Vendor Spotlight: Rosalyn Faustino

Spotlight time! Rosalyn Faustino is another vendor in the Beehive Craft Fair this summer, and all of us are simply thrilled about it. Rosalyn is one of those crafters that seems to do a little bit of everything she can get her hands on and her blog is full inspiring pictures of new crafting skills that she is constantly picking up. White Elephant carries some of her crochet wire and thread necklaces (pictured below) and they are a huge hit. We're excited to see more of her work this summer at the fair.

Photo - Karyn Valino 

Jane LaBatte: Tell us about yourself.

Rosalyn: My name is Rosalyn Faustino, born and raised in Calgary, Alberta. I went to school at the Toronto School of Art, University of Toronto and Sheridan College focusing on Sculpture and Design. You can normally find me at the workroom or the dance floor when I'm not craftin' it up.

Photo - Karyn Valino

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

Rosalyn: I was always surrounded by craft by both my parents. My mom would always tat, sew, knit, crochet for my sister and I, and my dad always loved to assemble things. I felt that when I was in elementary and girls were chasing boys, I was too busy cross stitching. I would have taken it with me everywhere I went and while I was watching tv. I stopped crafting for awhile and focused more on my fine art practice. It wasn't until I was in my 4th year university when I discovered using my domestic techniques and altering them by using non-traditional materials. 

J.L.: Where do you draw creative inspiration from?

Rosalyn: Everywhere, but mainly through nature - trees, organic objects.

Photo - Karyn Valino

J.L.: Tell us about your creative process.

Rosalyn: My process involves no pre-determined conceptions as to how the overall work would become. The work manifests from the trial and errors I encounter and where every it can take me. This way of creativity has allowed me to work subconsciously

Photo - Rosalyn Faustino

J.L.: How do you get your work out into the world? Where else can one find it?

Rosalyn: I've only recently started showing my work into the world. I was a vendor with my partner Caitlyn, of COSMIC LATTE, at City of Craft in 2009. From there, I was invited to be part of the Wunderkabinet 2  in Berlin. The Beehive Fair will be my first show going solo!! I'm hoping to open up an online shop soon...so keep your eyes open!!

Photo - Karyn Valino

J.L.: What do you do when you’re not working on your craft?

Rosalyn: I like to do dancing and discovering all the little shops and eatery places in Toronto!

Vendor Spotlight: Dear Edna

Next in our lineup of wonderful vendors is a local Hamiltonian: Erin of Dear Edna. She makes gorgeous aprons (for girls and guys!), cute screen printed totes, and has a fun blog that does a great job of letting me know what's going on in Hamilton each month.

Kate Hunter: Tell us about yourself.

Erin: My name is Erin McIntosh and I’m the one-woman show behind Dear Edna, a small handmade accessories company based in Hamilton, Ontario. I was born and raised in “the Hammer”, but it wasn’t until I had spent four years at the University of Western, two years in Japan and Australia, and three years in Toronto that I decided to move back to my hometown, reignite my relationship with my sewing machine, and finally turn my life-long hobby into a creative business. When I’m not sewing, I am a full-time editor, tea fanatic, bookworm and baker.

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

Erin: I come from a long line of crafters. My grandmother was very well known for her quilting skills. I think she made a quilt for every new grandchild and every wedding in our family, and I have fond memories playing beneath her quilting frames. Many of my baby and doll clothes were handmade thanks to my aunts, and my mother’s crocheted afghans and doilies are warm reminders of home for me. I began teaching myself to sew at a very young age, when my mother inherited a sewing machine from a friend. I was immediately fascinated with it, and after practicing sewing line after line into tea towels, I progressed to creating pencil cases, skirts and dresses, and finally, home accessories. It’s only in the last year that I’ve picked up screen printing and I’m really excited about where that will take me.

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

Erin: Hopefully it is evident in my work, but I am heavily influenced by the past – florals, houndstooth and plaid; doilies and lace; brooches and pearls; high tea and happy hour. Browsing antique stores is one of my favourite things to do and I could do it for hours on end.

I am also really inspired by the handmade tradition. Skills such as sewing, needlepoint and weaving that have been passed down for generations are now disappearing art forms. I am really eager to try my hand at many of them and find ways to incorporate them into my work.

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

Erin: I live in a two-story condo with my boyfriend in downtown Hamilton. We recently created a sewing room and office that takes up almost the entire top floor and opens out onto two rooftop patios, which I just love. Words can’t describe how nice it is to have my fabric collection on display, all my tools within arm’s reach, natural sunlight and a dedicated space to just create. My favourite time of day is currently unavailable, so let’s just say it’s evenings and weekends.



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

Erin: I primarily sell my work online through my Etsy store: www.dearedna.etsy.com. I also have a few pieces for sale in White Elephant.

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!

Hip to be Square: Granny Square Blanket!

Way back in the winter our fellow bee Courtney was kind (and patient!) enough to teach a few of us how to crochet simple granny squares at The Brain's regular Knit Night. In general I tend to gravitate towards simple projects that I can pick up and put down easily or do while watching a movie; it makes me feel like I'm being productive! Granny squares were the perfect project to fill my idle hands and use up that ever growing yarn stash. Slowly but surely, one square at a time, you're bound to build up enough little squares to make an afghan without having to tote around a large and daunting project.

Jenna Rose used some gorgeous light airy colors for her granny squares (above).

I love natural colors of wool and using Canadian or hand spun yarns, so for my project I used up some hand spun Manos del Uruguay left over from an old project and purchased some Briggs and Little yarn while on christmas vacation in Nova Scotia. I love Briggs and Little because it's a Canadian company and is very inexpensive for pure Canadian wool, which they buy direct from the producer. It makes an ideal yarn for natural dyeing as well as for large projects like blankets.

I started by dyeing some of the wool with onion skins, one of the easiest and most rewarding natural dyes to work with. After saving up my onion skins until i had enough to fill a pot, I dyed two balls of natural white "Heritage" (2 ply) yarn from the Briggs and Little line. I boiled the onion skins 'til the water was full of their dark rust color, then I filtered them out and placed the water back on to boil. I dyed one skein first which soaked up the strong darker yellow right away - the ball in the back of the picture below. Then I dyed the second skein in the remaining water - this is called an exhaust bath. The water is not as potent with dye but this second round will produce a softer, often more beautiful, shade of yellow.

To go with the natural yellows, I picked up some Heritage yarns in shades of grey and started making the granny squares that Courtney had taught me. The stitch was surprisingly simple. Starting with a small circle made with a few chain stitches and then working outwards with little "shells" of three double-crochet stitches followed by a few chain stitches you eventually get a square. There are many great books and videos on making granny squares and tons of variations of patterns but I thought I'd stick to the simple square, mixing up my colors to make every square just a little bit different from the last. Soon enough (and thanks to a couple seasons of "Mad Men" that I definitely needed to catch up on...) I had a big pile of granny squares ready to be stitched together into a blanket.

As I made up the squares I added in some bright fun bits of left over wool in my stash to fill out the blanket and add some different colors!

Using the same basic pattern of three double crochet stitches I edged each square, and stitched them together by picking up the edge of the previous square as I went. When I was all done I edged the whole blanket with a gradation of grey to black yarns to frame the whole thing making the lighter grays and yellows pop in the middle of the blanket.

And just in time for summer weather, voila! the perfect picnic blanket for Bay Front Park!

I think I'll spend my whole summer right here.


photos by Jenna Rose and Anna Taylor

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

Bee's BBQ

When I wrote this, Mel (one of our very own Bee's) was about to have a baby, but right before I posted I found out that little baby Margaret Jane was actually born early this morning! How exciting! A few weeks ago, we thought we'd celebrate by hosting a Beehive BBQ in honor of this little one.

We gathered at Kate's place, and had a lovely time chatting, and enjoying so much amazing food. Kate made a totally delicious rhubarb rosemary spritzer (you can find the recipe on her blog, here).

The rhubarb spritzers were wonderful, but my personal highlight of the meal was Kate's fiancé, Erick, rocking the BBQ. He grilled veggies, Black Walnut Lane sausages, and divine rosemary chicken burgers - amazing! All of the meat came from local farmers, and you could taste the difference. Everything was so yummy!

It was just so nice to sit together in the afternoon sun and, instead of talking about the craft fair and our knitting project, we just got to relax and learn more about each other. We even invited the boys to this event - that's a first!

The BBQ was completely delectable, and so much fun. By the end of the of the evening we broke our own rule and started talking Beehive projects. We can't help it, it's just too exciting!

Perhaps we should just make all of our meetings barbeques?

Photos courtesy of Meg and Kate

Vendor Spotlight: Bread and Butter Pottery

Bethany Butterworth, of Bread and Butter Pottery, is one of our vendors traveling the farthest just to take part in our lil’ fair. (All the way from Halifax, Nova Scotia, guys!) Her sweet, light-hearted pottery has been delighting east-coasters for the past few years since she graduated from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and we are more than a little excited to share her work with you all! I caught up with her over email to ask her a few questions about her work and inspiration.

Anna Taylor: How did you first get acquainted with your craft?

Bethany Butterworth: I studied at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design from 2003-2007. Somehow I knew where I wanted to be, so by the second semester I had made my way into the ceramics department, where I stayed.  

A.T.: Pottery is the kind of art/craft practice that is difficult to do in your own space and I know that you are the executive director of a co-operative pottery studio called Turnstile Pottery. How have you found working in that kind of shared environment?

B.B.: Turnstile is a co-op studio, currently there are 8 of us. We share costs and responsibilities, so what would be an overwhelming amount of things for one person to run is divided among the group. We keep a small storefront and have a working studio, and we also run workshops and classes. Working in a shared space was challenging at first, but once you get used to it, sharing studio space is a wonderful thing. The group right now is darling. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without it. Having others around to generate ideas and share experiences is a treat.

A.T.: Besides selling through Turnstile’s shop front what other ways have you gotten your work out in the world?

B.B.: I have work at a few stores in Nova Scotia  including Love, Me Boutique in Halifax, Salty Rose’s Local Craft and Trinket  in Cape Breton and the Flying Cloud Boutique which is an airstream trailer that travels across the province. I also sell at a number of craft markets including the Halifax Crafters and [now] Beehive. I’m still working out other places to sell, like the Halifax farmers market and online...

A.t.: I’m totally in love with the “North End” line your posted on your website! Can you tell us a bit about how your community in Halifax Nova Scotia informs your practice?

B.B.: Yes! The North end of Halifax is an excellent place. You always hear about how things move more slowly out here, and that is true in this neighbourhood for certain. The streets are lined with trees, neighbours talk to one another, cats prowl, things happen in backyards and spill out into the street. I’m lucky enough to live in the thick of all this, and my house and studio are less than a block apart. I’ve been inspired by the funny sass of the neighbourhood, so I’ve been trying to get that feeling into my work! I’m totally fascinated by the cats. They are so funny and weird, there are tons of them around, and they each have ‘people’ names, like Benny or Jack or Tina or Harrison. Conversations can get confusing pretty quickly.

A.T.: You did an interesting collaborative project with tumblers a couple of times in the last few years, can you tell us a bit about the project?

B.B.: The project is called Secret Tumblers, I start in November and have a release in mid-December (strategically just before Christmas, so people want to buy these tumblers!).  I ask 5 artists to collaborate with me, generally they are local artists/illustrators. I make a set number of tumblers and each of the 5 artists decorate them, usually each artist chooses a consistent idea, so last year one person drew fences, another did really lovely abstract drawings. Each artist decorates these  tumblers and at the end they each get to keep an entire set (one of theirs, one by the other 4 artists) and I sell the rest at a release party. The artists get to learn a new skill and I get to spend time with them while being inspired by new ideas. Then we all have a party to celebrate, which is always fun. This project always destroys me but it is incredibly rewarding.

A.T.: I’ve been familiar with your pottery work for some time but recently I was happy to hear you talk about taking on a more official business model for your craft. What services did you take advantage of to help you in this process?

B.B.: I have been lucky enough to participate in the government’s Self Employment Benefits program. This program is national, but each province organizes it differently. Basically if you are in this program you receive financial support and access to workshops to assist you in starting a business. It is an excellent resource and I wish everyone I know could participate in it.

A.T.: Have you found them to be helpful?

B.B.: Yes for the most part they are very helpful. Honestly the biggest help is the time.

A.T.: What advice would you have for other crafters just starting out in building a business?

Find the time to do it. It can be scary but keep your chin up and you will persevere.

Photos courtesy of Bethany Buttersworth