Got Craft? They do! Vancouver's upcoming craft art fair

Vancouver’s DIY scene is a pretty awesome one, and it gets stronger with every passing year. That doesn’t mean, however, that we can’t celebrate the DIY initiatives that we love. With that in mind, may I present Got Craft? This twice-yearly celebration of indie artisans and crafters descends upon the legion at Commercial Drive next Sunday, May 6. Like previous incarnations (they’re usually one each spring and winter) this promises to be a huge affair, bringing dozens of vendors and over 5000 attendees (!!!) to a day-long event in the heart of the Drive. This year, they’ve added a sewing lounge run by awesome local sewing shop/school Spool of Thread, so you can learn to sew while getting your craft on. Oh, and there will be DJs too, in case you feel like dancing while you shop (don’t we all?). What’s awesome about the crafting revolution, in my mind, is that events like this—along with websites like Etsy and awesome stores that choose to carry local, handmade products—take crafting out of the fussy, grandma realm and into coolness. I have a few pieces of handmade jewelry and some scarves from fairs

Vancouver’s Best Holiday Markets

Like most people, I find it next to impossible to go to just one place and find everything on my Christmas list. My friends and family are all so different from one another that it can be super stressful to shop for them in a time-saving way. I’m also allergic to big box stores and shopping malls, which certainly doesn’t make the process easier. Or at least, that’s what I thought, until a friend dragged me to a Christmas Craft Fair. I admit that I was totally biased and unschooled, because in my mind I was picturing weird fluorescent lighting, crappy coffee served in Styrofoam cups, and dozens of grannies selling handmade tea cozies and those crocheted weird dolls that hold toilet paper…you know the ones. Not that there’s anything wrong with that (toilet paper dolls are people too…or something) but I wasn’t about to buy my then 21-year-old sister a hand-knitted sweater vest with pom-poms on it, if you catch my drift. Anyway, I was totally wrong (I’m sorry, crafters everywhere) because the Christmas Craft Fair was A-MAZING. There was everything from handmade jam to amazing recycled jewelry to beautiful party