Marathon of Craft Fairs Today!

We might just have set a new record today! My sister and I visited 4 craft fairs in 4 hours and made it home before 4. Today we went to the Delbrook Craft Fair, Deck the Hall Xmas Craft Fair, Got Craft and the Klahanie Holiday Market -- impressed? -- I sure am! All the events were so different from each other so I'll try to capture their "essence" here . . .

Delbrook Craft Fair
This annual craft fair is well advertised, parking is free and admission is only $1. The fair takes place in the Delbrook Community Centre and fills both gyms. Attendance was pretty good but not as busy as some of the other shows this weekend. I liked the fact that there was live music and that the lighting wasn't as harsh as in some gymnasiums. They also had a child care area which was much appreciated. All in all, there was a wide range of crafts ranging from baked goods to outdoor sculptures.

I really liked Jennifer Conway's display and loved her pendants.

Visit her on her blog at : http://jenniferconway.blogspot.com/

I also was intrigued with Orange Wire Art. Annet Holierhoek has made some beautiful sculptures using a substance called Paverpol which is "an environmentally safe textile hardener that freezes fabric drapes and shapes in rock hard form and can be used both indoors and out." She is giving some upcoming workshops soon and I may just have to go to one!  Take a look at some of her work:

"From T-shirt to garden statue"

I am hooked!

Here a couple of pics of the 2 Delbrook Gyms:

Deck the Hall Xmas Craft Fair

This fair is held in the beautiful Heritage Hall. There were not really any street signs except for the sign right over the door itself. Fortunately I had good directions. The first thing we noticed was that they had a doggy day care just as you came in. There were some pretty adorable pups in there! We really liked the Christmas chicken hand stamp we got when we paid our $2 admission.

I found this to be a more artisan type fair with high quality items produced by "professional" crafters. It was pretty busy and the atmosphere was very festive. I was able to put some faces to names and had the pleasure of meeting Anabella whose pendants I have featured on the BC Craft Fairs Website and are also available in her Etsy store.

I also loved the handmade ceramic buttons that Melissa Hume and Niki Holmes had for sale at their Pottery and Paint table. Unfortunately  they don't have any pics on their website of the buttons but I bet they'd send me some if I e-mailed them!

Jazziewear had the cutest baby hats and crocheted baby mary janes -- I especially liked the sock monkey hat!

I had a great chat with Froma who makes the most incredible jewelry. She doesn't have a website or e-mail address but click here for a scan of her business card. Her jewelry looks so substantial but is amazingly lightweight. It is truly beautiful.

The added bonus to this craft fair was that Urban Source is just a couple of stores down. Ever since I found them online I have been dying to go and see for myself and I wasn't disappointed. I will have to go back and explore further but I was very impressed with the short visit we had time for. For those of you not familiar with Urban Source I will endeavor to blog about them later in the week.

Got Craft
There were no street signs for this and only a small sign on the door indicating that we had found the right spot so we were very surprised to see how busy it was when we got through the door. It was hopping -- and I do not exaggerate when I say that people were pressed around the tables making it necessary to wait several minutes before I was able to get a look at some of the displays. The DJ was a nice touch and really added to the energy of the event. The vendors here are all extremely professional but I would say this was definitely a craft fair and not as high-end artsy as the Heritage Hall.

I am very happy to announce that I am the proud new owner of an elephant made by Kate of Tiny Warbler. My elephant looks just like this one but her ears are green instead of orange. She is adorable
It was a hard choice between her bunny and the elephant but the elephant won out :) I have been coveting her items since discovering her on Etsy and have featured a couple of her items on the BC Craft Fairs website.




I saw Alison from District Thirty but she was so busy I couldn't get close to say hi -- glad to see you were making lots of moola Alison!

I was also very impressed with Plantscapes. Thyrza Segal has created so many intriguing and unique terrariums and has added whimsical little figurines in them. I have added some pics from the website here but in my opinion they just don't do the terrariums justice -- they have to be seen in person!

Klahanie Holiday Market
Finally we stopped at the Klahanie Holiday Market which is close to home for me. This was a nice relaxed fair with about 10 vendors.

I had a great chat with several vendors and

purchased a very cute puppet  from Terri Boschman of City Creations .

Teri also volunteers at JustPotters Studio through JustWork Economic Initiative  which "provide[s] studio space, instruction, support, and employment opportunities for people in the neighbourhood who, due to economic or social barriers, have no access to a creative space." The pottery items were beautiful and would make a great present while supporting a struggling artist.

Pottery can be purchased at several locations listed on their website or online at their etsy store.

I was also able to stop by and put a face to Nat from AdoreByNat and admire her lovley cards. If I was having a baby I would so want to send out her cards as birth announcments. She also has a great selection of holiday and birthday card!

That's it for this weekend of crafty adventures!