It’s Better Handmade : Etsy Fait Au Canada Weekend

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Have you heard of Etsy? If not, do not fear, you are not alone. I was surprised to hear that there are a lot of people who are unfamiliar with the buying and selling website. Etsy features handmade and vintage goods from artists and vendors all over the world. Anyone can make an account and start selling and/or buying instantly! Starting a shop is free and simple; the website only charges a very small amount once you have added an item. Etsy makes it easy for consumers to purchase handmade goods and for artists to sell as well as showcase their work.

Now, why all this information about Etsy? Let me tell you.

The Montreal Etsy Team, in conjunction with the artist group Les Joalliers du dimanche, will be hosting Fait Au Canada, a craft show featuring exclusively local artists, September 27 and 28. I was able to sit down with one of the organizers of the upcoming event, the Montreal Etsy Group’s Captain, Michelle Beausejour to get the low-down. Michelle, shop owner of The Birch Trail, is a Meti artist who works primarily with raw elements from nature, such as wood and moss. She has been on Etsy since 2006, with The Birch Trail being her second shop. She has been with the Montreal Etsy Team for three years and is very much looking forward to the event, which will feature a print-screening workshop on Saturday and a knitting workshop on Sunday. Canada is actually the pilot country for what is called Etsy Day; this event will be held across Canada at the same time. What I find most evident about our time together is that Michelle just really wants to get the word out there about the incredibly talented people that live in this city and, since this event will solely feature artists living in Montreal, it is a great opportunity to do so. The full-time Etsy-seller also wants to stress that this is not just an arts and crafts show. “We have an emphasis on creating a different image for ‘handmade.’ We’re not grannies knitting in a church basement… Not to knock them,” she says, laughing.

There will be a very wide range of products and goods being sold at Fait Au Canada. Some of the artists that will be selling their items at the show include;

Iveth Morales of The Angry Weather

Iveth works with silver to make incredible cute and dainty jewelry. She began making jewelry with wire and semi-precious stones and discovered she had a passion for it. She wanted to do more, though, so she took a metalsmith and that is when she really started creating the pieces she makes for The Angry Weather now. Iveth has been selling on Etsy for for years and loves it. “Etsy has given me the opportunity to transform something that was a hobby at the beginning, into a business,” she says.

Adria Lynn of Wasteland Artisan

Adria makes crazy-awesome masks and accessories out of clay and leather. They are perfect for Halloween or for anytime you want to feel badass. She opened her first Etsy shop, Claycave, in 2007 though she did not sell much then. She rebranded her shop as Wasteland Artisan in 2013. Her inspiration? “Horror. [And] basically, I guess, nerd culture. We’re finally getting the recognition and it’s great seeing so many ‘normal people’ embracing something we’ve loved forever.”

Tina Sequeira of Ysabel Larousse

Tina brews her own medieval-inspired organic perfumes and fragrances. She researched making her products for a few years (yes, years!) before taking the plunge and opening an Etsy shop in the fall of 2012. She finds herself very inspired by medieval times and it is evident in both her products’ natural ingredients and in their aesthetics. Because of the nature of her products, she has ended up studying women who were wrongly accused of being witches, as they had a deep understanding of healing plants and herbs. “My line, Ysabel Larousse,  is an effort to revive those simple, natural concepts, while also paying tribute to the skill and expertise of those wise women so many centuries ago.”

Natacha Bergeron of Anakiel

Natacha makes natural and chemical-free skin care products. I can vouch for these products; they smell amazing and leave your skin feeling soft and refreshed! She first started making her products for her sons, who both suffer from eczema. Natacha originally opened her shop in 2012, but rebranded it and really started selling in January 2014. She is really looking forward to her second Etsy event, saying, “It is always a pleasure to meet and speak with our customer, to be able to explain our work and the process behind our product. It is also a place to meet new customer and fellow artisans too.”

Keep in mind, these are just a few of the incredibly talented vendors that will be selling their goods at Fait Au Canada; there will be many, many more (over 60, to be exact). If supporting local artists and unique, handmade goods are your thing, this is an event not to be missed!

Get all the information you need at the event’s Facebook page. Hope to see you there!

Etsy Fait Au Canada takes place on September 26 and 27 at Locoshop Angus (2600 William Tremblay St). Hours are 11 a.m. –  6 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. – 4 p.m on Sunday. Free admission.