the meaning of objects (a city of craft report on acquisitons).

as this weekend wrapped up and city of craft 2010 drifted into the past i realized that i had made out with far more stuff than usual. with that many like-minded folks under one roof, there is always much swapping and shopping to be done. some of this stuff will stay with me and some will not. i am not going to say what is what right now so that there will be a modicum of surprise left is my meagre holiday gift giving. but i will share the genius of the city of craft brain trust with you here. first off is the laser cut and screen printed pocket knife by beside herself. the beside herself ladies were also responsible for our huge sign at city of craft. they have a minute attention to detail that stretches from projects both large and small which really boggles my mind.

all vendors got these awesome laser cut pencils from old weston's 'read&write - the pencil project.

sexy tea towels from bespoke uprising. these are part of a swap we have both been spacing out on for a year. i as really tempted by her new doily prints but decided that boobies and legs might appeal to my sweetie more. he has been inordinately kind about the preponderance of doilies in the apartment already (even making over-the-top displays of them when he rearranged the apartment while i was in europe). hopefully, this balances the scales back a bit.

drawings from greasychicken face. these weren't even out. they came from under the table like drugs! this made the whole exchange feel even more special. i love these gals.

this year, city of craft had two cosmetics vendor, ella's botanicals and sacred circle herbs. i was so happy to find their products as complimentary as i thought they would be. i got a moisturizing product from each of them - a lotion from ella and a balm from sacred circle. i've been using them both daily since the show. crafting and hot water heat make for very dry hands and body. the balm is greasier and works really well for my cracking hands (too much crochet and paper work). the lotion i have been using post-shower on my whole body. they both smell great!

money from midway artist, miriam grenville. late sunday, i offered to take the first bill offered to me from her counterfeiting booth at face value. turns out that people really feel the value of a dollar when they make it from themselves. even the guy who made to hundred dollar bill didn't spend it. miriam came through, though, and we did some swapping. or is it shopping? i saw a few of these trades go down which makes me think she has actually succeeded in making currency.

print and ornament and tank from sandi at deadweight. okay, these are for me. the print is important for secret, mystical reasons; the ornament is going on my tree; and the tank will hopefully keep me from melting into a northern european puddle if aitor and i agree to make another trek south in the summer. i never find tanks that fit, so this is especially exciting. plus, i love all of sandi's design work. all of it!

from the maple ridge. drew was our only international artist this year coming all the way from philadelphia to my apartment. judging from all the blogs he has popped up on, this was a good trip for him. this illustration, i think, is perfect. we all live in contradiction.

petit hibou par les pin pals. sara habit en colorado maintenant et cela pose quelque questions a propos de la futur de leur collaboration. j'etais assure que leur futur est plein de nouveaux projects, quand meme. how's my french? i tried. i can't find all my accents on this keyboard, though. i don't know why i did that. they aren't even francophones.

a drawing by caitlyn lemonade. i love it.

also by caitlyn in collaboration with amy borkwood. as if giving props to flannery o'conner isn't enough, i got to feel like amy was around more this year. work has stolen her away from city of craft and we all miss her very much.

two small vessels - one in glass from patrick fisher and one in porcelain from rcboisjoli. white on white on white on grey? who am i? anabela?

and, finally, a silhouette portrait from danijela's booth. if you missed out this year, you may not have a chance at one of these again. one of the amazing thing about the artists at city of craft is how fast they can be on to the next project. we wouldn't want them all gathering moss, would we? this ephemeral nature of the event is one of the things i like so much about it. it reminds me of the theatrical world i come from, where the circus would roll into town and it was an event.

good year, everyone! i was blown away as per usual by the mountain of talent this city (and thereabouts) has to offer. of course, this talent goes far beyond the seams of city of craft. in these last few hectic days of shopping, i encourage you to look towards your locals, too wherever you are.

look:
city of craft bricks-and-mortar shopping guide (toronto)
fieldguided local gifts guides 1 & 2 (toronto)
little mountain gallery free store & art auction (vancouver)
craftland (providence)