influenced by the past – think florals, houndstooth and plaid; doilies and lace; brooches and pearls; high tea and happy hour.

Erin began teaching herself to sew at a young age and has fond memories of playing underneath her grandmother’s quilting frames.  However, it wasn’t until she had spent four years at university, two years abroad, and three years in Toronto that she decided to move back to her hometown, reignite her relationship with her sewing machine, and finally turn her life-long hobby into a creative business.

 

It’s no surprise that Erin is constantly inspired by the handmade tradition -- she is currently studying crochet, quilting, and needlework and is eager to find ways to incorporate them into her work. Outside of her sewing room, Erin is a copyeditor, tea fanatic, bookworm and baker.

Blog: www.dearedna.com

Shop: www.dearedna.etsy.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/dearednashop

Facebook: www.facebook.com/dearedna

Instagram: www.instagram/dearednashop