Liligo

Andrea Sadgrove is the creative force behind Liligo, which is her business that makes earth-friendly clothing for children aged 12 months to 5 years old.  Andrea has been sewing since she was 10 years old - her first collection was for her Barbie dolls.
She has since blossomed into the creator of Liligo, started in 2009.  Selling at Craft Shows, Andrea noted that her most popular dressed were made from vintage bed sheets, inspiring her to collect more vintage fabric.  Her clothing is now made from recycled vintage fabrics, organic cotton printed with environmentally friendly inks, or a combination of both.

And of course it is not worth buying just because the clothing follows the three Rs - it is very cute.  Can't wait until it is time to buy that next 'little girl' gift.

Toronto's First TradeSchool!

Mary from Wise Daughters Craft Market is involved in this really cool initiative, Trade School Toronto! From Saturday September 29th to Wednesday October 3rd there will be accessible workshops available at several locations in the Toronto area. The line-up consists of everything "from crafting to economics, bike maintenance to the tar sands, spoken word to book binding, finances 101 to how to use an iPad..."
Trade School breaks down the financial barriers by running the workshops exclusively on barter. Anyone can teach a class and students can sign up for classes by agreeing to bring barter items that the teacher requests. How cool is that?

The first session of Trade School Toronto will include 30 one and a half hour workshops over the course of 5 days. The workshops span a wide range of interests, everything from arts and crafts to technology and business. There are two workshops being hosted at the Wise Daughters Craft Market in the Junction (on Quebec just south of Dundas St. W.) on Sunday September 30th. Lee Hicks will be exploring the creative practice of book-making from noon until 3:30pm. After that Mary Breen herself will be offering a class in Beginner Needle Felting from 4pm until 5:30pm.

COCO Crafted Organic Chocolates - made in Canada

Flavour Bursts

It’s OPEN! COCO Crafted Organics Chocolates can now be found at 365 Jane St., just south of Annette St.They are not only carrying the best organic chocolates I’ve ever tried, made in small batches so they stay fresh THEY’VE GOT ICE CREAM too!

Deborah won my heart over when she started helping Santa with beautiful chocolate Santa’s with a note from the man himself. The chocolate was fantastic, the note was hand written in a scroll and little gold dust spilled out when you cracked Santa open, magical! 

Chocolate Shoes

Her “Flavour Bursts” make a great hostess or teacher gift, with Chai, Fleur du Sel, Lemon and Chili flavours it’s a true grown up treat.There’s her practically world famous Chocolate Shoe that you’ve just got to see. It’s a perfect size 6 woman’s shoe, handmade of organic chocolate, in milk or dark.Drop by and check out the store. You can head over to Outhouse for a morning hit of espresso or for some lunch, then head over to COCO’s Crafted Organic Chocolates for some dessert (you’ve got to take something home for the family too)  just north of Annette St. there’s COCO’s Closet, they’ve got some fabulous vintage pieces and then you can check out the new hardware store on Annette, just south of Jane. Soon there’s going to be a Queen Margherita Pizza at the corner of Jane and Annette where you can stop for dinner too!

CocoBags at 100 mile finds

CocoBags isn't just ALL KINDS OF BAGS, it's jewellery too! and there really is a Coco! She travels the world collecting beautiful fabrics and exotic beads and then transforms them into fabulous bags and OOAK pieces of jewellery. "My interest in fabrics goes a long ways back to when I was a little girl, I accompanied my mother to fabric stores in the little time we lived in. I was bewitched by the factory fresh smell of the fabrics and the endless variety of patterns and prints. Then, everything was handmade by the local tailor and nothing was available ready made."

There are messenger bags for him and her, clutches, purses and make-up bags for the ladies and toiletry bags for the guys. If that isn't enough Coco hand crafts leather tassel ear rings and has an amazing collection of necklaces crafted from gorgeous beads discovered in exotic lands. "I now work mostly with hand block printed fabrics, wools, cottons and some leather. I don't work with patterns, but free cut all my bags. Since I buy only a small amount of each fabric, my bags are mostly OOAK. My designs are simple, with clean lines and a contemporary look"

CocoBags is a home based business in Mississauga and it is smoke free and pet free too. Not only does Coco love to create OOAK pieces from her worldly finds,she also does custom work. She even does large orders if your looking for something for your brides maids or groomsmen.
Drop by CocoBags 100 mile finds store and check out all the amazing pieces she has to offer.

The Kaleidoscope... a celebration of craft & design

Kaleidoscope... acelebration of craft and design  will be held on Sunday September 23, 10am – 5pm at the Fields of Westlake in Bloomfield, Ontario. Admission is $2, kids under 12 are free.

The mission of The Kaleidoscope show organizers is to create a beautiful and intimate experience for attendees and perhaps change the perspective of what a "craft show" is, as many still might think it means crocheted toilet paper covers!  Well amen to that! 

Isa Te's Designs

With everything from upcycled clothing by Isa Te’s Designs, to bird houses by Kim’s woodshed this is a great opportunity to get to do a little shopping for yourself or get your Christmas shopping started (just don't tell anyone, no one likes a show off!)  while spending a great weekend enjoying the picturesque country side of Prince Edward County. 

Pulp & Paisley

Cara Hunter is not only the talent behind Pulp & Paisley Jewellery, a vendor at the show, she is one of the organizers of the show. Cara, Connie Yrjola of Glamour Junkie Jewellery and Barb Forgie of My Stuff-fabric baskets are the producers of “The Mother of All Craft Shows” held right before Mother’s Day and  Mistletoe Magic Artisan Show & Sale held each year in November, both at the River Inn in Corbyville, ON. With an established following of both artisans and customers, a couple of successful shows under their belts,  the ladies have decided to round out the calendar year with the Kaleidoscope show this September.

The show is being held at Fields on West Lake a really cool new facility in beautiful Prince Edward County. They are fully licensed too! It doesn`t get much better than sipping on a glass of County wine while checking out what some great local artisans AND the show is being held the same weekend as the Prince Edward County Studio Tour, so there will be a ton of great artisans to see all over the place.

Remember to look out for the Mistletoe Magic Artisan Show & Sale on November 25, 2012.

made in Canada #4 Muskoka Bear Wear

Our family was so excited to discover Muskoka Bear Wear Clothing Co. in Muskoka this summer. On an overcast day we dropped by the Port Carling shop and ending up spending a fortune! Everybody in the whole famn damily ended being outfitted in Canadian Made Bear wear.

Zip Jacket

They've got 5 locations in the Muskoka area and have an on-line store too. If you want the hilariously funny personalized shirts though, you've got to make the trek north. It's totally worth the trip!
They carry t-shirts, yoga and track pants, several styles of hoodies, a long sleeve Men's T and some pieces for the kiddies and babies too. They are manufactured right here in Canada, right here in the GTA.

Both the girls got a pair of the "Original Paw Pants" they now have a paw print firmly planted on each cheek! with an draw cord waist and elastic at the ankles, they're 80/20 poly cotton AND THEY ARE LONG! A very important feature in our family! I can also attest to the fact that they wash beautifully! Shannon and I are now the proud owners of the zip jacket. It's cut really well, reminds me of the the long lean cut of Bench hoodies. I grabbed a pair of their yoga pants, they have a Lululemon feel to the cut but they are fleecy and Canadian made. Bruce and Olivia made off with a couple of t-shirts that are PERFECT for them! Bruce also grabbed a long sleeve T and I made off with a Muskoka Wear V-neck T.