after meeting anna pantchev at yesterday's craft fair, i a) found out that these public art pieces i have been seeing around the neighbourhood are part of a collaborative project between her and her partner, james gauvreau and b) was directed towards another piece that i had, thus far, missed. it is on my very block, and is pictured in this post. thanks, anna! it was great to finally meet you.
doing a comedy show at night and a craft fair the entire next day is a recipe for exhaustion. it made me feel like we were on tour again. as a result, i took about three pictures at yesterday's erotic arts and crafts fair. they were very weird. like this one depicting what looks like aitor slumped over at his booth:
although that could have happened, i think it expresses my lack of attention more than his lack of consciousness. maybe it is for the best that i put the camera away. i liked aitor's set-up because he had wall space, a rare treasure in our craft circuit. the erotic arts and crafts fair also offered him a space to sell the work of his collective without getting even one dirty look. this might be a new record.
for my part, the smuttons were a big hit. if it works out for me to return to the show next year (and they'll have me) i have decided to expand the series. i even got some requests and feedback from customers. suffice it to say that there is no shortage of smut to spread.
i also went home with some excellent zines by vicki nerino, a card of hers that even made the reverend blush, and a woolly undershirt from sartoria (i have been eyeing them for quite a while). the latter is keeping me warm right now.
all that and i got to meet the elusive and triangle spreading anna patchev. but more on that later...
here's a little slice of the new curio cabinet that we got from my grandparents. it's a fairly shallow bookcase with a plate groove on the back on each shelf! pretty nifty. in this little collection i can spy work by nadja sayej, ottoman, small stump, margie oomen, tara bursey, the museum of jurassic technology and holly procktor. also acorn tops from my mom, a buckeye from southern illinois, lichen from pender island and the edge of a plate from nevada. as we try to rearrange everything in our home, i am sure it will take better shape. the light was just catching it very well this morning.
what do you get the dapper man who wants nothing? buttoneers. i made a call to my gal alison at coriander girl and requested a custom creation. he was delighted (in his subtle way) and sports these like a pro. we might be launching a new toronto trend. move over, steampunks; it's all about nosegays now.
i also got to poke around the manic pre-valentine's shop. it is full of lovely stuff:
yes, sweetie pies are born on valentine's day.
leah has gone away to tour in the snowing states this weekend, so i got an early gift from her. some lovely spinning fibre (ready for the church of craft spinning workshop), a spinning pin and a maw mug. why did i get the mug? because i already had its mate...
another visit to the trip print press (this time at sunset) to pick up some way-ahead-of-schedule city of craft business cards. nicholas is amazing. there is a greater account of what he is up to on the city of craft blog here.
these city of craft artist collaborations are great in that we give our annual designers a lot of free reign and creative power (in exchange for ludicrous heaps of work). this means that seeing their designs is always a great surprise. in the case of a letterpress designer, you also get to walk out of the workshop with actual stuff.
