One UnBeelievable Year

Can you bee-lieve (sorry, had to) that the Beehive Craft Collective has been around for a year already? It's flown by in a blur of meetings and workshops and craft fairs and art installations. Not to mention the fact that many of us are full-time makers and/or entrepreneurs in our day-to-day lives. Needlework, Sweet Ice Snow Cones, Bespoke Uprising, Jenna Rose, White Elephant... sometimes it's exhausting to even think about. But that's also the really great part about a collective - the joint support from everyone involved working towards a common goal. I often think about how honoured I am to be a part of a group of such awe-inspiring and talented women.

We're gearing up for some exciting things this year too. We are super excited to be participating in the Craft and the New Economy symposium on March 10th at OCAD University. We'll be doing a pretty informal presentation on how to start a craft collective within your own community, while also providing materials for a crafting circle. We'll have everything you need to join in making paper piecing hexagons, but everyone is encouraged to bring their own projects as well.

Ever since we saw the Quilts! exhibit at the AGH we've all kind of been obsessed with quilting bees and friendship quilts, and this is where our idea stems from. A collective project while discussing forming collectives. We'll be presenting from 6pm-8pm and we hope to see some of you there. It should be an amazing event all around.

We're also working on our submission to be a part of this year's Supercrawl. All we can really say about it at this point is that it will be another large scale textile installation that has the opportunity for community involvement. Does Jenna's sketch give you any ideas? I didn't think so. The Bees are really hoping to be a part of this for a second year, so cross your fingers for us!

And the question that we've been asked most often lately - will we be putting on another Summer Craft Fair?  Honestly, we're still figuring out the logistics of this, as we've lost our beautiful location from last year (very happily to CBC) and it's caused kind of a snag in our plans. If not a full scale craft show, be sure to look out for some smaller trunk shows throughout the year. Either way, we'll be sure to keep you updated on our plans.

Thanks for following us during our first exciting year! We look forward to what 2012 will bring for us all.