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 

Summer Fair Vendors Announced!

With just over six weeks until our summer fair, it's time for us to announce our lovely group of vendors for this years show. Last month we all gathered for our 'viewing party'- an evening of reviewing applications and eating yummy treats.

We were overjoyed with the number of applications we received, including some from as far away as Montreal and Halifax. The only problem was that they were all so good that it was hard to narrow it down to the number of booths we could fit in our space.

The show will have twenty one amazing vendors, plus a small selection of crafts made by the members of The Beehive. With work ranging from textiles and wood to prints and jewelry, these talented crafters are sure to impress.

Upcycled cashmere under garments from Sartoria.

Aprons and totes by Dear Edna.

Screen printed wood blocks and toys from Fidoodle.

Screen printed bags by Anna Zygowski (left) and tea towels by Bespoke Uprising (right).

Totes, ties, and more from Fieldguided.

Jewelry by Lesley Ashton.

Scarves and bags by Scout & Catalogue.

Cross-stitched jewelry from The Pin Pals.

Prints by Chris Foster (left) and Katie Muth (right).

Hand-dyed yarn by Viola fibers.

There will also be ceramics by Bread and Butter Pottery and jewelry by Melanie Cronyn and Rosalyn Faustino. You will also find textiles by Katie-did, Leikey Designs, and Jenna Rose. As well as Knits by Oak Savannah, pouches and prints by Petra C., and fashion journals by Worn. You can also see the full list of vendors with links to their websites over on our summer fair webpage.

Starting next week we will be featuring some of our vendors here twice a week leading up to the show. So please be sure to check out these features as you are sure to build up as much anticipation and excitement for this event as we have.

Photos courtesy of Hollie and the artists mentioned.

Flour Power

We eat a lot of bread in my house. Two of us will easily go through about four loaves a week.

We'd probably eat less if I didn't make it myself, but once you've had homemade, storebought's a downgrade (burn, Wonderbread)! Who can resist the sweet, salty allure of fresh-baked bread with butter? Not me! Why try?

First off, get your head around the misconception that bread-making is so time-consuming and super-precise, you have to be an iron chef to get it right. There's more room for error than you think (I'm a big fan of the "dash" and it's worked out so far) and you only end up doing 9-11 minutes of actual work. As long as you have a window of time where you're home for three hours, trust me - you can bake bread.

The below recipe is the whole-wheat one I use regularly. It comes from Paul Hollywood's fantastic book 100 Great Breads. The pictures in this book are beautiful, the breads, rolls and sweet treats (like the sour-cherry-and-chocolate bread) are soooo tasty, and some of the measurements are by weight which (if you're a fan of Alton Brown, you already know) is the most accurate way to measure things.

This recipe makes a single loaf, but please save yourself the trouble and double up. An equal amount of work goes into it whether you're making one, two or four loaves so you might as well eat for a week on your efforts.

- Scant* 2 1/2 C whole wheat flour
- 2/3 C white flour
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 oz/30 g yeast
- 1/2 stick (this is 2 oz) of butter
- Scant* 1 1/4 C water

* I've never understood/heeded "scant." It basically overstates the measurement and just means you should measure exactly, which is what measurements are anyway so...?

Since any bread recipe, followed to the letter, is pretty straightforward, this post includes tips and tricks I've picked up/made up over the years. They've consistently worked for me. Hopefully they'll do the same for you!

For starters, I always dissolve about a tablespoon of sugar in a bowl of roughly 1/4 C warm water, then mix in the required amount of traditional bread-making yeast (not quick-rise or bread machine yeast). This is called proofing and it's usually only done if you're not sure how old your yeast is/whether it's still active, but I do it with straight-from-the-store stuff too and find that it acts like steroids for my dough.

Let the sugar/water/yeast sit for a few minutes until it's smooth (like cappucino-flavoured yogurt) and bubbly like this...



Once the yeast has started happily belching itself into activity, mix the flour, salt, yeast and butter in a bowl. A KitchenAid mixer is A-amazing for this, but if you don't have one, by-hand works too.

One other tip - melt the butter. The recipe doesn't call for this, but if your butter is hard at all, it's such a pain to mix evenly. Instead, measure it out and throw it in the microwave for 30 seconds before adding it to the dry ingredients.


After that, add the water slowly and mix until all the flour has been picked up, the bowl is basically clean and the dough is slightly sticky.


Tip it onto a floured surface and knead for five minutes.



This is one area where it can be easy to lose the loaf. Kneading expands the strands of gluten and affects the texture of the finished bread. It also creates little air pockets for the yeast to fill with gas, which is what causes the dough to rise. Try to think of this while you're kneading. Don't just roll and punch the dough - really pull and fold the edges to trap mini-air-caves for the yeast to party in.

After about five minutes, you should have a dough that's smooth and uniform-looking. It shouldn't feel dried out, but it shouldn't stick to everything it touches either.

At this point, many recipes will tell you to put the dough in a bowl and set it in the oven with the light on, but the heat off.

Ignore that and do what I learned in my 10th grade foods hospitality class.



Put a little olive oil in the bottom of the bowl and roll the dough so it's got a thin layer of oil all over. I would normally cover the dough with a clean towel and set it to rise near a heating vent or in a sunny window. However, I have a dog who loves to eat dough. If you do as well, turn your oven on to 115 degrees F, cover the dough with tinfoil and slide it in.

Spend the next hour patting yourself on the back, running errands, working, napping, etc. then come back and uncover your dough.


Unless it has uncovered itself by bursting from the bowl!

Take it out and shape it to the pans you have at your disposal. No extra kneading or punching here. Just form it to the pans. I stand like craaaaazy behind the red silicone ones you see here. They're cheap at Canadian Tire.

Cover with foil and put the pans back in the oven (or towel them and set them near your heat source) for another hour.

After that, remove the foil, crank the oven to 450 F and bake for 35 minutes.


Bam. Your days of shelling out dough (pun intended) for Dempster's are over. You'll save money, you'll feel like a pioneer, you'll enjoy toast in a whole new way, your house will smell amazing and you'll feel confident enough to advance to things like pizza...


Cornbread...


And my fave - the oatmeal molasses bread recipe in Earth to Table.

What's your main squeeze bread recipe? Share it in the comments!

Knit Night on the Brain

The Beehive has been working on something big and by big we mean huge. So big, in fact, that we need your help.


We are creating a large installation piece for SUPERCRAWL! The piece will be a replica of the façade of the Brain, home to Knit Night, that will be suspended over the front of the building. We will be recreating the brick work and structural elements of the building while also adding a few touches of our own.


The majority of the piece, all the brick work, will be made up of knit scarves. Once SUPERCRAWL is over the piece will be dismantled and the scarves donated to Mission Services Opportunity Centre where they will be distributed to those in need of something warm to guard them against the cold.

This is where your help comes in. Although many of us in the Beehive are avid knitters we will simply not have enough time to get all the scarves completed while working on the rest of the piece. Also, we think it would be awesome for the entire craft community in Hamilton to get together on this one!

We have created a pattern of the scarf we will be using to recreate the brick work. The pattern is available for you to download here. The yarn you will need to make the scarf is Lion Brand Wool Ease - Thick and Quick. We have also created a list of yarn colours to use to keep the whole piece uniform. The brick colours: Hazelnut #640-125, Pumpkin #640-133, Spice #640-135, Apricot #640-136, Butterscotch #640-189 and Wood: #640-404.

And the mortar colours: Linen: #640-098, Wheat #640-402, Oatmeal: #640-123 and Barley #640-124

Lion Brand Yarn has graciously supplied us with yarn for creation of this piece. If you would like to contribute a scarf to the project you can pick up yarn at Knit Night at the Brain every Wednesday from 7 to 10pm. If would like to support the project but are unable to come to Knit Night you can head over to your local yarn shop to purchase any of the Lion Brand colours listed above.

Completed scarves must be submitted by 5pm on August 13 at The Beehive Summer Craft Fair. They can also be dropped off up until that deadline at Knit Night

If you have any questions about the project or the pattern either stop by Knit Night or send us an email. We are happy to help you with any of your questions, and could even teach you how to make one.

Photos courtesy of Hollie and Courtney

Introductions

Dearest readers,

Today's post comes to you via both Elizabeth and Kate of The Beehive. The two of us are so very excited to share some plans that we've had in the works since the Beehive first formed back in January. Introducing our new and upcoming venture: Needlework!

Our concept for Needlework is to provide Hamilton and its crafty, DIY community with its first ever sewing lounge; a sew by the hour, creative workspace. We envision Needlework as a space where you'll be inspired to learn new skills, finish old projects, and make something new; all while being surrounded by a thoughtfully curated selection of fabric, fibre and notions.

We are still very much in the beginning stages of this venture, and thus we would like to ask for your help. We would love to get a sense what you want and need in a fabric/yarn/notions store/workspace, so we have created a survey to gather some of that information. If you could take the time to fill it out, and pass it on to friends and family living in the Hamilton area and beyond, we would be ever so grateful. By participating in our survey, you also have a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to either White Elephant, or Mixed Media. Fun!

A big thank you to our friends and family, and of course The Beehive, for being so supportive, helpful, and encouraging in our endeavours thus far. We love you all, and couldn't be making this big step in our lives without you! Thank you!

Much love,

Elizabeth and Kate

p.s. If you would like to get in touch with us, or be added to our mailing list for future Needlework updates, please feel free to email us at needleworkhamilton@gmail.com.

Beehive Workshop: Soap Making with Imke

A couple weeks ago Hollie mentioned that her new friend, Imke, was visiting from Germany and was an experienced soap maker. She wondered if we'd be interested in doing a soap making workshop with her before she headed back home. Yes, please! We gathered the list of ingredients and supplies and met last week to make two kinds of soap, one for hair and the other for the body.

The first one we made was a body soap made of olive oil, hemp oil, and crushed bay leaves. Each ingredient was carefully measured on a digital scale. To each soap we added Lye, which had to be mixed outside since it will burn the skin upon contact. Note the gloves and goggles. Scary stuff.

We used stacked paper cups as our molds so we could easily divide the soaps up amongst the group, although she also recommended silicone muffin tins as molds. We put a layer of newsprint in between the cups to insulate them and keep the soap warm while it hardened overnight.

The second soap we made was beer hair soap. Yes, beer! Flat beer is good for your hair. The protein in the hops and malt help repair the hair and give it a beautiful shine. This soap was made using frozen beer, olive oil, castor oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, and rosemary oil. It smelt a little funny at first but the addition of the rosemary oil made it smell so good.

We each took one bar of each soap home. Once they were hardened the following day they were removed from the molds and now have to sit for 6-8 weeks before they are ready to be used. The website she referenced for these soap recipes was in German, but she did suggest bramble berry as a good reference site if you are interested in trying your hand at soap making too.


Thank you Imke for taking the time to teach us the process of this lovely craft. And a special thank you to Keiran for letting us use his spacious kitchen for the workshop.

Edith's Dollhouse

I had been spinning my tires searching for the perfect dollhouse for my 2 year old, Edith (and her big brother). Once you start looking, there are so many well-designed ones out there. It can be a bit overwhelming and a little prohibitive financially. 

I was having a hard time finding something affordable that wasn’t plastic and that we wouldn’t want to hide whenever company came over. And I didn't know if I wanted to go for something clean and modern, or something more classic.

I decided to be a little creative and come up with some different options. I came across this gem and fell in love with the legs. I think I went to every Value Village and thrift store from Brantford to Burlington looking for the perfect side table to transform into a dollhouse.  

Since I had a bit of a due date, Edith's birthday was only a week away, and the perfect piece of furniture wasn't presenting itself, I opted to build (with the help of my handy husband) one myself. I built the frame based on this dollhouse.

We bought two pieces of pine shelving for the framework, and a piece of masonite for the backing. I printed some vintage wallpaper images that I found online, as well as some scrapbooking paper and spray glued them to the back and walls of the house. The wainscoting and paneling were made from coffee stir sticks carefully cut and pieced together. For the staircase, I used cove moulding nailed it upside down to an angled board.

There is something fun about working in miniature. I made a makeshift doll bed from the bottom half of a hinged-wooden box, cut a mattress from some foam and sewed up fitted sheets, pillows and a blanket.

Even though there is a lack of accessories, the dollhouse was a huge hit. The kids play with it daily, and it excites me to know that I have an ongoing project that I can work on and furnish. I've been dreaming of miniature lighting, furniture, mirrors, picture frames and even a sheepskin rug. Although, it does make two houses I have to maintain!