one year ago

photo credit: Kim Werker

One year ago, Got Craft invited Faythe Levine up to Vancouver and screened the Vancouver premiere of Handmade Nation. You can check out the flickr photostream here.


Love the movie? Own your own copy by clicking here!

handmade nation vancouver round 2

The Museum of Vancouver hosted a screening of Handmade Nation last Friday to a diverse crowd consisting of DIY crafters and members of the Museum. The event had a fantastic turn out and many people left the evening feeling inspired and with a new appreciation for handmade. Following the screening, the MOV held a guest panel to speak about the DIY movement in Vancouver and answer questions raised by the audience. The panel consisted of Robert from Got Craft?, Kim Werker from CrochetMe.com and Erin Bonniferro from Collage Collage and facilitated by Amanda Gibbs from the MOV. Topics covered included the growth of DIY and craft fairs in Vancouver through the last couple of years and how they have changed, the difference (if any) between the DIY movement in the US vs. Canada, the difference in crafting for a hobby and crafting for a living, DIY vs. fine art, gender in the craft movement, to name a few.


I’ve known Kim and Erin for quite a while and to hear them speak, along with Robert, up on that panel was both amazing and inspiring. They are all well spoken and the MOV could not have picked a better group to speak. I hope that everybody that attended had as much as fun as I did.


We also held a mini Got Craft during the evening reception including Locomotive Clothing, telly designs, Sassy Contessa and roxypop.

Were you not able to attend? The MOV is hosting another DIY event – A night of Social Crafting on Friday, April 9th. Check out their website for ticket and event information!

handmade nation screening at MOV

If you missed the Handmade Nation screening last July in Vancouver with Faythe Levine, start marking your calendars! On Friday, March 19th, Handmade Nation will be playing at the Museum of Vancouver - 1100 Chestnut Street. Event starts at 7:00pm and the film begins at 8:00pm.

Handmade Nation documents the new wave of art, craft and design that is capturing the attention of the nation. It is the feature film debut of director, author, artist and curator Faythe Levine. Levine traveled to 15 cities and covered more than 19,000 miles to interview artists, crafters, makers, curators and community members.

Today's craft world has emerged as a synthesis of historical technique, punk culture, and the DIY ethos, also influenced by traditional handiwork, modern aesthetics, politics, feminism and art.

Tagged as the ‘Ambassador of Handmade’, Directory Faythe Levine has traveled 19,000 miles to document what has emerged as a marriage between historical technique, punk culture, and the D.I.Y. (do-it-yourself) ethos.

A companion book, Handmade Nation – The Rise of D.I.Y., Art, Craft, and Design, features 24 artists, their work environment, their process, their work, and discussions of how they got their start and what motivates them.

Got Craft will also be hosting a mini craft fair before and after the screeening. Our mini craft fair will feature lovely goods from Sassy Contessa, Roxypop, telly designs and Locomotive Clothing.

Ticket and more information can be found on the MOV website here.

Movies and Makers Art Show

Hey East Coast readers! This one is for you!

Movies and Makers: An Art and Craft Show is a co-production between The Fox Theatre and GirlCanCreate that brings together all things local and handmade. The show is designed to provide both emerging and established artisans with a marketplace to sell their wares.

Where?
Fox Theatre - 2236 Queen St. East

When?
Saturday, November 21, 2009
10:00 am to 4:00 pm

If you missed the screening of Handmade Nation back in February at the Lennox Contemporary Gallery, following the show, there will be a screening of Handmade Nation at 4:30pm.

Tickets to Handmade Nation are $6 for Fox Theatre members and $8 for non-members. For additional details or group rates, email Andy Willick of the Fox Theatre at andy@foxtheatre.ca. For more details, a complete vendor list and daily vendor interviews, visit the Movies and Makers website.

Austin, TX

Sublime Stitching has been huge supporters of Got Craft? and the Vancouver premiere of Handmade Nation, so when they approached us to help out with the Austin premiere of Handmade Nation, of course we said yes!

Swag bag goodies with a touch of kawaii getting ready to head to Austin, TX:

Bevy of Japanese candies - check!

Got Craft?, Handmade Nation and Indie I Do pin backs - check!

Vintage sewing buttons - check!

Cute paper bags to hold all the goodies - check!

The Austin premiere of Handmade Nation takes place on September 5th and 6th. Of course, I have wanted to visit Austin for quite awhile now and what a better time to go then this!

Labour day long weekend isn't exactly the best time to travel, but we found a decent flight and booked a studio condo for 5 days.

My #1 to do is to visit Uncommon Objects! Thrifting, relaxing and mexican food.. here i come! Not exactly looking forward to the 105F weather though!

Thanks to Jessica at Sublime for all of your wise expertise! Can't wait to finally meet you in person.

PS. Any "must visit" or "must eat" places in Austin that we should add to our list? Leave us a comment or send us an email!

Faythe Levine - feature #6

Name: Faythe Levine
Website links: www.handmadenationmovie.com, www.indiecraftdocumentary.blogspot.com, flickr

What do you make?
Currently I make movies, do set design/art direction and I take tons of photos. When I have time I like to embroider.

Speakers panel at the Portland premiere of Handmade Nation

What or who inspires you?
I am inspired on a daily basis by my surroundings. I spend as much time as possible absorbing my environment and taking in the minute details. I am also motivated by my extensive art collection and piles of collections and treasures I have built up over the years.

How did you get started?
I've always been self-motivated and just make sure to finish projects I start.

Photo courtesy of Raincoast Books

What are your favourite ingredients to work with?
Depends on the project at hand of course, but I love felt, vintage fabric and paper, found objects and glitter. If I'm working in the kitchen I attempt to use as much local and organic ingredients as possible.

What is the hardest and most favourite part of crafting?
I think that following through with an idea can be a huge challenge sometimes but when you finish something you started even if the final outcome isn't what you initially planned it is so satisfying.

Photo courtesy of the Georgia Straight

List 5 of your favourite links and why you like them
Kate Bingaman-Burt / Obsessive Consumption: I work with Kate on a variety of projects but I think her work is amazing on so many levels. She also produces more projects then anyone I know.

My Love For You Is Like A Stampede of Horses: Fantastically curated art/craft/design blog that keeps me up to date with sales, new work and shows around the world ran by my friend Meigan.

20x200: A great place to pick up affordable artwork. Handmade Nation will also be releasing a limited edition Jill Bliss dyptic with the gracious help of 20x200 in August. Stay tuned for more information on that.

Bibliodyssey: Fodder in all manners.

Design For Mankind: Another art/craft/design blog that really hits all the best stuff. Also, site curator Erin Loechner started a great project called "Dialogue" everyone should check out on the site.

Images from the book and film

Do you have any advice for those in the biz?
My advice would be to keep in touch with your community. Participate in community dialogue and events. Support your creative peers and keep focused on your own personal creative path.

Featured in ReadyMade

Art vs. Craft - Are these terms different? Do you consider yourself an artist or a crafter?
I am totally uninterested in defining the difference between Art and Craft, my belief is that is up to the producer of the work. Myself, I'm 100% maker.

(photo images courtesy of Faythe Levine / Handmade Nation)

Don't miss the Vancouver Premiere of Handmade Nation on Thursday, July 9th!

If you are interested in being featured, please send us an email at info(at)gotcraft(dot)com.

media buzz

The Vancouver Premiere of Handmade Nation seems to be generating a lot of media buzz lately.



The Westender has an amazing two page spread about Faythe Levine and the upcoming event. A big thanks to Steven and Bertie for the write up!



Here's the article from the Georgia Straight**!



** Showcase begins at 7:00pm. For ticket information, please visit gotcraft.com

Go over to the lotus events blog and check out the 5 page article on 'Craft Revival' in the July / August issue of Momentum Magazine.

thanks Sublime Stitching!

Look at what arrived today for the Handmade Nation swag bags!! Thanks to Sublime Stitching for their amazing support to Handmade Nation and Got Craft.



There are about 5 more bags left, so if you don't have your ticket yet, you can purchase them online.

Craftgasm - Day One

First of all, craftgasm is what my friend Kim called this weekend in Portland and it pretty much sums up all the goodness we experienced!

I tried to blog during our trip, but it was such a whirlwind! We left Vancouver Thursday evening and stayed overnight in Olympia, two hours outside of Portland. We arrived in Portland about lunch time and headed over to the Museum of Contemporary Craft to drop off our swag bag donations. I figured that we would drop them off rather than ship them, as I didn't get on the band wagon until a week before we were leaving!




Don't the bags look good? We tried to get these for Vancouver, but these were left over from the book launch and Portland snapped up all the remaining bags! Rob and I did manage to grab two, so one of them will be given as a prize at the Handmade Nation Vancouver Premier.

Friday night was the Portland premier screening and although I knew the film was going to be good, it was incredible. 65 minutes of some of the most amazing and influential crafters in the United States - wow!! The staff at the Museum of Contemporary Craft put together a wonderful night and it was great to see and meet so many of the artists from the film that came down for the event.




I finally had the chance to meet Susan from West Coast Crafty. I have been reading her blog for the past year or so, so I was glad to see her in person. I also finally had a chance to meet Kim Werker from Vancouver. We were introduced by friends and seriously live maybe 20 minutes away from each other, but of course, we didn't meet until we were both standing (or maybe sitting?) in the screening room! I love her and can't wait to work on some awesome projects together!! Also, had the chance to meet Kate Bingaman-Burt, the founder of Obsessive Consumption and What did you buy today?. I had been talking to Kate leading up to the event about swag bags.



Of course, after talking over email since February, we were so happy to finally meet Faythe!! The screening ended with a 30 minute Q&A session and she was absolutely amazing.



If you don't have your tickets to Handmade Nation in Vancouver, then you should get them now! This is not to be missed! To purchase tickets, please visit the homepage of Got Craft or see the post below.

handmade nation - tickets now on sale!

I am so excited to announce that the new Got Craft website is now up! This is a one stop shop for all of the information that you need to attend or participate in our upcoming shows. Vendors now receive an image on the website as well as a link back to their site and their very own page where they can post more pictures! Everything is laid out clearly and the website is easier to navigate. I love it and I hope you do to!

To celebrate the new site, Got Craft? is proud to present the Vancouver Premier of Handmade Nation.

Thursday, July 9th, 2009
Ridge Theatre, 3131 Arbutus Street
Screening at 8:00pm, Craft Showcase at 7:00pm

Traveling across the world to sold out crowds, it is Vancouver’s turn to join the handmade revolution!

Join Director Faythe Levine, July 9th, for Western Canada’s premier of Handmade Nation. Be the first in Vancouver to see the film, meet Faythe Levine and participate in a Q&A session after the screening.

Tagged as the ‘Ambassador of Handmade’, Faythe Levine has traveled 19,000 miles to document what has emerged as a marriage between historical technique, punk culture, and the D.I.Y. (do-it-yourself) ethos.

A companion book, Handmade Nation – The Rise of D.I.Y., Art, Craft, and Design, features 24 artists, their work environment, their process, their work, and discussions of how they got their start and what motivates them.

Tickets went on sale this morning and they have been coming in fast and furious! Space is limited. First 100 sold receive a free swag bag. For more information about the event or to purchase your tickets, please visit Got Craft?.

Swag bag participation! If you are interested in submitting items to the swag bags, please contact us. Lovely tote bags have been donated by Craft Stylish!

* squeal *

We literally signed the contract and confirmed the flight before the first email came in asking...

"Is it true?"
Andrea: "What? How do you know already?"

Yes, it is true. Lotus Events and Got Craft? is proud to present the Vancouver premier of Handmade Nation.

insert (squeal / screaming / excited noise) here. Woot!

Faythe Levine will be live and in person on July 9th to introduce the film and do a Q & A session after the screening. Want to attend? Stay tuned for more details!

What is Handmade Nation?
Handmade Nation documents a movement of artists, crafters and designers that recognize a marriage between historical techniques, punk and DIY (do it yourself) ethos while being influenced by traditional handiwork, modern aesthetics, politics, feminism and art. Fueled by the common thread of creating, Handmade Nation explores a burgeoning art community that is based on creativity, determination and networking.

In 2006, first time director Faythe Levine traveled to 15 cities, interviewing 80 individuals. Levine captured the virtually tight-knit community that exists through websites, blogs and online stores and connects to the greater public through independent boutiques, galleries and craft fairs.
(taken from http://handmadenationmovie.com)

For more information about Faythe and Handmade Nation, visit her blog here.