Special Event: Art Against Stigma @ The Kettle

Art Against Stigma - Art & Artists that Fight Stigma Against Mental Illness - is presented by The Kettle, mental health services & housing. It is an official part of the 13th Annual Eastside Culture Crawl Visual Arts Festival.

There will be 300 exciting pieces of art to view & purchase and a fantastic art raffle supporting the purchase of art supplies for artists living with mental illness.

Showings are Friday, November 20, 5-10pm; Saturday, November 21, 11am-6pm; and Sunday, November 22, 11am-6pm.

The Kettle is at 1725 Venables Street (at Commercial Drive)

"Supporting people living with mental illness to lead healthier lives"

www.thekettle.ca

More Britannia Craft Fair Highlights

Having finally recovered from the weekend, I've had the chance to upload some shots from my camera.
The harsh weather on Sunday certainly had an effect on numbers attending, but crafters made the best of it. Here are some pics i took of Day 3 at Britannia:



Linda Stang working on one of her beautiful beadwork pieces.


Steven Reed meets Stefan (right) and Reid (left) of www.opentochance.com.
Quirky and fun silkscreened shirts.
Is this what I would look like if I were 2 people?

Crafty Collective Aims For Higher Christmas Returns

Thanks to a pilot program partly funded by EMBERS (Eastside Movement For Business and Economic Renewal Society), seven BC-grown micro-businesses are teaming up to optimize potential Christmas season profits this year. The Downtown Eastside-based non-profit was in the news recently with the announcement that they had received a federal grant to the tune of $190,000 to cover operating expenses over the next two years.

The plan for crafters is a simple one: pool resources to keep cost down. The vendors share table rental fees and have someone else handle sales. The project lowers the financial risk for crafters by drastically reducing their overhead and it means their product can be sold at more than one craft fair, potentially doubling their revenue.

Brainchild of Steve Duncan from Steven R. Duncan & Associates (who will be running the first table this weekend at Britannia Community Centre’s three-day annual fair), the collective is a revenue-generator for him - since he takes a percentage of sales. More importantly, its a proving-ground for one of Duncan's future schemes - a full-on craft fair in an upscale downtown location featuring East Vancouver artists.

"I get to see how a craft fair works from the perspective of the vendor, not just the producer. I also get to meet the other vendors, talk to them and build my database for when the time comes to recruit vendors for my event."

Duncan, an EMBERS client since 2005, sees this also as a chance to give back to the organization - while helping other small businesses like his own.

"EMBERS has been really supportive of me and my start-up endeavors. They help in real, practical ways. They provide a great service. I really want to use this as an opportunity to tell other people about them and steer more clients their way - if I can."

“I know that EMBERS has a lot of experience working with small artisan businesses and can really make a difference.

“Personally, I need more first-hand experience going through what crafters do, to help them as a teacher and as a promoter when the time comes for me to put on my big event."

Initial crafters in the collective include:

Marj Kidd – My Crafty Heart

Julia Markus - Possibility Jewelery

Hinda’s Finest - http://www.hindasfinest.com/

Constant Arts Society

BonsEye

For more information and profiles on the artists, check out "The Spirit of East Vancouver” Craft Collective blog at http://eastvanvendors.blogspot.com/

The Britannia Craft Fair takes place on Friday from 3-8pm and Saturday & Sunday 10 – 5pm. For more information about EMBERS and their services, contact them at:

EMBERS

www.embers-dtes.org

Phone: 604.692.0781
email: embers@dtes.ca
Fax: 604.692.0780
209-124 East Pender St
Vancouver BC V6A 1T3

Craft Show Highlights

Walking down the Drive I came across a neat little craft fair held at The Grandview Calvary Baptist Church.
Did you know that the basement of the church is home to The Potter's House, a pottery collective. They are having an in-studio sale on December 12, 13, 14th, from 2-8pm.
1803 East 1st. Ave.
For more call 604-255-4790
or email thepottershouse@justwork.ca.

Pottery by Laura L. Harrison.


More pottery.


Linda weaving.



More pottery from Shelimer.

Artisan and Crafter Survey

ATTENTION ALL EAST VANCOUVER ARTISANS AND CRAFTS PEOPLE

Hi Folks,
I'm looking into the possibility of putting on a craft fair and variety show at the Roundhouse in December - “The Spirit of East Vancouver” Artisan and Family Fun Event - proposed for Saturday and Sunday, December 22 & 23rd, 2007, at the Roundhouse Community Centre. This unique event is meant to showcase East Vancouver artisans and performers by exposing you to a potentially more lucrative Yaletown/Downtown marketplace. We are currently negotiating a partnership which could significantly reduce the cost of venue and table rentals which we, in turn, would pass on to you, greatly reducing your risk for participating in this event.*
*The craft fair will be juried to maintain quality.
Other planned attractions include:

• A corralled children’s area with a variety of top-notch children’s performances provided by Angela Brown (http://www3.telus.net/angelabrown/)
• Strolling entertainment to support low traffic areas
• A Saturday evening meet-and-greet (an opportunity for crafters to network and meet our sponsors )
• A family-oriented Christmas Cabaret on Sunday night
• A salmon brunch with bannock

To promote our event properly, I am proud to be partnering with Richard Forzley, Director of Marketing for Vancouver Civic Theatres (www.vancouver.ca/theatres), a seasoned performing arts specialist with more than 20 years experience in developing and implementing innovative, cost-effective marketing and communications strategies.
Marketing plans include:

• 500 posters and 10,000 handbills distributed in the Yaletown/Downtown area
• Extensive web coverage
• Regular public service announcements on Co-op Radio 102.7fm
• Paid advertising in the Vancouver Courier and West Ender
• Comprehensive, regular press releases to the local media

We will use our own website as an online directory and a resource for media looking for stories, and will profile as many participating vendors as possible. I hope that you will take a couple of minutes to answer the the online survey to help us with our planning and marketing for the event.
You can find this survey at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=mpwE_2b4v1OsRB_2b91Z7t8eNw_3d_3d

If you have any questions or would like to participate in this great event, please contact Steven R. Duncan & Associates at 604-788-8340 or email srduncan@shaw.ca.

Feel free to pass this on to anyone you feel might be interested in this.