made in windsor

i was so pleasantly surprised by all the talented artists and crafters who brought their wares to the made in windsor craft show on saturday.

i fawned over a table shared by sister designers Tina Thibert (Dancing Jellybean) and Coleen Thibert (Coleeflower Designs) for quite some time before finally settling on a set of lovely magnets, a wee little deer patch, some pretty fabric-covered earrings, and a sewing machine-patterned tote for my dearest friend.

check out Tina's etsy shop... i have my eye on this sheepy wallet:

+ click here for Coleen's.

i also met hair accessory designer Stephanie Martin (To The Moon Designs) while admiring a set of cupcake hairpins... i was later informed they were for little girls. however, she does take custom orders for big girls too! check out her web shop here.

precious! find me a baby; i want to stick something pretty on its head.

Jodi Green had these amazing screen printed treasures for sale (notebooks, messager bags, dresses) that were actually part of her MFA thesis, which you can learn about here. i really wanted a notebook, but they were a little out of my price range ($70)... i couldn't walk away empty-handed so i bought a teeny little matchbook-notebook for teeny little note-taking.

i'm still admiring that full size notebook from afar in her etsy shop.

check out her shop and then see how she turns the insides into works of art here.

last, but not least, i nabbed a greeting card featuring a photo from the series The Travels of Bonhomme Squelette by Laura Gould. look how pretty. i don't think i'll ever have the heart to send it away.

oh windsor, you're so cute sometimes.

go (mint) green

this makes me super happy: Jones & Co., Windsor's most lovely vintage shop, is offering a 20% discount to anyone pedeling in on their bicycle during the whole month of May!

buy something pretty & carry it home in your basket.

my bicycle is mint green.

p.s. i got this picture from Melinda Clynes' article "Hipsters Guide To Windsor." Reading about your own city is funny. Having someone point out your city's "hipster" places is even funnier.

book fest x 2

Ann Arbor Book Festival:
runs may 15-17th, featuring about 100 guest authors flooding the beautiful streets of ann arbor.

"The Ann Arbor Book Festival’s mission is to promote reading, heighten awareness of literacy challenges, and showcase the rich culture of the written word in Michigan and beyond."

http://www.aabookfestival.org/index.htm

highlights: 2009 literary symposium, breakfast with the authors, 2009 writers' conference, "the art of the play" @ the Arthur Miller Theatre

writers: they are currently (as of may 1st) accepting submissions for their Ann Arbor Book Festival Short Story Contest. the prize is $25o and publication. the entry fee is $10. you can go here for more info.

Toronto Small Press Book Fair:

"On June 13, 2009, from 9 to 5 p.m., up to 80 small- to medium-sized presses from the Greater Toronto Area—and a number from as far afield as Montreal, Calgary, and even Vancouver—will gather in the atrium of the Toronto Reference Library to sell their books, chapbooks, graphic novels, audio-books, magazines and comics, and a wide array of high-quality arts and crafts."
http://www.torontosmallpressbookfair.org/

some of my favourite small presses will be there: broken pencil, Carousel Magazine, Maisonneuve...

and a local one!: Rampike
and some i've never heard before that sound fun: Robot Kissing Booth, Sweetie Pie Press, & Peachy K Press whose write-up reads, "Drinking tea, sewing clouds, puttering,wandering,walking and wondering... welcome all to my opened suitcase."

see the full list here.