got craft :: the men

Clockwise from top left: Simpsonelli Designs, Frankenstrap, Locomotive Clothing, Sam Bradd

It's no surprise that crafting and DIY has always been lady oriented. Most of the people buying and selling at craft fairs are comprised mainly of women with the men waiting outside with the coffee cups. Well, times seem to be changing...


Left to right: Bliss in a Teacup and Olive Bath and Body

We received more applications from men vendors than ever before. Looking forward to checking then out at the upcoming Got Craft holiday event.

Olive - feature #33

Name: Christina Willows from Olive
Website links: Olive

What do you make?
Olive Bath and body care! My primary focus is on cold process soap. We only use plant based ingredients and never anything synthetic. All natural, made with my own hands.

What or who inspires you?
I’m definitely inspired by my parents. They are both entrepreneurs and they have always loved and encouraged creative pursuits. My father loves to build so I learned a little carpentry here and there. He also has a workshop where he creates stained glass and, in general, he has always helped me to find ways to get to the result I’m looking for.

Growing up, my mother did a lot of sewing and was part of a weaver’s guild. My appreciation for textiles came from her. Now my husband plays a big role as an artist himself and we feed off one another which is really helpful -- especially when you need encouragement!



How did you get started?
November of 2006 I was in University and, as all students can probably relate, I felt broke and short on time with all my projects being due. I ended up going to a craft fair where I saw some beautiful soaps and was inspired to try to make some myself. Thankfully at a young age I learned about soap making from my mother who tried it a few times with one of our neighbors so I was well equipped with some knowledge about safety and what kind of moulds I could use.

With a fair amount of research and a few different concoctions, I came out with some good results. To my surprise everyone loved it. Friends were asking me to make their Christmas gifts too so I opened up my Etsy shop to share the wealth! Turns out it’s a great escape from school stresses too!



What are your favourite materials to work with?
When I comes to Olive I definitely like to work with Essential oils. They are fabulous – they smell great too. To think they come from plants amazes me every time!

Essential oils have been used in medicine for thousands of years. While the soap does smell great, our Lavender Lane soap is also calming. You don't get those benefits from synthetic scents.

Clay has also been a recent favourite of mine especially Moroccan Lava clay which pulls impurities out of your skin and replaces them with minerals! I'm hooked!



What is the hardest and most favourite part of crafting?
Being your own boss! I love that I make my own hours, my own product for something I believe. It’s easy to be really tough on yourself and feel that you have to know everything about business and what the next steps are. Occasionally I just need to stop, breathe and let myself learn rather than be scared of it all. I find that it’s a love hate relationship…

List 5 of your favourite links and why you like them
Thekitchn.com: inspiring colours, textures and presentations of food. You can’t work without food!

Designspongeoneline.com: it satisfies my love of flowers, home décor and design, a little DIY and beautiful products. I always leave this site wanting to make, make, make!

Theweddingchicks.com: I love weddings, from the colors of the flowers to the table settings and all the details in between

Flickr.com: I love doing random word searches, you never know what kind of inspiration you’ll find

wemakeone.com: My husband's graphic design business. Get something designed so we can eat!



Do you have any advice for those in the biz?
Pick a niche and stick with it. I find wherever I go people want to tell me the latest thing to jump on board. I like to hear what people are excited about, but it’s easy to lose your vision and get off course and in the end – more stuff is just more stuff… if it doesn’t fit your niche, get rid of it!

Do you consider yourself an artist or a crafter?
Well I went to school for Fine Arts so this is a hot debate that I usually try and keep out of and I think it gets overly complicated very quickly. I like to think of myself somewhere in between. When it comes down to it I feel like its not very important. What’s important is that I’m enjoying the ride and learning a lot about myself and about life along the way!

(photo images courtesy of Christina Willows)

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

Check out our past features...

Uncle Phil / Flipside - feature #32
Kim Werker - feature #31
Haiiku - feature #30
Smidgebox Designs - feature #29
heyday design - feature #28
Smeeta - feature #27
ACageyBee - feature #26
Maked - feature #25
Firefly Notes - feature #24
Florence Ann - feature #23
Him Creations - feature #22
Jenny Hart - feature #21
district thirty - feature #20
tinywarbler designs - feature #19
telly designs - feature #18
Cabin + Cub - feature #17
Rachel Hobson - feature #16
Green Couch Designs - feature #15
Tanis Alexis - feature #14
Sweetie Pie Press - feature #13
Fibre Manipulator - feature #12
Sam Made - feature #11
All Things Paper - feature #10
Owl + Pussycat - feature #9
Bliss in a teacup - feature #8
It's Your Life - feature #7
Faythe Levine - feature #6
Coco Cake Cupcakes - feature #5
pomomama design - feature #4
GroovyGlassGirl - feature #3
Bueno Style - feature #2
The Beautiful Project - feature #1

the * i want * list

A necklace made from broken tea saucers by Silver Trumpet

These are a few of the things I want to buy from Got Craft on Sunday, May 2nd! Start marking your calendars and making your own shopping list by checking out the works of over 50 local and handmade artists here.


Loving the knit accessories by kove!


Abeego - reusable food storage product made from a hemp/cotton fabric infused with a blend of beeswax and plant extracts



Some wood pennents by Bliss in a teacup or a guitar pick for a dad-to-be.


A too cute for words hunting jacket by Escargot for a mom-to-be.


Need to add to my current collection by heyday design


A show isn't a show when I don't stop by Olive for my annual fill up of soap.

* photo credit goes to the respective shops listed

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.

a night of social crafting

Last Thursday, the Museum of Vancouver hosted a DIY night and invited Got Craft to be a part of it. Let me tell you... if you didn't make it down there, you missed out! It was so much fun!


The ladies from Yarn Bombing were on-site with yarn demostrations throughout the evening. There was a mountain of yarn that you can choose and make stuff with.


Jackie from Divesin oversaw paper collage workshops which were insanely popular. Opus donated all of the materials that you could possibly need to make the perfect take home wooden panels.


Got Craft had a super mini craft fair set up with SamMade, Divesin, Olive and myself (Roxypop).

Thank you to the MOV for all of their hard work in putting this event together. Hope to see many more DIY events! In the meantime, stay tuned for more information on 'Fine Craft' vs. DIY on Thursday, March 4th.

the first bite is the sweetest!

Last Sunday was the first bite sized Got Craft monthly show over at Little Mountain Gallery on East 26th and Main Street. A big thank you to everybody that came out! Since the weather was so beautiful that day, all 15 vendors decided to line the street and enjoy some sunshine. However, I think I enjoyed a bit too much sunshine as I am still nursing a sun burn on my left shoulder... yowza!




Of course, a craft fair is never complete without walking home with some goodies. Thanks to Love Bobbie for a beautiful hair band that I am modeling above and a wonderful bar of grapefruit soap from Olive.

Featured Vendor #5

The folks from Olive make the best bath and body care products without all of the yucky chemical stuff. Christina came out to our first show at the Western Front and almost didn't make it to the one in May if it wasn't for her husband! You see.. Got Craft is the day after her birthday and her University grad!

I, for one, am very happy that they will be attending the show. Not only has it been difficult trying to find people that make bath and body care products in the CIty, but I have been a little obsessed with tea infused soap lately. Olive makes an entire Tea line! Check out their shop here for more information.