Beehive Excursions: The Toronto Garlic Festival

This past weekend, I visited the first annual Toronto Garlic Festival at The Brick Works. Many of us Bees have been very excited about garlic this summer. There was a really good crop of it at the farm, and we've been enjoying it in almost everything we cook. We've also been dreaming about making our own garlic braids. We've learned a fair bit about it, and I think we'll be giving it a try next summer.



Who knew that there were so many varieties of garlic?? The number of types of garlic was almost overwhelming! It seems that "Music" is the most common variety in Ontario. It has large cloves, is quite flavourful, and stores well. We picked up a number of different types, and plan to plant some in our garden this fall.



Mmm, pickled garlic scapes. We discovered garlic scapes this summer and became absolutely obsessed! They are the leafless flowering stem that comes from the plant, which are removed so the plant focuses it's energy on bulb growth. They are so delicious lightly sauteed in some butter and served as a side dish. Or just eaten straight out of the pan. Or you can make a tasty pesto with them.



In addition to the braids and bunches and bags of garlic you could buy, there was also a selection of delicious food containing garlic to eat. Needless to say, we had extreme garlic breath by the end of the day. But it was ok, because so did everyone else.

Vendor Spotlight: Sartoria!

Sara Tori of Sartoria knows what all we Canadian folks need to get us through the depths of our epic winters.  Her long-johns, tank tops and undies are made with love from reclaimed materials of the highest quality to keep you cozy as you cycle down windy streets, bustle to and from subway stations or just lounge around your living-room on a cool fall evening.  Merino and cashmere wool sweaters are taken apart and re-sewn into one of a kind cozy garments, perfectly fit for a wide variety of body sizes and heights with no sacrifices made of style in the name of keeping warm.

We are so happy to be showcasing Sartoria in the Summer Craft Fair so we asked asked Sara to send us a little bit about about herself.  She had some lovely things to say about her upcoming collection and all the wonderful folks it's dedicated to:

"The 2011.2012 collection : Entangling with Hope

This collection pays homage to individuals in every land who knew and know that to nurture hope is to keep alive the richest aspects of being human.  Sartoria salutes these people who, in the face of atrocity and oppression, hold and nurture hope, in themselves and in community.

This collection is dedicated to all of you who are entangling with hope. who are finding a way to keep your spirit alive in these turbulent times.  Who are remembering that compassion runs incredibly deep in us and who are reclaiming our value from the mandates of the government and the corporations.  These luxurious fibres gifted from our animal allies, these pieces are made for you."

Sara totes her sewing machine along with her to top craft fairs like the Distillery Art Market and One Of A Kind Show in toronto as well as the Circle Craft show in Vancuver B.C. (and of course this weekend at the Summer Craft Fair!)  You can also find her on line in her Etsy shop.

While I hate to say that fall is now fast approaching, I cant wait to pick up a pair of these lovely undies to match the tank top I already own (and love!)  I'm hoping to spend winter entangled in some blankets adding my Sartoria outfit to the layers of natural wool I rely on for surviving the cold.

Vendor Spotlight : Fieldguided

Time for another craft vendor spotlight! Today we’re talking to Anabela of Fieldguided. She’s the mastermind behind the Thunder in Our Hearts totes you saw everywhere this past year (and that five different members of the Beehive own themselves), as well as the oh-so-sweet neckties featured below.


Amy Kenny: Tell us about yourself.

Anabela: Fieldguided is me, Anabela, and my partner Geoff. We live with our two cats in the Dufferin Grove area of Toronto.

A.K.: Where/when did you become acquainted with your craft?

Anabela: We don't really have a specific "craft" -- we like to do a lot of different things. I like to think that we've always been fairly creative, and that knowing each other has brought out different strengths in each of us. For example, I didn't know anything about photography before I met Geoff, and earlier this year I flew to London to attend the opening of a group photography show I was in. He's taught me a lot over the past 7 years.

Above photo courtesy of Hannah Hayes

A.K.: Where do you draw creative inspiration from?

Anabela: All over the place, really. The internet, magazines, books, our educations, our childhoods, our friends...a lot of the time when I'm riding my bike around I'll have ideas spontaneously pop into my head and those tend to be my best ones.


A.K.: What do you love most about your craft?

Anabela: I get really excited when I spot someone on the street carrying one of our tote bags. The fact that other people like what we do -- that's what I love the best.

*Above photo courtesy of Francesca Zmetra

A.K.: Do you have a favourite place/spot/time of day/etc. to work?

Anabela: I love to work in our living room in the middle of the afternoon but that doesn't happen too often since I'm usually at work at that time. The light is just perfect then.


A.K.: What are your most favourite materials to work with?

Anabela: Fujipro 400H film, neon pink fabric ink, cotton, linen. A bit of everything, really.

A.K.: Is there another craftsperson/designer/artist that you admire?

Anabela: So many! Jessica Williams, Alice Saunders, Nigel Peake, Eviana Hartman, Aidan Koch, Laura Lombardi. We could go on for days about this!

Vendor Spotlight: Scout & Catalogue

Here's another spotlight on one of our craft fair vendors! We're so excited to have Scout & Catalogue in the Beehive fair this August. Breanna's collections (mostly scarves and pouches) are heavily influenced by the bohemian beach culture of Mexico. In her 'scavenger collection', Breanna upcycles thrift store finds into limited edition pieces. We're so excited to see Scout & Catalogue at the fair! Breanna was kind enough to answer a few questions about her work:

Meg Makins: Tell us about yourself.

Breanna: My name is Breanna and I run the small fashion accessories label, Scout & Catalogue. I grew up in Vancouver, lived for a bit in Mexico and am now residing in Toronto with my boyfriend and a cat called Mouse. While I currently spend most of my days sewing I started my professional career as a graphic designer working in ad agencies and more recently as a creative director at the fashion retailer Aritzia. Leaving my 9 to 5 was both liberating and terrifying and I currently spend my days longing for co-workers to chat with and relishing in escaping the endless meetings that took up so much of my time in the office.

M.M.: Where/when did you become acquainted with your craft?

Bre: Before coming to Toronto my boyfriend and I lived in Mexico and it was there that Scout & Catalogue was born. There were no real art stores in the town I lived in but tons of fabric stores since Mexican women still sew for their families. I started to fiddle around with fabric, dyes and studding and began to sell my stuff online to make some extra cash. Mexico has a really strong artisan culture and it felt natural that I could make my living by selling work I'd made by hand. Obviously Mexico's low cost of living made that reality a lot easier than back home in Canada! These days S&C has changed from a diverting project to a (more than) full time job but the rewards of running my own business are worth all the extra work.

M.M.: Where do you draw creative inspiration from?

Bre: I draw inspiration from all over the place and tuck it away for future collections. These days I've been liking hazy summer photos, neon accents, the markets of Istanbul and India and summer cocktails served in Mason jars. I've also been obsessed with house listings - mls.ca is my go-to site for future fantasy dreaming.

M.M.: Describe your perfect atmosphere for crafting.

Bre: My perfect atmosphere would be a shared studio space with a few other industrious and talented artists. There would be great light, a giant laundry sink (to save my bathtub from anymore abuse) and possibly a little patio garden to grow herbs or flowers during the summer. It would also be extremely cheap, easy to commute to and close to cute coffee shops and restaurants. It's an extreme pipe dream that I nurse on a daily basis.

M.M.: How do you get your work out in the world? Where else can one find it?

Bre: I sell most of my work online and have just started to work with retailers to have my pieces in shops. I'm currently only sold in one Toronto boutique but that should change as my production capacity increases. I also sell at craft sales and will be participating in the upcoming holiday One of A Kind show.

Photos via of Scout & Catalogue

Beehive Excursion: Knitter's Frolic

For the past 14 years, the Downtown Knit Collective have been hosting an annual Knitter's Frolic - a two day knitter's marketplace with over 50 vendors selling the finest yarns and fibre art supplies.

I attended the event last year for the first time, and was blown away at the sheer volume of yarn to be had. It was incredible. Needless to say, when I caught wind of the dates for the Frolic this year, I was super excited!

Fellow Bee Courtney and I decided to check out this year's market together, and it did not disappoint.

The Knitter's Frolic was held at the Japanese Cultural Center, and we arrived right at 9am to quite the impressive line up! Obviously we weren't the only ones excited for some yarn shopping that morning.

Right away the Centre was buzzing with excited knitters, crocheters, and fibre artists; fun!



In addition to the marketplace, the Knitter's Frolic also hosted a wide array of workshops, ranging from crochet for beginners, to entrelac on the round, and pattern drafting. Courtney and I decided to start off the day with an introduction to fair isle, taught by Gloria Williams.

I've always had trouble wrapping my head (and fingers) around knitting with both my left and right hands, but thanks to this workshop, I've got my continental knitting skills down pat. Neither Courtney nor I have ever had formal lessons in knitting, and we both found it very helpful to have a instructor to follow, rather than trying to figure it out ourselves.

After all our hard work in class and a quick snack to boost our energy, it was time to indulge in some yummy yarn!

Beautiful display by Manos Del Uruguay.

Viola Fibers!

We had the pleasure to make acquaintance with Emily Folden, the beauty and brains behind Viola Fibers. Isn't she adorable? Her yarn and colourways are to dye for (pardon the pun)!

Mmm, sock yarn! Sock yarn is my preferred yarn to knit with. Courtney took home several skeins in this curry colourway. We thought it was particularly Beehive-ish! Very pretty. I took home a really pretty robins egg blue skein; the one pictured below.



Now the question is: what to make from our newly acquired stash! That will have to be another post altogether.

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A quick thank you to all that applied to our Beehive Summer Craft Fair! We will be reviewing the applications this week, and will let applicants know of our decisions by May 12th.

Happy Wednesday!