Torontoist » crafts

Merry Craftmas!

Toronto DIY extravaganza City of Craft is back for a fifth year to celebrate all things handmade.

City of Craft The Great Hall/Theatre Centre (1087 Queen Street West) and Thrush Holmes Empire (1093 Queen Street West) Saturday, December 10, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, December 11, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. $2 admission; FREE for children younger than 12 ‘Tis the season for holiday present purchases, and, this time of [...]

Bright Lights, Big City of Craft

Amy Borkwood/Nightjar Books at City of Craft 2008. Toronto crafters Jen Anisef, Leah Buckareff, and Becky Johnson, the organizers behind this weekend’s City of Craft show and sale at the Theatre Centre, are busy transforming the perception of crafting as a charmingly retro pastime to a cutting-edge trend that’s spawned a burgeoning local community of [...]

Spring Shopping Break

Our favourite pop-up mall, aka the One of a Kind Show, is back in action this week, offering seasonal goods to go with the seasonal change. Despite the recessionary pall, organizers’ spirits were high, and though preliminary attendance figures were not available they were optimistic about the show’s prospects. Craft sales (both the raw materials [...]

Awww-Inducing

Photo by Hamutal Dotan/Torontoist. Outside: driving wind, plummeting temperatures, mermaid-chasing sea monsters on stilts. Inside: googly eyes, pipe cleaners, and that heady mix of scissors, glue, and lip-biting concentration known to craft-making kindergarteners the world over. Just another day at City Hall. WinterCity is Toronto’s official beat-the-February-blahs party, and its opening weekend at Nathan Phillips [...]

Shoppers, Start Your Engines

Today’s opening of the One of a Kind Show and Sale marks the unofficial kick-off of the holiday shopping season. We are officially in binge territory here: the exhibition hall takes ten minutes to walk from end to end and is stuffed to the rafters with every imaginable kind of artisan. It’s the ultimate in [...]

PhotoTO: Don Taylor Bookbinding

In the age of virtual everything, Don Taylor uses his hands to keep books alive that were written hundreds of years ago. Torontoist visited Taylor’s studio on John Street, where he reinvigorates aging texts and creates stunning new bindings that are works of art in their own right. Taylor invites customers to bring their “sad, [...]

Valentine’s Gifts for Lazy Lovers

Any sweetheart worth his or her weight in Godiva’s will tell you that all they really want for Valentine’s Day is something from the heart, made by hand. Lovely and true. But did said sweetie specify whose heart? Whose hands? Unromantic as it seems, we believe it’s perfectly acceptable to outsource your labours of love. [...]

Musicologist: December 4–9

If you are saddened by your procrastination that cost you Richard Hawley and Jose Gonzalez tickets this week, you can direct your attention to the eclectic choice of shows as a mild substitute. It does, however, appear as if local label Arts and Crafts have successfully cornered the market on this week's moderately sized shows (read: tickets that cost no more than $35). Tuesday you can catch Jason Collett with a surprise guest at the...

Shooting Stars In Toronto

Indie popsters Stars will be shooting a new video in Toronto tomorrow and Thursday and they want you to be in it. If you missed the Joel Plaskett shoot we told you about earlier this year, you’ve got another shot at your 15 minutes of fame (or at least becoming known among your acquaintances as [...]

The Spoons Stir Old Emotions

Last night, one of Torontoist’s adolescent fantasies came true … no, not that one…we finally saw synth pop group The Spoons in concert! After a few technical glitches onstage at the Parkdale Arts and Crafts Festival, they launched into their 1984 hit, “Tell No Lies,” a song that is almost painful to mention without blurting, [...]

Parkdale Crafts Fest: Get Rich Or Die Knitting

Queen West West hosts the Parkdale Arts and Crafts Festival this weekend, July 14 and 15 from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Organized by the Parkdale/Liberty Economic Development Corporation (PLEDC), the festival is intended to “promote and celebrate the diversity of arts and culture in Parkdale.” We’re mostly going for the beer garden and [...]

On Store Shelves: Do You Trust Your Friends?

“Do you trust your friends? Would you let them redecorate your apartment, or do your homework for you? Would you let them buy your groceries? Would you leave them in charge of your kids? And if you did, what would they change?” So reads the beginning of the liner notes from Do You Trust Your [...]