Thursday 16 October 2014

LOCAL TALENT

You might remember a few weeks ago I was going on about my cousin's local business - MairiRyan Textile Designs. (If you don't remember you can see it back here.) At the time I was promoting shopping local and mentioned the Fredericton Fall Craft Show.

I will gladly admit supporting local business has not normally been high on my priority list. However, after many discussions with my cousin about the frustrations of being a local artist, I realized I should be supporting people in my community! Colour me changed. So forgive me if in the future I'm a broken record about it.

When we went to the craft fair a couple of weekends ago I was determined to turn over a new leaf. Shopping local all the way. Here is a little showcase of the craft fair! And to be fair - I'm showing you products from three booths and two of them are a friend/family member. But I still think they're awesome.

1. Courtney's Creations - find the facebook page here.
My friend Courtney makes beautiful decorative eggs - yes, that's right - eggs. They are an art form called "Pysanky" or Ukrainian Easter Eggs. This is very similar to batik, using a wax and dye method. The eggs are beautiful and a great decoration to put on display or hang on your Christmas tree. If you like, she even makes custom orders. And if you're nearby, she will be at Rhoda's Christmas Festival in Saint John from Nov 14 - 16.





2. MairiRyan Textile Designs - find the facebook page here.
As I mentioned above, I wrote a post on my cousin Dara's largest project to date a few weeks ago - a collaboration with a fashion designer using MairiRyan fabrics. Dara also creates a variety of other products that she sells including Comfort Cathy dolls (microwaveable for aches and pains), hand-dyed silk scarves, headbands, and notebooks. If you are looking for Christmas or birthday presents I would highly recommend a hand dyed scarf! Or even a headband as a stocking stuffer! She makes baby sized headbands too, which would be adorable for a newborn photo shoot.




3. Megan Billings Pottery - find her website here.
I have to tell you - I have no bias here. I don't know Megan, but I have been admiring her work at the Saint John City Market (at The Butcher's Daughter, specifically) for the last four years! When we found her at the craft fair I was so excited to meet her! Her pottery is gorgeous - bright and happy. The colours she uses make me happy. Nothing feels too precious or fussy but there is beautiful attention to design and detail.




Hopefully this will also inspire you (at least a little) to shop locally! Keep it in mind when you're buying Christmas presents this year. I'm definitely trying to!

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