Making It Local

UPDATED - One of my best friends from Toronto has just finished spending her summer here in Vancouver. What did she do while she was here? She didn't climb the Grouse Grind or go kayaking. She spent her time sewing. A few meters of grey sweatshirt material from Dressew Hastings and a sewing machine, and she had a shrug and skirt that could rival any offering from
American Apparel on Granville Street. Vancouver's a good city for shopping, but an even better city for creating stuff and meeting people who craft their own goods.

The past couple of years have been an eventful time for artists and designers living and working in the city. While the long-loved Sugar Refinery may have closed and recently BLIM was left without a home, the trendy Main street area is a true testament to the fact that artists and designers can build a community and support themselves while doing it. Gastown is filled with little design studios, Tinseltown is now a home to art galleries, and the SeamRippers Craft Collective is showing the downtown core how to create do-it-yourself artist books, silkscreen garments and even handmade underwear. It might be the long stretches of rain or the fact that we're supposedly a no-fun city, but we're prevalent in handicrafts. Word has it that we're even getting our own Vancouver Craft Mafia soon, following on the heels of the infamous art collective from Austin, Texas.

Working from 9-5 on a computer, my after-hours interests are as far away from the keyboard as possible: knitting, sewing, embroidery, felt sculpture, silkscreening, and jewelry-making. While I've got an entire room in my apartment devoted to supplies and my sewing machine, I'm always interested in pulling myself away to see what other people are doing. With Beyond Robson, I hope to share the things that get me out of the house-craft fairs, art shows, DIY consignment boutiques, and places to source more wool, sequins, twine and glue for my ever-growing craft-supply stash. I look forward to sharing it with you. I'll be posting an interview with an artist/craftperson/designer once a month, and broadcasting crafty finds and sales on a weekly basis.