Sunday, December 4, 2011
4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Renaissance Event Venue
285 Queen Street
(corner of Barrie & Queen Streets)
Kingston, ON
Categories
Fat Goose Greeting Cards!!
A few people have admitted to stealing posters and framing them this year. While we hope this means you will also bring a posse of pals to the Fair to make up for the loss of advertising :-P it also gave me an idea. I have designed some cards so you can take home a Fat Goose (or Geese) of your own!
2 for $7, y’all, while supplies last.
Claire Grady-Smith
Featured Crafter - Barb Danielewski of Epidemic
Barb Danielewski is a force and an institution here in Kingston.
In her own words:
I find that each craft informs the next, but the place I came from 20 years ago was cutting and pasting, zine and sticker making, thrifting and designing my own clothing: crafting is so deeply embedded in my life I can’t seem to stop talking with the world through images found and re-arranged. I take care to find images that are meant to be shared, quotes that are meaningful, and create quality art that speaks to my experience as an activist, traveller and crafter, as well as my work as a farmer, plumber, and bike mechanic.
I had no idea when I became a bike mechanic 10 years ago that the conversation I would choose to have with the world was mainly one of self-empowerment (a woman fixing bicycles in a male dominated world), practical choices (bicycling promotes community, health, and self reliance), and taking a lighthearted stance against overuse of cars (Cars Stink!) in favour of better infrastructure and visibility and more respect for cycling as a “not weird” option.
Obviously the majority of my process is in the conscious design of each item to contribute something meaningful to people’s lives. I learn more with each relationship I build with boutiques, people I meet at craft fairs and workshops, and artists I collaborate with in my community. Each one of these teaches me something about colour, process, and presentation, and I most love craft fairs for the networking and trades I accomplish with other crafters (and the joy of merchandising)!
Fair Favourite: Brandy Olley
Brandy Olley is the maker of lovely things over at Salvage Designs. Here is a look at one vendor who has caught her attention …
In Brandy’s words:
For creative peeps Spark Box Studio has got to be one of the coolest destinations Eastern Ontario has to offer. Besides running an artist’s residence they create some pretty beautiful original art, cards and prints. At the fair this year I will definitely be checking out their animal hybrid watercolour paintings. They are so fantastical, fun and full of imagination.
Featured Crafter - Abi Lyon Wicke, Potter
Abi Lyon Wicke is an enthusiastic clay artist who loves making both functional and non-functional pieces, primarily in clay. She has been working in clay (making work to sell and also teaching pottery classes), for a number of years and finds she loves it more and more as her skills and knowledge increase year by year.
Abi is a strong believer that beauty should not be sacrificed in the quest for practical objects so she tries to combine aesthetics and functionality to make pieces which stand out from the crowd, while being both pleasing to the eye and a delight to use.
Fair Favourite: Vincent Perez
Vincent Perez is the proprietor and pressman over at the Everlovin’ Press. Check out his top pick for this year’s fair:
Jeff Woodrow of Joy T-Shirts:
Full disclosure: I’ve known Jeff since we attended art school together about a decade ago. Jeff’s curiosity about the inner lives of strangers and his experiments in encouraging empathy were active even back then, so when I ran into him again a couple of years ago, it made buckets of sense that he’d founded the Joy T-shirt project.
For those who haven’t come across Jeff and his tees (and he’s had some pretty great hype behind these things - Stuart McLean of The Vinyl Cafe has been downright effusive about them), this is how they work: “Every face on a Joy T- Shirt has been inspired by a real person. When you wear your shirt you are encouraged to think about that person and how your everyday actions can affect others and the world we live in.
After you purchase a shirt you may then [provide] a photo of your own visage … to have your face drawn by hand and worn on the hearts of others.”
-
I proudly wear the portrait of a smiling girl from Taiwan named Irene and, as Jeff hoped, sometimes I think about her. I wonder if she senses it? But a better question is: How many graphic tees can claim to psychically unite the world?
Fair Favourites: Kristyn Woodfine
Kristyn Woodfine is the spinster/proprietor behind Wolfe Island Woolworks. Here are a few of her favourite picks from the vendors at this year’s fair.
The robin’s egg blue hand bound book from The We of Me in Prince Edward County is just the thing to record all of your secret wishes in.
This card from The Everlovin’ Press is on my list for every pro-labour friend of mine.
This gorgeous hand hammered bracelet by Salvage Designs needs no further justification.
I can’t wait to get my hands on Ironclad Graphics silkscreened 2012 Calender, featuring the work of 12 local artists.
Call for Vendors!
Fat Goose Craft Fair Sunday 4 December 2011 4pm-10pm (an evening event)
Renaissance Event Venue, 285 Queen St. (Corner of Queen and Barrie Streets), Downtown Kingston, ON
Hello arts and crafts friends,
The Fat Goose Craft Fair - you’ll all remember it fondly, I’m sure - is happening again! We’re hosting the event at the same venue as last year (how wonderful! Remember the lovely tables and tablecloths the venue provided? Not to mention the bar staffed with well-dressed servers), so there’s no confusion about where we’ll be. This year we think we might fatten up the Goose even more (hard to imagine, I know) with some new artistic twists around the space. Nothing to clash with yours, but more exciting things for our shoppers to see and do!
To introduce your hard-working coordinators, this year’s Fat Goose Craft Fair is brought to you by Vincent Perez, Brandy Olley, Kristyn Woodfine, Maggie Gray, and Claire Grady-Smith, with support from the Apple Crisp Arts organization.
In an effort to help you make as much money as possible and to encourage beginning craftspeople to join in, we’re committed to keeping the cost of tables low. One of the ways we’re trying is by working as volunteers. Another is to have everyone who sells at Fat Goose take on one or two little jobs, like putting up posters, stuffing flyers into mailboxes, or coming early to set up tables. We figure an hour of everybody’s time will go a long way, and it means we can spend the bulk of our budget on advertising, which will bring unprecedented crowds to our fair, we’re sure.
If you’d like to join us here at Fat Goose, please give us:
Your name
The name of your business (if any)
Your contact info
A brief bio and artist’s statement
A brief description of your medium/media
Five pictures of your work
Your preferred area of volunteering (no guarantees here, but a sense of what your skills and interests are):
Indicate which of the following suits you best:
Full table (2.5” by 8” table): $55
Half table (2.5” x 4” table): $35
Additional charge for clothing rack space: $10/rack
And let us know if you have any special requests for set-up (e.g., You’d like to sit next to your BFF, or you’re in desperate need of an electrical outlet for lighting purposes—they’re limited, by the way).
Please send the necessaries via email to fatgoosecraftfair@gmail.com by NOVEMBER 1st. We’ll jury and get back to you by November 3rd, so that you’ll have lots of time to make nifty stuff for the fair.
For the small print, see below for “Rules, Regulations and Rhubarbs”
Yours,
Vincent, Claire, Maggie, Brandy, and Kristyn
Rules, Regulations and Rhubarbs
1. Be nice.
2. We only want things that are made by you… please don’t plan on bringing anything made by other folks, even if it’s your mom and you want to do her a favour, or things that are made in China — unless you made them while you were there.
3. We reserve the right to ask you to remove crafts from your table if they aren’t similar in kind or quality to the photos you submitted or if we have reason to suspect that they weren’t made by you, i.e. they’re stamped Acme Co. on the bottom.
4. If you’d like to share a full table with someone else, and you will be selling only the things you’ve made together, that’s grand. Otherwise, each of you should apply for one of our half tables.
5. We may have lots of, say, macrame weavers apply. If that’s the case, even though we all love hanging plant holders, we’ll only be able to accept a few of the finest macrame weavers in order to offer our shoppers the widest variety possible… so don’t be mad. See rhubarb #1.
6. We reserve the right to accept or refuse anyone based on our sensibilities and our sensibilities alone. But some of the things we’re excited about include: locally made work, unique and original ideas, high quality of product, and depth of process (that is, someone who makes it all from scratch). And we’re gonna hold a spot or two for folks who are just beginning to make and sell things, so if you see stuff that you think isn’t up to snuff, be generous and kind to the newbies. Again, see rhubarb #1.
7. Please arrive no earlier than 3 pm to set up. Please set up only in your spot and don’t take up more room than you’ve asked for. Also, please don’t begin taking your things down earlier than 10 pm… even if you’re tired and mostly sold out, it’s not fair to the other folks who are trying to make a buck.
