Announcing! Dec 10 Handmade Holiday Sale at Little City Farm!

Mark your calendars!  Our annual A Little Bird Told Me Handmade Holiday Sale is now only about 8 weeks away.  Saturday, December 10th, from 4-8 pm at Little City Farm.

We are excited to host this beautiful sale every year, bringing together a variety of local artisans who create unique items with an eco-conscious mind.  Many of the items are made with reclaimed or repurposed materials, and others are made using organic ingredients or natural materials. 

This year you'll find:

• woolen clothing
• natural wool and wood toys
• jewelry from reclaimed materials 
• organic baking (including the favourite gluten-free vegan gingerbread pictured below)
• handmade chocolates & truffles (including our famous raw nanaimo bars - selling out quickly!)
• paper lanterns
• functional pottery
• organic soaps & botanicals 
• household accessories & decor
• eco living books, and more...

We'll be highlighting this year's vendors over the next weeks, leading up to the sale, so please stay tuned!  We hope to see you there!
 

Soap Making session

Each week I try to have at least one day dedicated to my soap making endeavors.  This fall the weeks seem especially busy, still trying to harvest the last of our garden, plant garlic and clean up the beds before the snow flies; still trying to finish canning the last jams, making applesauce, drying herbs; not to mention the huge barn renovation that is still looming over us in the backyard - trying to make the most of these long fall days to get it all done.  But soap is what I do as well, so I try to eke out time each week to make a few batches, getting things ready for the holiday sales that are fast approaching. 

Here are a few photos of the process - measuring, weighing, heating, cooling, taking temperatures, mixing, blending, adding essential oils and botanicals, pouring into molds, and then curing...

This is what my day looked like today, 4 batches made and 2 more to go.  All made in small batches on the kitchen stove, measuring and prepared by hand.  A few new varieties today as well, just for the holiday season - a Honey-Ginger soap; and a Winter Forest soap (lemongrass, lavender, balsam fir, cedar); and a few new men's bars coming to the etsy store soon.  Please check out our soaps there or plan to come to the Oct 21 market at Fertile Ground CSA pick up from 3:45-6:15 pm (right in this neighbourhood) or our Little City Farm handmade holiday sale Nov 29 from 10 am-2 pm!

Central ArtWalk Success!

Yesterday we participated in the first annual Central ArtWalk - a walking studio tour of artisans and crafters in our neighbourhood, ranging from pottery, handmade chocolates, music, painting, knitted goods, handbound journals, woodwork, and much more. It was inspiring to see the variety of talents that have been hidden throughout our neighbourhood - more than 30 artists participated - and we hope this will become an annual event that draws more people out each year. We estimated that about 70-80 visitors come by our house, and the five artists who were set up here thought the day was worthwhile. It's so important to have these kinds of events to build community cohesion. Our neighbourhood is one that seems to just be coming "into it's own" and needs exactly this kind of opportunity for people to meet each other and to help develop the unique character of our neighbourhood. Thanks to everyone who dropped by and helped make this day a success. Here are a few photos of the vendors set up at Little City Farm - wooden games made from reclaimed wood; reconstructed clothing made from wool sweaters; silkscreen patches & handmade cards; herbal soaps, teas and salves...

a little bird told me craft sale!!

The first annual "a little bird told me" craft sale was a huge success! We were amazed at the turn-out, with estimated 200-250 people dropping by to browse the beautiful hand-made wares. The house was packed with guests from start to finish, and we could hardly have fit more people in. It really shows that people want to connect with each other, and people want to support local artists.

Thanks to all our amazing vendors, and all of you who came by to check out the sale! We even met some other urban chicken-keepers, and are still considering forming a chicken keeper alliance in the spring as part of an urban agriculture network. We made some great contacts with other local crafters & artists from our neighbourhood, and are beginning to make plans for a larger neighbourhood nulti-house art-walk for the spring/summer 2008. If you live in our area and want to get involved, please contact us! Otherwise, stay tuned...