Cocktails, art & funky beats: Mike invites you to check out Spins and Needles

Photo credit: Digitart2001, via Flickr

Mike Cullen (Twitter) is a young public servant who is also a regular contributor to (Cult)ure Magazine as a music editorialist. His passions include music, coffee, writing, travel and comic books.

Finding something affordable to do on a Friday night in Ottawa that doesn’t include going out for dinner or going to a club can be difficult. Movie theatres are packed, and good luck finding a quiet place to enjoy a pint if the Senators happen to be playing that night. About a year ago though, I discovered the perfect Friday night out: cocktails, do-it-yourself art projects, and funky beats — otherwise known as Spins & Needles.

The latest Spins & Needles is happening March 16.

Spins & Needles, conceived and run by Melanie Yugo and DJ Jason Pelletier, is a monthly event run in Centretown (locations vary, but if you’re added to the Facebook group, event organizers give you plenty of notice about upcoming events!), where you have a cozy environment to have a drink or two, create and listen to some great music. The best part: the art project is decided for you and your measly $8 entrance fee pays for all the materials and instruction you’ll need for your creation! February’s Make a Monster event was fantastic, and James Street Pub was packed to the rafters in the downstairs bar. I got two friends absolutely hooked on the event. And things just got better…

This Friday, March 16, is the latest Spins & Needles, and the theme is Superheroes. For your super-cheap entrance fee you’ll be given the supplies and instructions on how to storyboard your very own comic book! If you’re anything like me, the comic book, music, beer combo is honestly like … heaven on earth. For those daunted by the idea of storyboarding, an alternate art project is available. So grab a couple friends, a $20 bill, and come on down to the James Street Pub (event starts at 9pm) for a night of art and fun!

Sounds like an amazing time … and right in the heart of the city! Thanks Mike! I’m sure we’ll see a few new faces there!

Crafting your wedding? Free tickets to Ottawa indie wedding show Wed By Hand

Photo credit: Anne-Marie Bouchard

The ever-so-crafty Krista Leben is the owner of Urbanite Jewelry, director of The Craft Co-op, and producer of Urban Craft and Wed By Hand. 

What happens when a craft show falls in love with a wedding show and they make a sweet little baby together? You end up with something called Wed By Hand, Ottawa’s Indie Wedding Show. Taking place at the Glebe Community Centre this Saturday, Wed By Hand is a DIY, eco-friendly and handmade wedding show that’s designed to help couples find something different  for their wedding day!

Photo credit: Anne-Marie Bouchard

Now in its third year, the show not only gives you the opportunity to chat with more than 40 unique vendors—from vegan bakers to jewelry makers to picture takers—but it also gives you the opportunity to actually learn how to DIY your big day. This year, Wed By Hand will offer eight DIY and informational workshops to help you create the wedding day that you’ve always wanted.  Learn how to create your own bouquet from local flowers, print your own invites –and- plan an awesome wedding on a budget from experts that really know their stuff!

Photo credit: Anne-Marie Bouchard

This year the show has also expanded to include a tasting room, full of local bakeries, caterers and more. From a DIY candy bar from The Candy Store to a tea bar from DAVIDsTEA to vegan baked goodies from Auntie Loo’s, attendees will be able to sample tons of scrumptious food. Consider Wed By Hand’s tasting room your one stop shop for getting all those cake tastings done in one place!

Photo credit: Anne-Marie Bouchard

And if you’re looking for fancy duds for your special day, we’ll have everything from dresses to fascinators to ties for you to check out. Victoire and With Love Bridal Boutique will be on hand with some seriously sweet dresses, and there will be plenty of jewelry designers on hand to help you accessorize. For the grooms-to-be, we’ll also have screen printed ties and bowties made from vintage fabrics—perfect ways to spruce up your groom!

Sound like fun? We’ve got two tickets to attend + a coveted swag bag for one lucky winner. Wanna win? Just comment on this post and let us know what you’re looking forward to seeing at the show the most! Be sure to include an email address where we can contact you and enter by Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 11:59 p.m. to win!

Wed By Hand, Ottawa’s Indie Wedding Show
When: Saturday, February 11 from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Where: The Glebe Community Center, 175 Third Ave (Third & Lyon)
$10 at the door, $8 in advance at wedbyhand.com (Workshops, Swag Bags & Tastings included in your ticket price!)

Thanks for the great post Krista, Local Tourist Ottawa will be there this weekend! Like the photos? Check out Anne-Marie Bouchard of AMBphoto.

Alea profiles Ottawa’s Idle Hands Craft Sale

Photos courtesy of Alea Cardarelli

Alea Cardarelli is the mastermind behind the allergy-friendly blog My Real Food Life. She also makes a delicious cupcake.

Photos courtesy of Alea Cardarelli

This past weekend I was kinda pumped to have a gluten free goodies booth at the Idle Hands Craft Sale, so I wanted to share a peek into the indie artisan crowd and their beautiful work.

Idle Hands isn’t just any old craft sale in a church basement…although…it is in a church basement.

There is a jurying process – which means your stuff has to be cool enough to get in: No polyester crocheted toilet role covers with plastic flower wreaths here (you know what I’m talking about).

 

Photos courtesy of Alea Cardarelli

What I love about Idle Hands is its pervasive sense of aesthetic, combined with just a hint of edge.  Everything is beautiful, and everything makes a bit of a statement.

Photos courtesy of Alea Cardarelli

Photos courtesy of Alea Cardarelli

From the beautiful pottery, felt work, prints, and hand made children’s toys…

Photos courtesy of Alea Cardarelli

Photos courtesy of Alea Cardarelli

…to the jewelry and lovely artistic breads and baked goods…

Photos courtesy of Alea Cardarelli

All photos courtesy of Alea Cardarelli

It’s like walking into a room of vintage coolness – you really don’t want to leave, and your wallet practically jumps out of your purse (or pocket) throwing itself desperately at the vendors.

Believe me, baking until 2:30 in the morning and getting just two hours of sleep was absolutely worth it – there’s a wonderful sense of community and openness amongst this friendly group of artists, and I felt so at home – even though I didn’t know any of them.

Photos courtesy fo Alea Cardarelli

We were even serenaded by one of the artists’ little ones!

Photos courtesy of Alea Cardarelli

Please click here for some more great shots from the show. This city really does have some wonderful artists. You should also check out local felt artist Annie Bananie’s blog, to read about the vendors.

To meet Alea in person, feel free to stop by the Main Street Farmer’s Market this Saturday (9 to 2 p.m.) – she’ll have a booth full of treats!

A trip to the farm: Barbara D. shares a snapshot of Ottawa’s Sheep Shearing Festival

Barbara D. is a public servant by day but nurtures her love of writing through social media. She blogs at Tales of Life with a Girl on the Go and Losing it in Ottawa and offers shorter thoughts as @OttMomGo.

The Canada Agriculture Museum is the first museum that I took my daughter to for her own enjoyment. Even as a toddler, she loved to see the slow moving cows and fluffy sheep. I wonder if she thought her first books had come to life? We’ve visited many, many times over the last six years and each season kicks off with the Sheep Shearing Festival on Victoria Day Weekend.

We started our visit this year by watching the handlers and dogs from the Ottawa Valley Border Collie Club in an agility demonstration. We were all impressed with the dogs as they completed the “obstacle course.” At the end of the demonstration, the handlers answered questions and we were able to pet the dogs, too.

The sheep shearing demonstrations, of course, are the highlight of the event. We arrived to see a collection of already-sheared sheep – all looking embarrassed, it seemed, to be in public in their underclothes – and a few sheep who were waiting their turn. The latter group looked awfully hot and were probably glad to have their turn with the man with the shears.

The shearer started by trimming the sheep’s nails – and who doesn’t like a manicure? – before administering a vaccine. Next, he showed us the hand shears that were used a long time ago. Luckily enough for the shearer’s hand and the sheep herself, the shearing was done with an electric clipper.

In what was a combination of wrestling match and hair cut, the shearer removed the fluffy wool from the sheep in about five minutes. Amazingly, he was able to get the wool off her whole body in a single piece. For the record, sheep are dirty creatures. The wool had all manner of dirt, straw and other things in it. My daughter also declared it to be stinky.

The museum had set up a room where visitors were able to card pre-washed wool to get in cleaner and ready for spinning. The guide told us about the process and then passed us along to their colleagues who explained felting and let the kids try their hand at felted bracelets.

With two knitters in the our group, we made sure to visit the barn where the Ottawa Knitting Guild had set up displays alongside the Ottawa Valley Weavers’ and Spinners’ Guild. It’s good to learn about the people in our community who are maintaining these traditional skills. My daughter made a sheep’s face using hearts at a craft table. A paper craft seems to be a mandatory element of any outing for her.

Of course, we visited the small and large animals barns before we could leave The Farm (as we call it in our family). The 11 year-old we had with us had never heard a cow mooing in real life and found Goodie, the bull, to be an impressive sight.

If you visited the Sheep Shearing Festival this year, don’t forgot to submit your photo or video by May 31^st for a chance to win a membership to the Agriculture Museum/Science and Technology Museum/Aviation and Space Museum and four tickets to the Tally Ho wagon ride. Contest details are available on the museum’s website!

Chatting about Ottawa’s craft scene with Wed By Hand’s Krista Leben

Krista Leben

Krista Leben is the designer behind urbanite jewelryand a co-director of The Craft Co-Op, Ottawa’s source for all things craft in the capital. She’s also the producer of several indie craft shows around the city including this weekend’s alternative wedding show Wed By Hand.

We’ve had several Local Tourists write about arts and crafts in Ottawa. How would you describe the community?

The craft community here in Ottawa is full of really incredibly talented people. I’m super impressed with the talent I’ve discovered (and continue to discover) here in the city. One of the interesting things about the craft scene in Ottawa is that while there’s definitely a presence, the community isn’t as cohesive as it could be. So that’s why my partner Robin and I set out to create The Craft Co-Op. We wanted to bring everyone together, provide a central resource for everyone to go to and create a stronger craft presence within the city.

It seems like a pretty flourishing hobby! Why do you think crafting continues to be popular?

So many people today spend most of their day working on computers and in serious jobs (especially in a government town like Ottawa). Crafting is a way to connect back with your hands and express your creativity. Creating something by hand is also a very personal expression of oneself. I think being able to express yourself creatively and then share that for others is a really wonderful outlet, release, and experience for many people.

Tell us about the Craft Co-Op.

The Craft Co-Op is your source for all things craft in the capital. We maintain a blog which keeps crafters in the loop in regards to what type of vendor opportunities are available in Ottawa. We’re also expanding the blog’s content this year to help the public find out what craft shows are coming up. But one of the primary things that we do is produce several craft shows throughout the year including Wed By Hand and The Capital Craft Market.

Who are some cool local crafters to look out for?

• The D.A.D. Project – Run by Emily Chen of m chen wears and her sister in Toronto, they’ve set out to do a drawing a day to raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society in honor of their father who passed away in October of 2010. Their drawings are adorable and it’s for such a worthy cause!
• Sweet Stitch – Sue makes really adorable sewn goods and recently participated in her first craft show ever. Her stuff is really sweet and she’s got a lot of talent in her fingers!
• Purple Urchin – These ladies make the most a-mazing soaps I’ve ever tried. Friends also rave about their scrubs, lotions, and massage oils. They’re really good quality and smell so yummy!
• Loopy4Ewe – Jay makes amazingly lovely knitted caps and other goods that are fabulous for adults, children and even tiny little babies!

You’re also a jewelery designer — how would you describe your work?

My line is your source for fresh, modern jewelry. I am all about simple, clean lines and jewelry that’s versatile and easy to wear with many outfits. Each of the pieces in my line is actually inspired by and named after a different world city.

The next big event on your roster is this weekend’s Wed By Hand. Can you tell us a bit about that?

Alternative Wedding Show Wed by Hand runs this Sunday, February 6, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Glebe Community Centre

Wed By Hand is Ottawa’s alternative wedding show. We are a handmade, eco-friendly and DIY-themed wedding show that offers couples something different than what’s available in the typical wedding industry today. We’re more than just a wedding show—we’re a wedding event: Wed By Hand includes DIY workshops, food tastings, handmade décor, a DJ spinning tunes and much more. Wed By Hand is one of the first shows of its kind in North America.

The first Wed By Hand took place in February of 2010 and was featured on /A\ Morning, CBC News, CBC Radio and in the Ottawa Citizen. While in 2010 Wed By Hand featured just vendors, we’ve expanded the event this year to include all of the fun things included above, like the workshops, DJ and tastings! We’re incredibly excited for this year’s event!

Wed By Hand is happening this Sunday February 6, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Glebe Community Centre.

Why do you think modern brides (and grooms) should hit up this event?

It’s an opportunity to discover something unique for your wedding and an opportunity to connect with people who can really help you personalize your day. We take extra special care to select vendors that brides won’t find elsewhere! We also have workshops for those brides who are into DIY (just like we are)! Also—we’ve got free tastings from the likes of Auntie Loo’s, Little Cakes, Crazy 4 Chocolate and more. Spins & Needles will be on hand DJ’ing and we’ll have a mocktail bar. What’s not to love?

At LTO, we like to celebrate the best in the city of Ottawa. Can you tell us how you would spend your perfect Ottawa day?

My perfect winter day in Ottawa would start with breakfast at Edgar (on the Hull side). I’d spend the morning walking and shopping at places like Flock and Victoire in Westboro and Wellington West, and dine at Absinthe or Allium for lunch. I’d then go skating on the canal (seriously—as an American, I think this is the coolest thing) and finish up the day with drinks and a yummy dinner at The Manx!

Thanks for chatting with us Krista!

Craft sales! (and delicious jam…)

The wonderful and deliciously talented Margaux Carson reminded us earlier this week to check out some of Ottawa’s great winter craft sales happening this weekend.

So, true to the theme of this blog – we headed out to the Shang Winter Craft Fair at the Shanghai Restaurant on 651 Somerset.

We saw some familiar faces (including local artist Karina Bergmans!) and picked up some delicious jams and other treats from Margaux.

Check out how busy it was:

Margaux Carson of KitchenGraffiti.com

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Did you find anything great at the Ottawa craft sales this weekend?

Happy Craft-mas Ottawa! Jane Porter on Ottawa’s Spins and Needles

Jane Porter is a local sustainability practitioner. After a three year stint in Finland studying and working with sustainable startups, she’s jumped into the Ottawa scene face first to see what’s shaking, vibrant and green. You can find her at www.janeporter.ca.

I have to be honest, I didn’t quite know what to expect when I entered the Legion on Kent at Somerset last night. I heard the tunes coming from a rocking old folks party upstairs and the mixing beats in the basement. I ventured down.

We were greeted by a nice S&N gal who showed us some craft instructions and were told to grab a seat at one of the round tables. Supposedly, had we come 20 minutes earlier, we wouldn’t have had a spot. Our first thought though was – this is it? It looked like there was a total of 20 people at four tables. Not so cool… what was I thinking bringing a dude to some small craft making event?

But then we turned the corner and it was crazy – the back room was FULL of people and all were busy sewing, snipping and gluing away while tapping their feet or bopping their heads to the beat. Nice. We grabbed some beer and picked out some coloured felt, thread and sequins, and grabbed a seat.

It reminded me of being back in elementary school where my friends and I were “queens of the bulletin boards” and had the joy of free access to the supply cupboards.  Unfortunately, I quickly realized that my crafting skills of  years passed have sort of vanished.  My friend and I were laughing at how slow we were.

Two and a half hours later with two beers under my belt I had made two somewhat sad Christmas ornaments and he had made one beautiful felt tree ornament.

We made friends with a couple at the table who sported black felt staches in the spirit of either Movember or just pure classiness.The four of us worked away, chatted and enjoyed the fantastic DJ (sorry, wish I could describe the music in some better way – but every song played got me moving and smiling).

All in all, I couldn’t have come up with a better way to spend a Friday night.

Spins and Needles was so good that time slipped, the music stopped and we realized that we were, in fact, the last to leave.

Thanks Jane! Did you have some fun this weekend in Ottawa that you want to tell LTOttawa about? Send us a note!

Plans for tonight? Spins and Needles (DJ + DIY arts and crafts)

Jane Porter is a local sustainability practitioner. After a three year stint in Finland studying and working with sustainable startups, she’s jumped into the Ottawa scene face first to see what’s shaking, vibrant and green. You can find her at www.janeporter.ca.

Jane will be back with another guest post tomorrow, to tell us what she thought of this event!

As a recent returner to Ottawa, I’ve never been to this annual craft-mas installment, but what could be better than listening to good tunes while attempting to sew xmas stockings?

Spins and Needles is Canada’s traveling Crafts + DJ event. Started in 2005, they’ve gone international with their “mixing beats and making stuff” concept. One of the founders (and the DJ for tonight) is Jason Pelletier, a local.

I know many people have tried to stave off the fact that Christmas is approaching fast but get to your holiday decorations/gifts early – without going to the mall.

And hey, it snowed today in Ottawa. All the more reason to get into the holiday spirit!

When: TONIGHT Friday November 26th @ 8:00p.m. onwards
Where: Legion Hall (330 Kent St. @ Somerset St. W.)
Cover: $8 – includes access to all materials and instructions, 19+
Info: http://www.spinsandneedles.com/upcomingevent.htm

See you there?